Roger Godsiff MP

Roger writes to Minister for Work and Pensions and head of Capita to protest delays in processing PIP payments

2014-05-30T11:38:00.003+01:00

Roger has written to Iain Duncan Smith, the head of the Department for Work and Pensions, and Andy Parker, the Chief Executive of Capita, to protest about the effects of the long delays in processing claims for Personal Independence Payments. PIP is paid to people who are seriously ill or disabled in order to help them with the extra costs of their condition.

Unfortunately, despite the disastrous failure of Atos’ contract to handle ESA assessments, the Government decided to allow Atos and Capita to take on the contracts for carrying out PIP assessments. The consequence of this is that PIP costs almost three and a half times more to administer than the benefit it replaced, and takes twice as much time to process. Roger commented: “I do not see how this serves either disabled citizens or the British taxpayer. The only people currently benefiting are the shareholders of Atos and Capita, who are making a profit at the expense of the wellbeing of seriously ill citizens.”

In the letters, Roger wrote: “The effects of these delays on disabled citizens cannot be overstated. At a time when they are already struggling to cope with severe health conditions, they are also forced to worry about paying the bills, paying the rent for their homes and putting food on the table, not to mention coping with the extra costs that come with disability. Many of the people who wrote to me about this emphasised that before they became disabled they had worked all their lives, paid taxes and never claimed benefits. They had paid into the system on the assumption that if they ever needed support the safety net would be there for them. They have now discovered that this is not the case.”

Roger was contacted by a man whose wife suffered a stroke, and who was still waiting for Capita to bother to turn up to assess her. He wrote: “It’s seven months since we have any money coming in bar my wife’s state pension. My savings are almost gone. The stress I am under is unbelievable. I just don’t know where to turn. My wife is getting depressed, she just sits and cries on the days Capita don’t turn up. She blames herself for having a stroke."

Said Roger: “I am appalled that this Government has once again permitted companies which are obviously inept and unscrupulous to be in charge of administering a benefit which is so vital to the wellbeing of this country’s most vulnerable citizens. I cannot understand how Atos in particular was permitted to be involved after the utter disaster of their handling of ESA claims. What on earth is the benefit to DWP or to the public purse of outsourcing services to private companies which perform them so poorly that they have to be redone, again at taxpayer expense? What is the benefit to society of pushing hard-working citizens into penury and misery because they have the misfortune to become ill?”

Transatlantic trade agreement is a threat to health and sovereignty of UK citizens, says Roger

2014-05-02T15:02:00.003+01:00

Roger is concerned that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States, poses a severe threat to the UK’s public services and its regulatory standards in a number of areas including safety, food hygiene, workers’ rights and environmental protection.
The idea behind TTIP is to level the differences between European and American regulations and so promote trade. In practice, however, trade barriers between the EU and the USA are already extremely low, and the effect of TTIP would be to drag regulations down to the lowest existing standard in each area, removing protections for people both as consumers and as citizens.

The Conservatives’ constant mantra is that red tape must be cut, but some rules--such as those on workers’ rights, food safety or the use of toxic chemicals--were put in place for very good reasons. For example, in the European Union it is illegal to sell beef which has been produced using growth hormones which have been linked to cancer in humans, or to sell poultry which has been washed with chlorine. These laws do not apply in the US, and TTIP would remove the legal barriers which prevent companies from selling meat produced in these ways in the EU or in the UK. In the EU almost no GM food is sold due to widespread consumer opposition, but in the US almost 70% of processed foods contain genetically modified organisms. TTIP would remove the legal barriers which prevent GM food being sold in the EU, legislating in accordance with food companies’ desire to reach new markets rather than citizens’ need for safe, natural food.

The picture is similar for environmental legislation, where standards are currently much higher in the EU than the US. TTIP would bring deregulation across a wide range of sectors, and remove hard-won regulations which protect human rights and the planet above corporations’ right to make a profit. The consequences of this would be dire for Americans as well as Europeans. While the EU would be under threat from the USA’s lower standards on consumer safety and employment law, American citizens would suffer from the introduction of the EU’s looser financial regulations, with the potential loss of the tighter regulation brought in since the financial crash. American businesses would suffer from the loss of the popular “Buy America” scheme to support local enterprise and jobs, while European workers would be under threat from lower US labour standards and poorer trade-union rights. TTIP would introduce a race to the bottom on the standards which help to protect people’s livelihoods as well as their health.

Also of serious concern is the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism which is included in TTIP. This would give companies the power to bypass the courts, and to use private tribunals to sue governments for enacting legislation which protected people or the environment at the expense of corporate profits. Roger said: “This sounds absurd, but it is already happening. The government of Argentina froze utility bills, only to be sued for lost profits by the transnational water and energy companies whose greed had caused bills to reach such a high level. Tobacco company Philip Morris is suing the governments of Australia and Uruguay over their policies on cigarette packaging, which were brought in to protect the health of their citizens. I do not want to see the UK in this situation.”

TTIP also contains provisions to remove distinctions between public and private providers of services, and between national and foreign providers. In practice, this would put the BBC, the NHS and the UK’s comprehensive schools under threat from transnational corporations. The UK’s public sector would be privatised even further, with a consequent lowering of standards and loss of public accountability. Roger commented: “Essential public services, such as health and education, are called ‘public’ for a reason. When these services are provided by the UK Government, they are accountable to UK citizens in a way which they simply would not be if they were provided by transnational corporations which, unlike the NHS, have absolutely no ethos of serving the public good rather than increasing shareholder profits at all costs.”

