Friday, May 04, 2007
On Monday, I had my normal Drop in advice surgery at Balham Community Centre.
After this I visited the Spencer Club in Earlsfield to discuss some concerns the Club have had with anti-social behaviour. I was very impressed with the attitude of the Club to try and share their facilities with the local community and to discuss with local residents how best the Club and local residents can work together to deal with the problems the club has experienced. I am continuing to work with them to find a way through the challenges they face.
In the afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting and having a question and answer session with Year 3-6 students from Hornsby House School. The School Council asked me questions about my work as an MP and Parliament generally. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE.
If you would like a tour of the Houses of Parliament or would like your School to come and see me representing Tooting in Parliament then please do contact David Parry in my office on parrydg@parliament.uk or phone him on 020 72196967.
In the afternoon, the Public Accounts Committee, on which I sit, examined how HM Revenue and Customs helps newly registered businesses meet their tax obligations. Around 700,000 new businesses start up each year. You can see the transcript of the hearing by clicking HERE.
On Tuesday I attended the launch of the Tiffin Cup 2007. Lahore Karahi (1 Tooting High Street, SW17 0SN www.lahorekarahi.co.uk) is the nomination from Tooting this year. Click HERE for further information on the Tiffin Cup.
In Health Questions to the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt MP, I was able to raise the excellent Maternity Department at St Georges Hospital as well as their plans for a new Unit. Click HERE to see my question.
In the evening I was one of 2 Speakers at an event organised by London Young Labour (LYL) on Gender Equality. Click HERE for more details on LYL.
On Wednesday I was a guest on The Daily Politics Show on BBC2. The other main guest was Baroness Shirley Williams.
In the afternoon I joined British Heart Foundation in launching the "30 minutes a day campaign". The campaign sets out to tackle one of the most important issues affecting the health of older adults – physical inactivity. Inactivity is responsible for around 20% of cases of coronary heart disease in the UK, as well as increasing the risk of other life threatening diseases. I was very happy to be involved in the promotion of the campaign which I’m sure will be very effective in encouraging older people to be more active.You can see a photo of me at launch by clicking HERE.
I also attended an event held by the "Join Up" campaign to get all children worldwide into education. I wholeheartedly back this campaign to ensure that we meet our Millennium Development Goal to get all children worldwide into school by 2015. Most of the children currently excluded from education are girls and disabled. I was a member of a Delegated Legislation Committee that passed the Draft Disablity Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment)(Further Education)Regulations 2007. You can find out more about the campaign and ‘Join UP’ by clicking HERE
The Public Accounts Committee examined the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund was set up in 1994 and has administered £4 billion to more than 24,000 projects. I raised concerns about whether the Fund was reducing economic and social deprivation, as it is supposed to and whether enough as being done to encourage applications from under represented groups. You can see a transcript from the hearing by clicking HERE. I was surprised that the next day I was described as the "Tooting Tormentor" on BBC Radio 4 for the way I scrutinised the Fund!
I also visited the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme exhibition and testing day event in the Upper Waiting Room of the House of Commons. To see me getting tested for Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia click HERE
On Thursday, I undertook my PPS duties helping the Leader of the House, Jack Straw MP, prepare for Business Questions.
In the evening I was a Speaker at an Ethnic Minority Taskforce Meeting in Ruislip. Other Speakers included Jack Straw MP, Keith Vaz MP, Diane Abbott MP, Parmjit Dhanda MP and Angela Eagle MP.
On Friday I took part in 2 separate Private Members Bills on the Floor of the House of Commons. The first was a Bill introduced by Sarah McCarthy-Fry, calling for a ban on electric shock collars used for training dogs. I spoke in support of this Bill on the grounds that the collars are often misused cruelly and can cause aggression in otherwise well behaved dogs.
The second Private Members Bill I spoke in support of was the Health and Safety (Offences) Bill introduced by Wayne David, Labour MP for Caerphilly. The Bill would allow judges to send company directors to prison for all health and safety offences and would increase the fines they have to pay from £5,000 to £20,000. The Bill was deferred after the Tories failed to support it and called a surprise vote on the flawed grounds that it would add to the burden of regulation on small companies. This outrageous decision came on the day before Workers Memorial Day, where across the country memorial was paid to people who had lost their lives due to accidents at work.
On Saturday I attended the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the Battersea Crane Disaster. I was accompanied by Battersea MP Martin Linton, the Minister for Health and Safety, Lord McKenzie, the Health & Safety Commission’ head of operations in London Richard Boland who is responsible for the inquiry into the tragic deaths of Michael Alexa and Jonathan Cloke when a crane collapsed in September 2006.
I also held a coffee morning with the excellent Labour Councillor in Tooting Ward, Cllr Nick Bowes, on the Tooting Grove Estate. We were also joined by Sgt Lisa Hurley from the Tooting Safer Neighbourhood Team. Cllr Bowes and I have been working closely with Sgt Hurley and her team to tackle problems of anti-social behaviour on the estate. Click HERE to see a photo of the Coffee Morning.
