Peter Black's Park Homes Act

Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Peter Black saw his Private Members Bill to protect mobile home residents passed into law in Cardiff yesterday.

The new law will not apply to holiday sites - only to sites where people have permanent homes.

"Under the current law there is little protection for residents from unscrupulous park homes site owners, a minority of whom may exploit their position for personal gain," Mr Black said, "Many of Wales's 96 park homes sites are run well but there is little legal help when disputes arise.

"Problems can include poor site management and vetoing or deterring legitimate sales.

"My bill will stop this unfairness. Wales will have a new system that will protect people by bringing in fair, easy-to-use processes and clear rights for both residents and site owners."

'Fit and proper'

Mr Black said there would be a "fit and proper" persons test for site owners, and a licensing system to give home owners confidence that the site they live on is effectively managed.

There is more in BBC News.

Labour on VAT

Under-occupancy penalties

This afternoon, Federal Conference in Glasgow passed the following:

Conference accepts there is under-occupancy of social housing, and all tenants, including pensioners, should be encouraged to live in homes that meet their housing needs.

Conference is concerned that the Government’s extension of Labour’s policy of reducing housing benefit entitlements for private rented sector tenants considered to have spare bedrooms to the social housing sector is discriminating against the most vulnerable in society.

Conference also believes that:
I. The majority of rural and urban areas outside large cities such as London have insufficiently large, diverse and dynamic social housing markets to make moving into a smaller property locally a viable option
II. There is lack of appreciation of the housing requirements of children and adults with disabilities and care needs
III. Insufficient funds are allocated to Discretionary Housing Payment Funds of Local Authorities to meet demand and there is insufficient support for tenants to apply and to challenge decisions
IV. In many areas it is more important to free up family homes with three or more bedrooms than two bedroom homes.
V. The implementation of policy paper 104, Decent Homes for All (2012), should be a priority for
Government.

Conference welcomes:
i) Scottish Liberal Democrats passing a motion against the policy.
ii) Actions taken by councils to mitigate the harmful effects of this policy on the most vulnerable, including reducing the dangers of eviction caused by arrears.
iii) The work of many, including voluntary organisations, in supporting those applying for discretionary payments and highlighting the injustices caused by this policy.
iv) The changes successfully demanded by Liberal Democrats in Government to protect some of the
most vulnerable, including exempting foster carers and families of members of the Armed Forces.
v) The increase in the Discretionary Housing Payment fund from £60m in 2012/13 to £155m in 2013/14
vi) The success of the Liberal Democrats in Government in securing an additional £35m fund to help claimants affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy who need extra support - this funding consists of £5m for rural areas with very isolated communities, £10m for all local authorities and £20m as a bidding fund for local authorities who can demonstrate that they have or are developing a robust policy to distribute discretionary housing payments and who have an additional need for funding achieved by Liberal Democrats in Government.

Conference calls for further action by Government, including:
1. An immediate evaluation of the impact of the policy, establishing the extent to which larger homes are freed up, money saved, costs of implementation, the impact on vulnerable tenants, and the impact on the private rented sector.
2. A redrafting of clear housing needs guidelines in association with those representing vulnerable groups including the disabled, elderly and children that are responsive to local circumstances.
3. Acceptance that some Councils and Housing Associations have calculated rent by reference to bed spaces (not bedrooms) as some rooms can and should only house one person: this should be reflected in the DWP calculation of housing benefit.
4. A review of the amount allocated to Local Authorities for the Discretionary Housing Payment Fund and guidelines on the use of these funds and appeal processes.
5. The development of practical strategies to encourage pensioners to downsize where a single person or couple lives in a three or more bedroom home.
6. In the context of new guidelines an assessment of the current and future demand for social housing and the use of this at local level to facilitate planning to get the right homes in the right place.
7. Until any new guidelines are in place:
a) No withdrawal of housing benefit to those who are on the waiting list for social housing which fits the current guidelines within their local area.
b) No reduction in housing benefit from their projected housing need for those who, for a period of less than six months, temporarily have a smaller housing need due to a change in their circumstances, but whose need will predictably return to a higher level (e.g. whose children will pass the age limits for separate rooms within that period).


