Start The Week
Every Monday morning I’m posting my new ‘Start the Week’ piece which is a preview of my week. I want to keep informed about my work in Westminster and in Sheffield. Let me know your views and do pass on any feedback.
Start The Week: Business Select Committee, Universities, DVLA, Health and Safety, Local Radio and more
Monday 20th February - I'm busy with the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee for much of Tuesday. We'll be discussing the latest position regarding the appointment of Professor Les Ebdon as Director of the Office of Fair Access. Although I'm pleased that Professor Ebdon has been confirmed as OFFA Director, I'm appalled at the way he has been treated by Tory opponents of his appointment (see my comments in The Guardian and my previous statement on the issue). We'll also be discussing the draft report on high cost credit and debt management companies, which exploit some of the most vulnerable families, and then we have a briefing in preparation for our next major inquiry, on apprenticeships. In the afternoon, we'll be questioning Ofcom and Consumer Focus on stamp price increases and the Post Office Network.
We've a meeting of the All-Party University Group, of which I'm Secretary, on Wednesday on the theme 'In Defence of Public Education', which could hardly be more topical, and I'll be joining colleagues at an event to mark the 90th 'birthday' of the National Union of Students (NUS) on Tuesday. NUS, and local students' unions, have played an important role in the development of higher education over the last nine decades and I'm pleased they'll be holding their Annual Conference in Sheffield this year. I'm a member of Unite and on Tuesday our Parliamentary Group has a meeting with the General Secretary, Len McCluskey. Following that, I'll be attending an event organised by the Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, because I'm worried about the way that the Government are undermining confidence in health and safety at work.
Also this week, I'll be meeting with PCS regarding the closure of local DVLA offices (including the one in Sheffield), on which I'm seeking a meeting with the Minister, catching up with a constituent at the All-Party Group on Allergies, and attending a meeting on manufacturing growth in the regions. Back in Sheffield on Friday, I'm catching up with the Station Editor at BBC Radio Sheffield on latest developments for local radio, meeting the Development Manager at Sharrow Community Forum, discussing the work of local charity Neurocare with their fundraising manager, holding an open surgery for constituents, meeting with local Councillors and attending the monthly meeting of my Constituency Labour Party. On Saturday, I'll be out meeting constituents in Walkley and Broomhill and on Sunday I'm hoping to join other Blades at Bramall Lane to watch the derby game on the big screen.
Start The Week: A busy week in the constituency -local shops, apprenticeships, a student surgery and more...
Monday 13th February - Parliament's in recess this week, which provides a great opportunity to get out and about here in Sheffield. This morning I'm meeting with Board members of the Manor and Castle Development Trust and touring their services - including the Woodthorpe Children's Centre, the Manor Park Space 'one stop shop' and their education youth work project Signpost. Later in the week, I'll be out visiting shopkeepers on South Road in Walkley. Thriving local shopping centres are vital to maintaining strong communities, but we need action to support them from the challenges posed by the hypermarkets and difficult trading conditions. The recent Portas Review by Mary Portas (Queen of Shops) made some positive recommendations, and I want to hear what those involved in running small shops think - do get in touch with your views. How could our local shops be better supported?
I'll also be following up on my activities last week to promote apprenticeships, in which we had a very successful drop-in for small businesses with the National Apprenticeship Service and a really useful 'round table' discussion with businesses, training providers, and other key stakeholders on how to get more apprenticeships in small businesses (for which I'm really grateful to the Master Cutler, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses and The Star, for the support they gave me). This week, I'll be visiting Sheffield Forgemasters to look at their apprenticeship scheme and I'll be going to Sheffield College to talk with their Chief Executive about their new initiatives to help small businesses take on apprentices.
On Wednesday, I'll be up at the University of Sheffield, holding an open surgery for student constituents and meeting with Officers of the Students' Union. I'm really pleased to have both our great universities in my constituency and am active on higher educational issues in Parliament. I was angry about the way that Tory members of the Business Select Committee last week 'ambushed' the Government's own nomination for Director of Fair Access, putting coalition politics before the important issue of widening access to our universities.
