The Labour Government has said that it intends to change the current minimum wage rules on tipping so that in the future, tips will be added to the Minimum Wage.

A consultation starts this week to listen to views on exactly how this will work on the ground.

Andy Reed MP said

"This is a matter of fairness and common sense. When you go to a restaurant or to have a hair cut and leave a tip, you expect it to go to the staff on top of their pay, not to be put through the payroll to make up the Minimum Wage.

“This will benefit workers throughout Loughborough, people we all rely on, but who sometimes don’t have the strongest voice. “

And as part of Labours crackdown on those who try to exploit workers, tough new penalties for employers who underpay their staff have been made law. This will mean that the tough new penalties come into force in April. There could be unlimited fines for the most serious cases rather than the current maximum limit of £5,000. It will also mean a fairer way of dealing with national minimum wage arrears, calculated so workers do not lose out.

Andy said

"When families are struggling with rising fuel, energy and food prices it is more important than ever to have the National Minimum Wage. Every worker should earn a fair wage for a fair day's work - there is no excuse not to pay up. I supported and voted for the Employment Act because I wanted to see tougher action on rogue employers who con their staff.

"Rogue employers need to be exposed. If you think a rogue employer is not paying up then get in touch with me on 01509 261226 or call the national minimum wage helpline on 0845 6000 678. And don't worry, you don’t have to give your name or details to them if you don't want to. “

Andy Reed MP today paid tribute to local campaigners who campaigned for the card account. Local Post Offices received a boost today as the Labour Government awarded the contract for the POCA service to the Post Office. The news will be welcomed by local post offices who rely on the business people picking up their pensions or benefits through the Post Office Card Account brings into branches. Around 4,370 people in Loughborough have their accounts.

Welcoming the news Andy thanked local people for campaigning with him on the issue. He said:

“This is great news for the post office. I recently met with James Purnell to discuss this issue and 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.”

“The government have listened and acted on this issue while the Tories would have cut the subsidy and let Post Offices close. This is the right and fair decision for the people of Loughborough.”

The Labour Government has decided to award a new contract for the continuation of POCA directly to the Post Office. This announcement is good news for the Post Office as the card account is an important source of income and brings customers through the doors of post offices across the country. The National Federation of Sub Post Masters had said that, without POCA 3,000 Post Offices would close.

We announced in December 2006 that there would be a successor to POCA and put that product out to tender. However, in order to support a viable Post Office network the Labour Government have decided to cancel the current procurement exercise.

Labour’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell paid tribute to Andy Reed MP for campaigning on this issue saying:

“I applaud Andy for standing up for people in Loughborough and his local post offices. I know how important post offices are to local communities and this provides real help for these local businesses and their customers in tough times.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a statement to the House of Commons today after attending the G20 Summit in Washington.

Andy Reed said "This was an important summit for extraordinary times. The global financial crisis is hitting economies all over the world. Gordon Brown continues to show why he is so respected across the globe during these difficult times. I believe the package of measures we are taking are the right course of action. There is risk in whatever we do. There is greater risk in doing nothing. The Tories don't seem to have anything sensible to say on the economy at the moment. They are making up stupid sound bites instead of addressing the serious issues. The schoolboy taunts of Cameron and Osborne look increasingly out of step with the serious nature of the crisis. They are clearly out of their depth."

Andy Reed MP today hosts a Parliamentary reception for the Central Council for Physical Recreation which aims to raise the profile of a new campaign for “gift aid” to be given on junior subscriptions to sports clubs. The campaign recognises the good work local sports clubs do in promoting community cohesion and the health benefits of exercise and calls on the government to provide this tax relief to help these clubs continue to function.
The reception hosted on Terrace of The Houses of Parliament will be attended by special guest Rebecca Romero, Olympic silver and gold medallist as well as MPs and volunteers from local sports clubs. MPs will hear from Andy and other sports people of the importance of local sports clubs.
Andy said:
“With my strong interest in sport and community sport I am happy to be supporting this campaign and to raise awareness of the benefits sports clubs bring to communities and local people. This campaign is offering an easy way for the government to give something back to local sports clubs.”
“In Loughborough we have lots of local sports clubs that work very hard with little money to provide coaching and teams for juniors to play in and they provide a valuable contribution to our community. I fully support this measure to help them and happy to be able to host the campaign here in Parliament.”

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Andy Reed calls on teenagers in Loughborough to take part in a thought-provoking national writing competition.

This competition, organised by financial education charity the ifs School of Finance, is open to any UK resident aged between 14 and 19.

The competition enables teenagers to test their writing skills by writing a 1,000 word article with the title: “Should Government encourage home ownership?"

As well as the title “ifs Young Business Writer of the Year”, the winner will also receive £500.

Andy says,
“The ifs competition encourages young people to think about what is an important issue, especially given the current economic climate. I’m sure many young people in Loughborough hope to own their own home eventually and so knowledge of the housing market and what steps the government is doing to help people buy their own homes is very important.