Roger said: “I am extremely worried about the possible effects of many of the provisions in TTIP on my constituents and on people throughout the UK. What is perhaps most concerning, however, is that these negotiations are taking place in secret. Most people are not even aware of TTIP, and the treaty is being negotiated without the chance for proper public scrutiny. Astonishingly, the European Commission intends to block public access to all documents on the TTIP negotiations for the next 30 years, prioritising companies’ desire for secrecy over the well-being of citizens.”

“I do not believe that most people in the UK would be happy to see food safety standards drastically lowered, or multinational conglomerates given the right to sue the UK Government--at taxpayer expense, of course--for enacting legislation which protects people’s health or the environment. This is deeply undemocratic, and I do not think people want this. I therefore call on the Government to act with greater openness and transparency with regards to this treaty, and for once to act in the best interests of UK citizens rather than to protect multinational companies’ profits. It is completely unnecessary and extremely dangerous to hand over any more power to greedy, unscrupulous corporations at the expense of the people of this country.”

Letters written by Prince Charles to politicians should be made public

2014-04-28T12:01:00.002+01:00

Commenting on the news that Ministers and Government Departments have spent over £274,000 on legal fees in the past four years to prevent the publication of letters written by Prince Charles to politicians, Roger said: “I think it is outrageous that this amount of money has been spent on trying to hide letters from Prince Charles on ‘political matters’.

“Prince Charles, as the heir to the throne, is perfectly entitled to express a view to Ministers and Government Departments on political issues if he wants to, but he should not have any elevated status above elected politicians and members of the public. If I write a letter to a Government Department then it is in the public domain, and quite rightly so. Why should letters written by Prince Charles be treated differently? This is particularly important as some of his representations may well be about matters which affect the vast land holdings held by the Crown”.

The reason given by the Attorney General for not making public the contents of Charles’ letters to Government was that it would damage Charles’ ability to perform his duties as king, as the letters cast doubt on his political neutrality. Roger commented: “It is adding insult to injury that these legal costs are being paid for from the public purse. Charles has damaged his own neutrality--and therefore his ability to perform his future role as king--by his meddling in public affairs. Rather than allowing the public to see the truth of his lobbying and make up their own minds about his suitability as head of state, this Government has spent UK citizens’ hard-earned taxes on hiding the truth of Charles’ interference from public scrutiny.”

Prince Charles receives an income of £19m per year from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he “owns” as the heir to the throne. Despite his using this property to engage in a wide range of commercial activities, he is exempt from paying tax on this enormous income and does so only voluntarily. He is therefore able to pay tax under the arrangements which are most favourable to him, unlike all the UK citizens struggling to make ends meet, who are not permitted to pick and choose which taxes they pay.

Roger Godsiff MP writes to DWP to protest effects of mandatory reconsideration

2014-02-10T17:13:00.001+00:00

Roger has written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, to protest about the suffering the policy of mandatory reconsideration of ESA claims is already causing in his constituency of Birmingham Hall Green.

Roger wrote to the Minister about the case of one of his constituents, who was told that her ESA was being stopped despite the fact that she suffers from a life-threatening heart condition as well as kidney failure. After her ESA was stopped, she was unable to afford to make the journey from Birmingham to attend her appointments at a London hospital.

Happily, the result of the reconsideration (which took nearly two months) was that the original decision should be overturned, and the constituent’s ESA reinstated. The original Atos assessment awarded her just 6 points, but at the reconsideration she was found to actually qualify for 15 points. Roger has called on the Department for Work and Pensions to investigate how Atos got this assessment so badly wrong, as he is extremely concerned that similar grossly incorrect assessments are being carried out on a wide scale.

Roger is also concerned about DWP’s refusal to set a time limit for how long mandatory reconsideration may take. This means that people are left in limbo, with no money with which to buy food or travel to hospital appointments for weeks or even months. This issue has been raised many times by a number of Members of Parliament, but DWP has consistently refused to set itself standards on this.

In his letter to DWP, Roger wrote: “While my constituent’s ESA has now been reinstated, it is not the case that no damage has been done. There is an extra cost to the taxpayer, who had to pay Atos to carry out an assessment which was so incompetent that it had to be redone, again at taxpayer expense. Much more importantly, there is the human cost to my constituent and others like her. She is seriously ill, and has a right to state support because she is too unwell to work. Yet she has been caused an enormous amount of extra stress and worry, as well as having to miss crucial hospital appointments. As she wrote to me, ‘Every day is a struggle but this has made everything that little bit more difficult.’”

Roger concluded his letter to DWP with: “Has a cost-benefit assessment been carried out of the savings to the taxpayer of the mandatory reconsideration policy? I am extremely sceptical about the likelihood that that, after factoring in the cost of the Atos assessment and the mandatory reconsideration, this policy will have saved the taxpayer any money at all. Even if it does, it is at the expense of vulnerable and seriously ill people such as my constituent, whose health can only be made worse by the added stress of having their only source of income snatched away while your Department takes months to overturn a hopelessly flawed Atos assessment.”

Roger calls for indefinite delay on plans to extract and sell NHS data

2014-01-22T14:42:00.001+00:00

BIRMINGHAM MP ROGER GODSIFF CALLS FOR INDEFINITE DELAY ON NHS PLANS TO EXTRACT LARGE AMOUNTS OF CONFIDENTIAL PATIENT DATA.

Birmingham Hall Green MP Roger Godsiff has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for an indefinite delay on the introduction of plans known as care.data, which will extract and link large amounts of patient data.

