John Hemming's Web Log

An interesting new angle for nuisance calls is people from the USA using computers to phone people in the UK (including those on ex-directory numbers and probably those on the Telephone Preference Service lists) with calls such as "you have won a luxury holiday in the caribbean".

I actually have a phone in my office in London and two of my staff will have passes by about 10am tomorrow. Amazing! It is only about six weeks since I was elected and I have a phone. Everything should now follow, of course. Immediately I was elected, I got a coathanger in the members cloakroom. On that coathanger is a pink ribbon. For my Sword (no not that Sword). A few MPs have indeed got toy swords on their coathangers. I think I now understand how everything went haywire on Friday. The Evening Mail First Edition (and I think C1) went out with basically a story that we had given them in detail. Everything was accurate and truthful. They then changed the story in C2. All the other newspapers thought that this had been checked in the same rigorous manner. Sadly, it hadn't. This, of course, after the "mother of all sex scandals", gives potentially the "mother of all libel cases". We have now spoken to one paper who know they have dropped a clanger. O...

This links to Friday's Questions. (I mean the answers).

It was quite funny really. The News of the World and the Mail on Sunday turned up at my house to see all the preparations for my Daughter's 5th Birthday party. I was out doing things. Sadly for them all the could find is people preparing to drive to Tamworth for a Farm Party (and no 5 year old because she was with me doing things). In any event there was a really nice kitten at the farm. Sadly Marion needs to housetrain Patches before we can have another kitten. I would really like a kitten as we have only rescued cats since 1982 when we had a kitten in Kings Norton.

Today started with Make Poverty History's march leaving from Chamberlain Square to go to Edinburgh. Then I did the advice bureau and then opened the new pavilion for Manor House Gardens Allotments (arguably the best allotments in the country). The little girl is my daughter Alice who had her 5th Birthday party today as Ash End House Farm. A good photo of the cycle ride trio of Lib Dem MPs. I am still juggling up what I should respond to the "SuperStud Brummie Lib Dem MP" story doing the rounds at the moment. If the newspapers do manage to hunt up 25 girlfriends that I have affairs with perhaps they could give me the names and phone numbers as I have no idea of who they are supposed to be. On the other hand it does trump all the other "sex scandals" I know of. The Daily Mirror have advertised for people to phone them. Oddly enough my wife has been offered £5K for a story by one newspaper and my girlfriend has been offered another £5K for her story by a diffe...

The photograph in the Daily Mail today makes it quite clear that Kitty, (the cat that the Labour Party have claimed is dead) is not dead.

That this House notes that the peoples of Europe oppose the concept of an ever closer union and calls for the UK Presidency to be used to develop proposals for a lighter touch European Union with fewer competencies, a smaller budget, and a lesser ability to make impositions on member states. EDM 318 has achieved limited amount of notoriety in the 2 short days since it was tabled. Quoting from Ming Cambell later, however: "I want a European Union that is decentralised, transparent and accountable and that protects human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law. There is no other economic association that requires those who wish to join it to satisfy a set of criteria on good governance and human rights. The Copenhagen criteria are unique. No other economic organisation or association requires its members to satisfy such standards of governance. That is often forgotten and not given sufficient emphasis." There is, of course, no conflict between this and EDM 318. *EDM - Earl...

Complainant: Ofcom own-initiative investigation Investigation against: Promote IT, Toucan Telecom, The Listening Company Ltd, ANT Marketing UK, Thompson Directories Ltd, Fax Information Services Ltd, Firestorm Marketing Ltd. Case opened: 16 June 2005 Issue: Persistent misuse of electronic communications network(s) or service(s) Relevant instrument: Sections 128 to 131 of the Communications Act 2003 A “short duration” or “silent call” is a call which is usually initiated by automatic calling equipment ("ACE"), generally used by Call Centres making outgoing calls. The call is terminated by the ACE immediately after the called party answers (usually, because no live operator is available to speak to the called party). A short duration call may also arise where companies attempt to send fax messages to telephone numbers that are not connected to terminal equipment capable of receiving fax messages. When the call is answered, the called party may hear a series of tones or the call...

I need to chase up the missing answer to one of these questions where the Annex is missing. Otherwise more progress is being made. Interestingly the Prime Minister had no knowledge of the problem of "silent phone calls". Me: "Does the Prime Minister share my concern and that of a vicar in my constituency and many of his parishioners who are irritated by the nuisance of mechanical phone calls, whereby a computer phones them but nobody is at the end of the line? Will he put pressure on Ofcom to use current legislation to ensure that the practice ceases, and review the legislation?" Tony Blair: "I am not sure whether the vicar's powers or mine are most suitable for dealing with that issue. I agree with the hon. Gentleman's comments although I cannot honestly tell him what I think that the answer is because I do not know. However, I shall find out and get back to him."

I have linked the MG Rover debate from yesterday to this entry. The telegraph took up this story. The Independent showed that they don't read this blog. The fact that PR boosts turnout was revealed here first.