[as amended]

Autumn Conference

Federal Conference begins in Glasgow tomorrow. There will be coverage on BBC-Parliament, and on Liberal Democrat Voice which will provide background information and comment.

Peter Black AM will represent Swansea and the South Wales West region at conference.

Spare Room Subsidy

Mike German clears some of the myths on Liberal Democrat Voice:

Like many people reading the front page of the Guardian this morning, I was worried by the headline on the pronouncements by the UN special rapporteur on the removal of the spare room subsidy. But it is important to look behind the headline to see that these comments were based on a very brief visit from this adviser, who did not have the time for a detailed discussion with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand the policy. 

If she had done she would have been able to understand that this policy brings the rules for the social housing sector into line with those which Labour already introduced for private rented accommodation. Perhaps then she may have recognised that the policy is designed to tackle long council waiting lists and help those families stuck in overcrowded one bedroom flats – to find somewhere decent to live.

Most importantly, the rapporteur ignored the achievements of the Lib Dems in the coalition in arguing for extra Discretionary Housing Payments to ensure vulnerable people do not have to face extra costs. Because everyone’s situation is so different it is right that we have given local councils control over how this funding is best spent. We have also successfully argued for exemptions for groups such as foster carers. Finally, we have ensured that local authorities in particular need, can bid for extra funding over the course of this year. I will also be making sure that the Coalition sticks to its promise of monitoring the impact of this policy carefully over the coming months.

Sarah Teather MP to stand down at next general election

This is the text released to her constituents by the Brent (Greater London) constituency office:

In just over a week's time, I shall reach the tenth anniversary of my election to Parliament in the Brent East by-election. I took some time off this summer and found myself reflecting a great deal on the last ten years.

It has been an enormous privilege to serve as an MP in Brent. Indeed, for me personally, so much of the last decade has been both rich and surprising. I am not sure that I would ever have expected to be elected so young, and I certainly never expected that I would have had the opportunity to serve in Government.

The greatest privilege of my work both as a constituency MP and as a Minister has been the gift of being able to share in the private joys and struggles of so many people's lives - many different from one another and very different from my own. I shall always be inspired by the profound courage and dignity I have witnessed in people I have worked with, often in the face of the most extraordinary difficulties.

Of all my parliamentary work, the campaign I remain most proud of is the campaign to get my constituent released from Guantanamo Bay. I shall always count the moment my constituent walked back in through his own front door and picked up his five year-old daughter for the first time in her life as one of the most precious of my life.

In Government, the moment I count as my proudest is the one where I listened to Nick Clegg announce our intention to end the routine detention of children in the immigration system - something I worked hard to deliver, in what, at times, felt an almost insurmountable battle with the Home Office. I feel humbled too to have been able to play my part in delivering the pupil premium to schools and to extend free early education to two year olds, and perhaps the work dearest to my heart, that of reforming the system of support for children with special educational needs.

There have been so many rewards to this work -- too many to list here. But having taken the summer to reflect on the future, I feel now that at the General Election, the right time will be right for me to step aside. I wanted to explain why I have decided not to seek re-election in 2015.

I first joined the party almost exactly twenty years ago, during fresher's week at university. It was then -- and still is now - absolutely inconceivable that I could ever join any other political party. As with most party members, there have always been a few issues where I have disagreed with party policy. But over the last three years, what has been difficult is that policy has moved in some of the issues that ground my own personal sense of political vocation - that of working with and serving the most vulnerable members of society. I have disagreed with both Government and official party lines on a whole range of welfare and immigration policies, and those differences have been getting larger rather than smaller. Disagreements with the party on other areas of policy I have always felt could be managed, but these things are just core to my own sense of calling to politics. I have tried hard to balance my own desire to truthfully fight for what I believe on these issues with the very real loyalty and friendship I feel to party colleagues, but that has created intense pressure, and at times left me very tired. I don't think it is sustainable for me personally to continue to try and do that in the long term.

