Just last year I visited St Thomas’s Church in Brentwood town centre which had been seriously damaged by late night thieves audaciously driving a van up to the building and stripping rolls of lead from the roof. At the time the churchwardens told me the metal would have a scrap value of around £900, but will cost the church in the region of £8000 to bring in roofers to repair the damage.

Given the disruption and distress this criminal activity causes so many of my constituents, I am very supportive of the decision of the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to amend the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to prohibit the use of cash to pay for scrap metal and to significantly increase the penalties available to the court to punish unscrupulous scrap metal details.

I am aware prohibiting cash from an entire sector is a bold step but cash transactions for scrap metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or proof that the individual legitimately owns the goods being sold. Making these previously anonymous transactions traceable will dramatically improve the police and local authorities’ ability to enforce the current registration system.

Coupled with the metal theft taskforce the Government announced last November, I am confident this should have a significant and immediate impact on cutting metal theft across the country...and make the lives of commuters and vicars a little less stressful.

Councillor Nigel Clarke, one of three ward councillors for Brentwood West, had talked to me for some time about joining the Conservatives.  Nigel, who owns and runs a hairdressing salon in Crown Street, told me he was finding it increasingly difficult to work for the good of the residents of the ward as a member of the Liberal Democrat Group. After a lot of careful thought he realised his work to improve local services and facilities for both his residents and other local traders would be more effective if he joined the Conservative Group on Brentwood Borough Council.

I am, obviously, very pleased that Nigel has decided to join the Conservative Party and I look forward to him becoming a valued member of the team.

The busy Friday continued with a meeting at Brentwood Community Hospital with the Secretary of State for Health, the Rt. Hon. Andrew Lansley MP, who is a former Brentwood schoolboy. I invited my Cabinet colleague back to the town see the excellent work being done by Dr Andrew Hughes at the Haemotology Department at the hospital.

The visit was a great success; with Andrew expressing his admiration for the way the Haemotology clinic had been restructured with basic common sense in mind to make it run more efficiently for the patients who need to use it on a regular basis. The clinic now achieves better than national average results for both its outcomes and its cost effectiveness, and I was delighted to be able to bring this to the attention of the Health Secretary.

When the Coalition Government was formed almost two years ago, one of the first things which was set on track was the financial package for those affected. After many years of delays, I was delighted that within twenty months of the General Election I got my first email from a constituent saying he had received his first payment.

The Equitable Life Payment Scheme is now making high volumes of payments to policyholders. Thousands of policyholders will receive payment from the Scheme in the coming months, with more than ten thousand payments being made within the last week.

Mark Hoban, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, is aware the timetable of payments to With-Profist Annuitants is an area that concerns many constituents across the country. However payments to these people have started, and thousands have already received their first payment from the Scheme.

Eligible policyholders who have not received payment yet do not need to do anything – the Scheme has policyholders’ details from Equitable Life and the Prudential and will contact all eligible individual policyholders it can by June 2012 at the latest.

I have put a copy of the latest Frequently Asked Questions about Equitable Life on my website, www.ericpickles.com, which may be helpful to those who still have queries about the Payment Scheme.

A number of people, including some pub landlords and landladies, have written to me recently about their concerns about the business practices of large pub companies, and a backbench Parliamentary debate about the subject this week.

I have always believed the pub plays a crucial role in community life, both as a source of enterprise and as a vehicle for community action, and I am dismayed at the current rate of closure  in my constituency and further afield.

In spite of the recent reforms within the industry, the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee report into Pub Companies identified a number of longstanding problems which need to be addressed.

The Government is strongly committed to taking action to tackle these problems. I know the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has carefully considered both the Committee’s reports and the Office of Fair Trading’s enquiries, which concluded there was not a competition problem in the sector.

In light of this, the Government has decided a non-legislative approach will best serve consumers and protect the interests of tenant lessee landlords. This should bring certainty to the industry by avoiding a lengthy and unpredictable legislative timetable, unlocking investment in pubs and thus contributing to growth.

The package agreed with the industry will make the Industry Framework Code legally binding and allow lessees to pursue grievances through the courts, as well as through a new Arbitration Service. This will be modelled on and set up under the umbrella of the Pubs Independent Rent Review Scheme and should effectively act as the Code Adjudicator.

