Letter from Parliament

Parliament has just returned this week after the Easter Recess.  Looking back on the last few months I am proud to note there is a number of achievements that Labour has delivered that will make a real difference to people’s lives.

The government announced an increase in the national minimum wage from October and a new deal for carers that will provide a national helpline for carers to assist their needs.  They implemented the Violent Crime Reduction Act that provides tough measures against crime, published the Climate Change Bill to contract carbon emissions(the first of its kind in any country) and proposed legislation for speedier compensation for all diagnosed with mesothelioma. 

New rules were initiated on school admissions in England that will mean all children regardless of their background will have a fair opportunity of gaining a place at the school they wish to attend.  This government pressed for more countries to sign up to the International Whaling Commission to protect whales and dolphins around the globe, announced increases in holiday entitlement for workers from 20 days to 28 days per year, set out in the budget the increases in public spending in education to its highest level ever and set about reforming the tax system to reward work. Support is now available for families with children and 600,000 pensioners will be taken out of income tax.

 We saw history being made when devolved government was restored in Northern Ireland after an incredible meeting between the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein that will ensure the people of Northern Ireland get the future they want and give heart to all who have wanted this process to succeed.  It is a tribute to the commitment of everyone involved in bringing peace and devolution over many years, including all the political parties in Northern Ireland.

The Government also signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Human Trafficking and on the same day the government also published domestic plans to tackle crime.  Key measures include establishing specialist teams at ports of entry into the UK to spot traffickers at work.  They have created a child trafficking telephone advice line to help social workers, police and immigration staff deal with complex problems caused by trafficking.  The publication of the action plan demonstrates the government’s commitment to do more to help identify the victims and perpetrators of this heinous crime.

It dismays me that at a time when the number of elderly people and adults with special needs is growing, the Liberal Democratic Council in Rochdale is persisting with a policy of budget cuts for this year.  The victims of these cuts  are the most vulnerable members of our community and I find the decision staggeringly harsh.

During the recess, I had a number of constituency events to attend beginning with the launch of a Christmas Savings Scheme at the office of StreetCred in Middleton.  Last year the collapse of Farepak, the Christmas Hamper scheme left 100.000 families without the goods they had paid for.  The government have worked well with industry to come up with a scheme to ring fence funds held on behalf of customers with control of the fund resting with independent trustees rather than the company.  This agreement means that for the first time, every consumer of the British hamper industry will have their payments protected to ensure that the scandal of Farepak never happens again. I am

delighted that our own borough wide credit union Street Cred has given the same protection to local savers.  I encourage the people of Middleton to have confidence in the local scheme and use it.

The same afternoon I visited the Demesne Community Centre and the Cancer patient group that meets there supported by Mal McColl and Christine Abbott.  They have MacMillan Nurses there to help them and I found the visit helped me to understand some of the difficulties they face everyday.  They are a great group who support and inspire each other.  They were all refreshingly upbeat and hopeful.

The day ended with a visit to Fiddler on the Roof by St Thomas More’s Amateur Dramatic Society.  It’s one of the best musicals and the cast did it more than justice with polished performances from everyone.  Saturday morning, the Mayor Cllr Jean Hornby, the Youth Member of Parliament and I opened the Heywood Together exhibition in the Heywood Civic Hall.  It reminded me of all the good work that Heywood Township, New Deal for Communities, police, churches and many other support groups are contributing by working together.
 
On Palm Sunday, I visited the spring Fair at the Hospice.  It’s always a pleasure to meet with the Chairman Margaret Geoghegan, the Chief Executive Christine Webb, the Fundraising Manager Ian Jenkins and all the other tireless workers who do a tremendous job keeping the Hospice going.  I am pleased to have been invited to open their Conference on Palliative Care later this year.  Good Friday ended with an interfaith service at St Margaret’s Heywood.

I attended a lunch at the Midland  Hotel in Manchester to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Manchester airport plc.  This airport is frequently voted the best in the world by the airlines and is a tribute to its public sector shareholders, the 10 Greater Manchester Councils. The evening saw me at New Century Hall in Manchester for the Co-op Charity Awards evening and I learnt about the tremendous charitable work that the co-op does.  My constituency is sponsored by the Co-op movement and I am proud to be a Labour and Co-op MP.

On Friday the weather was lovely and I had afternoon tea at Nutter’s Restaurant in support of the Mayor’s charities, Scope and Mind.  On Saturday I attended the induction service at Bamford Chapel for Dr Deborah Anderson the new minister. On behalf of all my constituents I welcomed Dr Anderson to what is an extremely friendly and community oriented congregation.

We returned to Westminster on Sunday to prepare for the beginning of the Parliamentary Session.