Still no good news for Naomi House and its frozen £5.7m after MPs debate local charity.
Steve Brine, prospective Conservative MP for Winchester says he is “bitterly disappointed” following a House of Commons debate last night (Thursday 4 December 2008) that failed to offer any encouragement to concerned local charity Naomi House.
The hospice, which is based in Sutton Scotney, has £5.7 deposited in the failed Iceland bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and was looking to the Government for support during an adjournment debate secured by Basingstoke’s Conservative MP Maria Miller (pictured).
Mr Brine has created a petition on the No.10 Downing Street website that has so far attracted just under 5,000 (five-thousand) names; it was promoted during the debate by Mrs Miller and continues to grow with one-month left to run.
Steve Brine says; “I watched the debate very closely and was listening for anything which the Minister could offer Naomi House to help it through its current difficulties. Despite being repeatedly pressed by MPs of all sides, it quickly became clear that the Government is not minded to help and local people are entitled to wonder just what Harriet Harman meant when she said in Winchester (*) recently ‘we will not leave (charities) on their own’.
"The creditors meeting earlier this week confirmed that any recovery of funds will be an immensely long and drawn out process, with no certainty about the outcome. Given the implications for the tax-payer as Hampshire PCT is left to fill the gap created by a reduction in services from Naomi House, such as outreach which has already been curtailed, we are simply asking Ministers to see the short-sightedness of non-action at this time.”
The petition (with a full list of signatures and latest totals) can be found at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/CharityHelp/
You can see the House of Commons debate in full HERE.