Cooper's Commons for 24th March 2011 - 10:16 am, Thu 24th Mar 2011
In last week’s column I mentioned the British Medical Association’s meeting calling for the Government to withdraw the Health and Social Care Bill because of the serious opposition to the proposals from the medical profession. Later that week there was a Commons debate on the proposals in which I spoke calling on the Government to keep their promise to the British people that there would be no more top down reorganisation of the Health Service. It would seem that the Health Secretary is still refusing to listen to the booming voice of opposition to his plans, which I believe will only damage the National Health Service. As I said in my speech, the Conservative-led Government appears willing to play Russian roulette with our health services, opening it up to European competition regulations leading to its break up.
Due to a family bereavement I was unable to attend the major debate which began the week in parliament on whether to support the UN resolution approving a no-fly zone over Libya. There was clear support within the House of Commons that the UK should support the protection of Libyan people. Though the UN resolution is clear as well, it prohibits a “foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory”. Let us all hope that the situation in Libya is brought to a swift and peaceful end soon.
This week continues with the Chancellor presenting his budget for the next financial year I’d be shocked if he includes any more cuts to public services. I can’t believe there are any more cuts that he could make given the severity of the announcements he has already made.
It is clear to me that this budget has to ease the burden on hard working people and their families. One way is to reduce the costs on fuel at the pump for motorists. I have signed up to FairFuelUK campaign to stop the next increase in fuel duty and I also voted for a motion to reverse the Government’s VAT rise on petrol. This VAT increase is estimated to have cost people in the North West alone £74 million. Labour also believes the extra money raised from the bank levy should be given back to people and I'm absolutely sure this would be welcomed by people in West Lancashire and across the North West region.
By next week’s column we will have had time to scrutinise the detail of the budget and see what it all means for hard working people and their families here in West Lancashire.
Cooper's Commons for 17th March 2011 - 10:13 am, Thu 17th Mar 2011
On Thursday last week I welcomed, Gareth Thomas MP, Shadow Universities Minister to West Lancashire for a meeting at Edge Hill University with Vice-Chancellor, John Cater as well Student Union President Dean Currall and a group of students. I believe that Edge Hill offers a fantastic learning environment and fantastic facilities for young people wanting to learn. It was a very interesting and informative visit. During the meeting with the students there was discussion on a broad range of topics. One of the recurring issues is the future of Higher Education given the challenges created by the Conservative-led Government’s decision to allow tuition fees up to £9000 at the same time cut teaching grants.
As regular readers of this column will know that through my work on the health select committee and as an advocate in a National Health Service I am very concerned by the impact the Government’s Health and Social Care bill will have on our health services. As more detail is revealed, the Health Secretary’s plans have come under real scrutiny and many people, including health professionals, are getting seriously worried. Earlier this week the British Medical Association held its first special representatives meeting in 19 years to debate a whole series of motions in opposition to the Health and Social Care Bill. They went as far as calling for the Government to withdraw the bill and stop the planned reforms of the NHS.
The Government should listen to the very real concerns of the medical profession who are strongly opposed to these reforms, (I very much share their concerns). I wait with baited breath to see if either the Secretary of State or the Prime Minister are listening.
I know that for most people life is tough and challenging at the current time but in comparison given the events in Japan this past week we have much to be grateful for. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people who have lost friends and family, their homes and towns and who are living through what must be their worst nightmare.
When we hear about people having their lives devastated, I think the pictures we see on television shows what this truly means.
Cooper's Commons for 10th March 2011 - 10:12 am, Thu 10th Mar 2011
Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. One of the themes of 2011’s events was ‘women and men united to end violence against women and girls’. This theme reminds us that however far women have come in the past 100 years and the achievements that have been secured that there is still much to do.
Organisations like West Lancashire Women’s Refuge are vital in the battle against domestic violence. They offer hope and the belief that there is a better future for women subjected to domestic violence To highlight their work and the issue of domestic violence a ‘Celebration of Women Through the Ages’ event was held at Edge Hill University on Tuesday.
The continued presence of domestic violence is a sad and damning indictment of our 21st Century society, which is why we all must do what we can support West Lancashire Women’s Refuge and the work they do to tackle head on the scourge of domestic violence.
In recent months I have received emails and letters from a large number of constituents concerned about News Corporations plans to takeover BSkyB. There is much opposition to these proposals amongst the public, in Parliament and the media industry itself. The integrity of our democracy depends on news being provided from a variety of sources, with no one dominant voice and, as such, I have long held reservations about this proposal.
It was a serious concern when towards the end of last week the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, announced his intention to allow News Corporation’s controversial takeover of BSkyB to proceed. This is despite an Ofcom report, sent to the Secretary of State on 31st December 2010, recommending referral of the bid to the Competition Commission and his statement to Parliament in January saying he intended to pursue this course of action. The takeover is now open to consultation until 21st March, after which Jeremy Hunt will make a final decision.
As my colleague Chris Bryant said: “This is a particularly shabby deal by a minister who made up his mind a long time ago.”
Cooper's Commons for 3rd March - 01:48 pm, Thu 3rd Mar 2011
My week in Parliament started with questions to Communities and Local Government Ministers seeking reassurances that cuts to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services budgets will not mean public safety is compromised. Our firefighters in Lancashire do a fantastic job protecting us against fires. In recent years Lancashire’s firefighters have worked to reduce the incidents of arson and fire casualties by nearly 25%.
Decisions to cut the budgets of our vital public services are not a straightforward financial decision about how many pounds can be saved or cut. Whether we realise it or not we are all dependent on our public services to varying degrees; for some they are a lifeline. As in the case of the fire service quite simply we cannot afford to give greater importance to saving money and neglect people’s safety and wellbeing.
On Tuesday and Thursday of this week, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust host public meetings in Ormskirk and Skelmersdale to discuss changes to local healthcare. In last week’s Advertiser I encouraged residents to go along to these public events. As I said previously, my priority is and has always been to ensure that the people of West Lancashire have access to the best possible healthcare services on their doorstep. I believe that these changes are the best way to keep services local and improve the quality of services currently available. This is why I am 100% behind these proposals which we have been working on for quite some time and are nothing to do with the Governments new White paper on health and social care which will see the dismantling of the NHS as we know it.
I have a question to the Cabinet Office Ministers as well this week asking about the change in the number of jobs within the voluntary sector over the next three years. It is a rather topical question given that the public and voluntary sectors face massive funding cuts meaning people will lose their jobs, services will be cut and many vital community and charity projects will have to close their doors. I wonder if the irony of all this has been lost on the Prime Minister as he attempts to revive his flagship idea of the Big Society, in which he wants people to take on greater responsibility for providing services and playing an active role in their communities (as if there aren’t large numbers of people not already volunteering their time and efforts) through charities and voluntary organisations. Is the Big Society really just code for cheap labour?
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Working hard for the people of West Lancashire.