Letter from Parliament - Liz McInnes MP

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Liz McInnes MP

The last two weeks have been busy in the constituency and in Westminster.

I was pleased to see that we won the vote in Parliament to introduce a statutory clause to the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.

A large number of constituents contacted me and asked that I support the amendment which is designed to prevent pubcos from charging unreasonably high rents and beer prices.

It follows the large number of small pubs that have been closing through financial pressure and will hopefully provide a fairer deal for landlords. It is good to know that this will only apply to companies who own over 500 pubs. This will not affect family brewers like our own John Willie Lees.

I also took part in my first adjournment debate on international development and disability. People with a disability are far too often forgotten about in international development planning and yet they are a group far more likely to miss out on education, health and welfare opportunities. The point of the debate was for the Department of International Development to be truly inclusive and make sure that people with a disability are not left out.

Of course, we had the report and statement on the shocking and tragic murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby. I was able to ask the Prime Minister for his assurance that Lee’s family would receive answers to their questions from the report and also that the Prime minister would meet with the family, both of which the Prime Minister agreed to. Lee’s family deserve all the support that we can give them at this very difficult time.

As some readers will be aware, prior to being elected as your MP I worked as a healthcare scientist in the pathology labs at the Royal Oldham Hospital. It's a great pleasure to go back to the hospital and visit old workmates. Whenever I go back I am always struck by the massive contribution made to our NHS by workers from overseas.

Without the hard work of dedicated staff from outside of the UK, our NHS would not be able to function. From doctors to healthcare scientists to porters, they all do their bit to ensure that our NHS continues to work as well as it can for everybody.

I’ve had many constituents contact me about excessive teacher workload. The relentless changes to the education system that have been introduced by the Coalition Government have raised the workload of the average primary and secondary school classroom teacher by six and nine hours respectively. Sadly, 40% of new teacher trainees leave the job within the first five years. I have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, to raise the concerns of constituents and to urge for better support for teachers. I have also tabled a question to the Minister asking if she is aware of and will support and promote the NUT's eight step campaign to reduce the workload of teachers.

There has also been a large number of constituents who have asked that I support calls for a new law protecting shop workers from violence, threats and abuse. I am pleased to be able to do so and hope that the Coalition Government is listening.

It was a great pleasure to be asked to judge the shop window competition as part of Small Business Saturday. It was fantastic to see so many of the great businesses in Heywood and in Middleton take part this year. The standard of entries for the window dressing competition was very high and it was lovely to meet everyone who had taken part.

I was also very happy to be able to go to Alkrington Community Centre for their Christmas Fair. It was really well attended and fantastic to be able to support local business and also the community groups who were there.

At the weekend I enjoyed a fantastic concert given by Rochdale Youth Orchestra at Gracie Fields Theatre. It was a brilliant night with many talented young people. I was also happy to be invited to The Gift at St John Hopwood. Again, another brilliant performance. Well done to all who took part.