Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, has written to the Chief Executive of Companies House, Gareth Jones, congratulating him on the way Companies House operates.

Mr Pickles said: “At a recent meeting with local business leaders the way Companies House operates was praised as being helpful to businesses, informative, efficient and cost effective.

“Far too often we only hear about Government agencies where things are going wrong so it was very pleasing to hear universal praise for Companies House which is why I have written to the

Registrar of Companies for England and Wales and Chief Executive of Companies House, Mr Gareth Jones, congratulating him and his staff for the work they are doing which is so appreciated by the business community.

“I have also written to The Minister responsible for Companies House, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade and Consumer Affairs, Gareth Thomas MP, so he is aware of the views of local businesses.

“Among the areas which businesses praised were:

·        The Companies House web site (www.companieshouse.gov.uk) which is always available at the advertised times, is easy to navigate and when completing forms on line provides forms already populated with information held on record so that only changes which have occurred need to be made.

·        The paper records issued by Companies House were already populated with the information held on record so only necessary changes needed to be made

·        Updated information provided is normally accessible through the web site within one working day.

·        Confirmation that changes have been received and implemented is issued within one working day of the records being amended.

·        The charges levied - £15 for an Annual Return for example – were seen as reasonable and realistic.

·        When emailing or telephoning with a query staff are helpful, polite and positive responding within the agreed time scale with a detailed answer to the query and inviting further questions in case more details are needed.

“It seems from the comments I received from businesses of all sizes that Companies House is getting it right and could well be a model for other Government agencies to adopt to impose their own customer service levels.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

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• Nicholas Watt
• The Guardian,
• Saturday May 3 2008

An unlikely figure presided over the celebrations at Conservative campaign headquarters as results poured in from around England and Wales in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Eric Pickles, the jovial and blunt-speaking shadow communities secretary, was in charge of collating the results to ensure the Tories put their best gloss on the night's events.

Seated at the "central pod" in Millbank Tower, Pickles authorised the release of key information such as the claim just after 1am that the Tories believed they had won 43% of the vote.

Pickles, 56, who came to the attention of Margaret Thatcher when he led the Tory group on Bradford council in the late 1980s in his native Yorkshire, is not a natural member of the Cameron circle. At the celebrations Pickles was one of the few people to wear a tie - with the top button fastened - and he wore his trademark braces.

He takes great pride in speaking his mind, as he did on the Today programme when he agreed with John Humphrys that the Tories needed to reveal more policies if they are seen to be a credible challenger for Downing Street.

But Pickles is seen as an indispensable member of the shadow cabinet after his work in the run-up to the elections and his efforts to improve the Tories' performance in the north of England.

He and fellow northerner William Hague bonded when news came through of three Tory wins in Rotherham, the shadow foreign secretary's birthplace. "I exchanged an emotional moment with William Hague," Pickles said.

Local business leaders have told Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, that the new rules on parental leave are a minefield for firms and cause major problems, specially for smaller businesses which employ few staff.

Mr Pickles said: “The new parental leave regulations allow for up to 52 weeks to be taken with a guarantee that they can return to the same job at the end of the leave period which totally ignores the fact that during the period of leave the needs of the individual business could well have changed.

“Parental leave is a right for parents to take time off work to look after a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. The Government’s aim is that parents can use it to spend more time with children and strike a better balance between their work and family commitments.

“Under the current regulations maternity and paternity leave have to be taken in solid blocks of time rather than allowing flexibility for a father to, for example, have one day a week off for 10 weeks rather than a block of two weeks paternity leave.

“I believe we need to see more flexibility in the way these rules are applied so that employers and individual employees have the opportunity to agree a pattern which best suits their joint needs rather than being forced in to the |Government’s strait jacket pattern which may not suit either party.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

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Eric Pickles is the new Tory pin-up boy

Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, has been briefed by business leaders from his constituency at a special Policy Briefing Breakfast meeting held this week.

Mr Pickles said: “The meeting brought together representatives from the recognised business organisations with members in Brentwood and Ongar including Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Brentwood Town Centre Partnership, Business Link East of England, the Institute of Directors and the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) so we had a good cross section of businesses represented.

“A key part of the discussion as how businesses in Brentwood and Ongar view the current economic climate and it was not an optimistic summary.

“All the business organisations reported that businesses were investing less in future growth and development which meant commercial property prices for sale or lease were reducing.

