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LETTER WRITING TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Ever since our inception PCG has maintained a culture of
writing letters to Members of Parliament. In the past those
letters have centred on IR35 and many extremely well written,
persuasive letters have been produced. So good were many
of those letters that Lord McIntosh, a Government Minister,
paid tribute to them in the House of Lords. during a debate
on the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill.
IR35 is still our principle target and members should lose
no opportunity of writing to their local Member of Parliament.
However today PCG is no longer a single-issue group. There
are a number of issues on which we are lobbying, and the
list will change as time goes on.
For a list of current issues, position papers and further
information see the campaigns
area.
Letter writing is an important tool and one that we should
continue to use. Sometimes, PCG will ask its members to
write to their MPs on a specific issue at a particular time.
But for effective lobbying in the long term we need to ensure
that MPs are continuously kept aware of the problems faced
by contracting businesses in their constituency. Your letters
will have more effect if you build up a dialogue with your
MP on a number of issues over a period of time.
The letters that have the most effect on an MP are those
where an individual constituent writes about a problem that
they are currently facing. That might be abuse of the work-permits
scheme, or IR35, or some other issue. The best time to write
is when each issue affects you personally.
For example:
"I should like to bring to your attention an example
of the abuse of the work permit system. Recently my client
has engaged an overseas worker. I am required to train that
worker so that when my contract comes to an end, he can
take my place. That worker was granted a work permit on
the premise that there was a shortage of WIDGET programmers
in the UK. Clearly there was no such shortage, since I remain
available, and the worker did not even have the required
skill. My belief is people like this are recruited because
they will work in the UK for well below the market place
price of a comparable UK worker."
Or
"I know that my business should be outside the scope
of IR35, but such is the threat, my business has been obliged
to commit funds for professional advice on my contract."
"The advice states that I am outside the scope, but I would
have rather spent that funding developing my business."
Or
"Because of IR35, I have just turned down a contract
that in previous years I would have accepted. My proposed
client did not wish me to be an employee but the wording
of the proposed contract was such that I would have been
at risk had I accepted it. This is yet another example of
the barriers, Government is building against small business"
PCG will not provide a standard letter; Members of Parliament
can recognise them at a mile. A letter written in your own
language, giving facts as they affect you will receive a
much more sympathetic response.
When writing to your Member of Parliament, please take
care to use the correct title, whether it is simply "John
Smith MP", or "The Rt Hon Jane Smith", or maybe "The Rt
Hon Sir Bufton Tufton KBE. If you are unsure, check.
To find who is your MP go to the MP
locator.
Send your letter to:-
The House of Commons,
London,
SW1A 0AA
Almost without exception, your MP will forward your letter
to the appropriate Minister. The Minister will reply to
your MP and it is likely to be a 'standard reply'. Your
MP will then write to you and forward the reply sent to
him/her by the Minister. Please do not take this as a sign
that your MP has no interest or is simply fobbing you off,
it is the system. However, your letter will be logged away
in the mind of your MP and could well be used in future
debates.
"The Minister will recall that I wrote to him and forwarded
a letter written by my constituent (Snodgrass). I am grateful
for the reply the Minister sent, but clearly his department
have taken little notice of the concerns expressed in that
letter. etc , etc, etc."
It is a well known fact, in parliamentary circles that,
if an MP receives six letters on any one subject they sit
up and take notice. If they receive twelve letters, (from
different constituents) they have an issue on their hands.
For advice on any particular issue, post your question
on the appropriate forum (usually Lobbying and External
Affairs). Your question may be answered by another member,
the director responsible, or one of PCGs advisors. In addition
please use the forum to float any letters of which you are
unsure. Our members have shown, time and time again that
they are willing to give help to anyone trying to further
our cause.
Finally, please remember to log your letters and the replies
on our MP database
so that we can keep track of the level of activity and the
reaction of individual MPs.
David Ramsden
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