I'll also be meeting the Chief Executive of Voluntary Action Sheffield, officers from the Public and Commercial Services Union, representatives of Residents Against Station Closure among others during the week, and I'll be out knocking on doors, meeting constituents in different parts of the constituency. And I've already finished my first meeting of the week , with Jay Baker of SilenceBreakers, to get his ideas on how I can use social media to reach out even more to constituents. I'm always trying to find better ways of keeping in touch -if you've got any tips let me know. And don't forget you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook, it's a really useful way for me to get your views.
Start the Week: Saving the NHS, promoting apprenticeships, pressing for funding for our museums, launching 'Cafe Culture' and more
Monday 6th February - Much of the focus in Westminster this week will be on the House of Lords, where Labour is working with others to stop the damaging changes to the NHS. It's an issue I've spoken on in Parliament, representing the concerns of hundreds of constituents who have contacted me. As Ed Miliband said in the Observer yesterday and the Guardian today, we can still stop the Government and use the money planned for reorganisation to save 6000 nursing jobs. Add your name to the campaign to drop the bill here.
I've been keen to promote apprenticeships to give young people skills and a route into work, and am grateful for the support I've had from The Star (do read the features they are running every day this week), the Master Cutler, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses. This is National Apprenticeship Week and I'll be attending events on the issue in Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Friday, back in Sheffield, I'm co-chairing a roundtable on how to get more apprenticeships and hosting a drop-in session for small businesses - at the Cutlers Hall (details above).
Lots of people have contacted me on the Arts Council decision to reject a funding bid from Museums Sheffield, and I've already outlined my concerns on the issue (see here). On Thursday, I've arranged to meet the Chief Executive of the Arts Council to press the case for Sheffield.
I've a busy week with the Business Select Committee - meeting today to consider the appointment of the Director of the Office of Fair Access (OFFA), taking evidence on Tuesday for our Inquiry on the Insolvency Service, and visiting the British Library's Business and Intellectual Property Centre on Thursday. Our report on high cost credit and debt management companies will be out soon, and this week I'll be attending the evidence session of the All Party Group on Debt & Personal Finance and meeting the Chair of the UK Cards Association.
I'm really looking forward to launching the 'Cafe Culture' series of open discussions on topical issues at the Harland Cafe (formerly Cafe Euro) on John Street, at 7pm on Friday. The owners, Steve and Sara, run a great cafe and these discussion evenings promise to be popular events. I'll be sharing my thoughts on how we build the 'Good Society' and am keen to hear the views of others - there's still a few tickets left (contact the Cafe for details). Before that, and after the apprenticeship events, I'll be up in Leeds at the BBC, filming for the Sunday Politics Show. Saturday starts with an open surgery at my office, and then I'll be knocking on doors and meeting constituents in Nether Edge before heading to Bramall Lane for the Wycombe game.
Start The Week: University applications, NHS reforms, the Welfare Bill and more
Monday 30th January - My week started at 7.20 this morning with an interview with Radio Sheffield's Toby Foster on today's announcement on falling applications to universities (applications are down by 8.7% on last year) as a result of the Government trebling tuition fees to up to £9,000. As Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary University Group, it's an issue I've been following closely. I'm not simply concerned with the overall drop, but will be looking at which social groups are affected. We're seeing the biggest fall in applications for 30 years, reversing the growth under Labo
ur, which will not only reduce the life chances of those who cannot afford university, but undermine the development of the skills our economy needs. Co-incidentally, tonight I'm hosting an event at the House of Commons for the University of Sheffield to brief South Yorkshire MPs on their latest plans and the role they will play in developing the city's economy - building on their pioneering projects like the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.
Before that, I'll be in the Commons supporting our Communities and Local Government team, as PPS to Hilary Benn, in challenging Eric Pickles and the Government on housing, planning, and the unfair impact of the way they will be localising business rates. Then I'm joining a small seminar with Health Secretary Andrew Lansley on the impact of his Health Bill on the treatment of brain tumours, organised by the All-Party Brain Tumour Group, which I joined after my own successful treatment for a benign meningioma last summer. While we'll be questioning Lansley on this specific issue, pressure is growing for him to stop the bill (you can add your voice here) and save the NHS.