There will be a three-yearly reaccreditation process for company codes, supported by spot checks, to ensure that pub companies are genuinely compliant. The Industry Framework Code is also being strengthened on a range of important issues, including rent transparency, to address concerns about “Fully Repairing and Insuring” leases. I am confident this package will help protect lessees and help those family brewers who used a “traditional tenancy” model.

I really hope these measures will help so many popular and well used pubs stay open and be part of their communities for many years to come.

I always enjoy being invited into schools to talk about my work as a Member of Parliament, and was delighted to receive an invitation to come to St Peter’s School in South Weald to talk to a group of ‘gifted and talented’ children from five primary schools across Brentwood about debating in the House of Commons.

The children, whom I assumed were gifted and talented in the art of arguing and negotiating (as most primary school age children are...especially when it comes to pocket money and sweet rations) had prepared lists of questions for me to answer.

 Question Number One was “Do you like David Cameron?” which was an easy enough start. Yes, of course I do, I told them, he’s my boss! The children then asked if I always agreed with the Prime Minister. They were surprised when I said no, and I often argue with him. But I explained the concept of collective responsibility which means once a decision has been made by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet I back it wholeheartedly.

I was also pleased the children asked me about my favourite debate. This year has been a busy one for me in the House of Commons because I have, in my role as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, seen through the debates on the Localism Act which was signed into law last month by Her Majesty, The Queen.. I have been planning for years the contents of the Act, which marks the beginning of an historic shift of power from Whitehall to every community to take back control of their lives.

I left the children with my list of great Parliamentary debaters, which includes Michael Heseltine, Michael Foot, Michael Gove and Jack Straw, and my list of Do’s and Don’ts of Debating: don’t lie; do keep it short and sweet; do try to speak without a script; don’t be aggressive or personal.

I think the children enjoyed the hour I spent with them; I left them happily debating whether it was time for playtime yet!

After what has been an extraordinarily warm autumn, the winter chill has now descended and the first frosts of the season have lead to picturesque patterns on windows, and the early morning sound of car windscreen scraping.

For many the cold weather is a source of concern given the rising energy prices and the cost of keeping warm at home. I am aware fuel poverty  is a reality for many people in the Brentwood and Ongar constituency, and the Government is taking real action to tackle the causes, and not just the symptoms of this problem.

As part of the Autumn Statement the Treasury committed £200 million for a special time-limited 'introductory' offer to boost the early take up of the Green Deal, the Government's flagship energy efficiency programme. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), part of the Green Deal, will provide £1.3 billion each year for low income households and those in hard to heat properties. This year the Warm Front programme will help over 90,000 people with boiler repairs, new central heating systems and insulation work.

The Government is currently consulting on the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation and you are invited to submit your thoughts on the Department of Energy and Climate Change website at: www.decc.gov.uk.

In addition to this, the Warm Home Discount Scheme is supporting up to 2 million homes, including over 600,000 vulnerable pensioners, by providing a £120 discount on electricity bills. In contrast to the Winter Fuel Payment, this scheme is targeted specifically at the fuel poor and it has been estimated that over four years it will be worth up to £1.1 billion, two-thirds more than the voluntary scheme it replaces.

Spending on Winter Fuel Payments outlined by the last administration is being maintained and the cold weather payment has also been permanently increased £8.50 a week to £25 a week.

If you are affected by fuel poverty, or are aware of anyone who is struggling to heat their homes, more information may be found at www.directgov.uk.

The Government is committed to urgent and meaningful reform of the coroner system, to ensure inquests are timely, efficient and effective, and bereaved families are provided with the information and support they need throughout this terribly difficult and emotional process.

Over recent months the Government has listened to, and reflected on, the concerns raised across Parliament, by families and other groups including the Royal British Legion, that a single figure needs to be responsible for the coroner system. I am sure you will be pleased to hear that the Government has taken the decision to implement the Office of the Chief Coroner. 

Everyone is agreed that the priority is to raise the standards of coroners’ inquiries and inquests to ensure that bereaved families are satisfied with the whole process. That is why the Government is giving the Chief Coroner the range of powers envisaged under Part 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, including delivering immediate reforms such as facilitating easier movement of cases between coroner jurisdictions. The Chief Coroner will also be responsible for the direction of coroners, the monitoring of service personnel inquests, coroner training and an annual report laid before Parliament.

