Locally the Conservatives look as though they are building up to another smear campaign. No surprise there then. This time by insinuating that our hardworking MP Don Foster has not been influential in amending and creating law in Parliament.

This follows claims in 2007 election that we were planning fortnightly waste collection – we were not and more recently that we are planning bin taxes – we are not and anyway its the Conservatives in charge. And talking of waste the facts are that since the Tories have been in charge they took away a cardboard collection for the city centre traders, delayed the implementation of same day waste collection by two years and have kicked food waste collection into the long grass.

Dons reply

Dear Mr xxxx,

 

Thank you for your letter of 6^th April.

 

I can assure you that I have not misled voters by the claims that I have written and amended hundreds of laws during my time as an MP since 1992.

 

You mention the “Road Traffic reduction Act” but to that can be added the work I did, for example, to make the iTrip legal in this country. (“However, OFCOM agreed to change the “ridiculous” law after a lobbying campaign led by the Liberal Democrat MP, Don Foster which should end the black market.” Evening Standard, 7^th December 2006).

 

Equally, you can add my success in changing the law in respect of civil weddings. (“Moves to relax the rules followed pressure from the LibDem culture Spokesman, Don Foster.” Guardian 21^st June 2005)

 

The majority of successes, however, have come through amendments to Bills.

 

As you will appreciate, during the passage of a Bill through parliament there are opportunities for proposed amendments to be debated and voted upon during both the “Committee” and “Report” stages. A surprising number of amendments come from the government and these are drafted by officials and their legal advisers. Other MPs are required to draft their own amendments, although they frequently obtain advice on wording from a variety of lobby groups and from the committee clerks.

 

During my time in parliament I have proposed numerous amendments to the Bill Committees on which I have served. The majority, of course, did not get the support of the government of the day either were lost on a vote or were withdrawn by me after I received assurances in respect of the points raised.

 

However, many were successful. In some such cases the amendments were accepted as written such as ones that allowed local authority data to be used in identifying people who will benefit from the “Targeted Help Scheme” for digital switchover.

 

In respect of particular benefits to Bath, you may be aware of the amendments I made to Transport Act 2000 which have allowed us, eventually, to take more active steps to control open top tour buses in the city.

 

More frequently, Ministers have agreed to the points I have made but asked me to withdraw the amendment so that they can have the wording checked by lawyers and then re-presented at a later stage or for action to be taken along the lines I have proposed.

 

The following exchange, also from the Transport Act 2000, illustrates such a move;

Keith Hill; “Speaking of cheerfulness brings me to the hon. Member for Bath. He has played a prominent and notable role in our proceedings and never more so than on the issue of tourist buses. I suspect that when he dies, which I hope will not be for many years to come, the phrase “tourist buses” will be found engraved on his heart. He has worked extremely hard to ensure that the topic is brought to our attention.

There is also the question of the fuel duty rebate, a matter of considerable concern to the hon. Gentleman. As he knows—quite possibly better than I do—fuel duty rebate is paid only on certain conditions. He also knows that my officials have recently been making checks in Bath to see whether those conditions are being met by tourist buses. We are looking at the results with our lawyers and if we conclude, as we suspect we may, that not all the conditions are being met, we will take action. I undertake to keep the hon. Member in touch with developments.

I go further than that. I also undertake to review the fuel duty rebate conditions to see whether they meet today’s circumstances, as they should. We may want to make changes. I make no promises as a review must be approached with an open mind, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that it is as a result of his representations in this Committee that I have felt prompted to carry out this review. I hope that, in that knowledge and with that assurance, he will feel able to withdraw the amendment.”

A further example relates to legislation on the Olympics and Paralympics 2012 when I proposed that there even be a change to the title of the Bill to reflect the importance of the Paralympics.

The Minister’s reply shows, again, the process of withdrawal and re-introduction.

The Minister for Sport and Tourism (Mr. Richard Caborn):

On amendment No. 64 and the sentiments expressed by the hon. Gentleman, one of the things that we put very forcefully in our bid was that the Paralympics were coming home, because 1948, when the Olympics took place in London, was, many say, the origin of the Paralympics. I therefore agree in principle with what the hon. Gentleman said. If he withdraws the amendment, I will ensure that it comes back on Report. The lawyers want to look at it, as always, but I am sure that we will not deviate from the words in the amendment. With that assurance, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw it. We will bring it back on Report.

The Act that subsequently followed does have the wording I proposed.

 

1.       London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006
Added ‘and Paralympic’ to short title

 

During the debate on this particular Bill I was also able to ensure a number of other changes most notably in respect of the way in which people who were deemed to have made inappropriate use of the Olympic words and symbols were to be treated. In brief, the proposed law would have made such people guilty unless they could prove they were innocent. I persuaded the government to change it to retain the normal approach of innocent until proved guilty.

 

Yet another example comes from the National Lottery Act 2006 where the exchange from Hansard illustrates the point.

Mr. Foster: In view of those clear assurances, will the Minister explain why in relation to another member being appointed to the commission, there is specific reference in the Bill to

“on the recommendation of the Commission”,

but in relation to the chief executive being appointed, there is no reference to that recommendation? Will the Minister, for example, be willing to table his own amendment to make matters clear?

Mr. Caborn: Yes, I shall consider the point that the hon. Gentleman has raised so there is no misinterpretation of the provision. I have given him a clear assurance, and I shall ask my officials to revisit the provision.

 

The change was made.

 

Finally, I will add that there are a number of issues that I have raised which may, or may not, lead to changes in the future. One example relates to the issue of gambling websites that are allowed to advertise within the UK because they are regulated in jurisdictions outside the UK but which the UK “recognises”. Such jurisdictions are called “white-listed” countries. The following extract from a letter dated 7^th April this year shows how concerns I have raised are being looked at and may (I am confident will) lead to changes.

 

“I also note your concerns in respect of recouping the costs of assessing “whitelist” applications. As I said during the debate, I accept that there may be more that we can do through the white listing process, and beyond, to realise greater benefits for the UK from overseas operators. I undertook during the debate to reflect on the issues that the committee raised and I will ensure that we consider these fully before initiating a further “white listing” process. I will report back to parliament before adding any further jurisdictions to the “white list”. (signed Gerry Sutcliffe MP)

 

I hope that this gives you a flavour of what I have been able to do. However, I hope that you will appreciate that my time is better spent trying to help people rather than researching the archives to compile a detailed list of all of my achievements.

 

Again, many thanks for writing.

 

Best wishes,

 

 

Don Foster MP