Tuesday starts with a Delegated Legislation Committee to consider the Governments plans to force Sheffield Council to organise a referendum to decide whether the city should have an executive Mayor to replace the Leader of the Council. I've not had a single constituent request a mayor, and a public consultation carried out by the Lib Dems in 2009 found little local support, so I'll be arguing that the £168,000 the referendum will cost could be better spent on local services. After that, I've a meeting of the Business Select Committee and will then be spending most of the day in the Chamber for the final day of debate on the Local Government Finance Bill - although calling in to events organised by the British Tamil Forum and the Jammu Kashmir Self Determination Movement.
Wednesday will be dominated by the Government's attempts to overturn the amendments made in the House of Lords on its Welfare Reform Bill. With Labour colleagues, I'll be opposing the Government on plans which they admit will make 20,000 people homeless and cost local authorities more than they'll save. The Tories are trying to undermine our benefits system by talking up stories about abuse. Of course benefits abuse must be tackled (alongside tax evasion by millionaires) but we must make the case for the system too. It's there to protect people when they face hard times; for example, how can it be right that people will lose their homes through an unfairly imposed 'benefits cap' when they are hit by short-term unemployment or disability?
I'll be trying to question Vince Cable on Thursday about the scrapping of his Higher Education Bill, and then spending most of the day interviewing for a Parliamentary Assistant to help with my my work in Westminster, before catching the 7.55 back home. In Sheffield on Friday, I'll be meeting constituents and visiting the Cutlers Hall for the "We Were There" exhibition by Royal Armouries, celebrating the contribution of black and ethnic minority communities to our armed services over the last 250 years. On Saturday, I'll be out knocking on doors and meeting constituents, which is always a great part of the job.
Start The Week: Why we must reform Parliament, City Mayors and a busy constituency day
Monday 23rd January - This week I'll be pressing for changes to the Parliamentary procedures that allowed a small clique of right-wing Tories frustrate the overwhelming majority of us last Friday, by blocking the Daylight Saving Bill. Like many MPs, I put constituency business aside to stay in Westminster to support this popular Private Members Bill which would have introduced a trial to shift clocks to add an hour's daylight to our evenings, in the winter and summer. I've been strongly lobbied by constituents for the move, for which there are many advantages (see Lighter Later campaign) and was planning to highlight road safety gains on the basis of information provided by the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership. But a handful of right-wing Tories droned on endlessly on a series of 'wrecking amendments', so that Parliament ran out of time and the Bill fell. I threw away my speech on road safety and attacked them for discrediting our democratic process (see my comments here), and now I want the procedures changed.
I've a busy week in my role as Hilary Benn's PPS. Hilary is Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. We're continuing the debate on the Local Government Finance Bill (on which I've outlined my views previously -see my blog on Jan 9th) for most of Tuesday, and I'm also on four Delegated Legislation Committees that are meeting this week to consider the Government's plans to force our big cities to hold referenda on whether to introduce Mayors. I'll be opposing the move because I think that cities should be allowed to decide for themselves; in Sheffield, the Council's already consulted on the issue and there's little support, so why waste around £250,000 on a referendum? In the Business Select Committee this week, we're looking at the Insolvency Service and on Wednesday I'll be speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on postgraduate education.
I'm pleased to say that I'll be back in Sheffield this Friday, and making the most of it! I'm visiting the new workshops at Manor Lodge, lighting candles to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, visiting the Salvation Army Lifehouse project for the homeless, meeting with local Councillors, and attending my local Constituency Party meeting. On Saturday, I'm attending a regional local government conference that we're hosting in Sheffield and then spending the afternoon at Bramall Lane - where I'm hoping we can secure passage through to the 4th round of the FA Cup!