Speaking from Westminster, Mr Godsiff said: "The NHS wants to extract this data to ‘improve the delivery of healthcare and to benefit researchers inside and outside the NHS' but I have grave reservations about the whole project.

“By rights this programme should have been up and running by now, but the Information Commissioner was so concerned about the project that the start date for the harvesting of patient data was delayed by a year to spring 2014, because of issues relating to the confidentiality of the extracted data, lack of public awareness and the extent of information sharing”.

While welcoming the current public awareness campaign by NHS England, Mr Godsiff believes that these plans are flawed because the whole programme operates on the principle of 'presumed consent'. This means that unless individuals notify doctors that they want to 'opt out' out of the whole process, the NHS takes the default position that individuals have consented to their data being taken and used.

“I believe that the whole process begins to undermine fundamentally the long established principle of patient confidentiality, and is a recipe for confusion”, he said. “The NHS just seems to think patronisingly that all it needs to do is to throw in health-speak phrases such as ‘improve delivery’, ‘for the benefit of the service’ and ‘in the public interest’, and people will just roll over and allow their data to be taken because it’s for their own good!”

He continued: “I have absolutely no faith in assertions by Government that patient data will be coded in such a way as to guarantee anonymity, particularly as the NHS will reserve to itself the right in ‘the public interest and for the benefit of the health service’ to allow access to identifiable data. There is also the Government's record as a whole on data management or rather, chronic mismanagement and leakages. I believe that patients themselves, not NHS England, should determine when and where their own medical information is used and for what purposes”.

Mr Godsiff continued: "It has been one of the blackest years on record for the NHS. The current, deep-seated issues of health mismanagement, accompanied by chronic lack of oversight and corrosive levels of secrecy, have led directly to patient deaths, as the Mid-Staffs NHS Trust saga proved. I find it very difficult to understand why the Government should insist on introducing a measure such as this at a time when it already has its hands full dealing with current problems”.

He concluded: “I believe that the Government should first sort out the problems that face it immediately before even contemplating introducing a new system such as care.data.

“I'm sure that many commercial companies which want to bid for lucrative NHS contracts would relish the prospect of being able to access this kind of data in any form, anonymous or otherwise, in developing a bid for such work. However, at the moment it is just another worrying example of Government encroaching on confidential, personal data, seemingly oblivious to the consequences for individual citizens.”

You can read the Parliamentary Questions Roger asked the Government on care.data last week at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140115/text/140115w0002.htm#140115101001135

Roger asks DWP for answers on people affected by Coalition bedroom tax mess-up in Hall Green

2014-01-10T11:45:00.002+00:00

Roger has tabled a Written Parliamentary Question to ask the Department for Work and Pensions how many people in his constituency have been affected by the latest bout of Coalition incompetence on benefits.

The Government’s failure to introduce full retrospective legislation when bringing in the bedroom tax left a legal loophole which makes a number of tenants exempt from this charge. Social housing tenants who have been living at the same address and claiming housing benefit continuously since 1 January 1996 were not legally obliged to pay the bedroom tax and should not have been charged.

It is estimated that between 4% and 15% of people forced to pay the bedroom tax were charged incorrectly, and will be able to claim reimbursement.

After tabling the question to DWP, Roger commented: “This is extremely embarrassing for the Government. How can people trust them to run the country if they can’t even legislate correctly to introduce their own policies? Yet for once the effects of Coalition incompetence will be positive, with thousands of people being repaid their bedroom tax payments.”

“However, this is really just a stay of execution. While some people will receive refunds of their bedroom tax payments, a much larger number will not. Those who are exempt are not likely to remain so for long, as the Coalition will soon close the loophole.”

“This reimbursement will not compensate people for the stress and worry inflicted by this policy or return people to homes they were forced to leave. Nor will it prevent further suffering being inflicted on ill, disabled or low-paid people by a Government addicted to cutting their support.”

Councils will not necessarily notify social housing tenants that they may be liable for reimbursement. If you think you might qualify for this exemption and have wrongly been charged, you will need to contact your local housing benefit office to find out. A template letter is available online at

http://speye.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/continuous-hb-since-before-1-jan-1996-are-you-exempt-from-the-bedroom-tax/

Roger Godsiff MP challenges DEFRA claim of intellectual property rights in dead badgers

2014-01-08T18:32:00.002+00:00

Roger has written to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to challenge its claim that intellectual property regulations justify withholding the results of TB tests carried out on culled badgers from public scrutiny.

DEFRA refuses to carry out routine TB tests on shot badgers, making it more difficult to assess the “effectiveness” of the badger cull. However, while it refuses to respond to calls by MPs and taxpayers to institute routine testing, it will carry out tests at the request of landowners.

Roger tabled a Parliamentary Question to ask for the results of these tests, but was told by George Eustice MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Farming, Food and Marine Environment, that these results are being withheld under regulation 12(5)(c), which protects intellectual property.

Roger wrote to DEFRA to express his concern that this section of the intellectual property regulations, which are supposed to protect the creators of works of art, is being applied to dead badgers. He requested an internal review and a full explanation of the reasoning behind DEFRA’s decision that tests on culled badgers fall under IP protection.

Roger said: “I find it worrying that the results of an extremely unpopular policy, carried out at public expense but without any approval from the taxpayer, are being withheld from the public and from proper public scrutiny. It is a stretch of credibility that landowners can hold intellectual property rights in dead badgers, and I would like DEFRA to justify this decision.”