“Businesses were also reluctant to take on new staff as they were not sure of future orders or cash flow with some businesses not filling vacancies which occurred in their workforce and a small, but growing number reducing the number of staff they employed through redundancy schemes.

“Banks were tightening their attitude with business loan applications being rejected more frequently and overdraft limits being reduced.

“Retailers in the food sector were reporting customers buying lower value goods rather than premium products and increasingly using cash rather than credit or debit cards, both signs that people were worrying about their personal economic future and were reducing personal expenditure to provide themselves with a savings cushion in case it was needed.

“These are not good signs and reflect the way the Government is handling the economy, the lack of consistent policy implementation is causing uncertainty in the business community which is very wary about the future – something the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Alistair Darling needs to address so confidence can be restored.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

ENDS

Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, is to host one of his regular Policy Briefing Breakfasts on Friday 16 May 2008 when guests will be Youth Leaders operating within his constituency.

Mr Pickles said: “Policy Briefing Breakfasts are an excellent way to meet with key groups of community leaders in an informal, off the record setting where they can be open and frank about the issues facing them and share their ideas on how to resolve those issues.

 “The next Policy Briefing Breakfast is for Youth Leaders and I am looking forward to finding out more about the work that has been done in this area in recent months and the developments planned for the future.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

ENDS

As MPs vote on the Finance Bill which doubles the basic rate of tax for the low paid Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, has been told that forcing businesses to pay the compensation to the affected workers will lead to higher unemployment.

Mr Pickles said: “One of the ways the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Alistair Darling, bought off the Labour MPs, who tabled an amendment for the vote today because of their anger at the scrapping of the 10p tax band, was by promising that people in low paid employment would receive compensation for the extra tax they are now paying.

“One way he has suggested doing that is to increase the National Minimum Wage in October this year to a higher level than the £5.73 recommendation from the Low Pay Commission.

“Ignoring the fact that to do this the Government would have to over rule its own Low Pay Commission the fact is that the increase in the National Minimum Wage would have to be considerable to compensate for the extra tax being paid and, of course, every pound added to the Minimum Wage would itself be taxed.

“There is no system in place for backdating the Minimum Wage from its usual 01 October start date so it would still leave the low paid paying higher tax for six months from April until October.

“Clearly the Government has not thought this through at all yet the Labour MPs were persuaded by the argument.

“But the other factor that has not been taken into consideration is the fact that it is businesses that would pay the higher Minimum Wage not the Government. That would mean not just higher wage costs for the businesses concerned but they would end up paying higher National Insurance contributions to the Government too – both costs that have not been included in their budgets and business plans for this financial year.

“The information I am receiving from local businesses is that the end result will be higher unemployment as they would simply not be able to afford the extra staff costs and remain viable so staff would have to be released.

“The Government has made a complete mess of axing this 10p tax band and the people who are paying the price are the low paid who are working hard to provide for themselves and their families – spreading this burden of misery to the business community would simply reduce the number of employment opportunities for this vulnerable sector in our community.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

ENDS

Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, has given his support to the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) Keep Trade Local Campaign.

Mr Pickles said: “The FSB Keep Trade Local Campaign is one I strongly support as it is only through supporting today the independent retailers and the small businesses in our shopping centres that we will have them there to use in the future.

“The House of Commons All Party Shops Committee has predicted that by 2015 there will be no independent retailers left in the United Kingdom unless action is taken now - the FSB campaign is highlighting that concern and the impact it will have on local communities.

“The FSB’s concerns include the facts that:

·        2000 local shops are closing every year

·        By 2015 there will be no more independent retailers in the UK

·        This amounts to the closure of over 50,000 businesses

·        The average person now travels 893 miles a year to shop for food

“Often it is the independent shops that are at the heart of a community and I am particularly concerned for the future of the remaining shops that exist in our villages across Brentwood and Ongar as increasing costs reduce the profitability for suppliers to deliver to them.

“Using local shops so they remain viable is the best way to retain this important feature of our local communities.”

Chairman of the South West Essex Branch of the FSB, Mr David Miles, said: “The FSB welcomed the opportunity to brief Eric Pickles on our concerns regarding the future of independent retailers in his constituency and were pleased with his strong support for our campaign.

“As the campaign develops over the next few months we will be asking Eric to raise various issues in the House of Commons and with Ministers to get practical support for independent retailers so they can continue trading.

“One of the key ways to get the message across to Government is by signing the online petition at    Anyone can sign the petition today  http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/keeptradelocal/ and the more people who do sign the better!”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

The FSB represents more than 211,000 business people across the United Kingdom and is the largest single organisation representing business interests in the country.