Start The Week: Voter Registration, Palestine, Lighter Later and more
Monday 16th January - After Education questions, the first debate today is on Individual Voter Registration, in which I hope to speak. The Government's plans, to change from households being registered as a whole to every individual being required to register, will have a huge impact on who's eligible to vote. The Electoral Commission estimate it will knock 30% of voters off the register, and it will particularly hit inner city constituencies like mine. Already there are 17% of households with nobody on the register (in contrast with Sheffield Hallam, where there are only 4%). And when these reduced registers are used for the next Parliamentary Boundary Review before the 2020 election, it will boost representation in the leafy shires and suburbs at the expense of the inner cities. It's a move towards a US style democracy that excludes the disadvantaged and disengaged, and focuses politics on the needs of the more privileged. Later this evening, I'll be joining colleagues for a meeting with Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. I'm a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, and am keen to hear President Abbas' views on how we can progress a just settlement for the Palestinian people.
On Tuesday the BIS Select Committee, of which I'm a member, will be preparing the report of our Inquiry into the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property. That afternoon, I'm planning to attend a round table discussion on the role of the creative industries in economic regeneration, and that evening HE Minister David Willetts and National Union of Students President Liam Burns will be leading a discussion on the future of higher education at a meeting of the All-Party University Group, of which I'm Secretary. Most of my day on Wednesday will be taken up with the first day of debate in Committee of the Local Government Finance Bill, on which I outlined my views last week.
Parliament is sitting on Friday this week, as it does sometimes to hear Private Members' Bills. I'm staying down in London to support the Daylight Savings Bill, on which I've been contacted by many constituents. I've already spoken in support of the Bill, which is a response to the Lighter Later Campaign, and aims to adjust the clocks so we have an extra hour of daylight every evening. That evening I'm attending a dinner to celebrate the 80th Birthday of Lord Bob Hughes, who I worked alongside in the Anti-Apartheid Movement for more than 20 years.
Back in Sheffield on Saturday, I'm visiting the Weston Park Museum for a tour of Museums Sheffield's new exhibition 'China: Journey to the East' put on in partnership with the British Museum, then going on to see some of the great work going on to promote healthy living at the ZEST centre in Upperthorpe. On Sunday, I'm joining a sponsored walk for Practical Action to raise money for women's co-operative farms in Sudan. If you'd like to find out more, or you'd like to sponsor me, see here.
A New Week - A New Year
Monday 9th January - Parliament's back this week after the Christmas recess, with David Cameron trying to play catch up with Ed Miliband over top bosses' pay. Ed has called for tough action over the runaway rewards taken by top bankers and executives. This weekend Cameron tried to neutralise the issue by calling for shareholders to regulate top pay, knowing this won't make any real difference. Shareholders can already vote on executive pay, but have shown no appetite to upset the corporate gravy train. I think the Government should look at the proposals of the High Pay Commission, involve employees in setting bosses pay and introduce ratios which limit the gap between the highest and lowest pay in every company.
The first main business of the week in the Commons will be the Local Government Finance Bill. As PPS to Hilary Benn MP, I'll be working with our Communities and Local Government team to oppose the Bill which proposes the localisation of Council Business Rates and council tax benefit. Over the last two years Councils have faced huge funding cuts which have unfairly targeted areas like Sheffield with 30% cuts while some wealthy southern areas have had cash increases. Although providing councils with tools to incentivise economic growth is a good thing, the Government's policy on local business rates will benefit those in areas that can command higher business rates, so the gaps between the more prosperous and less well off will widen. And the proposals to localise council tax benefit impose a further 10% cut on councils and will hit the working poor the hardest.
On Thursday I'll be involved in the Backbench Business debate calling for a Statutory Code to regulate the relationship between the big pub companies and their lessees who run local pubs. We've conducted an Inquiry on this relationship in the Business Select Committee and are pressing for the Government to honour their commitment to legislate as we believe voluntary arrangements can't resolve the problems facing local pubs.
Back in Sheffield on Friday, I'm meeting with local Church leaders to discuss the Churches Regional Commission for Yorkshire and the Humber report on 'Christian Mission and the Big Society', catching up with the President of the Chamber of Commerce, visiting a local engineering company, and then meeting with Council leaders. On Saturday, I've a busy programme of meetings with constituents at one of my regular surgeries - see here for details of future surgeries.