Roger demanded an explanation from DEFRA on a number of issues, including how the results of post-mortems carried out on animals at taxpayer expense fall under IP regulations. Roger also asked DEFRA to explain why it decided that the public interest in withholding the results outweighed the public interest in disclosure, and reminded Mr Eustice that the same regulations state that a public body will apply a presumption in favour of the disclosure of information.

END

You can read Roger’s question to DEFRA and the response here, and Roger’s letter to DEFRA here

Roger protests against human rights violations in Colombia

2014-01-02T20:49:00.002+00:00

Roger was among a small group of MPs who voted against approving the draft European Union (Definition of Treaties) (Colombia and Peru Trade Agreement) Order 2013. Sixty-one MPs chose to vote against accepting this free-trade agreement with Colombia in protest against the country’s failure to honour its commitments on human rights.

Roger explained the reason for his “no” vote: “Once again, this Government have put economic interests above human rights. In just one year, 37 human rights activists were murdered in Colombia, sixteen of whom were murdered by Government forces during strike action. The free trade agreement sets out standards for human rights protection, but I am concerned that this is just empty rhetoric that will not be enforced. This House should not condone the murder of innocent people by their own Government.”

The trade agreement was passed by the House, but Roger and his colleagues who voted against it felt that it was important to make a stand against human rights abuses, wherever in the world they take place.

Roger condemns need for food banks in House of Commons debate

2013-12-19T13:03:00.002+00:00

Speaking in a debate on the rise of food banks in in the House of Commons, Roger Godsiff MP condemned the economic inequality and Government indifference which have forced people to turn to “modern-day soup kitchens”.

In his speech, Roger talked about the experience of one his constituents who had to use a food bank in Sparkhill. She had a well-paid job, but after losing her job and suffering bereavements, she was forced to rely on benefits. She got into debt with her utility bills, and had to spend most of her JSA on paying the ever-rapacious energy and water companies, leaving her with just £5 per fortnight to live on.

Happily, this constituent has now found a job and is feeling hopeful about the future, but Roger emphasised that no-one in the world’s seventh largest economy should be forced to rely on food banks to survive. The state has a duty to provide a safety net for its citizens, and should not abandon them to the instabilities of unregulated markets.

Roger concluded his speech: “The Government ought to be ashamed of presiding over a situation in which people must go through what that young lady, who is not feckless or a shirker, has had to experience. At the end of the day, lives will be scarred by the humiliation of forcing people into food banks—not just the lives of those individuals, but the lives of their children, too. Whatever the Government say, their MPs should be ashamed of that.”

You can read Roger’s full speech here

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131218/debtext/131218-0004.htm

Roger Godsiff MP calls for renewed efforts to fight TB after new figures reveal Birmingham Hall Green as an “at risk” area

2013-12-19T12:35:00.002+00:00

New figures showing that the rate of tuberculosis (TB) in Birmingham Hall Green is five the national average have been described as “deeply concerning” by local MP Roger Godsiff.

Although often considered to have been eliminated, TB remains the world’s second deadliest infectious disease, killing 1.3 million people in 2012. The disease doesn’t only affect the developing world: the UK has the highest rates of TB in Western Europe.

The national average for the UK is 13.9 cases per 100,000 of the population. The rate in Birmingham Hall Green is 72.4 per 100,000.

Roger stated that the figures are of particular concern given that a small, but growing, proportion of cases are drug-resistant. Cases of drug-resistant TB can take two years to treat, requiring patients to take an average of 14,000 pills and costing local health services tens of thousands of pounds.

Roger wants to ensure that people are aware of the risk of TB and of some of the symptoms, which can include: a persistent cough, night sweats, a high temperature and a lack of appetite or weight loss.

“Most people in the UK think that TB is a disease of the past, but the number of cases of the disease in the UK has doubled in the last decade”, Roger said. “It’s important that people are aware of the threat posed by the disease, and that they make sure they go to a doctor if they experience symptoms.”

Public Health England is currently developing a national strategy to fight TB, but it is also important to reach out to the most vulnerable parts of the community and make sure that everyone understands the importance of diagnosing and treating the disease as early as possible.

The Birmingham health authority has a rate of 37.6 TB cases per 100,000. In comparison London’s average is 42, Public Health England’s definition of a high risk area stands at 40, and the UK average is 13.9 cases per 100,000.

Roger calls for Government action on shell companies

2013-12-16T18:40:00.003+00:00

Roger calls for Government action on shell companies

Twenty parliamentarians including Roger wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills about the newly announced register of who really owns and controls anonymous shell companies.

Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption co-signed a letter calling on Minister Vince Cable to ensure his Department implements the register effectively. The Group is campaigning to end the use of anonymous shell companies which help corrupt foreign officials steal cash from developing countries, as well as helping individuals and organisations evade tax in the UK, funnel money to terrorists, break international sanctions and aid drugs smuggling. According to research by Kofi Annan’s Africa Progress Panel, the amount sub-Saharan Africa loses in illicit financial flows is more than the total it receives in aid and direct foreign investment.

Roger has previously campaigned for the Government to take action on the one in five tax havens around the world which are under UK jurisdiction. He tabled an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to implement a publicly-accessible register on beneficial ownership to tackle the use of UK territories as tax havens. He commented: “Announcing the register is a good first step, but in order for it to be effective and help developing countries it needs to be rigorously enforced and fully transparent, not just a token gesture.”

The letter calls on Vince Cable to ensure that the registry, to be held at Companies House, requires individuals to submit sufficient information to create a unique identifier for every person listed, not just a name. The parliamentarians request that information be published as open data, that it should undergo verification through cross-checks with other UK registries, and that severe penalties should be levied against any company failing to comply.

