Response from my MP

I am grateful to my MP, Tom Pursglove, for his responses to my letters to him.  Last week I received a response to my recent letters to him about environmental protection post-Brexit, the lobbying act and fox hunting.

On fox hunting, we now know that this issue is unlikely to arise in this parliament but Mr Pursglove ducked the question of which way he would vote if it did ever come back to the House.  In the absence of any other information I’m going to assume that he would vote for  hunting with hounds to return.

I think the response on the lobbying act was the most interesting and Mr Pursglove has written to Greg Clark to raise my concerns with the Business, Energy and Innovation Secretary.  But my MP writes that,

‘In the last Parliament, Ministers listened carefully to the concerns raised during an exhaustive consultation with over 50 charities and organisations, and firm steps have already been taken to reassure smaller charities. The final Act was amended to address the concerns raised about the potential impact of the Bill and existing rules on non-party campaigning at elections.  These changes were welcomed by charities and other groups, including the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

Fundamental to the amendments was the raising of the registration rates to £20,000 for England and £10,000 in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This effectively exempts most campaigning groups and charities who are either small or undertake limited political campaigning from the requirement to register as a third party, and the associated reporting requirements that entails. Amendments were also made to relieve the reporting burdens for small charities.

I would also draw your attention to part one of the Act, which [provides for a statutory register of consultant lobbyists. This came into force last year, and has increased transparency by requiring those who lobby on behalf of a third party to publicly disclose the names of their clients. I hope this is of some reassurance to you.‘.

My MP seems to be trying to assure me that all is well and there is nothing to worry about here.   That doesn’t fit very well with the fact that 53 charities wrote to all parties just before the general election this year expressing their concern.  The Hodgson review’s recommendations have not been implemented, and weren’t mentioned in the Queen’s Speech, and will require legislation to be enacted.  the major recommendations are probably removing the ‘purpose’ test and reducing the regulated period from a year.

On Brexit, my MP is on the pro-Brexit side of the argument so we aren’t going to see eye to eye on this. I could have written his reply, part of which goes,

‘Following the vote to leave, Ministers will work with environmental organisations and the public to develop new policies. Leaving the EU means we can tailor them to the needs of our precious habitats and wildlife, instead of following a one size fits all approach for 28 different countries. Ministers are committed to seizing this opportunity as they work on an ambitious 25 Year Plan for the environment.‘.

The much-talked-about, much-promised and as yet unseen 25 Year Plan! I’ll wait to see what Mr Gove sends back to Mr Pursglove for me before commenting further.

Let me say again that I quite impressed by the speed and the detail with which Mr Pursglove replies (and he always adds a hand written note at the end which is a nice touch too).  I hope your MP is as assiduous in responding to you, but I may have an edge in writing this blog where my letters to Mr Pursglove are published and his replies are quoted and evaluated.

I’ll be writing back to Mr Pursglove soon and that letter will appear here, and I’ll also be writing about writing to your MP again.

 

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