STAFF UPDATE Email to all staff 10th May 2020

It is important during this crisis we try and get our message over to the government by lobbying. Amerton Farm Ltd are members of the National Farm Attractions Network and they are asking us all to write to the Tourist Minister and our Member of Parliament.

Lots of staff, tenants and friends have asked what they can do to help, so we as directors, think this is something we can all do to help to ensure our voices are being heard.

If you are a younger member of staff tell the Minister and your MP your age in the correspondence so we can show diversity of our rural workforce.

Let’s face it this crisis is none of our own making, so we need to be heard loud and clear.

How and What do I do?

We have written a draft email which staff can use or you can write your own.
We are only asking you to write two emails.
The more staff and tenants who do this, the better and the “Bigger the Voice”.
We need to know if you write, because the National Farm Attractions Network are mapping the country to monitor how many times the minister is contacted and also which MPs are contacted.

First Email start by sending an email the Tourism Minister, Mr Nigel Huddleston MP his address is on attachment 1 and template 1.
Send a copy of the minister’s email to his Private Secretary, their address is on attachment 1
Finally send a copy of your email to Eunice (eunice@amertonfarm.co.uk) so she can send it to the National Farm Attractions Network for the mapping process.
Second Email start by sending your email to your MP, his address is on attachment 1 and template 2.
If you do not know who your MP is go to https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP adding your post code and your MP will be displayed. You can get his or her email address from attachment 1.
Finally send a copy of your email to Eunice (eunice@amertonfarm.co.uk) so she can send it to the National Farm Attractions Network for the mapping process.
If you decided to write a letter and not an email, send it to one of the addresses listed on attachment 1, but follow the same lay out as the attached email.

If other members of your family wish to support you then include their name or names on the email or letter, providing they are over 18 years old, the more support the better.
If you are a member of staff, who is 16 years old or under add your age, then ask a parent to support your email by adding their name to it.

Good luck please ring Eunice on 07973134076, if you are unsure of anything or want to ask questions.

Template 1 staff – Minister for Tourism Please fill in the red text.

Mr Nigel Huddleston MP,

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism,

100 Parliament Street,

London,

SW1A 2BQ

Date:

Good Morning / Good Afternoon Minister

I work at Amerton Farm, a large farm diversification between Stafford and Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. It is a family run business established in 1984 and their website address for reference is www.amertonfarm.co.uk. Last year Amerton welcomed 140,000 visitors.

I am writing to you as the Minister for Tourism to ask you to help and assist my employers Amerton Farm Ltd, to ensure I and my colleagues all have a job to return, after the Covid 19 virus.

Amerton Farm is normally open every day of the week and we are obviously very worried about the future of our jobs. Amerton Farm employs 40 staff, there are also 20 tenants who run their own businesses on site and some of those tenants employ staff. There are almost 150 people working on site at the farm, which include volunteers at Amerton Railway.

As a member of staff, I have been furloughed since 18^th March 2020, which is now over 2 months and Amerton iscurrently closed to visitors. Whilst I appreciate the furlough scheme has allowed my employer to keep my job open, which I very much appreciate, I am concerned that businesses like Amerton Farm involved in rural tourism, may need extra help to survive in the next few months.

Amerton Farm provides much needed rural employment and I am writing seeking your urgent help to support the industry I work in, to ensure our site remains in business following Covid 19.

I appreciate that our circumstances are shared by many other businesses, but we truly hope rural tourism will be supported, in these very difficult times.

I hope that you can appreciate my concerns and my request for support and would appreciate if you can please forward my views to the relevant Ministers and Officials.

Many thanks for giving up your valuable time to read my email and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Your Name

Your Address

Your email address (Only if you wish)

Your telephone number (Only if you wish.

Template 2 staff – MP’s Please fill in the red text.

Name of your MP

?????MP

House of Commons,

London,

SW1A 0AA

Date:

Good Morning / Good Afternoon

I work at Amerton Farm, a large farm diversification in between Stafford and Uttoxeter and their website address for reference is www.amertonfarm.co.uk. It is a family business established in 1984 and last year Amerton welcomed 140,000 visitors. I am writing to you as my MP, to ask you to help and assist my employers Amerton Farm Ltd, to ensure I and my colleagues all have a job to return, after the Covid 19 virus.

Amerton is normally open every day of the week and we are obviously very worried about the future of our jobs. Amerton Farm employs 40 staff, there are also 20 tenants who run their own businesses on site and some of those tenants employ staff. There are almost 150 people working on site at the farm, which include volunteers at Amerton Railway.

As a member of staff I have been furloughed since 18^th March 2020, which is now over 2 months and Amerton is currently closed to visitors. Whilst I appreciate the furlough scheme has allowed my employer to keep my job open, which I very much appreciate. However, I am concerned that businesses like Amerton Farm involved in rural tourism, may need extra help to survive in the future months.

Amerton Farm provide much needed rural employment and I am writing seeking your urgent help to support the industry I work in, to ensure our site remains in business following Covid 19.