Hello and welcome to my November MPFree bulletin. As ever it’s been busy but with all the recent financial turmoil and this week’s pre-budget report this will be something of an economy special.

A little dry perhaps but this is an incredibly important issue that must be addressed in full.

The Economy

There have been two recent events in the constituency to which I would like to draw you attention. Firstly, Council Labour Leader Jeremy Birch and I held a public meeting on the economy earlier in the months. It was a great opportunity to see what local people are thinking and to outline our proposals for what should happen over the coming months.

Nationally the Government must continue to invest in public services and job creation. The UK is uniquely well placed to do that because our level of public debt, at 43% of earnings, is the lowest in the G7. France and Germany both stand at around 64%, the USA at 72%, Italy at 104% and Japan at a mind boggling 195% of earnings.

The prudent approach is therefore to borrow and maintain public spending thereby safeguarding jobs and supporting those who are least able to fend for themselves. There is a time for everything and now is the time to ensure the wheels of the economy keep turning. See more in the pre-budget report story below.

Pre-Budget Report

See my video explaining some of the detail by clicking here 

The 2008 PBR set out action to help families and businesses through the tough times caused by the global credit crunch. Money will be injected into the economy now to kick start recovery funded through increased borrowing.

I want to emphasise the fact the UK economy is well placed to borrow. Our public debt stands at 43% of GDP which compares favourably with France and Germany at 65%, the USA at 72% and Japan at a whopping 195%. The prudent approach is therefore to borrow and maintain public spending and given the worldwide forces hitting the UK economy I’m glad the chancellor has done just that.

I especially welcome the special payment to all pensioners of £50 on top of the Christmas bonus of £10. Families of disabled children will also receive this extra cash boost. All local families will benefit from the increase in Child Benefit which will start straight after Christmas. And the huge cut in VAT will provide a welcome boost to the economy locally.

Locally this means:

§        5,870 pensioners in Hastings and Rye benefit from a rise in the Pension Credit – up to £130, over and above the rise you would normally see (and rising to £198.45 for couples).

§        7,800 local families will benefit from a rise in the Child Tax Credit – the £25 increase in the Child Element is being brought forward

§        21,135 children in 11,825 families will gain from the rise in Child Benefit (now rising to £20 a week for the 1^st child, and to £13.20 a week for other children) – an increase the Government is bringing forward from April to January 2009.

§        The annual Christmas Bonus of £10 will be increased to £60 – a one-off seasonal payment going to 15 million people including 12.5m pensioners and recipients of Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Bereavement Benefit.

§        And 22,000 local people in Hastings and Rye will be receiving their Winter Fuel Payments at the moment – as announced at Budget 2008, an extra £100 on top of the regular £300 payment for over-80s households, and an extra £50 on top of the regular £200 payment for over-60s households.

‘Let’s Do Local Business’

Another event which recently took place this month was the ‘Let’s do Business’ conference, run by 1066 and their partners, to showcase the enormous wealth of opportunity that exists in dealing with local enterprise. 

I absolutely agree with that principle of ‘think local first’. A little forethought could avoid the flow of cash from the town, and that’s what I’m asking both public and private purchasers to consider.

The huge sums being invested by the Government in the college, link road, the new buildings at Lacuna Place and much else must be used to secure local jobs and business.

I have therefore contacted the police, health authority and other Government departments in town to ask that they audit their purchasing arrangements to ensure that everything possible is bought locally.

And as individuals we can do the same. Christmas shopping in Hastings presents great opportunities. Eating out in the town is good value and saves on fuel. We cannot buy everything in the town but when we can we should.

The Council also has a key role to play. I very much support the economic policies set out by Councillor Jeremy Birch. He has suggested the Council use the extra money provided by the Government, specifically to Hastings, to supply loans to struggling homeowners and to better fund debt advice services like the Credit Union. He has also recommended that loans be made available to the many well run local businesses which may struggle to access cash as banks themselves struggle for money.

These are sensible policies and I hope the Council listens.

Post Office Card Contract Renewed

The Post Office Card Account is used by over 4million people nationwide, 6,400 of whom are in Hastings and Rye. Because of European rules the Government had initially been forced to put the contract out to tender but in a bold move I support they have now ditched the tendering process and awarded the contract to the Post Office.

This is great news for local Post Offices. I wrote to the Prime Minister directly on this issue and have been in regular contact with Secretary of State James Purnell. I am delighted that the government has listened to what I have been saying on behalf of local people. I would like to thank everyone who has stood up for local post offices and made their voices known on this.

Stop the Pre-Payment Rip Off

Along with Parliamentary colleagues I want energy firms to stop overcharging millions of customers who use pre-payment meters for their gas and electricity. OFGEM recently highlighted the overcharging of millions of those on pre-payment meters.

 It is frequently the most vulnerable and least well off in society who have pre-payment meters. It’s a disgrace that companies charge these customers more for their power.

The Government has now made it clear to the big six utility companies that quick action is needed to sort this out.  If the companies don’t act, Ed Miliband, the Energy Minister, will bring forward legislation to prevent unfair pricing difficulties.  

International Parliamentarians for Nuclear Disarmament

In the 40^th year since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty I have joined with over 500 Parliamentarians from around the world to appeal for global nuclear disarmament.

Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) have published a declaration urging the establishment of a Nuclear Weapons Convention to kick start multilateral negotiations to prevent proliferation and achieve nuclear disarmament. Click here to see the full declaration.

“Last year I voted against renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system as I do not believe anyone should be enhancing their nuclear capacity. We should be working towards a nuke free future and I am delighted to see that over 500 parliamentarians from across the globe have already signed up to this declaration.

As a nuclear nation on the UN Security Council Britain has the capacity to lead the disarmament debate and I hope that is a mantel we can take on in the future.

Well that just about wraps it up for November but remember you can always keep up to date with what I’m doing by logging website www.michaelfoster.org.uk or get in touch with me by emailing mp@1066.net or calling 01424 460070.

With best wishes

Michael Foster DL MP