Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

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Jim Dobbin MP

In the cause of transparency it is right that money spent on behalf of the taxpayer by MPs is published. It helps to explain the cost of providing a decent service to the 81,000 electors across this large constituency.

The sum of around £138,000 employs a total of 3.5 members of staff to run the London office in the House of Commons and the constituency office in Heywood. It also enables me to pay for gas, electric, water, security, all the IT support, postage, business rates and travel to and from London and the constituency every week when Parliament is in session.

There are also six advice surgeries every month across the constituency which generate a large amount of case work and accounts for the need for financial support in order to properly support the people of Heywood and Middleton.

Details of claims made to enable me to perform my job as Member of Parliament are available for people in Heywood and Middleton to view.

In former days you could only enter politics if you were a member of the aristocracy or a wealthy land or mill owner and I don’t think any of us would consider a return to those days.

All receipts are accounted for by the New Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority chaired by Sir Ian Kennedy.

There were very few votes throughout the two week return to Parliament and except for the statement on the Hillsborough Disaster there was little other business of any consequence.

I couldn’t be present for the entire Hillsborough Statement as I was chairing a delegated Committee on the Land Assets in Council ownership and their regulation.

Emotions in the Chamber ran high and most of the Merseyside MPs obviously made powerful contributions.

Credit must go to the families of victims of the disaster and also Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, instrumental in instigating the independent enquiry.

It is disgraceful that successive Governments have failed to release these papers. There has to be a thorough and detailed enquiry into the cover-up that has taken place. The victims and their families must get a just outcome at the end of this process and those who are guilty must be properly punished in order for justice to be seen to be done.

It should be noted that the Royal College of Physicians is publically protesting about the lack of beds, ward closures and shortage of staff. These reduced services are preventing patients, particularly elderly patients, from receiving proper treatment and admission to hospital. We are feeling the effects of this in the North West.

The Health service is visibly undergoing dramatic change, deliberately engineered by the Government towards privatisation.

I was invited to be present at Tesco Extra Store in Middleton Centre for the presentations to Middleton Primary Schools, St. Peter's, Alkrington Primary, Hollins and Newlands Primary.

Tesco supports our primary schools by investing millions in IT with computers and also millions in providing sports coaching and other facilities to our schools.

Despite the great success of our Paralympics the Welfare Benefit Cuts are punishing people who are genuine claimants. MPs are beginning to experience this across the country. It will put some disabled claimants hard.

I met Pete Waterman in the commons at an event to celebrate investment in the northern Rail Hub and encourage him to keep pushing for the Heywood/Castleton Rail Link to be opened up. He has recently supported this which would be a huge benefit for Heywood.