The Government is, however, repealing Section 40 of the Act – on inquest appeals – and it will retain the existing system of redress under which decisions could still be contested by way of judicial review or by application under the authority of the Attorney General to the High Court.  The extended appeals system was by far the most expensive element of the original Chief Coroner role proposal. This decision should therefore enable the Government us to meet the concerns of those who believe that such an appointment is needed to provide leadership for urgent coronial reforms, while remaining affordable to the taxpayer.

This month I have taken part in the Department of Communities and Local Government’s Social Action Week which aims to encourage people to help out local groups who need assistance, and to offer motivation to young people.

I spent a very happy couple of hours in the St Francis Hospice shop on Brentwood High Street, meeting volunteers and helping on the till. It too me back to my childhood days, whenI used to help my father in his shop. I certainly feel very comfortable standing behind a counter surveying the displays of goods and counting out change!

I also visited Brentwood County High School to talk to a group of Year seven children and sixth formers about how individual acts of defiance against evil can make a difference.

The night before my visit I had been in London with the Slovakian Prime Minister and Sir Nicholas Winton who, in 1938, organised the evacuation of six hundred and sixty nine Jewish children from the then Czechoslovakia just before the outbreak of the second World War.

Sir Nicholas had no money, no structure, no contacts; he just did it because he saw these children had no other chance of a future. Human beings are capable of enormous cruelty, cynicism, deception and neglect, but are also capable of intense acts of kindness, forgiveness and redemption.

I told the children that what Sir Nicholas Winton did in 1938 showed how individual actions of defiance against evil can make a difference. I hope they never come across such evil as seen during the Holocaust, but will have the confidence to stand up for what they believe and make a difference in the future.

The rise in energy prices in recent months is very frustrating, and I recognise that changing supplier is not as quick or simple as it should be. Let me assure you that the Government is determined to get tough with the 'big six' energy companies to ensure effective competition and drive down prices.

In October Ofgem published a series of radical proposals to reform the energy market. Under these new measures, customers wanting a no frills tariff will get a simple unit price and a fixed standing charge set by Ofgem, whilst customers seeking more innovative tariffs will be provided with protection against price increases for the duration of their deal. This will allow consumers to compare standard and more innovative tariffs, giving them a much clearer choice than the 400 tariffs currently available. Suppliers will also be under a new obligation to speed up their switching processes with a new 'Consumer Checklist' which will clarify consumer rights and what they should expect from their supplier.

This week, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, met with representatives from industry, consumer groups and Ofgem for an energy summit to focus on getting people the help they need to reduce their bills in time for this winter. In addition to this, the Government is cutting red tape for small energy suppliers to help increase competition in the energy market and keep prices down. Proposals for reforming the electricity wholesale market are expected in December.

However, the uncomfortable truth is that consumers are being hit by rising and unpredictable global fossil fuel prices. The largest component of bills, around half, is the wholesale energy price, so to tackle rising energy bills we must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The Government's electricity market reform proposals will deliver the best deal for consumers because it will deliver investment in clean energy sources, whilst also creating new jobs and expertise in the UK workforce.

My busiest year was when I was Chairman of the Conservative party, and was expected to make an appearance at as many events as possible, as well as hosting much of the Conference from the main stage. As a member of the Cabinet, I am still extremely busy, but can leave the karaoke singalongs and late night discos to my successor as Chairman.

On Monday I addressed Conference as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. I was pleased to tell delegates that the Government is to pursue rigorous cost savings and transparency measures to deliver better value for hard-pressed British taxpayers.

This includes clamping down on trades union 'pilgrims', who are full time, taxpayer funded, union officials in local and central government. They cost over two hundred and fifty million pounds a year, and that’s not something the taxpayer should be funding. If unions want to raise money for Labour they can do it in their own time, not on the rates. I promised Conference we are going to call time on this last closed shop.

I also told delegates the Government is going to clamp down on the abuse of government credit cards, and opening their spending up to public scrutiny.  I believe transparency will help councils save billions through better procurement, joined up working, and driving out waste.

