Local firms in Redditch need helping hand to move out of recession
Karen urges practical steps to promote enterprise and new business

Karen added her voice to calls to help local firms and entrepreneurs in Redditch get up running and grow new business. More firms have gone bust during this recession than in any previous downturn. The latest Government figures show that in the last quarter, across our area 13 companies faced being wound up and 1289 people faced bankruptcy.

New Conservative proposals would:

•                End Labour’s practice of pushing thousands of businesses into bankruptcy over small amounts of unpaid taxes. Jobs would be saved and entrepreneurs would be given the support they deserve. The statutory threshold over which the Government can petition to make a business insolvent would be raised.

•                Boost social mobility by ending the unfair restrictions on people starting a business in social housing. Social tenants could become entrepreneurs, creating new jobs and opportunities. Measures to prevent noise and nuisance would remain in place.

•                Make it easier for people to set up new enterprises by cutting the time it takes to open a new business. Britain should become the fastest place in the world to start a business. Under Labour, it takes twice as long to start one in the UK as in the USA, Denmark or Hong Kong. The number of forms needed to register a new business will be cut, moving towards a ‘one-click’ registration model.

These changes come on top of Conservative plans to reduce small company corporation tax rates to 20p; to make small business rate relief automatic in England, saving small firms up to £1,260 per year; and to abolish tax on the jobs created by new businesses in the first two years of a Conservative Government.

Karen said:

“To move out of recession, local firms in Redditch need a strong helping hand to help create new jobs and expand their business. Conservatives will remove the obstacles in the way of new firms and stop the taxman kicking local firms when they’re down.

“But the message from Labour Ministers is ‘don’t start a business, don’t buy your home, don’t try and leave money to your children, don’t try and get on’.  They’ve made it so difficult to employ people, so difficult to start a business.  We can’t go on like this, and it’s time for change.

I am looking forward to Lord David Trimble meeting and listening to local business on friday when he visits Redditch and meets many of our local employers”

Don’t stop the music – village halls, churches and charities face new tax
Government to hit local voluntary groups across Redditch with new music charges

Churches, village halls, charity shops and sports clubs across Redditch face a new £20 million tax from Gordon Brown’s Government, Karen warned this week. In the small print of obscure new regulations, the Government is abolishing charities’ and voluntary groups’ long-standing exemption from music licensing rules – hitting them with unexpected new bills just for holding events with recorded music or for playing a radio.

To date, voluntary groups have not had to pay for a so-called “PPL” performance rights licence in order to play recorded music. This exemption reflects the public benefit that such organisations provide, but this is now being abolished by the Government.

This will affect church worship, charity discos, tea dances, youth clubs, dancing groups, sports clubs and even charity shops which have a radio in their staff room. The changes are being imposed by Peter Mandelson’s Whitehall empire. The new levy will come into effect in April 2010 once the new regulations are ratified by Parliament. Conservatives are opposing these changes and standing up for local voluntary groups.

The Government admits that the new levies will cost voluntary groups £20 million a year. Some organisations will “cease playing music” because they cannot afford a licence, and it will hit a quarter of a million organisations – 140,000 charities, 6,750 charity shops, 66,440 sports clubs, 4,000 community buildings, 5,000 rural halls and 45,000 religious buildings.

These new levies are on top of bureaucratic rules imposed by the Licensing Act 2003, which requires expensive ‘premises licences’ for village halls to hold regular small-scale social functions, and which has imposed new red tape to play unamplified live music.

Karen said:

“This is another Labour assault on the fabric of British community life. Having effectively shut down post offices and local pubs across Redditch, Labour’s Whitehall bureaucrats now have our village halls, scout huts, charity shops and churches in their sights. This is a heartless tax on community buildings and charities. The Government should think again and don’t stop the music.”

Time for a ‘Green Deal’ to help the environment and save you money
Conservative plans to improve home insulation and reward recycling

Karen Lumley this week gave her backing to bold Conservative plans to help Redditch   households protect the environment and save money. Major policy proposals for a Conservative government include giving rewards to householders for recycling their rubbish and also a ‘Green Deal’ of providing up to £6,500 for home insulation improvements at no upfront cost to residents.

