Jeremy Browne MP’s Monthly Update - March 2009
Posted by Jeremy Browne, MP for Taunton, at 08:39, Thu 2 April 2009:
Jeremy has tabled a motion in support of increased funding for the south west’s neuromuscular strategy. He commented;
“The £1 million of extra funding that has just been announced will help up to 5,000 people in our region who are affected by muscular dystrophy and similar neuromuscular conditions.” Read the EDM at: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38181&SESSION=899
PRESUMED CONSENT
In March, Jeremy’s proposal to introduce an opt out system for organ donation was debated in the House of Commons. After the debate, he commented;
"Nobody knows whether they may need an organ transplant in the future. I think of my Bill like an insurance scheme, where everyone can benefit from treatment, even those who opt-out of donating their own organs.
"We had a reasonable debate in the House of Commons with speakers from all the main parties. Although my Bill is likely to fall because of shortage of Parliamentary time, I hope it will help raise awareness of organ donation.”
Read the debate at; http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090313/debtext/90313-0008.htm#09031367000004
FLOODING IN SOMERSET
Jeremy and local Councillor Paul Partington are campaigning to prevent flooding in Norton Fitzwarren. Jeremy said;
“There is a major housing development taking place in Norton Fitzwarren, but it is dependent to a large extent on flood alleviation schemes so that new residents are not exposed to the risk of flooding.
"It is essential to deal with the flooding threat to Norton Fitzwarren. Local residents should not have to live in fear of their homes being swamped with water. All of the anti-flooding schemes in Norton Fitzwarren must be completed as a matter of urgency."
Read the House of Commons debate at; http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090312/debtext/90312-0021.htm#09031256000004
WORLD CHAMPIONS
Jeremy has welcomed home the England women’s cricket team after their fantastic World Cup win in Australia. Jeremy said;
"Taunton is the home of the England women's cricket team. The Twenty20 world championship this summer will be a fantastic event, with all of the women's group games being played at the County Ground. Taunton will be hosting a festival of cricket.
"This will be a perfect opportunity for the Somerset public to see the best women's cricketers in the world and to support the successful England team."
TOUR OF THE MONTH
This month’s special mention is to Lucy Ayres, winner of Jeremy’s 2008 Christmas Card Competition, who visited Parliament on 17 March. To book in your own group contact Jeremy’s Taunton office on 01823 337874.
IN THE COMMUNITY
Elsewhere in Taunton this month, Jeremy:
- attended Taunton Town FC v Beaconsfield, the Children’s Parliament at Shire Hall, the Big Breakfast for Cancer Research, and Taunton RFC v Walcot.
- presented the Eco Congregation Award at St George’s Church in Wilton, funding cheques to future sports stars at ASDA, and Somerset's Champions of Learning Awards 2009.
- spoke at the relaunch of Somerset Sight, and attended the relaunch of the Royal Oak in Hillcommon.
- met with Stop the Traffick campaigners at Temple Methodist Church, and Network Rail.
- visited King’s College, Bishop Henderson School, Taunton Chamber of Commerce, Bishop’s Lydeard School, and the Conquest riding centre.
- promoted the ‘No Cold Calling’ initiative with local police.
SPOKESPERSONS NEWS
Jeremy is the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, focusing on issues such as accountability in public spending, personal debt, taxation and affordable housing.
TACKLING THE RECESSION
TAX CREDITS
Jeremy has called on the Government to step up reform of HMRC administration processes so tax payers are not penalised by HMRC errors. He said;
“How confident is the Minister that the administration by HMRC of child tax credits and benefits is sufficiently robust to ensure good value for money?
“The figures show that overpayments resulted in some £1 billion in 2006-07. Just anecdotally, as a constituency MP, I think that I am being fair in saying—the figures back this up—that this is less of a problem than when I was first elected earlier in this Parliament, but it remains a problem nevertheless.”
Read the debate at; http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmgeneral/deleg5/090324/90324s01.htm
NATIONALISED BANKS
Jeremy has questioned whether the valuation process for nationalised banks accurately reflects their worth to the taxpayer. He commented;
“We seem to be in a position where a huge amount of public expense and endeavour is going into trying to provide an assessment of what an entity is worth because the market is no longer able to make that measurement itself.
“After all, these are nationalised institutions, and there are now other parts of the banking sector where the taxpayer has an enormous stake, yet there seems to be a feeling that the Government cannot exercise the degree of authority that matches the investment that the taxpayer has put into each institution.”
Read the debate at; http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmgeneral/deleg3/090323/90323s01.htm
INSURANCE PREMIUMS
Jeremy has probed the Government’s policy on exemptions from insurance premiums during a debate in the House of Commons. He said;
“When the insurance premium tax was introduced in the 1990s, I remember thinking that the motivation behind it was slightly strange. I understand that it closed a loophole, but the basic tax penalised some people additionally if their car was stolen or their house broken into. Did the Treasury consider the implications?”
Read the debate at; http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmgeneral/deleg1/090316/90316s01.htm
CORPORATION TAX
Jeremy has called on the Government to make the corporation tax system more accessible and understandable to those affected by it. He urged;
“We are unlikely ever to reach a situation where the corporation tax code, the rules and regulations, are easily understandable for the man and woman in the street.
“Nevertheless, it is helpful to have a system that is as simple as possible. That must be good for business at a time when it is seeking to minimise overheads.
“In legislative terms, it must be good that we do not have to employ, at great expense, huge numbers of people with great expertise, in both the public and private sector, to try to understand what the law means and how it applies to the companies affected. That is not productive endeavour. It is not a wealth-creating process.”
Read the debate at; http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090303/debtext/90303-0010.htm
PROTECTING SAVERS
Irresponsible banks should be paying more into the Government’s security scheme for depositors, Jeremy has said;
“The share the mutualised building societies are currently being asked to contribute [to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme] is unreasonable. The relevant calculation is surely not the overall share of the market for mutualised building societies compared with that for banks.
“Surely, the relevant consideration is the risk to funds of depositors in the building society sector compared with the risk to those in the banking sector. One does not need to calculate that risk in a particularly sophisticated way—although no doubt there is benefit in doing so—because the evidence is there for us all to see.
“Its logical conclusion is that because building societies are much lower risk, they should pay a much smaller proportion to cover against risk than higher-risk institutions. It would be an extraordinary irony if building societies were threatened because of the size of the levy on them to cover the risks taken by the banks that got us into these difficulties in the first place.”
Read the debate at; http://pubs1.tso.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090310/halltext/90310h0005.htm#09031096000002
Contact Jeremy at office@tauntonlibdems.org.uk , or write to him at: Masons House, Magdalene Street, Taunton, TA1 1SG
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