The South West Essex Branch of the FSB represents the interest of small businesses in the following postcode areas - CM13 to CM16, SS17, RM1 to RM20, and IG1 to IG11 – which includes Brentwood, Epping Forest, Havering, Redbridge and Thurrock Councils.

More information is available from www.fsb.org.uk/essex

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With just a month to go for teaching staff to submit their resignation if they are to start a new school in September Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, has warned that attracting top quality teachers to Essex schools is proving difficult.

Mr Pickles said: “Local secondary schools tell me they are seeing around a 25 per cent turnover in teaching staff each year and that recruiting the right calibre of staff to local schools is proving increasingly difficult.

“The continuing high cost of living, especially of housing, makes Brentwood an unattractive place for relocation despite the good calibre of schools in the Borough and as school budgets are under very tight controls this year the opportunity to offer attractive relocation packages is severely restricted.

“Headteachers tell me that the overall quality of newly qualified teachers is lower than in previous years especially in key subjects of English, Mathematics and Science which make sit difficult to have in place suitably well qualified staff to deliver the Government’s target of every student achieving a two grade increase in those subjects between Key Stage Two and Key Stage Three.

“In common with schools across the country Brentwood schools are recruiting teachers from outside the United Kingdom to fill vacancies but even appointing Canadian, Australian and South African teachers where there is a similarity with our education system problems occur.

“Such teachers need additional training so they can deliver the current curriculum. Each one needs their own tailored programme of support and training which has a major unseen cost in terms of time from senior  teachers and departmental managers in schools. Often such teachers stay for just a year or two before returning to their own country and then the training process has to start all over again.

“These recruitment and retention problems are ones which Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Mr Ed Balls, seems to ignore but that is not the way to solve the problem and I will be challenging hi to address the issue for the benefit of our young people.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

ENDS

Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, officially opened the new Hutton Community Centre in Harrison Close, Hutton this weekend.

Mr Pickles said: “The new Hutton Community Centre has opened its doors thanks to the vision of Barry Bower and his team and the finance they have raised including £62,000 from Essex County Council which was brokered by Hutton County Councillor John Roberts.

“As I know from my frequent visits to the centre and my discussions with Barry the work has been hard and taken a long time but the end result is impressive giving the people of Hutton a community centre of which they can be proud.

 “Already it is being well used by people of all ages from the Little Monkees group, which starts with toddlers, through to senior citizens.

“During the opening we were very well entertained by members of the Kayzar Dance Group with some very impressive dance routines where young people from four years of age through to 17 were working together.

“The boxing teams then demonstrated the Boxfit routines they undertake before the Essex Rounds of the Junior Amateur Boxing Association Championship took place drawing entries from Boxing Clubs across the county including Canvey Island, Chadwell and Corringham and Southend-on-Sea.

“There is certainly no excuse now for any young person in Hutton to claim ‘there is nothing round here for us to do’ as the range of activities already on offer is wide and is set to expand and because e the design of the building the main hall is separate from he other rooms so other members of the community can use the facilities without intruding on the young people and their activities.

“I was very impressed by what I saw and the quality of work completed and wish all involved continuing success.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

ENDS

Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, will be holding one of his regular Advice Centres for constituents on Saturday 10 May 2008 from 9.30m to 12.30pm in Brentwood.

Appointments can be made by contacting his office at the House of Commons on 0207 219 4428.

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

ENDS

Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, has reminded rail passengers they have just a few days left to make their views known in an on line poll aimed at finding out if local residents would support removal of seats on trains to London to allow more passengers to travel..

Mr Pickles said: “Removing seats so more people can travel on commuter trains from Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone in to London Liverpool Street is one of the options being considered by the rail operating companies as they try to cope with the increased demand for their services.

“Running more trains is difficult as the existing lines are already used to full capacity and there is no possibility of adding extra tracks on this route due to physical constraints but is removing seats something that will meet with approval by passengers on these services?

“That is why I launched this on line poll recently which asks if residents would be willing to support the removal of seats from trains and as the deadline approaches for the results to be calculated I would encourage as many people as possible to log on to my web site at www.ericpickles.com to register their view on this important topic.”

The latest news from Brentwood and Ongar Member of Parliament, Mr Eric Pickles, can be found on his web page which can be accessed at www.ericpickles.com and people can respond to the latest electronic poll through that site.

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