Reg. Charity No.1117509
The Matthew Fulham Foundation
My feelings about the Budget is that because there were no horror stories in it every one thinks every thing is Hunky Dory.
Whilst it is apparent that we have obtained a level of recognition from the UK Government . The charitable donation is not a solution. It is merely a token by the Government and is in response, no doubt, to the bad publicity that they received regarding their failure to assist.
It is, of course, to be remembered that the donation is to be for victims both in the UK and abroad. This should and ought to be a retrospective payment for those that need it and, if so, I very much doubt there will be enough money to pay for the immediate needs given the very many people who have been afflicted by terrorism. What I think this does do is endeavour to try to take some of the heat out of the situation for the government. By the time the money has been dealt with, in whatever way that may be, this may have become a much quieter "press" story from the Government’s point of view. The national media seem to be playing right into the governments hands as far as this issue is concerned, because I have seen next to no media coverage regarding this 'donation' as inadequate, for what it is to be used for.
A million pounds sounds like a lot of money to an individual, but you have to realise that this has to shared by all the bereaved and the injured. The London bombing victims were given a share of £9 million as a stop gap because the the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority take 10 months to decide how much and who to give compensation to (see here). The CICa scheme is not available to victims of criminal injuries overseas.
It is imperative that we all stand firm in the view that the Government should set up a properly funded Scheme to help British victims of terrorism abroad. According to the government we are at war with terrorism, our relatives were on the front line on the 23 July 2005 and should be treated as such.
Lord Brennan QC has plans for a Private Member’s Bill. It is expected that the Bill regarding financial assistance and acts of terrorism will be before the House of Lords towards the end of this year.
Whilst it is apparent that we have obtained a level of recognition from the UK Government . The charitable donation is not a solution. It is merely a token by the Government and is in response, no doubt, to the bad publicity that they received regarding their failure to assist.
It is, of course, to be remembered that the donation is to be for victims both in the UK and abroad. This should and ought to be a retrospective payment for those that need it and, if so, I very much doubt there will be enough money to pay for the immediate needs given the very many people who have been afflicted by terrorism. What I think this does do is endeavour to try to take some of the heat out of the situation for the government. By the time the money has been dealt with, in whatever way that may be, this may have become a much quieter "press" story from the Government’s point of view. The national media seem to be playing right into the governments hands as far as this issue is concerned, because I have seen next to no media coverage regarding this 'donation' as inadequate, for what it is to be used for.
A million pounds sounds like a lot of money to an individual, but you have to realise that this has to shared by all the bereaved and the injured. The London bombing victims were given a share of £9 million as a stop gap because the the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority take 10 months to decide how much and who to give compensation to (see here). The CICa scheme is not available to victims of criminal injuries overseas.
It is imperative that we all stand firm in the view that the Government should set up a properly funded Scheme to help British victims of terrorism abroad. According to the government we are at war with terrorism, our relatives were on the front line on the 23 July 2005 and should be treated as such.
Lord Brennan QC has plans for a Private Member’s Bill. It is expected that the Bill regarding financial assistance and acts of terrorism will be before the House of Lords towards the end of this year.
The Budget £million