I was delighted to be invited to attend the dedication of the newly refurbished organ at St Thomas’s Church recently. More than a hundred and forty thousand pounds has been spent on overhauling this magnificent instrument, not only to replace worn and broken parts, but also to bring the organ to modern concert pitch. For some years it has been virtually impossible to stage concerts involving both the organ and other instruments, because the organ’s pitch was so sharp . However, the refurbishment work will enable this musically inclined church to use the organ in more concerts and recitals with orchestras which I look forward to attending in the future.

While out and about on visits in the constituency last week, I was fortunate enough to be able to take a short wander around the Kings Inn in Ongar which is currently being refurbished after many years of lying empty and virtually derelict. I remember attending functions at this former coaching inn when I first became Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar, so it was fascinating to see the old building coming to life again under the eye of Terence O’Mahoney, who’s working with English Heritage to ensure all work if carried out to a suitable standard to enable the inn to function again, while preserving its lengthy history.

The building work has been made more challenging by the building’s Grade 2 listing, but the aura of history is evident throughout; from the huge fireplaces and beams in the bar and outbuildings to the mysterious painting of a Jacobean figure peering out from the woodchip wallpaper above an upstairs door. I hope to be able to visit again when the work is completed, and believe this refurbishment will bring many visitors to Ongar in coming years.

Frontline is behind the Crown Cafe which is based in Sawyers Church, and which employs people with a learning disability who service the community in the Olive Branch lunch club, the Lite Bite Cafe and Colours coffee shop. Frontline manager, Mary Hill, told me these ventures not only provide those who need a bit of support in their lives with employment opportunities, but also offer a place to go for those who may otherwise be excluded, for financial or physical reasons, from visiting other coffee shops in Brentwood.

The work done by Mary Hill and the Frontline team is of particular interest to me because it reflects exactly the thoughts behind the Big Society. In our communities there are individuals, businesses and charities that are better placed to deal with our country’s problems than government. The Big Society ideal is give people the ability to find solutions to the problems we face by helping government provide better, more localised and innovative public services more efficiently.

I was particularly impressed by Mary’s community “speed-dating” ideas. Having realised there are all kinds of people, organisations and agencies working on similar projects to include the excluded and help those finding it difficult to help themselves, Frontline organises a monthly Community Links Forum where all those people pair up and have two minutes to talk to each other about what they do. It’s a low-tech approach...the two minutes are measured on a kitchen timer...but it means all kinds of links are made, bonds are forged and work is done.

One of the Big Society strands is the recognition of the need for community empowerment allowing people to be in charge of their own destiny, and feel that if they club together and get involved they can shape the world around them. I was proud to find this being done so effectively in my own constituency, and look forward to attending one of the sessions later this year.

I was very impressed by the array of top level GCSE and A Level marks attained by so many pupils, and offer my sincere congratulations to all those too, and passed the exams with flying colours. A special nod too to the teachers whose hard work and dedication throughout the school year was reflected in the level of success.

I too started a new ‘term’ this week after a busy Recess which saw Parliament recalled for statements and debates following the disturbances in our cities last month. Although Parliament was not sitting for most of the summer period, I was in my office at the Department for Communities and Local Government for at least part of each week to work on not only policy making but also the issues which arose from the disturbances.

One of the policies on which my departmental colleague, Housing Minister the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps MP, has been working on is the possibility of removing council tenancy from those involved in rioting. Landlords already have powers of eviction where tenants or their children commit anti-social and criminal acts in the vicinity of their home. I am however aware that where a tenant commits a crime in someone else’s community, these powers of eviction do not apply.

The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen those powers so that landlords will be able to move decisively and quickly to evict anti-social tenants in cases of serious and persistent anti-social behaviour. Ministers now propose to make the necessary changes to legislation so that landlords will have the power to evict tenants who engage in serious anti-social behaviour or criminal activity such as rioting beyond the local neighbourhood. The Government intends to consult on this proposal immediately as part of the ongoing consultation on anti-social behaviour.

For many the prospect of a rise in the level of tuition fees in future years is worrying, and I welcome the Government’s efforts to widen participation and its commitment to ensuring universities become more student-focused. Universities have demonstrated that they will increase their efforts to attract students from low income backgrounds through scholarships, fee waivers and summer schools. As a result of the combination of university and Government support, the majority of students will not be paying the maximum £9,000 tuition fee.