After this I visited the Spencer Club in Earlsfield to discuss some concerns the Club have had with anti-social behaviour. I was very impressed with the attitude of the Club to try and share their facilities with the local community and to discuss with local residents how best the Club and local residents can work together to deal with the problems the club has experienced. I am continuing to work with them to find a way through the challenges they face.
In the afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting and having a question and answer session with Year 3-6 students from Hornsby House School. The School Council asked me questions about my work as an MP and Parliament generally. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE.
If you would like a tour of the Houses of Parliament or would like your School to come and see me representing Tooting in Parliament then please do contact David Parry in my office on parrydg@parliament.uk or phone him on 020 72196967.
In the afternoon, the Public Accounts Committee, on which I sit, examined how HM Revenue and Customs helps newly registered businesses meet their tax obligations. Around 700,000 new businesses start up each year. You can see the transcript of the hearing by clicking HERE.
On Tuesday I attended the launch of the Tiffin Cup 2007. Lahore Karahi (1 Tooting High Street, SW17 0SN www.lahorekarahi.co.uk) is the nomination from Tooting this year. Click HERE for further information on the Tiffin Cup.
In Health Questions to the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt MP, I was able to raise the excellent Maternity Department at St Georges Hospital as well as their plans for a new Unit. Click HERE to see my question.
In the evening I was one of 2 Speakers at an event organised by London Young Labour (LYL) on Gender Equality. Click HERE for more details on LYL.
On Wednesday I was a guest on The Daily Politics Show on BBC2. The other main guest was Baroness Shirley Williams.
In the afternoon I joined British Heart Foundation in launching the "30 minutes a day campaign". The campaign sets out to tackle one of the most important issues affecting the health of older adults – physical inactivity. Inactivity is responsible for around 20% of cases of coronary heart disease in the UK, as well as increasing the risk of other life threatening diseases. I was very happy to be involved in the promotion of the campaign which I’m sure will be very effective in encouraging older people to be more active.You can see a photo of me at launch by clicking HERE.
I also attended an event held by the "Join Up" campaign to get all children worldwide into education. I wholeheartedly back this campaign to ensure that we meet our Millennium Development Goal to get all children worldwide into school by 2015. Most of the children currently excluded from education are girls and disabled. I was a member of a Delegated Legislation Committee that passed the Draft Disablity Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment)(Further Education)Regulations 2007. You can find out more about the campaign and ‘Join UP’ by clicking HERE
The Public Accounts Committee examined the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund was set up in 1994 and has administered £4 billion to more than 24,000 projects. I raised concerns about whether the Fund was reducing economic and social deprivation, as it is supposed to and whether enough as being done to encourage applications from under represented groups. You can see a transcript from the hearing by clicking HERE. I was surprised that the next day I was described as the "Tooting Tormentor" on BBC Radio 4 for the way I scrutinised the Fund!
I also visited the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme exhibition and testing day event in the Upper Waiting Room of the House of Commons. To see me getting tested for Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia click HERE
On Thursday, I undertook my PPS duties helping the Leader of the House, Jack Straw MP, prepare for Business Questions.
In the evening I was a Speaker at an Ethnic Minority Taskforce Meeting in Ruislip. Other Speakers included Jack Straw MP, Keith Vaz MP, Diane Abbott MP, Parmjit Dhanda MP and Angela Eagle MP.
On Friday I took part in 2 separate Private Members Bills on the Floor of the House of Commons. The first was a Bill introduced by Sarah McCarthy-Fry, calling for a ban on electric shock collars used for training dogs. I spoke in support of this Bill on the grounds that the collars are often misused cruelly and can cause aggression in otherwise well behaved dogs.
The second Private Members Bill I spoke in support of was the Health and Safety (Offences) Bill introduced by Wayne David, Labour MP for Caerphilly. The Bill would allow judges to send company directors to prison for all health and safety offences and would increase the fines they have to pay from £5,000 to £20,000. The Bill was deferred after the Tories failed to support it and called a surprise vote on the flawed grounds that it would add to the burden of regulation on small companies. This outrageous decision came on the day before Workers Memorial Day, where across the country memorial was paid to people who had lost their lives due to accidents at work.
On Saturday I attended the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the Battersea Crane Disaster. I was accompanied by Battersea MP Martin Linton, the Minister for Health and Safety, Lord McKenzie, the Health & Safety Commission’ head of operations in London Richard Boland who is responsible for the inquiry into the tragic deaths of Michael Alexa and Jonathan Cloke when a crane collapsed in September 2006.
I also held a coffee morning with the excellent Labour Councillor in Tooting Ward, Cllr Nick Bowes, on the Tooting Grove Estate. We were also joined by Sgt Lisa Hurley from the Tooting Safer Neighbourhood Team. Cllr Bowes and I have been working closely with Sgt Hurley and her team to tackle problems of anti-social behaviour on the estate. Click HERE to see a photo of the Coffee Morning.