Green Deal:
Under the plans, every household will have the right to have home energy efficiency work of up to £6,500. There will be no upfront cost, as the work will be paid for by the much larger savings on energy bills from the improved insulation. This will open up a whole new market in energy efficiency, create tens of thousands of skilled jobs and cut carbon emissions. It will also save families money and make Redditch homes warmer in winter – helping the elderly and ‘fuel poor’ in particular. A typical home could see £30 a month knocked off its final bill.

Rewards for recycling:
A Conservative government would also scrap Labour’s plans for new bin taxes on family homes. Labour Ministers have already changed the law so bin taxes can be imposed, despite the fact that they have been shown to increase fly-tipping and dangerous ‘backyard burning’. Conservatives would work with councils across the Redditch to promote schemes where good behaviour is rewarded, but families are not taxed or fined. Under the American ‘Recyclebank’ scheme now being piloted in Britain, households receive points for recycling; these are then converted into vouchers for local shops, including Marks & Spencer and Costcutter, or into donations to charities.  Households could earn up to £175 a year in vouchers.

Karen said:
“Gordon Brown hits people with taxes, fines and bans, rather than trusting people and encouraging social responsibility. Conservatives believe in incentives to help and reward people to do their bit to help the environment.

“The Green Deal of insulating people’s homes for no upfront cost and rewarding people for recycling will not only protect the environment, but also help families and pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet. These practical policies show how if you vote blue, Redditch will go green and save money.”

Call to protect Redditch’spensioners from Brown’s plans to scrap benefits
3080 people could lose their disability benefits across Redditch warns Karen

Karen Lumley this week voiced her opposition to Gordon Brown’s new plans to scrap disability benefits for the elderly in Redditch. The small print of Labour’s plans to create a National Care Service reveals they will scrap Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for pensioners to pay for it.

An average £3,400 a year will be snatched away from 2.4 million pensioners – equivalent to a quarter of the average pensioner’s income. In Redditch, this would affect 3080 pensioners –  2120 who receive Attendance Allowance, worth an average of £60 a week, and 960 who receive Disability Living Allowance, worth an average of £75 a week.

Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are based on need; they are not means tested and are intended to cover the extra costs arising from the impact the disability has on the life of the disabled person. The key feature of these benefits is that they can be spent by disabled people how they wish, without restrictions, to best support their individual care needs.

Karen said:
“Gordon Brown has chosen to penalise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society for the sake of another of his eye-catching announcements. As with every Labour initiative, someone has to pay and, as with many of them, it is once again those who are least able to afford it who are hit by Brown.

“These benefits provide vital support for disabled pensioners, giving them the chance to lead an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs.

“Of course, we need to do more to help people with their care costs, but it is completely wrong to do so at the expense of disabled pensioners. Conservatives will protect Redditch’s  pensioners and fight against Gordon Brown’s plan to scrap benefits for the disabled.”

Labour’s plans for post-election tax rises exposed, warns Karen
Labour Manifesto calls for barrage of new local taxes on residents in Redditch

Reddtich faces a barrage of hikes in local taxes under Labour plans, Karen, warned this week. A new Labour Party Manifesto for a ‘fourth term’ has outlined plans to introduce higher council tax bands, above inflation rises in businesses on local firms, bin taxes and anti-car taxes in towns and cities.

Council tax rebanding: This official Labour Manifesto for local government was published at the recent Labour Party conference. It calls for a council tax revaluation and higher council tax bands “to make it a more genuinely progressive tax”. Labour’s deputy leader, Harriet Harman, is already drawing up plans for council tax rebanding. The Government has changed the law to give Ministers powers to impose higher council tax banding – changes which were supported by the Liberal Democrats.

