Please help urgently: seeing the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill introduced into Parliament

The initial take up of the Sustainable Communities Act has been fantastic. 100 council areas have submitted a total of 300 proposals for government action to promote and protect local sustainability. However the process is in danger of being a one off! It must be ongoing so that councils can continue to use it if they wish. Also the Local Spending Reports, required under the Act, need to be published in full, so that councils can see how much money central agencies, QUANGOs and departments are spending in their area.

Therefore we are campaigning for the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill made law. This Bill will ensure that the Act’s process is ongoing and that the Local Spending Reports are published in full. This Bill was sponsored in the last session by Liberal Democrat MP, Julia Goldsworthy and is Liberal Democrat Policy. There is a now a real chance to see it made law.

Parliament held a ballot this morning to select which MPs will be given a chance to introduce a piece of legislation (i.e. a Bill) which has a chance of becoming law. Because of the upcoming election, only the top seven have a realistic chance of changing the law.  It is crucial that we persuade one of these lucky MPs to adopt the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill.

URGENT ACTION:

Your help will be crucial in successfully seeing one of these MPs to take up our Bill, so please do the following:

1. Please write to, or email, at least one of these MPs, but preferably all seven, and ask them to ‘Please adopt the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill’.  This will only take a few minutes and I have included a sample letter for you to personalise below.

2. Please ask others to do the same and forward this email on to anyone who may help - the more letters and emails these MPs receive the better!

Thank you in advance for support and efforts. For more information on the Bill please go to our website: www.localworks.org

Yours sincerely,

Steve Shaw

National Co-ordinator

Local Works

The seven MPs who came top of the ballot, and their addresses and emails, are:

1. Brian Iddon: iddonb@parliament.uk
  address: Brian Iddon MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

2. David Chaytor: chaytord@parliament.uk
  address: David Chaytor MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

3. Andrew Gwynne: gwynnea@parliament.uk
  address: Andrew Gwynne MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

4. Albert Owen: owena@parliament.uk
  address: Albert Owen MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

5. Julie Morgan: morganj@parliament.uk

  address: Julia Morgan MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

6. Anthony Steen: steena@parliament.uk

  address: Anthony Steen MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

7. Alistair Burt: burta@parliament.uk

  address: Alistair Burt MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

DRAFT LETTER TO THE SEVEN MPS

Dear [MP’s NAME]

Congratulations on your success in the Private Members’ Ballot.  I am writing to ask you to please adopt the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill.

The Bill is crucial as it will ensure the involvement process in the Sustainable Communities Act is ongoing and not just a one off event. Thousands of people and hundreds of councils across the country want to use the Act but currently can not. This Bill will ensure they can.

I am not one of your constituents but understand what a rare opportunity you have been granted via the Ballot. This Bill already has backing from MPs of all parties, and from the huge Local Works coalition of national organisations, that successfully campaigned for the original Act to become law.

I do hope very much you will take up this Bill.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR ADDRESS]