Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Monday 27th was my first day back at Parliament. After my busy constituency week, I felt it was only right to whinge, complain and make colleagues who had been away on holiday or out of the country feel guilty. I am afraid it didn't work - MPs can be heartless at times…
I attended the launch of the Local Democracy campaign. My friend and colleague Ed Miliband MP spoke at the event. A particular issue is encouraging young people to engage with political processes, and a recent report co-authored with the APPG on Youth Affairs and the Hansard Society stressed the need for MPs to meet their younger constituents and find out which issues are important to them.
The Public Accounts Committee today looked into improving poorly performing schools in England. Standards of school education have a strong influence on whether young people develop the skills, knowledge and qualities they need to lead happy and successful lives. All the witnesses who gave evidence agreed that the Government’s proposed education reforms are crucial in order to address some of the problems highlighted by the National Audit Office report.
One of the problems all MP's have to deal with is the varying diary commitments we have. This often leads to us having to leave meetings early and turning up to others late. This evening, I was supposed to speak at a meeting to promote the Festival of Muslim Cultures (details here.) but could not do so due to the select committee I was attending. Fortunately I was able to pop in for 30 minutes towards the end and speak to the organisers, volunteers and supporters of this exciting project.
On Tuesday morning I met with the director of the Council for Arab British Understanding (CAABU) - a cross party group who promote a positive approach to Arab-British relations. In the current context this is clearly a priority. I was happy to agree to a request to join the group.
At lunchtime, I was interviewed by a student who is doing a project on the far right and in particular the rise of the BNP. In the 2004 council and European elections, the BNP secured more than 800,000 votes and currently have 19 councillors in all parts of the country – it is vitally important that we are not complacent about the threat that they pose in the upcoming council elections.
In the evening I was the guest speaker at a dinner organised by the Society of Asian Lawyers. A hundred lawyers were packed into a restaurant in Bayswater to hear me talk about my experiences over the last 9 months, the challenges minority communities face, as well issues surrounding the law and lawyers. The questions from the audience were wide ranging, but there was some light relief when I was asked how I could be taken seriously when in a recent interview, in answer to the question as to who I would like to be stranded on a desert island with, I had chosen Muhammed Ali over the likes of Halle Berry or Kate Moss?
In the afternoon, I attended the ‘Carbon Dating’ lobby at the Methodist Central Hall organised by Stop Climate Chaos. This involved speed dating mixed groups of grassroots supporters drawn from across the country. The main topic raised was a UK carbon budget to ensure UK greenhouse gas emissions fall by 3% year by year. The Prime Minister confirmed earlier at PMQs that he is looking into this.
In the chamber in the afternoon, I raised local issues in the Opposition Debate on the future of cancer services. You can read this intervention here.
In the evening, I joined Keith Vaz MP (who is one of the judges of the Tiffin Cup Competition to find the best South Asian restaurant in the UK), in Mirch Masala restaurant in Tooting. The evening culminated with confirmation from Keith that Mirch Masala had made the final shortlist, and will be competing against the other 15 restaurants (chosen out of 10,000 in the UK) in a ‘cook-in’ at the Commons. A picture of Mirch Masala receiving the confirmation letter from Keith is here.
On Thursday morning, I organised a Bigger Breakfast event with Cancer Research UK at the House of Commons which was attended by many other MPs to raise awareness of the charity's campaign.
I also had a meeting with Macmillan Cancer Relief about issues they wanted to raise surrounding quality of life of cancer sufferers. Last year 39% of cancer patients experienced significant financial problems because of their condition. The recent report published by the Public Accounts Committee, of which I am a member, highlighted that “The benefits system needs to be more effective in providing financial support for cancer patients.” In 2005 Macmillan advisers worked on more than 8800 cases and helped patients to secure entitlements of £16.4 million in benefits and grants. However their resources are limited and they can only assist about 3% of new cancer registrations. Macmillan are stressing the need for a nationwide network of specialist benefit advisers to ensure that all cancer patients can receive the benefits to which they are entitled. They are also requesting that the qualifying rules for benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance are revised to take account of the sudden onset of disabilities caused by cancer. Finally, Macmillan are advocating the extension of the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to all cancer patients. I have taken up all these issues with the Secretary of State for Health – Patricia Hewitt.
On Thursday evening, we had the last of the Just Listening consultation exercises which we held in the House of Commons. We had an excellent turnout of Tooting Head Teachers, teachers, police officers, pensioners and other local residents. The evening ended by me giving a guided tour around the Houses of Parliament. A picture from the event is here.