We are very fortunate our university sector compares very well to those in other countries, particularly on the quality of research. The new higher education white paper, ‘Students at the Heart of the System, seeks to build on these strengths to ensure that higher education institutions become more accountable to their students and so that there as much focus on the quality of the student experience, particularly teaching, as on research.

I expect the reforms to lead to a more diverse sector, with institutions, including alternative providers like further education colleges and new entrants, working hard to attract students alongside more traditional institutions. As student choice becomes more meaningful, all institutions will need to prove they are offering a good-quality education.

One of the Government’s key recommendations is that the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) should become more risk-based so that it is as effective as possible in maintaining, protecting and improving the quality of higher education.

The Government is currently consulting on the proposals and hope to come forward with legislation in the 2012/13 session of Parliament.

The Government will be monitoring access agreements annually to ensure that the drive for increased social mobility does not stall. This represents a move away from the current system and demonstrates a commitment from this Government that it is serious about higher education participation.

The stealing, looting, attacks and appalling is criminality, pure and simple. It has to be confronted and defeated. I was glad that Parliament was recalled for a day and I returned to Parliament myself for a number of meetings prior to the Commons statement and debate. I was pleased the House came together in condemnation of these crimes and stood together in its determination to rebuild these communities.

Policing by consent is the British way but the police retain the confidence of the wider community only if they are seen to take robust action in the face of open criminality. I am pleased that the Government is fully supporting the police and has announced that water cannon will be available to the police at 24 hours notice if they need them. The Government is also going to give the police the discretion to remove face coverings under any circumstances where there is reasonable suspicion that they are related to criminal activity.

Several of the letters I have received since the disturbances took place have referred to reduction in the police budgets. The cash reduction the Government is looking at over the next four years is projected to be 6 per cent. This is absolutely achievable without any reductions in visible policing and a number of chief constables have made that point. Astonishingly, currently only 11 per cent of police are visible and available to the public at any one time. Addressing this, together with the bureaucracy that too often hampers the fight against crime will lead to greater efficiency enabling police to reduce their budgets without affecting visibility.

I believe responsibility for crime always lies with the criminal. But crime has a context and the Prime Minister is right when he says that a major problem in our society is children growing up without knowing the difference between right and wrong and a culture that glorifies violence. We need more discipline in our schools, action to deal with the most disruptive families and a criminal justice system that scores a clear, heavy line between right and wrong.

We have a robust set of measures to tackle cattle to cattle transmission.  However, to stop it spreading, we need to address the issue of badgers passing the disease to cattle.

There are serious practical difficulties with the badger vaccine injection, and it is not a realistic option for dealing with the problem short term.  Developing a cattle vaccine and an oral badger vaccine remain a priority but cannot predict when these vaccines might be available.

Unless we tackle each and every transmission route, we are very likely to see the situation deteriorate.

The consultation responses show that people are particularly concerned about the extent to which culling would be effective in reducing TB in cattle and whether it would be humane. Therefore, a number of changes have been made to the proposed policy.

The number of licences issued would be limited to a maximum of 10 per year, and would require any culling in an area to be completed within a six week period. 

Licences would be granted only to areas of high TB incidence to farmers and landowners who would meet the cost of culling and/or vaccinating badgers at their own expense. Controlled culling would be delivered by trained operators who meet strict criteria set out by Natural England, the licensing authority. It would be closely monitored by the Government, and operate in a similar fashion to the methods currently used for the population control of other species such as foxes and deer.

Proposed policy is based on evidence from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial.  Scientists agree that if culling is conducted in-line with the strict criteria identified we could reduce TB in cattle over a 150 km² area, plus a 2 km surrounding ring, by an average of 16 per cent over nine years.  There is no country in the world that has successfully controlled TB in cattle without addressing its presence in the wildlife population.

I welcome the news that News Corporation has withdrawn its bid for BSkyB, the continuing police investigation and the announced independent inquiry.

This inquiry will get to the bottom of what has happened here and look at the wider issue of cross-media ownership. There are two parts to this work. First: a full investigation into wrongdoing in the press and the police, including the failure of the first police investigation. Second: a review of regulation of the press. I know that the Government would like to get on with both these elements as quickly as possible, whilst being mindful of the ongoing criminal investigations.