I want to reassure people in Brent that I shall continue to work very hard to represent them over the next 18 months until the next General Election. My constituency office will remain open five days a week, just as it has always been. I shall be out campaigning for the local elections with my local LibDem team over the forthcoming months and will campaign to get my Liberal Democrat successor elected to Parliament in the General Election. In Parliament I shall continue with my work as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and will carry on making the case for a fair and humane immigration system as Parliament considers a new immigration bill in the coming months.

I hope that I have been able to support and represent the people of Brent well as their MP, but I feel rich beyond measure to have been able to do this work here. I shall always count myself indebted to those who gave me this opportunity to serve - to the thousands of constituents who voted for me and to the many Liberal Democrat supporters and members who campaigned and walked the streets for me over three elections. I hope that, over the last 10 years, I have at least gone some way in repaying the faith that so many have shown in me.

LibDem Eastleigh promotes green growth

Keith House, leader of Liberal-Democrat-controlled Eastleigh Borough Council, writes of his council's commitment to green policies: "The evidence is that the market alone will not deliver change. It could need a nudge but, more likely, it requires a strong prod with financial inducement.

"Take energy. Eastleigh’s approach is to use policy to promote change. Hence the unusual practice of not charging planning application fees for renewable energy schemes."

Now there's an idea for councils in the Swansea Bay area.

Newly appointed peer will work for elected upper chamber

Former North Wales assembly member Christine Humphreys became the latest Welsh Lib Dem to be admitted last week. She told Vaughan Roderick on Sunday Supplement on BBC Radio Wales that she was delighted but still looked forward to the day when there would be a reformed House of Lords, which she didn't want to be named the House of Lords.

France strikes a small blow against global warming

Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat MEP, writes:

Readers of these NOTES may know of my long running battle to get Daimler, manufacturers of £70,000 Mercedes cars, to apply the EU law that I helped shape requiring car companies to start using air conditioning refrigerants in their new models with a global warming potential (gwp) less than 150 more than CO2.  At present most cars have refrigerants with a horrendous gwp 1.430 greater than CO2.

I hope the torrent of parliamentary questions (PQs) I have tabled, and exchanges I have had with European Commission officials, have encouraged them to enforce the law as firmly as they can, but I also know that the legal process is painfully slow - especially when a member state (Germany) is claiming that there are 'scientific' reasons for their objections.

But now the French have cut the Gordian knot.  While our UK (Tory) minister has decided to leave it all up to Brussels, the French have stepped in and simply banned the registration of new Mercedes vehicles.  So in France you can buy one of the non-compliant vehicles but you can't drive it on French roads.

Daimler sell 29,000 of the relevant cars in France each year so they have gone ballistic!  I thought the French government or the European Commission might bow to arm twisting by Germany, but last week the Commission came out with a declaration that in effect said that France was within its rights.

Vive la France!

Changes at Unlock Democracy

In a farewell email. Peter Facey has announced that he is moving to Australia. His current deputy, Alexandra Runswick will be taking over.

US trade deal

Chris Davies MEP writes:

The hard bit is yet to come

Last week agreement was reached to open negotiations with the aim of securing an EU - USA trade deal. Commanding one third of the world's entire trade it could bring important job-creating benefits to both sides of the pond. But the difficulty will be in agreeing common standards. For example:

Having introduced tough vehicle emissions standards for every car sold in the EU, will we now have to relax these to allow the import of US-made cars that don't meet them?

Will we have to accept the import of meat containing growth hormones - a standard practice in the USA but banned in the EU?

And what about the safety of the tens of thousands of chemicals used in every aspect of production? The EU has a regime that requires every manufacturer to demonstrate that their product will cause no harm when properly used. Are we to relax these standards and put human health and the environment at risk?

I imagine there are going to be some stormy debates ahead. Of course, it could be that the USA will simply sign up to our generally higher standards. And, then again, pigs could fly.