Signed by parliamentarians from both the Commons and Lords, the letter is supported by members of all the major political parties. It is part of a broader package of work by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption highlighting the role of UK policy in facilitating major financial outflows from developing countries.

Roger calls on Government to act to protect the rights of women in Afghanistan

2013-12-12T18:57:00.004+00:00

Roger has written to the Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening MP, to urge her to take all possible steps to protect the safety of women and girls in Afghanistan, and to prioritise supporting Afghanistani women who are working to improve human rights.

Roger also tabled a Parliamentary Question to urge the Department for International Development to increase funding to help provide more shelters for female victims of violence in Afghanistan, where there are currently just fourteen shelters. He tabled another question asking DFID for more information about how it is working with the Government of Afghanistan to bring to justice perpetrators of violent crimes against women and girls, and how it will safeguard women’s rights following the withdrawal of Coalition forces.

Roger said: “My constituents have written to me to tell me that they share my concern about the current situation of women in Afghanistan. Of particular concern is the extremely high level of violence against women and girls, and the number of these attacks that remain unreported and unpunished. I am urging the Government to take these factors into account when planning the withdrawal of troops.”

High-profile women who stand up for human rights in Afghanistan are particularly likely to be targeted for attacks. Recently two parliamentarians, Fariba Kakar and Rooh Gul, were attacked, and the two most senior police women in Helmand were both murdered. The perpetrators of violent attacks such as these are frequently not brought to justice even when the victim was a high profile woman, and the killers who target women with lower profiles are even less likely to be held to account for their crime. Female teachers and doctors, who provide other women and girls with the healthcare and education they need to improve their lives, are frequently targeted.

Roger concluded: “I believe that it is vital for the UK to champion women’s rights in Afghanistan, and to apply all possible diplomatic pressure to the Government of Afghanistan to take effective action in this area.”

Roger condemns Coalition incompetence and cruelty on benefits

2013-12-05T19:19:00.001+00:00

Roger has tabled an Early Day Motion which severely criticises plans by the Department of Work and Pensions to introduce a period of ‘mandatory reconsideration’ as an intermediate stage for claimants who wish to appeal the decision not to award Employment and Support Allowance, during which time ill and disabled people would receive no money to live on.

He also tabled a number of questions for written answer from the DWP, asking how long the mandatory reconsideration of ESA decisions would take and if a maximum time limit for the process would be introduced. In response, Minister of State for Employment Esther McVey said: "There are no plans to introduce a timescale for the completion of the mandatory reconsideration process, however, the process will be monitored to avoid any unnecessary delays". The DWP expects the process to take around 14 days for straightforward cases but “the time it takes to complete will vary depending on the circumstances of the case”.

For people who are already living on the breadline, even two weeks without any income at all is far too long. The only good news was that claimants who successfully appealed would be entitled to have their award backdated, but this is yet another hurdle that the most vulnerable have to face simply to survive.

Commenting on the Government’s response, Roger said: “The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, is constantly on the lookout for ways to pare back the benefits bill and shoehorn claimants into non-existent jobs regardless of their circumstances. The introduction of a punitive sanctions regime was never going to satisfy him in his undeclared aim to punish the ‘undeserving poor’ and pick off the easy targets. This is a clear and unequivocal attack on the most vulnerable, such as disabled people, who have a right to state support.”

However, Roger believes that Iain Duncan Smith has bigger headaches on the horizon than pinching pennies from the pockets of those unable to work. On the day of the Autumn Statement, DWP tried to sneak under the radar news that it will miss the deadline of getting all benefit claimants on to Universal Credit by the end of 2017. It also announce that it will have to start the IT system again from scratch, at a cost estimated to be at least £140m of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Roger said: “I am happy for my taxes to support ill and disabled people who cannot work, but I do not see why I or my constituents should pay for yet another Government IT mess-up.”

You can read the EDM here: www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/815

Roger welcomes Appeal Court decision that Work Capability Assessments disadvantage mentally ill

2013-12-05T14:49:00.001+00:00

Roger has welcomed a decision by the Court of Appeal upholding a previous ruling that work capability assessments disadvantage people who are mentally ill or have learning difficulties. He has been concerned for some time that these assessments are not designed with the best interests of these vulnerable individuals in mind, leading to unwell people being deprived of support to which they are entitled.

Roger said: “I am really pleased that the Court of Appeal has upheld the ruling that Work Capability Assessments do not work fairly for people with mental health problems, learning difficulties or autism. The current system expects the claimants themselves to obtain all the necessary documents from their GP or social worker, even if they lack the capacity to understand what can be a complex process. This results in assessments taking place without the necessary evidence, leading to mistaken outcomes. The DWP must start taking on the responsibility to help collect evidence if the claimant is unable to do so.”

Mental health charities including Rethink Mental Illness, Mind and the National Autistic Society have welcomed the ruling, and are calling on the Government to immediately stop using this dysfunctional assessment process. However, the Government refuse to recognise the truth of this finding and are refusing to pause reassessments in response to the court’s decision. A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said that there will be no effect on the day-to-day business of assessments, which would continue as usual.

In response, Roger commented: “Nothing better illustrates the nastiness of the Coalition’s policies than the treatment of those with mental illness. It is shameful that DWP refuse to take action in response to the court ruling. It is bad enough that for so long the Government have ignored the voices of ill and disabled people, their carers and the charities which represent them, but it is now also ignoring the findings of the UK’s legal system. The Coalition needs to start putting the wellbeing of its own citizens—not to mention respect for the legal process—above its blind ideological commitment to cutting the state.”