I know my colleagues are consulting the Cabinet Secretary on an amendment to the Ministerial Code to require Ministers to record all meetings with newspaper and other media proprietors, senior editors and executives – regardless of the nature of the meeting. Permanent Secretaries and Ministerial Special Advisers will also be required to record such meetings. Alongside the other steps the Government is taking, this will help make the UK government one of the most transparent in the world. I also know the Prime Minister has published meetings with media editors, proprietors and senior executives to bring complete transparency to the relationship between government ministers and the media.

I believe the public wants Parliament to work together to sort these problems out. Until it has done so, it will not be possible to give full and proper consideration to the real challenges facing the UK: creating jobs, helping with the cost of living, protecting the country from terrorism, restoring fairness to our immigration and welfare systems and getting the economy properly back on track.

I also met the new Chief Executive of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust, Averil Dongworth, who arrived at the Trust in February. Far too much of my constituency casework over the years  has involved complaints about this Trust. However, in recent months it seems things have started to improve, and Ms Dongworth tells me she has overseen changes to the management of teams, so departments work more efficiently. A and E has been an area of previous concern, but is being turned around with staff and patients feeling far happier. The Trust is currently undergoing a two month Care Quality Commission inspection, so I will meet Ms Dongworth again later in the year to find out how the Trust has fared.

I was delighted to be invited to meet the children of Years 3,4 and 5 at Warley Primary School this week, who have been working on a project to promote Brentwood as a tourist attraction. They’ve come up with some brilliant ideas, from “Blooming Brentwood” to a zoo in the school to an arts festival with floats and fabulous costumes. I was particularly impressed by the proud boast about Brentwood’s rail services which, in the words of the children, “take you to London, Shenfield, Basildon and Pizza Express which is only five minutes away.” We somehow got round to talking about the Black Death, which decimated the population of this area, and I also chatted about the amount of fighting and bloodshed there has been in Brentwood’s history. They were charming children, and I hope some of their ideas can become reality in the future. Maybe not the zoo in a school though.

The teams are going to extend and build upon the success of the Pilgrims Hatch partnership which offers monthly drop in sessions for young people and works to improve the environment of the area.

The Community Action Teams will provide training for 50 volunteers to obtain an Open College Network accreditation in Environmental Issues and Problem Solving. These volunteers will then form local neighbourhood action teams and become the eyes and ears for the local community. They will also decide what the priorities will be for their local neighbourhood in deciding how to deal with issues such as litter, abandoned vehicles, overgrown bushes and anti social behaviour.

I am aware there have been problems of anti social behaviour for some time in some of the villages surrounding Brentwood. Unfortunately the unacceptable behaviour of just a few can make life very miserable for many, and I welcome any additional effort to tackle this type of behaviour at grass roots level. I know the Police Neighbourhood Action Panels and Neighbourhood Watch are already very involved in tackling anti social behaviour, but extra support is always a bonus.

I understand the scheme will create new and long lasting partnerships with the local communities whilst improving the sense of community, residents’ wellbeing and respect for where they live.  It’s also an excellent chance for local people to take part in a truly local project, learn new skills and develop their own talents, and help everyone have a voice in their community.

Cheques have been a widely accepted payment method for a very long time. Already a decision has been made by the independent Payments Council to end the cheques guarantee card scheme by the end of this month. The Payments Council carried out a consultation before making the decision and cheques will still be accepted by many businesses. It also says that debit cards are a widely available and more frequently used alternative to the cheque guarantee scheme.

The Payments Council is responsible for setting the strategy for payments in the UK and is independent of Government. It has provisionally decided to set a target date for closing the Cheque and Credit Clearing System (the system that settles accounts between banks) by 31 October 2018. It will not, however, take a final decision until 2016.

The Council has given assurances that it will not proceed unless new forms of payment are widely available, accessible to all and already in use by 2016, when progress will be reviewed. In the meantime, it will meet with charities and businesses to discuss alternative forms of payment which it believes can meet the needs of cheque users.

The Treasury Select Committee launched an inquiry in February 2010 into the decision to phase out cheques. The Select Committee was not convinced that cheques were in ‘terminal decline’ and asked the Council to conduct further cost-benefit analysis. In April 2011 the Committee announced it is to reopen the inquiry following continuing public concern over the issue.

I believe suitable alternatives must be in place for all users of cheques before the system can be phased out. This is particularly important for those who are dependent on cheques – such as the elderly, small businesses and charities.