Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

Jim Dobbin - Heywood & Middleton MP

I begin this week’s letter from Westminster with a plea for support for the campaign to help the Christie Cancer Charity get the £6.5million returned from the Financial Services Compensation scheme as soon as possible following the collapse of the Kauphing Singer and Friedlander bank.

The charity is applying for a judicial review of this decision refused by the Financial Services Authority. This decision is unjust and will deny this leading cancer hospital resources for research and treatment of this dreadful disease. MPs across Greater Manchester will play their part in fighting for a successful outcome.

The damning report on the hospital in Stafford highlights mismanagement of the highest order. There is no excuse for what happened in that hospital.

There have been unprecedented levels of increased funding poured into the NHS. There are more doctors and nurses than ever before. This should not happen these days. It looks as if the management failed to listen to numerous warnings from doctors and nurses who were complaining about staff shortages. It looks as if the NHS Trust has mismanaged its resources.

People tell me they are struggling to stay on top of their bills and pay their debts. I want anyone in difficulties to be able to access the advice they need. The Government is determined to help consumers through these tough times. I welcome Labour’s real help and protection for consumers unveiled this week by the Prime Minister. The action taken is to prevent people getting trapped in a cycle of debt.

There are measures to ensure fair treatment by courts and debt-enforcement agencies. There will also be a crackdown on dodgy scams and get rich schemes. It is vital that people who are facing money worries know where to turn to for help.

A paper presented by the Secretary for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne wants to strengthen public services. The Government he says will provide 1 million people with a preventative health check free on the NHS by April 2010. Extend GP access with around three quarters of GP practices open in early mornings, evenings or weekends, and open around 135 new GP health centres, open eight to eight seven days a week. There will be more invested in adult care.

Crime and Policing in Heywood and Middleton constituency will benefit from more personalised support for 35,000 young victims of crime, and reduce red tape for police officers, freeing up the equivalent of 2,500 to 3,500 officers over time.

On Friday 6 March I visited St. Gabriel’s Church of England Primary School, Middleton, where Head Teacher Janet Abbott had arranged a really interesting assembly enjoyed by the whole school. I then saw presentations by children in each year group which had a series of different themes. I enjoyed the visit immensely and thank the staff and children for their splendid efforts.

I then had to dash to the Pilsworth Industrial Estate to meet Roger Styles, Managing Director of Paul Hartmans Ltd, who manufacture and distribute incontinence aids to GP practices and Hospitals around the country. They want me to take up a specific problem with those who allocate contracts in the NHS. I will do my best to solve their difficulty.

I attended a service at Our Lady’s Wood St, Langley estate to celebrate “Women’s World day of Prayer.” The theme was on Papua New Guinea and there was a great turn out of mainly women from all the neighbouring churches and a buffet celebration afterwards. The Mayor and Mayoress also attended.

I left my surgery in Heywood Civic Centre to launch the local Police open day at Woodland Primary School. The Police under the direction of Inspector Butterworth had put on an impressive display of local police services as part of getting to know the local community.

I had a meeting with Caroline Haynes, an advisor to the Department of Work and Pensions, to seek support for a programme of help to encourage those who have an addiction to tranquillisers to come off and enable them to get back into work. I estimate there are 1.5 million people in this situation.

In the evening I attended a dinner in support of the breast cancer campaign in the Commons. The following evening I joined North West MPs to celebrate the success of the University of Central Lancashire, and listened to presentations by the Vice Chancellor and his staff.

On Saturday 14 I had an exceptionally busy surgery in the New Middleton Arena.

Jim Rowbotham died recently and Rev. Mick Huck gave the obituary and did Jim’s memory justice. It was a moving service for an unforgettable man.

On Wednesday 18 March I led a delegation to meet Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell to discuss disability issues associated with Myothenia Gravis, a neuro-muscular disease that affects people in different ways and at different times of life but is seriously debilitating. Two of my grandsons have congenital myasthenia. We met to see what help the department could offer.

In the evening I joined a number of Catholic MPs invited to discuss topical issues of the day with Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor before he leaves his post as Archbishop of Westminster. He has been a gentle caring leader of the church in England and Wales.

I was in the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss the Global economic situation, the Lisbon Treaty and the Czech Presidency. We went by Eurostar in the morning and back in the afternoon.

On 21 March I went off to Northampton in the morning and Taiwan in the evening to present a paper at a Medical Scientific Conference on Pneumococcal Vaccines in the developing world, my second such visit in three weeks. I’ll report back in my next article.