Eltham Labour Party

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Scouts and Guides leaders lobby Parliament

Clive met Eltham scout leader John Twidale and his wife Bee who is a guide leader at Parliament when they came to lobby Clive regarding plans to impose surface water charges on charities and not-for-profit organisations.

John and Bee came on behalf of the scouts and guides to raise their concerns about the huge additional costs that the news surface water charges would impose. They feared that this would force a lot of organisations to close.

Clive says, “I met with Bee and John who I know well from the excellent work they do in our area. I share their concerns about these charges. I have written to the minister concerned and asked for him to use his influence on Ofwat to prevent these charges being imposed on these vital organisations such as the scouts. One possibility proposed by the scouts is for Ofwat to be made to introduce a social tariff or exemption scheme to make water charges affordable for community and voluntary groups. I strongly support this scheme. I would also like to see Ofwat’s regulatory responsibilities reformed so that they have a statutory duty to ensure that water services are affordable to all customers."

"The Scouts perform a very valuable service of young people both within my constituency and across the world. We must do all that we can to find a solution which does not damage the excellent work they carry out."