The ruling took place in response to a judicial review initiated by two claimants, where the original judgment was that the assessments are unfair to those with mental health problems. Rather than accepting this ruling and changing the assessments to avoid disadvantaging people who are already vulnerable, the Department for Work and Pensions appealed against the judgment, causing the judicial review to be put on hold. This legal process can now resume, with a final ruling expected to be given in 2014 unless the DWP brings further legal action to delay the process.

Roger has tabled a written Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions, asking the Secretary of State, Iain Duncan Smith, how he will change the way ESA assessments are carried out in light of the ruling and asking him to make a statement.

You can read Mind’s response to the ruling here: www.mind.org.uk/wcajr

Roger supports proposals to introduce a 20mph speed limit on Birmingham’s residential roads

2013-12-04T18:44:00.003+00:00

Roger has written to Birmingham City Council to express his support for the Council’s introduction of 20mph speed limits on the city’s roads in order to improve safety and reduce accidents.

Roger said: “I am really pleased that the Council is considering lowering the speed limit for residential streets in Birmingham. There have already been too many road deaths in the city, and each one is totally unnecessary and a tragedy for the family involved. I hope that the Council does decide to implement the 20mph limit and make Birmingham’s streets safer.”

The Government have recommended that local authorities lower the speed limit in city areas where people live and children play. This has been shown to lead to fewer accidents and fewer fatalities. Pedestrians are much less likely to be seriously hurt in car accidents when the vehicle is travelling at a lower speed. A person hit by a car travelling at 30mph has a 50% chance of being killed, but at 20mph this is reduced to 10%.

Roger first campaigned to reduce Birmingham’s speed limit some years ago. He pushed for the introduction of a 20mph limit on the streets around schools but was told that individual schools needed to make a case for the introduction of limits in their areas. He commented: “It is good news that the Council is now considering applying lower speed limits to the streets around all Birmingham’s schools. I urge councillors to introduce the limits as soon as possible to help keep children safe.”

Under the Council’s proposals, the 20mph speed limit would be introduced mainly on residential roads, which account for about nine out of ten of Birmingham’s roads. Some A and B roads would keep speed limits of 30mph or 40mph, but special consideration would be given to accident hotspots such as busy shopping streets, and to the roads around schools and hospitals.

Roger calls for support for people living with HIV or AIDS to mark World AIDS Day

2013-12-01T18:22:00.001+00:00

Roger is supporting World AIDS day and calling for increased global access to antiretroviral drugs to help eliminate preventable deaths. The report released by the UN to mark last year’s World Aids Day found that of the 14.8 million people around the world who are eligible for HIV treatment, only 8 million are receiving it. There were also 2.5 million new HIV infections.

Roger says: “With advances in antiretroviral drugs, HIV is no longer a death sentence—at least for people living in rich countries. However, around the world people continue to become infected and to die needlessly due to a lack of access to medication and healthcare. I am supporting Word AIDS Day and calling on the Government to do everything possible to increase access to antiretroviral drugs in the developing world.”

In the UK, the last year saw the Government announce that the ban on people with HIV practising as dentists, midwives or surgeons is to be lifted from early next year. In addition, studies were released showing that people living with HIV can now have a normal lifespan.

Treatment can mean that people living with HIV are no longer infectious, and couples with HIV can become parents without passing the virus on to their children. However, people with HIV still sometimes face stigma and discrimination.

Roger signs up to ‘Save Birmingham Badgers from Culling’ campaign

2013-11-29T14:17:00.002+00:00

Following on from Roger’s long-time opposition to the ongoing and extended badger cull, he has signed a petition calling for the ban of culls on council owned land and implementing local vaccination programmes.

Speaking from his Birmingham constituency he said: “The object of the petition is to ensure that Birmingham's badger population is as safe as possible from slaughter and that the already available injectable badger vaccine against btB is used in as many cases as possible”.

He continued: “There is already widespread concern that cull periods have been extended to meet targets and may have to be extended a second time in certain areas. It is widely known that badgers move to and from previously populated areas and that inadvertently they may be changing the goal posts in doing so. This petition is there to remind Birmingham City Council that it cannot just assume that council land is available to reduce the badger population.”

Roger Godsiff MP calls for investigation into political lobbying by the City of London

2013-11-29T13:20:00.003+00:00

Roger Godsiff MP is among a group of MPs, academics and celebrities campaigning for the investigation of lobbying by the Square Mile. The group sent a letter to the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, calling for an inquiry into the City’s “unfettered and unmonitored” access to senior MPs through the City of London Corporation.

The letter calls for an inquiry into the relationship between the City and politicians, and argues that a lack of openness and accountability enables Big Finance to exert too much power over the political and legislative process.

Copies of the letter were also sent to David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. Other signatories include two other Labour MPs, Green MP Caroline Lucas, lead singer of Radiohead Thom Yorke and the actor Dominic West, as well as academics and charities.

The letter argues that City UK, which lobbies on behalf of the City of London, promotes tax avoidance and also has too much access to ministers and civil servants. Roger said: “Politicians should be accountable to the citizens they were elected to serve, not to the financial industry which has caused such damage to the UK’s economy. I am also concerned that the City is linked to tax avoidance schemes which have an incredibly damaging effect around the world, particularly on the poorest countries.”