Council tax bills in Redditch have risen by 126% since 1997, taking the bill on a Band D home to £1463. A Government review has provided a blueprint for how council tax rebanding, and suggested a new ten-band system. More homes would be sucked into the higher bands, and the amount that higher bands pay would increase too. Council tax bills in Redditch could rocket to as much as £7799 a year under the new system.

Higher business rates: The Labour Manifesto calls for above inflation rises in rates for local firms, ending the explicit link between business rates and inflation.

Bin taxes: The Manifesto calls for more ‘bin bully’ policies, with “financial incentives and our regulatory powers” to “move away from dealing with residual waste in the black bin”.

Road pricing taxes: The Manifesto signals yet another tax assault on drivers, with the imposition of “road pricing” in urban areas, with no offsetting tax cuts elsewhere. It also signals the extension of workplace parking taxes, currently being trialled in Labour-run Nottingham.

Karen said:
“Labour’s new town hall Manifesto exposes Gordon Brown’s plans for massive hikes in local taxes on people in Reddtich. This is a tax bombshell primed to explode after the general election.

“Under Labour, new council tax bands will be used to punish families and pensioners who have saved and invested in their homes, with some bills hitting the 37k mark.

“Only Conservatives are opposing these tax-raising plans and standing up for struggling residents who are paying more and getting less under this Labour Government.”

Conservative candidates from across Worcestershire have called for the Cancer Care Network’s report on Head and Neck Cancer services to be made public.

Following news that the report by Professor Mike Richards has been sent to the Chair of the Network board, who is also the Chief Executive of Gloucestershire PCT, but not to the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, Conservatives, who have been campaigning to keep services at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital have called for the report to be made public.

In a joint statement Harriett Baldwin, PPC for West Worcestershire , Mark Garnier PPC for Wyre Forest, Karen Lumley, PPC for Redditch and Robin Walker, PPC for Worcester, said

“We are concerned about the possibility that Head and Neck surgery could be moved from Worcestershire and want to ensure that there is full public consultation in the event that any decision is taken to move it elsewhere.  We believe the expert report that might influence decisions on this should be made public as part of that process. We would continue to urge the 3 Counties Cancer Network to consider the merits of the Worcestershire bid and to take into account the potential stress and disruption that would be caused to patients from Worcestershire if they had to travel further for their treatment.”

Dinner at Morrisons

Butcher and cook your own!

Do it yourself dinner at Morrisons

Karen Lumley was recently invited by the directors at Morrisons to dinner and to discuss the issues that are facing them at present. It was a dinner with a difference as the master butcher from Morrisons Roy Craven was on hand to show guests just how meat at Morrisons is butchered!

A group including Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment Food and Rural affairs Nick Herbert and Jim Paice Shadow Minister for Agriculture were present for this unusual event where the side of beef was cut up and then cooked by all those present in a master chef class.

“It was a great event” said Karen. “Morrisons are a major employer in Redditch and to learn about the industry and how food is sourced by the company was interesting. I was delighted to find that Morrisons try and source as much food as possible locally and are very proud of the fact that they have farms which supply their stores all over the country.”

“Show us the money” – Karen Lumley demands Government opens its books

Local residents have a right to know the true level of public spending in Redditch

Karen Lumley the Tories spokesman in Redditch this week demanded Gordon Brown to stop dragging his feet over a new law which requires the Government to tell us how much taxpayers’ money is spent in Redditch and in every other part of the country. In Parliament on 28 October, Labour MPs  including Jacqui Smith actually voted against a motion calling for more openness on public spending across Redditch.

The new law, called the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, was introduced by a Conservative MP and passed by Parliament with wide cross-community support from local and national organisations. It could help fix Britain’s broken politics – by giving local people the power to decide how their cash is spent in their area, and requiring a regular breakdown of spending by central government departments and quangos in new ‘Local Spending Reports’.

More and more taxpayers’ money is being spent by unelected quangos. A new report published on 26 October by the Taxpayers’ Alliance has revealed that quangos now spend an astonishing £90 billion a year – equivalent to £3,640 a year for every household across the Redditch area.

