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NEWS REEL :: 28th April - Peter Ainsworth's Office send follow up letter to Hilary Benn's Office :: 2nd May - petition hits 1317 and breaks into top 100 :: 2nd May - Letter from DEFRA's Head of Policy at last!! :: 5th May - Letter sent to Head of Policy Requesting Meeting to resolve the knowledge gap!! :: 12th May - BKFA raises campaign issue with CCPR :: 4th June 2008 - PM Petion Ends with 1,412 signatures :: 12th August 2008 @ 16:57 The Government Respond to the Petition :: END

Monday, 20 August 2007

On a promise..and a letter from Europe

I was quite hopeful this week when I called up to find out what the score was with our query. I have to admit to getting a tad grumpy when the helpful chap came back and said that "a manager" at Exeter says it shouldn't be with them and that I should call the help desk at Reading!!! Poor sod, I really do feel for these people who have to face the frustration of customers that are let down by "the ones that do not speak". I have to say that he pulled it back, he took my number and promised to find out from Reading who will be dealing with the request and also by when it will be dealt with. So I hung up confident at least that I would at least get a call back. So at 1615 I get a call back, with the poor chap saying that there's no good news as the person he needed to talk to had left the building for the day. He assured me a call back the next morning. Anyway the next day he calls me back, very cheerily saying that the it is policy that "the ones that do not speak" do not speak!! But I have been "promised" that by Wednesday I'll receive a letter from a "Senior Manager". I am excited and a little fearful of what that letter may contain, I am not full of confidence that it will be dealt with the appropriate care and attention, but there is always hope. Anyway we will see. I'll post what has been said when we receive the letter.

Posty's just been and a letter has arrived from Glenis Willmott (MEP). The letter contained a response to her letter from Mariann Fisher Boel (European Commissioner responsible for Agriculture & Rural Development). The key element is that the activity has to fall within the framework of the legislation and I quote...

"....this framework does not prevent the kind of activity described by your constituent.
I would therefore suggest that your constituent obtains the necessary clarifications from the British Authorities."

.....this is a bit of a coupe!! I have been advised to go back to my local MP to pursue it further. Interesting aside though, I wrote to EU after I wrote to the UK and I have yet to hear from the head of State for Culture Media and Sport.

I hope that I will have a few more signatures on the petition to demonstrate the sporting communities strength of feeling. Currently the score on the door is 727 and we're 270th in line. The trend figure this week (11) fell below 40 signatures for last week, but forum views remain constant.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Don't you just love bureaucracy - imagine how little tax we would pay if business people ran the govt. - Max 10p in the pound, higher rate.

I won't start on that one ..................

Keep up the good work, does that mean Farmers can use fields for kiting 12months a year , but the legislation is ambiguous ?

Middleend said...

You're right that is another campaign, but I was glad to see that the EU does actually do something.

All this means is that there is nothing currently within the framework of the EU regulations that restricts the activity from happening, but that it is up to the "National Competance" to decide the local policy. So we're a step closer......

Unknown said...

If it is down to "National Competence" - I fear we may be doomed !!!

Anonymous said...

Very "encouraging" news today from the sounds of it. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting into this.
Shauny.

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