Sadiq
I attended the launch of the Local Democracy campaign. My friend and colleague Ed Miliband MP spoke at the event. A particular issue is encouraging young people to engage with political processes, and a recent report co-authored with the APPG on Youth Affairs and the Hansard Society stressed the need for MPs to meet their younger constituents and find out which issues are important to them.
The Public Accounts Committee today looked into improving poorly performing schools in England. Standards of school education have a strong influence on whether young people develop the skills, knowledge and qualities they need to lead happy and successful lives. All the witnesses who gave evidence agreed that the Government’s proposed education reforms are crucial in order to address some of the problems highlighted by the National Audit Office report.
One of the problems all MP's have to deal with is the varying diary commitments we have. This often leads to us having to leave meetings early and turning up to others late. This evening, I was supposed to speak at a meeting to promote the Festival of Muslim Cultures (details here.) but could not do so due to the select committee I was attending. Fortunately I was able to pop in for 30 minutes towards the end and speak to the organisers, volunteers and supporters of this exciting project.
On Tuesday morning I met with the director of the Council for Arab British Understanding (CAABU) - a cross party group who promote a positive approach to Arab-British relations. In the current context this is clearly a priority. I was happy to agree to a request to join the group.
At lunchtime, I was interviewed by a student who is doing a project on the far right and in particular the rise of the BNP. In the 2004 council and European elections, the BNP secured more than 800,000 votes and currently have 19 councillors in all parts of the country – it is vitally important that we are not complacent about the threat that they pose in the upcoming council elections.
In the evening I was the guest speaker at a dinner organised by the Society of Asian Lawyers. A hundred lawyers were packed into a restaurant in Bayswater to hear me talk about my experiences over the last 9 months, the challenges minority communities face, as well issues surrounding the law and lawyers. The questions from the audience were wide ranging, but there was some light relief when I was asked how I could be taken seriously when in a recent interview, in answer to the question as to who I would like to be stranded on a desert island with, I had chosen Muhammed Ali over the likes of Halle Berry or Kate Moss?
In the afternoon, I attended the ‘Carbon Dating’ lobby at the Methodist Central Hall organised by Stop Climate Chaos. This involved speed dating mixed groups of grassroots supporters drawn from across the country. The main topic raised was a UK carbon budget to ensure UK greenhouse gas emissions fall by 3% year by year. The Prime Minister confirmed earlier at PMQs that he is looking into this.
In the chamber in the afternoon, I raised local issues in the Opposition Debate on the future of cancer services. You can read this intervention here.
In the evening, I joined Keith Vaz MP (who is one of the judges of the Tiffin Cup Competition to find the best South Asian restaurant in the UK), in Mirch Masala restaurant in Tooting. The evening culminated with confirmation from Keith that Mirch Masala had made the final shortlist, and will be competing against the other 15 restaurants (chosen out of 10,000 in the UK) in a ‘cook-in’ at the Commons. A picture of Mirch Masala receiving the confirmation letter from Keith is here.
On Thursday morning, I organised a Bigger Breakfast event with Cancer Research UK at the House of Commons which was attended by many other MPs to raise awareness of the charity's campaign.
I also had a meeting with Macmillan Cancer Relief about issues they wanted to raise surrounding quality of life of cancer sufferers. Last year 39% of cancer patients experienced significant financial problems because of their condition. The recent report published by the Public Accounts Committee, of which I am a member, highlighted that “The benefits system needs to be more effective in providing financial support for cancer patients.” In 2005 Macmillan advisers worked on more than 8800 cases and helped patients to secure entitlements of £16.4 million in benefits and grants. However their resources are limited and they can only assist about 3% of new cancer registrations. Macmillan are stressing the need for a nationwide network of specialist benefit advisers to ensure that all cancer patients can receive the benefits to which they are entitled. They are also requesting that the qualifying rules for benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance are revised to take account of the sudden onset of disabilities caused by cancer. Finally, Macmillan are advocating the extension of the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to all cancer patients. I have taken up all these issues with the Secretary of State for Health – Patricia Hewitt.
On Thursday evening, we had the last of the Just Listening consultation exercises which we held in the House of Commons. We had an excellent turnout of Tooting Head Teachers, teachers, police officers, pensioners and other local residents. The evening ended by me giving a guided tour around the Houses of Parliament. A picture from the event is here.
Sadiq
