Home >
July news releases
News headlines
David Heath exposes holiday rip-off
Thousands of British holidaymakers are being charged nearly £10 for an official document they can get free, David Heath claimed today.
Mr Heath raised the issue in the House of Commons at questions to Leader of the House Harriet Harman today.
Britons travelling abroad are encouraged to make sure they have a European Health Insurance Card before they go, a card to ensure that they receive the equivalent of NHS treatment of they fall sick or are injured while abroad.
But if they search for the EHIC on the internet, they are led to two sites, EHIC.org and EHIC.uk.com which offer online applications. Each provides all the official information, and an online form to apply. But each of them charges £9.95 for the application.
The official NHS or Department of Health sites provide the same information, and the same application form, but there the application is free.
Mr Heath said: “I doubt if what the two companies – Imap (UK) Ltd of Bolton and Portcreek of Gosport – are doing is illegal, because they do tell customers how to access the official site, and warn that the charge is £9.95 for “forwarding the application”.
"But it is certainly a rip-off, and a lot of confused holidaymakers must be paying for an official document which is actually free of charge. The forms are exactly the same, so it’s hard to see what the companies are providing for the money.
“It’s time something was done to stop what is yet another holiday scam.”
Rain tax must go, says David Heath
Ministers must intervene to ensure that the so-called “rain tax”, a levy on surface water drainage applied to voluntary clubs and churches, is binned.
That was the message in the House of Commons today from David Heath MP, who raised the issue with Leader of the House Harriet Harman.
The levy is being imposed by some water companies on voluntary bodies, sports clubs, charities and churches who have previously been exempt, and can mean a bill of hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
The charge has led to a campaign supported by bishops, scouts and sportsmen to ask the Government to intervene before it is taken up by water companies across the country.
Mr Heath said: “It is a nonsense to introduce an extra charge, without any warning, that means that a scout hut suddenly incurs a bill of several hundred pounds, as an example. That’s money which voluntary organisations simply don’t have, and which they would need to raise by collecting, which would be no easy task, and means they can’t do the good work they should be concentrating on.
“In any case, the water companies make fat profits without squeezing the last drop out of struggling community organisations. They should be told in no uncertain terms that this particular tap is being turned off.”
David Heath intervenes to ensure college project goes ahead
David Heath has intervened to try to make sure that a building project at Frome Community College goes ahead.
The college was expecting to start construction shortly of new tertiary buildings to replace worn-out temporary classrooms. The plans have been put together over the last year, but are now facing a crisis as they need the go-ahead from the Learning and Skills Council, the funding body for post-sixteen education.
Mr Heath has already written to the Chief Executive of the LSC and the Secretary of State, and raised the matter in the House of Commons today with the Minister for Further Education
The scheme needs to have the agreement of the LSC before the 28th of August, otherwise the plans may have to be abandoned and all the costs of planning and design to date lost.
The LSC is due to fund nearly half of the construction costs, at £1.5 million, with the remainder coming from Somerset County Council and the College itself.
Mr Heath said: “I am very concerned that by dilly-dallying a very important scheme for Frome may be lost. The LSC have been in complete chaos over recent months, but ministers keep assuring us that not only are matters now being sorted out, but that they are bringing forward investment in college building schemes
“That makes it even more surprising that this project, which the LSC has been involved with through the planning process, and which in terms of total costs is fairly modest compared with some, is being held up simply because the LSC can’t seem to be able to confirm their share of the funding will be forthcoming. The College have dome absolutely everything required of them, and to every deadline imposed, which makes it even more upsetting that they’re still waiting for an answer.
“I’ve appealed directly to Ministers as well as the LSC because I want them to know that the decision-making process is still not as it should be. If Frome College loses its scheme because of this, then I shall want to know the reason why.”
Don't tax the rural poor, says David Heath
David Heath has warned ministers to think again about plans to impose a £200 a year levy on people who rely on fuel oil and liquid petroleum gas for their heating.
The plans are contained in a green paper released yesterday on proposals to fight climate change, but speaking in the House of Commons today Mr Heath said that the needs of people in rural areas had been ignored.
He said: “Of course we have to do everything we can to promote sustainable energy and reduce greenhouse gases, but putting higher charges on those who already pay the most for their fuel and have the least possibility of alternatives is simply unfair.
“I welcome the fact that the government have come round to the idea of a social tariff to help those who least well off and living in fuel poverty, but their proposals won’t do anything for those who do not use mains electricity or gas for their heating, and that includes a lot of people in country areas.
“They need to think again.”
Sort out helicopter crisis, says David Heath
David Heath, who represents Yeovilton where the Royal Navy helicopter squadrons and the Commando Helicopter Force are based, has called on the government to take urgent action to ensure that troops fighting in Afghanistan have the helicopter support they need.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he drew attention to the report published today by the Defence Select Committee, which is strongly critical of the lack of provision of helicopters, delays in ordering replacement aircraft, and lack of facilities for combat training.
He called for the Government to address the shortcomings identified in the report and take urgent action over the summer to put things right.
Mr Heath said: “I consider it a great honour to represent Yeovilton, the base for many of the helicopters used in Afghanistan, and also many of the people working in the helicopter industry at Westland.
“We owe it to the brave young men and women we send to fight in a very dangerous conflict area to make sure they have the equipment they need, and that includes having sufficient helicopters to do the job properly and ensure the safety of both pilots and aircrew and troops on the ground.
“Very often combat pilots are operating equipment in a theatre of war which they have had no training on back at home,. That cannot be right. Nor can the fact that there are huge needs for replacement aircraft that are not yet on order.
“The committee has identified some very real gaps; it is the job of ministers to now take the decisions urgently to put those problems right.”