Roger has previously campaigned for Government action on corporate tax avoidance, and tabled an Early Day Motion calling for a clampdown on the use of British Overseas Territories as tax havens. Speaking after signing the letter, Roger said: “It’s time for politicians to stand up to the City and take action for tax justice and a fairer distribution of global wealth. A public inquiry is the first step, so that we can find out the full extent of the City’s influence on UK politics and legislation.”

You can read the letter here: www.theukgold.co.uk/letter, and the EDM Roger tabled here: www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/476.

Roger supports campaign urging drivers to turn off their phones

2013-11-29T10:37:00.002+00:00

Roger backed a national campaign launched by the charity Brake which aimed to prevent appalling crashes caused by multi-tasking at the wheel.

The campaign appeals to drivers to turn off their phones or put them in the boot, and urges everyone to refuse to speak on the phone to someone who’s driving. It was launched almost exactly a decade after hand-held mobiles were banned at the wheel and is being supported by a week-long campaign of heightened police enforcement across the country targeting drivers on hand-held phones.

Distraction reduces hazard perception and increases reaction times in a similar way to drink-driving, making drivers much more likely to cause deaths and injuries. Drivers who think they can multi-task are mistaken: research shows that 98% are unable to divide their time without it affecting how they drive. Talking on a phone, even on a hands-free set, texting, emailing, adjusting sat navs, eating, drinking and smoking are all proven to increase drivers’ risk of crashing.

Roger said: “Staying focused is vital to ensuring driving safely, enabling you to spot hazards in time and react quickly in an emergency. If you’re using a mobile phone or any other gadget you’re more likely to crash, potentially causing very serious injury or even killing someone, as in the tragic case of a local schoolgirl in my constituency who was killed by a driver who was texting at the wheel.”

He continued: “These tragedies are entirely preventable, and happen far too often in our area and across the country. I’m urging everyone to back this campaign and pledge to avoid distractions at the wheel, to help prevent crashes and casualties in our community. If we all get behind this campaign, we can make a huge difference in making our local streets safer and stopping families suffering needlessly.”

Roger warns constituents about rogue companies failing to carry out Green Deal assessments

2013-11-21T15:36:00.002+00:00

Roger has urged his constituents to take care when choosing a company to carry out a Green Deal assessment after cases came to light of people paying for services which they did not receive.

The Government’s Green Deal scheme aims to help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes by installing green technology without up-front costs. Instead, they take out a loan which is then repaid through the savings to their energy bill over a period of time. However, some unscrupulous companies have taken advantage of people’s concern about skyrocketing energy bills and have charged people for “Green Deal” services which have not been provided.

Roger was contacted by constituents who had paid for assessments which were never carried out. He commented: “The Green Deal was a good scheme but, unfortunately, it has become a hunting ground for rogue companies who are out to scam people. Such companies take down payments of several hundred pounds for assessments to be carried out. They then excuse the failure to actually carry out the assessment by saying that there is a shortage of Green Deal accredited assessors. It is completely unacceptable for my constituents to be ripped off in this way.”

Roger has written to the Minister of State for Climate Change, Gregory Barker MP, to point out the exploitation of the Green Deal scheme by unscrupulous companies. He highlighted the problems caused to his constituents by one company in particular, Becoming Green UK Limited. This company claim to offer a “managed service”, and took money allegedly in order to pay an accredited Green Deal assessor. However, the company failed to actually arrange the assessment and instead provided only excuses. One constituent was even left without heating for a significant period of time due to the company’s ineptitude.

Speaking after meeting constituents who have been caused problems by companies’ exploitation of the deal, Roger said: “I urge people to be cautious when paying upfront for a Green Deal assessment to be carried out. Sadly, what could have been a very useful scheme has been damaged by its association with companies which are either deliberately dishonest or simply inefficient.”

Becoming Green drew public criticism in summer 2012, when it came to light that it had been bussing in prisoners and paying them £3 per day to work in its call centre, following which it sacked paid members of staff.

Roger condemns “mandatory reconsideration” of ESA claim appeals

2013-11-14T14:42:00.001+00:00

Roger is concerned about the effects the Coalition’s introduction of “mandatory reconsideration” for Employment and Support Allowance claims will have on his constituents. Under new rules, ill or disabled people who are told that they can no longer claim ESA will have to undergo a mandatory reconsideration of their claim before they are permitted to appeal. However, no time limit has been set for how long the reconsideration process will take, and people will not be able to receive the allowance while it takes place.

Roger said: “I am extremely worried that vulnerable people, who may be seriously ill or disabled, will have the ESA to which they are perfectly entitled, and on which they depend in order to survive, stopped for a length of time to which no limits have been set. This seems to me to be grotesquely unfair, and I am concerned that it is nothing more than a penny-pinching exercise by the Department for Work and Pensions.”

Previously, ESA claimants could continue to receive the allowance while their appeal was being considered, but they will now have to either claim Jobseeker’s Allowance or try to survive without any income. However, as JSA is only available for people who are well enough to work, ESA claimants may not be eligible for it or they may be vulnerable to sanctions if their condition worsens and they are unable to search for jobs.

Roger has written to Birmingham City Council to set out his opposition to severely unwell or disabled people’s only source of income being cut off for an indeterminate time period. He commented: “I am worried that some of my constituents might fall between the two benefits, and be told that they are not ill enough to receive ESA but not well enough to receive JSA, with the result that sick and disabled people are left with no income at all.”

“I am also concerned that, if people who were claiming ESA are forced to claim JSA to keep from starving or becoming homeless, despite not actually being well enough to work, the fact that they have claimed JSA may be used as evidence against them when their ESA appeal is heard.”

