WITHHOLDING THE RPI INCREASE TO THE PITCH FEE BECAUSE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT YET CHANGED IT TO CPI.
The £400 energy payment.
I have received so many emails from residents who were confused about the £400 energy payment and concerned that it would be paid to the site owners. Therefore, I wrote yesterday to the Government Department with questions that I know you wanted answers too. Below is a copy of my email and the response that I received from the Government Department. I hope it will help to make things clearer.
I hope this finds you well.
I am receiving many emails from confused park home residents regarding the £400 energy payment. Following the latest energy publication, people just want a clear answer. Could you please send me answers that apply only to the park home sector and come from the government department as a source they can trust .
Best Wishes
Sonia
Reply From the Government department.
Please see my responses below to your questions about the £400 payment.
There are other support packages the Government has put in place where park home residents will receive further help with their bills. I will summarise these and send out to the resident associations and groups hopefully by the end of tomorrow.
Regards
William
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Questions
1. Is the £400 paid to the site owner who has the account?
Answer
No, the £400 will not be paid to the site owner. It will be paid directly to residents through an approved body such as a local authority. The details are being finalised and an announcement will be made soon.
2. Is it one £400 payment to be split between all residents?
Answer
No. Each household will receive £400. For example if there are 10 park homes on the site, each will be a household and each will receive £400.
3. If it is paid to the site owner, how is that apportioned to each resident's bill?
Answer
The £400 will not be paid to the site owner.
4. Some resident's seem to be under the impression that it is paid via council tax if the resident pays the site owner for electricity.
Answer
The £400 will be paid to every household, including those living in park homes. The payment is not dependent on whether the household pays council tax, pays the site owner for electricity or any other
Regards
William
William Tandoh
Park Homes and Non Traditional Tenures
RPI to CPI increase on the pitch fee. The 10% Commission Charge.
Please see the parliamentary questions that have been tabled by our President and Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley MP. Sir Peter continues to call for answers and we are very grateful for his interventions and support - because things only happen when you have someone working for you inside of Westminster.
Park Homes issues 31 October 2022 PB written parliamentary questions
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the total commissions received by site owners from home sales by park home residents in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the annual costs to park home residents of pitch fees since 2010; what estimate he has made of those levels if increases were linked to CPI instead of RPI; and if he will make a statement.
When the answers are received, I will make them public. Meanwhile, following the independent report provided by the University of Liverpool,we continue to await the decision from the government with regard to any reduction to the 10% Commission Charge
RPI TO CPI INCREASE TO THE PITCH FEE REVIEW AND OUR FORTHCOMING RALLY ON THE 28TH NOVEMBER.
You will be aware that for many months, Sir Christopher Chope OBE MP has attempted to get a second reading of his Private Members Bill regarding the change from RPI to CPI on the pitch fee increase. At every attempt, the Bill does not get read and is pushed forward to another date. I was aware that the next date for the possible reading of the Bill would be the 18th November. As our Rally (which has had to be postponed twice due to the passing of Her Majesty the Queen and the resignation of the Prime Minister) will now take place on the 28th November, it would have seemed pointless in going ahead if Sir Christopher's Bill was to succeed in its second reading on the 18th November.
There was an APPG (all party parliamentary group) meeting scheduled for the 31st October, of which Sir Christopher is the Chairman. At the meeting, I had intended to ask him if he could guarantee that his Bill would be read on the 18th November (as I had heard it now had government support.)
My next question was to be; if the Bill was read, how long did Sir Christopher think that it would take before it cleared all the relevant stages before becoming a law.
Unfortunately, I was unexpectedly admitted to hospital and could not attend the meeting. However, I contacted our President, Sir Peter Bottomley MP and asked if he would be kind enough to ask those questions for me. Sir Peter did ask and his replies are laid out below.
With regard to the likelihood of Sir Christopher's Bill being read on the 18th November. Sir Peter informed me that it was fourth on the list. This would indicate that there is no guarantee that it will be read.
