Park Home Owners Justice Campaign

RESIDENTS HAVE DONE IT. THERE IS MOVEMENT ON THE 10% COMMISSION CHARGE

Congratulations to all campaigners from the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign. Since 2014, 30,000 plus residents petitioned, campaigned, rallied, wrote letters and attended meetings in Westminster to obtain an Independent and Transparent review of the 10% Commission Charge.

I am so happy to tell you that your perseverance has paid off. Yesterday (18^th March ) along with Mr. Turner of PHPF, Mr. Pye of IPHAS and Mr. Doick of NAPHR, I received an email from MHCLG informing that the Department has commissioned The University of Liverpool, with the support of Sheffield Hallam University to carry out the research of the 10% Commission Charge in early April 2021.

I have been asked to attend a meeting to put forward the views of our Justice Campaign and have happily agreed. I have also been asked to suggest four park home residents who would be prepared to be part of a residents focus group and put forward their reasoning as to why we should not pay the 10% Commission Charge. This has been done and four residents will be participating.

I am also very pleased to inform you that our President, Sir Peter Bottomley (who supports our campaign) has written a letter on behalf of our campaign to another authority and a copy of that letter will be sent to the researchers.

This is just the beginning, but we have at last got what we campaigned for. Now, we have to hope that the researchers will agree that the 10% is an archaic charge for which the site owners do nothing. It steals your equity and seriously undermines the amount of care you can purchase if you need to move to a residential/nursing home.

We must now all sing from the same hymn sheet if we want change – because the industry will certainly put up a concerted fight.

IMPORTANTLY. WE HAVE ALWAYS MAINTAINED THAT ANY ABOLITION OR CHANGE IN THE 10% COMMISSION CHARGE MUST NOT BE REFLECTED IN THE PITCH FEE – AND I WILL CERTAINLY PUSH THIS POINT.

Well done to you all

Best Wishes

Sonia

Important News for all JUSTICE Campaign Members. A new President and our push forward to bring about the RPI to CPI you have been promised and the Independent and Transparent Review of the 10% Commission charge

(with nothing added to the pitch fee

A NEW PRESIDENT for the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign.

Following the sad passing in 2020 of our loyal President, Lord Ted Graham of Edmonton; we have looked very carefully for the right person to hold this position. Lord Ted was a true friend of the park home community and left some very large shoes to fill.

This was a very daunting task but I feel sure that Lord Ted would share our pleasure as PHOJC welcomes "Father of the House of Commons" Sir Peter Bottomley MP as it's new President.

Sir Peter, who is the MP for Worthing has been an MP continuously since 1975 and is also the Vice Chairman of the APPG (all party parliamentary group for park homes.)

Our JUSTICE Campaign has always recognised the need to have a good relationship with those within the walls of Westminster and we have been fortunate to have had the ear of many MPs when we succeeded in changing the law to stop "sale blocking."

We are now very proud to announce officially that the "Father of the House of Commons" is our President and I believe that like Lord Ted, Sir Peter will be a great help as we try to get what thousands of residents have campaigned for - ie the change from RPI to CPI and the 10% Commission Charge - but we must remember that he has his other parliamentary work to complete.

I know that many residents wrote to Lord Ted, but I must respectfully ask that if you need to write regarding either the RPI to CPI or the 10% Commission charge - UNLESS YOU ARE ONE OF HIS CONSTITUENTS - please only email the JUSTICE Campaign at phojc1sm@gmail.com PLEASE DO NOT WRITE TO SIR PETER PERSONALLY ON THOSE OR ANY OTHER SUBJECTS RELATED TO PARK HOME PROBLEMS.

Calling all Residents to help

with our fight to get action from Government on

THE 10% COMMISSION CHARGE AND RPI TO CPI.

WHY ARE WE ALL STILL WAITING and WHAT CAN WE DO? IS WHAT I AM BEING ASKED BY RESIDENTS ACROSS THE UK WHO ARE FED UP WITH THE GOVERNMENT'S STATEMENT

"WHEN PARLIAMENTARY TIME ALLOWS."

Since 2014, Park Home Residents, Peers, MPs and friends of the JUSTICE Campaign have petitioned the Government, Rallied at Westminster, attended The Three Nations Rally, delivered a petition of 30.000 plus to Downing Street, attended and voiced their opinions in the Palace of Westminster, eventually to be told that the annual increases in pitch fees currently based upon the Retail Price Index (RPI) would be changed to the lower Consumer Price Index (CPI) and that the Review of the 10% Commission Charge paid to park owners upon the private sale of park homes would take place.

Many campaign members who have fought for six years now ask what our JUSTICE campaign can do to make the Government honour their promises. Well, due to COVID we cannot arrange another lobbying rally or meeting in London - but - we can ask the Park Home & Holiday Caravan magazine and the Park Home News magazine which goes out on a monthly basis throughout 2021 to publish a letter that park home residents may send (if they wish) to the Prime Minister with copies to The Housing Minister and your own MP.