But Labour Ministers have been trying to water down the new law. They initially only wanted to publish spending by councils and NHS Primary Care Trusts – facts already in the public domain. Further information will only be “developed over time”.

Conservatives are calling for greater openness and accountability, and are pledging to:
•    Use the Sustainable Communities Act to publish detailed Local Spending Reports including central government and quangos, and devolve more power to local communities.
•    Require Redditch council to publish online figures for all expenditure on goods and services over £500, as is already being piloted by Windsor and Maidenhead Council.

Karen said:
“It’s time for the Government to show us the money – and tell Redditch residents how much of their money is actually spent in our area.  Gordon Brown wants to stop local people finding out that they get a raw deal from his Government, and conceal that his unelected quangocrats spend almost £4,000 a year per household in Redditch with little or no say for local people.

“Local communities deserve a far greater say on how their money is spent. It’s time for change, and only Conservatives will open up the books and give power back to local people.”

The Territorial Army deserve our support for their century of service
Labour Ministers in retreat over plans to make massive cuts to TA training

Karen Lumley welcomed Labour’s latest U-turn – abandoning plans to make significant cuts to the Territorial Army.

On 15 October, the Government announced that weekly and monthly Territorial Army training would be cut by a massive £20 million – wiping out training for tens of thousands of Territorials. This £20 million was in addition to cuts of £23 million earlier in the current financial year. This represents a third of the Territorial Army’s annual budget. However, following pressure from Conservatives, the Labour Government has dropped the plans.

Since 2002, some 20,000 reservists have seen active service in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans, most of them from the TA. Fourteen Territorials have given their lives. Today some 550 Territorials are serving on the front-line in Afghanistan. Dozens more serve in the Balkans and other places across the globe. But the Labour Government has treated the TA shamefully.  In 1997 there were 57,000 members of the Territorial Army. Twelve years later numbers have fallen to 35,000.

Karen said:
“Through good times and bad, the Territorial Army has given this country a proud century of service. Thanks to Conservative pressure, Gordon Brown has been forced to abandon his damaging and ill-thought out plans to cut TA training. Common sense has prevailed.

“But Gordon Brown’s embarrassing U-turn cannot undo the damage to morale and trust. The TA plays an important role in our community and nation, and Conservatives will always stand up in support of their invaluable work and service.”

Housing benefit system is failing Redditch’s most vulnerable tenants
New call to reform the controversial Local Housing Allowance

Karen Lumley Tory spokesman for Redditch today issued a stark warning that Gordon Brown’s changes to housing benefit rules are harming the most vulnerable tenants and reducing the availability of affordable accommodation.

Last year, Labour Ministers introduced a new ‘Local Housing Allowance’, with housing benefit going directly to the tenant rather than to the landlord. But vulnerable tenants often struggle to manage their finances and spend their rent money on other things.  Homeless charity, Crisis, has warned that this can result in rent arrears and eventually homelessness.

Landlords who were previously happy to take on tenants on housing benefit have suffered from non-payment of rent. Many landlords now routinely refuse to let to Local Housing Allowance claimants. According to the National Landlords Assocation, half of all landlords are reluctant to lend to tenants on Local Housing Allowance.

1512 people in Redditch are on local housing waiting lists, and a sizeable proportion of them are on housing benefit. Housing waiting lists have risen by 4% per cent under this Labour Government – reflecting the shortage of affordable accommodation.

Conservatives have pledged to change Labour’s failed policy. Tenants will be able to choose whether to have their housing allowance paid direct to their landlord. This will increase the availability of quality low-cost housing.

Karen said:
“Labour’s new housing benefit rules are failing the most vulnerable in our society. Landlords are put off from renting to those on benefit, slashing the availability of decent places to live. Some tenants struggle to manage their finances, using up their benefit money by rent pay day. They get into arrears and trouble as a result.

“Tenants should have greater choice, and be free to specify that their housing benefit should go directly to the landlord. This will help those most in need.”