Early this morning I joined Martin Horwood (MP for Cheltenham), Andrew Stunell MP (Hazel Grove) and a number of other cyclists to cycle from Russell Square to the House of Commons. Led by the metropolitan police it was an interesting experience. Meg Munn MP (Sheffield Heeley) was there was well. She told me that she was going to respond to my speech scheduled for later in the day about MG Rover. Martin Horwood MP Andrew Stunell MP and John Hemming MP Apart from speaking on MG Rover and Electoral Reform (and putting in a question and EDM) I took a short cycle ride to the Birmingham W1 office which is being used to promote Birmingham and things Brummy. Rumours are that I get an office tomorrow that I can use (apart from the fact that it probably won't have a phone, filing cabinet, computer or printer).

Although it is entirely possible that new fields could pick up UK Oil production later this year, it sound like a "something will turn up" type of answer.

One of today's oral questions was 15 minutes allotted for two MPs to alternate on answering questions on the Church of England and the Electoral Commission. I thought I might manage to raise some concern about the government's lack of interest in people being disenfranchised by the postal voting system. Sadly, however, the time was up very quickly and it will have to wait for another day.

The second reading of this bill comes before the House of Commons on 21st June 2005. This is an interesting issue because of its philosophical complexity. It has the so-called "chattering classes" particularly agitated because of its potential for further constraining free speech. Free Speech is rightly not an absolute. It is entirely possible to use words published in various ways to cause massive dissent and disorder. It is, therefore, rational for the Public Order Act 1986 and other acts to constrain Free Speech. People may not be aware of these aspects of legislation. However, they exist and they exist for a good reason. The big question is whether further legislation is required and what further legislation is required. There are clearly various types of criticism which can be applied to groups which can be described in a number of ways. Ridicule, humour and other types of offensive words can be used in a number of ways which can be critical of ethnic groups, religi...

It appears (and I am asking formal questions to confirm this) that the UK does not include the 8MtC of emissions from International Air Traffic in its approx 35MtC of transport emissions although it does include the single 1MtC of Domestic Traffic. I presume the 8MtC is calculated on the basis of the next hop. The total emissions is about 150-160MtC so this is 5% of the total. No wonder they don't think an increase to 14MtC will have any impact on the UK's Kyoto figures - the Kyoto figures don't include international air traffic.

If you build on a flood plain you will get flooded. That is why they are called "Flood Plains". So the government still want people to build houses in locations that will get flooded. Certain aspects of the natural environment cannot be resisted and we should not try. "The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister wish to see a reduction in the amount of inappropriate new development in flood risk areas." Of course they are not answering the question. The government's plans on exclusions are not joined up as usual. Certain children cause massive problems. Making mainstream schools deal with them merely brings everyone else down. They also are still into making schools readmit children expelled by the head. The government's schizophrenia over air travel is demonstrated by this answer. The chances of building a second runway at BHX are negligable, but it is still causing blight on the citizens of Sheldon.

Yesterday was the first day that I abstained on a vote in person. What I am asking is "where is the abstain button". In the City Council there are six ways someone can cast a vote, for, against, pressing the asbstain button, sitting in the council chamber too frightened to press any button, somewhere else in the building and actually unavailable. I see it is actually possible to vote both ways on an issue if you run, but that does not seem the best mechanism. The problem is, however, that when you are present, but abstain it is difficult to record this. In the mean time we have learnt that it is a lot harder finding a place within which to spend a penny. There is an interesting thing behind it. Public Toilets are an important public service (particularly for elderly gents), but across the country they are being flushed away. In all regions there are fewer from 6,087 in 2000 to 5,539 in 2004. We may be a wealthy country, but it seems beyond the country's ability t...

It is interesting watching the government squirm on their plans to phase out supply teachers and replace them with Classroom supervisors. The Answer on teacher assuaults shows one of the reasons why people are leaving the teaching profession. The Answer on postal votes shows that the normal turnout of postal votes is about 78-79%. Clearly we don't know the answer for 2005 yet. They have generally avoided the issue on the rest.

So the UK population is 59M and there are 73M entries in the National Insurance register (It is allocated at the age of 16 automatically). Some people with NINOs will live abroad, but there are so many rumours floating around about fraud it is amazing. NINOs are used both to receive tax and pay benefits and one would hope, therefore, that the government would make some effort to ensure that the register is OK. Information about NINOs This fits within the context of the debate about an ID database. In one sense we already have two. One is the National Insurance register. Superficially, there are 73 Million live records on the National Insurance register and according to the census in 2001 there are 58,789,194 people in the UK. 3,486,253 are 0-4, 3,738,042 are 5-9 and 3,880,557 are 10-14. That leaves 46,684,342 of ages 15+. At a guess with just under a million a year there are say 46M people of ages 16+ and a National Insurance register of 73M. Figures as high as 16M have been qu...

On the Tsunami the issue of the slowness of the original response remains, but a relatively low proportion of government budget is being recycled back to the UK government. On the relative merits of Pelicans and Puffins which is an important national issue to anyone who has to walk across a road. The Government claim that Puffins cause less vehicle delay, but they are in practice really nasty things to use for pedestrians (as I experienced yesterday at the Bus Mall). So there are 73 Million live accounts on the National insurance register , but they have no idea how many are false. Nor do they know how much people pay in pubs to get new false NINOs. The DTI has made it clear that they told the press MG Rover needed a bridging loan