Roger has called on the Government to provide more clarity about how people in this situation are expected to survive. He has tabled Parliamentary Questions asking whether people on ESA will be able to apply for any benefit other than JSA during the mandatory reconsideration period, whether the outcome of someone’s appeal will be affected if they apply for ESA, and whether the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions will consider introducing a maximum time limit for the mandatory reconsideration process.

Roger said: “I will keep up pressure on the Government to provide full clarity about what people’s options are if they are forced to undergo mandatory reconsideration. I will also continue to challenge the Coalition’s vindictive, unnecessary and counter-productive attacks on people who are not well enough to work.”

Roger finds that surveillance drones are not being used over Birmingham Hall Green

2013-09-26T15:06:00.002+01:00

Roger took action to investigate whether unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, have ever been used for surveillance in the skies over Birmingham Hall Green.

He tabled Parliamentary Questions asking the Government for more information about the regulatory framework for the civil use of drones, and about whether the surveillance camera code of practice applies to the use of drones by public authorities. He has also written to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, asking for clarification on whether the police force have used, or are using, drones for surveillance in Birmingham.

Roger says: “I believe that the people of Birmingham have the right to know whether surveillance drones are being used by police in their city. While no one objects to the police gathering the information they need to keep people safe, it is important that public authorities are accountable to the citizens they serve. If surveillance equipment such as drones is being used in Birmingham, people have the right to know about it. I therefore wrote to West Midlands Police to ask whether drones have been used over Birmingham.”

The Chief Inspector responded with the reassurance that the police force has never owned or deployed any drones or unmanned aerial vehicles. Roger says: “I am pleased to be able to reassure my constituents that there is no ‘eye in the sky’ watching over Birmingham Hall Green.”

The BBC Board of Governors is no longer fit for purpose, says Roger

2013-09-26T14:35:00.001+01:00

Speaking to a group of trainee journalists and students hoping to have careers in the media industry at a gathering in his constituency of Birmingham Hall Green, Roger said that, “sadly”, the Trust which oversees the BBC had been found wanting and was no longer fit for purpose.

Roger said: “The BBC is one of the most important strands of the cultural life of our country, but the controversy which has erupted over massive pay-offs to senior BBC executives, including over £1 million to the former Director General Mark Byford, could not be justified under any circumstances. This is particularly the case as these people were only doing their jobs, for which they were already extremely well paid compared with the majority of workers in other jobs.

“The sickening and unedifying squabble and buck-passing which occurred when Lord Patten, Sir Michael Lyons, Mark Thompson and other senior executives appeared before the recent Public Accounts Committee was shameful. Anybody watching the proceedings was given the very clear impression of a bunch of privileged people helping themselves to whatever they could get out of the licence-fee pot, in much the same way that those at the top of the banking industry behaved in the run-up to the financial crash in 2008.”

Roger continued: “The BBC has an outstanding worldwide reputation. These people, through their greedy, money-grabbing behaviour, have devalued the reputation of the institution, while the BBC Trust seemed incapable of providing the overall control, on behalf of the public, which their Charter obligations place on them. There have to be changes, and the sooner they happen the better.”

Roger supports decision by Co-operative stores to remove lads’ mags from sale

2013-09-25T12:01:00.002+01:00

Roger has welcomed the decision by the Co-operative chain of supermarkets to remove “lads’ mags” from sale in their stores after publishers refused to put them on sale in sealed bags. Roger feels that it is inappropriate for such sexualised images to be on the shelves in high-street stores where they can be seen by children. Roger says: “I support the Co-operative’s removal of magazines and newspapers which contain graphic images which objectify women, and I hope that other retailers will take a similar stand. Such content has no place being on display in supermarkets.” The decision by the Co-op will see the removal of magazines Front, Zoo and Nuts, as well as the removal of newspapers Midweek and Sunday Sport. Loaded will remain on sale, after its publishers agreed for it to go on sale in a bag.

Roger calls for Government action to protect workers on zero-hours contracts

2013-09-25T12:00:00.001+01:00

Roger has signed two Early Day Motions calling on the Government to take action to prevent the exploitation of workers on zero-hours contracts. The motions call on the Government to protect workers’ rights and avoid a race to the bottom on pay and conditions, and encourage employers to invest in a stable, long-term workforce. Roger says: “I am concerned that the increase in zero-hours contracts is having a detrimental effect on working conditions, pushing pay downwards and increasing employment instability. I believe that employees are an asset which businesses should invest in, not just another expense to be cut to the bone to increase shareholder profit.” Roger is worried that long-term, stable jobs are being replaced by zero-hours contracts, with pressure on employees to do the same work in return for poorer pay and less security. Early Day Motion 461 expresses support for workers at Hovis (Premier Foods) in Wigan, who rejected the employment of agency labour on zero-hours contracts after permanent employees were made redundant. Roger believes that this decision by Hovis sets a damaging precedent for the treatment of employees, undermines hard-won pay and conditions, and could lead to the creation of a two-tier workforce. Roger says: “At times when the economy is running below capacity and unemployment is high, it is particularly important to protect workers’ rights and prevent exploitation. My constituents who are on zero-hours contracts have contacted me to tell me that they feel that they have no rights. One told me that he has never been treated as badly as he was on a zero-hours contract, but felt that he had no choice but to accept this treatment as otherwise he would not be offered any more work. This is an exploitative and unacceptable situation for hard-working people to be forced into, and I urge the Government to take action to prevent future abuses.”