I hope that teenagers in Loughborough will participate in the competition and wish them every success in doing so.”

Andy Reed calls on teenagers in Loughborough to take part in a thought-provoking national writing competition.

This competition, organised by financial education charity the ifs School of Finance, is open to any UK resident aged between 14 and 19.

The competition enables teenagers to test their writing skills by writing a 1,000 word article with the title: “Should Government encourage home ownership?"

As well as the title “ifs Young Business Writer of the Year”, the winner will also receive £500.

Andy says,
“The ifs competition encourages young people to think about what is an important issue, especially given the current economic climate. I’m sure many young people in Loughborough hope to own their own home eventually and so knowledge of the housing market and what steps the government is doing to help people buy their own homes is very important.

I hope that teenagers in Loughborough will participate in the competition and wish them every success in doing so.”

Andy Reed calls on teenagers in Loughborough to take part in a thought-provoking national writing competition.

This competition, organised by financial education charity the ifs School of Finance, is open to any UK resident aged between 14 and 19.

The competition enables teenagers to test their writing skills by writing a 1,000 word article with the title: “Should Government encourage home ownership?"

As well as the title “ifs Young Business Writer of the Year”, the winner will also receive £500.

Andy says,
“The ifs competition encourages young people to think about what is an important issue, especially given the current economic climate. I’m sure many young people in Loughborough hope to own their own home eventually and so knowledge of the housing market and what steps the government is doing to help people buy their own homes is very important.

I hope that teenagers in Loughborough will participate in the competition and wish them every success in doing so.”

Andy Reed calls on teenagers in Loughborough to take part in a thought-provoking national writing competition.

This competition, organised by financial education charity the ifs School of Finance, is open to any UK resident aged between 14 and 19.

The competition enables teenagers to test their writing skills by writing a 1,000 word article with the title: “Should Government encourage home ownership?"

As well as the title “ifs Young Business Writer of the Year”, the winner will also receive £500.

Andy says,
“The ifs competition encourages young people to think about what is an important issue, especially given the current economic climate. I’m sure many young people in Loughborough hope to own their own home eventually and so knowledge of the housing market and what steps the government is doing to help people buy their own homes is very important.

I hope that teenagers in Loughborough will participate in the competition and wish them every success in doing so.”

Since 1998 I have always published details of my allowancesin my annual report and on this website. Here you can find details of what this all means.

Details of this vitally important bill, which will be at the forefront of the government's actions to tackle the problem of global warming.

Labour & Co-operative MP for Loughborough

this week in support of the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Week (20th-26th October). He urged local people to call the Act on CO2 Advice Line or visit the Energy Saving Trust’s website to find out what simple steps they could take to save energy in the home, cutting energy bills and protecting the environment at the same time.

Andy has also signed a Parliamentary Motion supporting Energy Saving Week, which points out that energy efficiency can play a key role in reducing energy bills at a time of increasing prices. The Motion highlights research by the Energy Saving Trust showing that people feel a lack of time is a barrier to them taking energy saving measures. However, the Energy Saving Trust also provides some simple tips on quick and easy measures that people can take to cut their energy consumption and fuel bills.

Loughborough MP Andy Reed has backed Quorn Parish Council in their objections to a flagrant breach of planning regulations made by BT.
The background to the case is shown below:

• BT flouted planning rules by installing an ATM in June 2008 and immediately began to generate income from it.
• Charnwood Borough Council investigated in July and confirmed that a breach of planning control had indeed taken place.
• BT then applied for planning permission retrospectively - this took its usual course and was eventually refused. BT meanwhile continued to generate profits.
• Now (October) an enforcement notice has been issued which won't be effective until 3rd December and gives BT until 3rd March 2009 to comply (always assuming they don't appeal and stretch the process out even further).
• Whether they appeal or not, the upshot is that BT will have been able to generate income for the best part of a year from an ATM installed illegally in a conservation area, without any consultation or planning consent.

Reed stated “it’s clear that the ATM BT installed is totally out of keeping with the conservation area where it is sited”. He added “I fully back my local Parish Council in their complaint, and have also raised the matter with the Local Government Minister John Healey MP, as a matter of urgency.

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Some background details to my life and interests in and around parliament.

Andy Reed MP was present to welcome the Statement made by Chancellor Alistair Darling to the Commons today.

Andy said "We are living in remarkable times at present with the global financial crisis creating havoc with economies all over the world. Its is important at these times of crisis to have stable hands on the tiller and Gordon and Alistair have shown great calm leadership during these times."

"I have to say this is enormous contrast to Osborne and Cameron who have flipped around at every whim over the last few weeks. Frankly it is clear they have no idea how to respond and are still chasing cheap headlines rather than facing up to serious issues. I always knew the wheels would come off their PR machine when it was clear that is all it ever was. It has been a re branding exercise not a serious political shift to face up to the modern world and the problems we all face together. They seemed unfit to be an opposition today - never mind a government.