I have already written to the Prime Minister on behalf of our JUSTICE Campaign requesting a meeting. This of course may not be granted but with your help, our fight to get that which has been promised by the government will continue in earnest.

On January 15th The Park Home and Holiday Caravan Magazine will publish our story and the template letter that is laid out below. In addition, the template will also be published in Paul Baker's Park Home News magazine. This begins its distribution across England, Scotland and Wales in early February. This Magazine is sent out in batches every month of the year which will ensure that the PM's office is continually bombarded with residents letters. There are 80,000 copies that will be distributed to 2000 parks across England, Scotland and Wales. But we will not stop there. Tony Turner's Park Home Policy Forum will post the template letter to its membership and I have requested NAPHR, IPHAS and PHRAA to help residents by posting to their membership. It will of course also be published on our own web site and facebook pages. and published on the PHOJC website and facebook pages.

Thousands of JUSTICE Campaign supporters fought for these changes and If you want to see RPI to CPI brought in and a favourable change to the 10% Commission Charge; please copy the letter to your neighbours and together we can inundate the Downing Street Offices. When sending to the Prime Minister, please also send a copy to the Housing Minister and your own MPs office - if I may also suggest - please ask your own MP to bring up the delay in the 10% Commission charge and the change from RPI to CPI in Prime Minister's questions. WE HAVE DONE IT BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN - BUT IT NEEDS ALL OF US TO PULL TOGETHER.

Best wishes and I hope that you all stay safe and well in 2021

Sonia

Suggested letter to send. If you have problems copying this letter, please contact phojc1sm@gmail.com and you will be sent a copy to print off.

Your Address

Date:

The Prime Minister

10, Downing Street

London

SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister

Reference: Park Homes and promised legislation

I am a supporter of the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign whose members have - since 2014 - rallied in London, delivered petitions to Downing Street, had meetings in the Palace of Westminster and received your Government's promise that RPI would be changed to CPI on the monthly pitch fee paid to the site owner. In addition, your Government promised an independent review of the 10% commission charge payable from the residents equity to the site owner on the sale of the residents park home. You will see evidence below that these problems have been addressed and promises made since 2014.

30th October 2014, Sale of Park Homes Debate. Annette Brooke MP said. " I beg to move that this house calls on the government to set up a review of the current fee of up to 10% of the price of a park home payable to the site owner."

Question put and agreed to. Resolved, "That this House calls on the Government to set up a review of the current fee of up to 10 percent of the sale price of a park home payable to the site owner."

22nd October 2018 The Requirement to Pay Commission. Policy Reviews.

The Government’s response to the review, published on 22 October 2018, consequently confirmed that the Government will commission research to gather relevant data to enable a detailed assessment of the likely impacts of a change to the 10% commission charge on residents and site owners. The Government intends to commission the research later in 2019.

13th January 2020, Esther McVey MP said. "We made a commitment in October 2018 to change the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) having considered the responses of residents and site owners to our review of park homes legislation. The required primary legislation will be introduced when parliamentary time is available."

Hansard. House of Lords. Mobile Homes 3/09/20 Lord Teverson said. "Are the Government looking further at the 10% commission fee on the sale of mobile homes or park homes on these sites, which is still highly contentious?"

Lord Greenhalgh said........." There is currently no data available to accurately measure any of those impacts, which is why the Government has committed to undertake research to gather the relevant data. We have undertaken some initial scoping work to identify gaps in the existing evidence base to ensure that the research is thorough and comprehensive."

May I respectfully ask if the magic words "WHEN PARLIAMENTARY TIME ALLOWS" is before or after the next General Election?

I do appreciate that your Government is dealing with Brexit and Covid; However, those magic words "When Parliamentary Time allows" is wearing rather thin. Therefore, I would ask that you please direct your relevant Minister to implement the necessary primary legislation to allow the change from RPI to CPI on the pitch fee to become law and - whilst it may already have been started - may I respectfully ask that you inform me as to when the review of the 10% commission charge will be finished and explain what input I can have as a park home resident into the eventual findings of that review.

Neither RPI to CPI or the findings of the 10% commission review will of course affect you personally - but it does and will continue to affect the lives of some 85,000 park home residents in the electorate. I think you must agree that six years has been a long time to wait and many park home residents are sadly no longer with us. Please Prime Minister, honour your Government's decisions on these subjects - and may I respectfully ask that you do not authorise a standardised letter on this subject to be sent from you or your MPs.

Respectfully

Your Signature

Good Parks-Bad Parks (how do we know?)

Friday, 9 April 2021

9th April 2021

Devastating News

HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh dies age 99.

Thank you Sir for all you did for our Queen and Country.

RIP

Saturday, 20 March 2021

20th March 2021

Friday, 19 March 2021

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Tuesday, 9 March 2021

9th March 2021

Thursday, 11 February 2021

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Thursday, 14 January 2021

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