Council tax benefit mess

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-22608298

Liberal Democrat committee member Eluned Parrott accused Welsh Labour ministers of being "far more interested in a having a spat with the UK government than it was in actually helping the people of Wales".  

She added: "Rather than getting on with the job in hand, the then local government minister chose to enter into a game of tit for tat and point scoring with Westminster.  "He continually blamed the UK government for not producing figures he said he needed, but on closer examination we found that not only was this problem not encountered in Scotland and England, but the minister himself admitted that what happens in England was of 'little significance' to him."

Liberal Democrat achievements in government

Pre-conference events

Welsh Liberal Democrats hold their Spring Conference this weekend 20th & 21st April. On Friday, Cardiff Liberal Democrats will hold a pre-conference fund-raiser curry night at the Haveli restaurant on City Road at 8 pm.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be opening Conference, with speeches later on in the weekend also come from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander and Welsh Liberal Democrat party Leader Kirsty Williams.

Fewer obstacles for disabled candidates

Last year, Lynne Featherstone MP* launched the Access to Elected Office Strategy to provide additional support for disabled people seeking elected office. The Strategy is designed to level the playing field for potential disabled candidates and tackle the currently low levels of disabled people in political life. The Liberal Democrat HQ diversity team forms part of the stakeholder group for this initiative.  As part of this strategy, the Government has:

• Set up a new fund to help disabled people who plan to stand for elections with the extra disability-related costs. The fund will be open for applications until March 2014. It will help disabled candidates meet the additional costs they may face compared to a non-disabled person in standing for election, such as extra transport costs or sign language interpreters. Go to www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk for more details.

• Provided new training and development opportunities for people who are interesed in a political career; including launching an introductory online training course and paid internships on the Speaker's Parliamentary Placement scheme. Go on www.access-to-elected-office-training.org.uk for more details on the online training.      
  Go to www.socialmobility.org.uk/speakers-parliamentary-placements-scheme for more details on the Parliamentary Placement Scheme, which is open for applications until 30 July 2012.

• Produced new online guidance on reasonable adjustments to help political parties meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
  Go to http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/public-political-equality/disabled-access-guidance/ to access the guidance  

Please visit www.homeoffice.gov.uk/access-elected-office for more information about the strategy.

* Lynne is the Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green. She was Minister for Equalities at the Home Office until her translation to Overseas Development last September.

When will Labour give up the millionaire bandwagon?

Keep up-to-date with 2013 Spring Conference

On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | Live Twitter Stream | Contribute
On the official party website: Conference home

There is no live coverage on BBC-Parliament.

Neath Port Talbot among unhealthiest boroughs in England and Wales

Analysis of the 2011 census figures has revealed that of the ten local authority areas with the lowest levels of good health, five are in Wales and that Neath Port Talbot is one of these five.

Local Liberal Democrats say that this is a scandal. One sadly has to accept that where a person is born often dictates how healthy that person’s life will be, but more than 13 years of Labour rule in London and Wales has resulted in a more unequal society with a widening gap between the rich and poor. The disproportionate appearance of Welsh local authority figures in this dismal table points to failure by the people in Cardiff responsible for the nation's health since devolution.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams has affirmed: “The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that reducing health inequalities is a matter of fairness and social justice. We will continue to hold this failing Welsh Labour Government to account; for too long the people in South Wales have been allowed to be left behind.”

Peter Black AM's advice surgeries

Assembly Member for South Wales West Peter Black will hold advice surgeries in Port Talbot and Maesteg on Friday 1st February. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. he will be in Maesteg Library, and from 3.30 until 4.30 p.m. in Port Talbot library.

No appointment is necessary.

New Year honours

Congratulations to Welsh Liberal Democrats who appear in the New Year’s Honours list:

• Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and founder member of the former Social Democratic Party: CBE
• Rodney Berman, former leader of Cardiff council: OBE

There were also OBEs for Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, and Andrew Wiseman, one of the party's legal eagles, specialising in environmental law.

Fiona Hall, MEP for the North East and leader of Liberal Democrat MEPs, and Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly, are awarded MBEs.