Cllr Jonathan Bishop LLM, MScEcon, FRSA

8 Heol-y-Parc
Efail Isaf
Pontypridd
Wales
CF38 1AN
Phone: 07092 107212
Email: jonathan@jonathanbishop.eu
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Dear Owen,
As you know there are a lot of anti-immigration stories in the Daily Mail, popularising the view of
people on the right of the Conservative Party over the more progressive ones like Ken Clarke.
Unfortunately, I regard the Immigration Minister, by saying even though Im disabled if I want to
take up my rights to free-movement in the EU beyond the UK then I must be self-sufficient highly
offensive, and discriminatory on the grounds of disability under Article 10 TFEU of the EU Treaty as
the UK Government by holding this view is creating barriers to free movement of UK Citizens with
disabilities, which is affecting trade in other EU countries that we are not able to take up using our
rights under the Services Directive.
As I have said it is my view that EU Law should change so that EU Citizens have their social aid
entitlements paid by the Member State of which they are a national and not the one in which they
reside.
I strongly feel that so long as I keep paying my Class 2 National Insurance that I should be able to
move to Belgium and keep the support I need, such as Disability Living Allowance (or Personal
Independent Payment as appropriate) and the Access to Work funding I have to give me a support
worker to overcome my disabilities as well as subside Bupa International so I can get the help I
currently get from the NHS and Social Services.
If the UK Government think it is wrong that EU nationals claim benefits here, do they think it not
wrong the Belgian authorities would have to pay for my welfare while Im there? Assuming I pass
the same degrading assessments I have had to in the UK!
Let me give you a reason why the Immigration Minister, Damien Green, whom I perceive as biased
and therefore who I perceive as unprofessional and therefore who I perceive as a bigot, might what
to change the system.
I will be forwarding Gareth a scan of the cover of the Big Issue I bought a several minutes ago in
Cardiff Queen Street. It was sold by someone called Alex (Seller number 254). On probing him with
questions, he said he had moved to the UK from Hungary to live with a friend who worked in a hotel
and to sell the Big Issue afterwards when his friend stopped supporting him. This resembled a
recurring story in the Daily Mail which I felt discomforting to see in reality.
I am generally pro-economic immigration. In fact I am receiving advice from my local university to
give a student from Uganda studying there work experience in journal paper writing, which will not
only help him in his career, but me in mine also.

As a Master of Economic and Social Science, I share the more vernacularly presented concerns of the
UK public that the opportunity costs of allowing people from elsewhere in the EU to sell the Big
Issue, means there is a homeless person that is a UK National going without help.
As a Master of Laws in EU Law, the UK Government may wish to note that EU Directives are directed
at Member States and their organs of the state and have direct effect on them, but there is nothing
stopping the UK Government extending the provisions of a Directive to give UK businesses more
rights and less red tape. The only considering is that if this falls within Article 34 (i.e. discriminates
against other EU Nationals or Undertakings), that it is also covered by the rule of reason.
Such a provision could include making sure that the consumer interest is protected, so they have
enough information about who they are buying Big Issues from or other services under the Services
Directive, so that it supports their belief-system about who they want to buy from, which is
protected by the Equality Act 2010 that implements and extends EU Directives on equality. This may
mean the Big Issue will decide to only offer those persons for which there is a market demand to sell
the Big Issue based on consumer preferences and supply and demand figures of the most successful
sellers so that the scheme gets its maximum benefit for homeless people.
I hope you will be able to pass this information on to the Minister, and your colleagues may want to
study the scope of Article 34 and the rule of reason more carefully to respond to the claims that the
EU Directives which David Cameron and other EU Governments vote for in secret in the Council of
Ministers get the scrutiny they deserve.
I understand from Jeremy Paxmans Political Animal book that Chris Bryant has cited Article 34
TFEU wrongly when attempting talk out a Bill on food labelling when it had changed to Article 29
TEC from its original Article 34 EEC which it has now returned to, so he might be able to help!
Regards,
Cllr Jonathan Bishop LLM N.B. Big Issue Cover to follow