At the APPG meeting, Sir Peter asked Sir Christopher how far he thought his Bill would progress. The answer that I received from Sir Peter is laid out below.
Chris Chope MP hopes his Bill will make it to Committee.
I cannot judge how far it might get.
Peter
From the outcome of those answers, it was clear that our Rally, Presentation to Downing Street and Meeting in the Palace of Westminster would definitely go ahead as it could only be beneficial in achieving an outcome to the promise that the government made over four years ago and have reneged upon.
Residents have realised the urgency of the Rally and it is well subscribed. Paul Baker of Paul Baker Insurance has helped by sponsoring coaches, mini buses and train fares - and I am pleased to say that he will attend the rally.
To that end. Sir Peter's Office has booked Committee Room 10 in the Palace of Westminster and Residents will be able to have their say before the MPs present. Sir Peter will chair the meeting and an invitation will be sent to Sir Christopher Chope MP and many other MP's and members of the APPG.
There will be a Rally outside of Downing Street and a presentation letter will be delivered to Downing Street for the attention of the Prime Minister. I will also be including petitions from various park home sites who have collected signatures.
The copy of the letter that is officially being delivered is laid out below. Although very grateful for Sir Christopher's Bill, due to the continuing delay, park home residents can wait no longer for that which was promised. Therefore, our letter lays out the emergency legislation that we are calling for. I am hoping that all members will copy this letter. Send it to their own constituency MPand request their presence at the meeting and send a copy to the Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street. I would also be grateful if residents would help all those who are attending the rally, by sending this letter to their local media and regional TV stations. Please inform them that the PHOJC Rally will take place on 28th November and full details can be obtained by emailing Sonia at: sonia.mccoll.phojc@gmail.com - or by telephone to 07903024612
Full timings of the Rally, Presentation and Meeting in the Palace of Westminster will be sent as soon as I have received them.
¬¬¬The National
Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign
President: The Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley MP
Founder: Sonia McColl OBE
Rt. Hon Rishi Sunak MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
Dear Prime Minister
Firstly, may we congratulate you on your appointment.
Our JUSTICE Campaign appreciates that you have much to do, however, we write to inform of the rally and meeting in the Palace of Westminster that is taking place on 28th November 2022. Its purpose, to obtain emergency legislation to expedite the long-awaited promise that Government has reneged upon for over four years.
Those rallying today are pensioners. Many are very vulnerable and hail from all parts of our country. They could ill afford the travel costs to London on their fixed incomes – but their journey is fuelled by anger.
Their pensions only rise by CPI and yet your government expects them to pay pitch fee increases which have been calculated by linking to the higher rate of RPI. This index is rising daily and without emergency fast track legislation to honour the government’s promise, many park home owners will suffer a cold miserable fate that could even end in death – unless they sell up and move to Wales, where park home residents have long enjoyed a CPI increase to their pitch fees.
Why does your government trail in the wake of the Welsh Administration who have shown to be far more robust?
The only winners are the site owners and park home residents want to know why your government panders to the already wealthy by allowing them to pocket this windfall that will increase every year.
What has happened to our country that should force elderly, vulnerable and cash strapped pensioners to march on Westminster and demand action?
The Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley MP has indicated that the change from RPI to CPI could be done in the next Finance Bill. Sir Christopher Chope OBE MP has tried – to no avail - on numerous occasions to get a private members bill through the second reading.
Emergency legislation - not meaningless words - is urgently needed for park home owners. You have the power to bring this to fruition. The cry from our Rally calls upon you to direct your colleagues to expedite emergency fast track legislation that is needed to honour the government’s promise – which we believe could be done in a matter of days.¬¬¬¬
Yours sincerely
Sonia McColl OBE
On behalf of The National Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign and 31,441petitioners.
Email: phojc1sm@gmail.com
Tel: 07903024612
