I often think that in politics that there are two ways of dealing with problems. You can either try and predict them, and plan as best you can so that you have a good chance of managing them. Or you can wait until they happen before confronting them and trying your hardest to get them under control.

This Government seems to prefer the latter option. Despite the calls from academics, charities, opposition politicians, voters and their own back benches, this Government is determined to ignore the warnings and the cost-of-living crisis until it becomes totally unmanageable. In Parliament, I’ve found myself increasingly frustrated at the lack of awareness of just how bad things are getting for people right across the country.

There is a huge amount of pressure piling up on the people of Stockport. You’ve got energy prices shooting up, fuel and food shortages, rising inflation, and increased National Insurance contribution. All coming at the same time as the end of furlough, the suspension of the triple lock and the slashing of the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift (something that will push 500,000 people across the country into poverty overnight).

It is a perilous situation, and the Government must act swiftly to address it. In Stockport, it’s estimated that over 34,000 people are affected by income deprivation, and 25% of children live below the poverty line. Across Greater Manchester that figure is closer to 41%.

Behind each shocking statistic are families and individuals who are terrified about what the future holds and are relying on the Government to help. It’s important to note that income deprivation doesn’t just affect individuals in the present moment, it also heavily impacts the opportunities of families and children for years to come. To put it bluntly – failing to address the cost-of-living crisis now will have long-term effects that scarper the chances of ever effectively ‘levelling-up’.

We are emerging from the worst domestic crisis in the post-war era, and we can get through it, but people in Stockport must be properly supported.  A good welfare safety net, an increased minimum wage, fair taxation, and a grown-up conversation about the possibility of nationalising energy companies are just some of the measures the Government must consider if we are to avoid another 1970s-style winter of discontent. Exceptional times call for exceptional governments, and it’s time that ours stepped up to the plate.

The post The Government is running out of time to address the cost-of-living crisis – my monthly article for the Stockport Express appeared first on Andrew Gwynne MP.

I was pleased to be on the panel at the launch of the No Place Left Behind report from the Commission on Prosperity and Community Placeholding on Monday, where we discussed the importance of giving communities new powers in efforts to ‘level up’ left behind neighbourhoods. Top-down projects rarely work because their leaders simply cannot understand the specific needs of local communities and cannot implement effective tools to enact change. The importance of local knowledge and lived experience should not be underestimated. I found it striking that the report noted how important it was for people to live within a short distance of good quality shops for groceries and that this can boost the wellbeing of constituents. In order for this to happen, we need to look at business rates and ensure that in poorer parts of the country, we are not hindering growth before it can even begin by placing shop premises financially out of reach for local sellers. I look forward to continuing these discussions.

On Wednesday I was able to put a question to the Home Office Minister on the epidemic we are facing of violence against women and girls. I agreed with the recent police report recommendation that violence against women and girls be treated with the same degree of importance as countering terrorism. Resources are a huge factor in this. We cannot expect police to fight this epidemic with the paltry resources that they currently have at their disposal. If this Government are serious about countering violence against women and girls, then they need to give the police have the tools to do the job. The Home Office must ensure that there is a national programme to tackle this and that local forces are not simply left to deal with this epidemic of violence themselves.

It’s once again been a busy week on the Committee for the Health Bill. We’ve been looking at transparency and independent scrutiny of local services. It is so important that patients can see where money is being spent in their local health services and how decisions about provision are being made. For that to be the case, there must be independent scrutiny with access to the appropriate information and the ability to challenge decisions that are at odds with the needs of the community. The NHS faces many challenges, but more transparency will help us identify areas of difficulty and implement the necessary change to make improvements.

We have also been looking at the important issue of workforce planning and the importance of training local people. Fairly recently, the Government expanded medical training places in parts of the country where there is a low take-up, and to which people are not moving to work. We know that if we train people locally, they stay local and if the Government would like a quick and easy way to level up—however they want to define it—that is it. If we want our young people to stay in their local areas to work, we need to offer them the jobs and training that enable them to do so. It’s not fair that for young people to get a job they have to move away from their homes, their families, and their friends. It’s also not fair on their local communities who lose that talent and youthful enthusiasm! We need healthcare workers within our communities but that only happens when we offer the training and provide the jobs to build that care within the community.

I have introduced an amendment to the Bill on end-of-life care which we discussed this week. As someone with a longstanding interest in this issue, I believe that this Bill must make provision for anyone with a terminal illness diagnosis to be offered a conversation about what the diagnosis means to them and how the health service can support them at the end of their life. At this point, a patient’s needs are not merely medical, so the conversation needs to include support on understanding and deciding on their treatment, on support for their mental wellbeing, financial and practical support to ensure that they are prepared, and support with their social relationships. These conversations are by nature incredibly difficult, but they are also necessary. Healthcare does not stop because medicine can not save us and clear guidance on what this means is vital to ensure that all patients are treated with respect and dignity until the end.

I was pleased to join the Advanced Construction Skills Centre launch today with the Mayor of the West of England, Dan Norris. The £9 million investment in this Skills Centre is a wonderful opportunity for the young people in South Bristol and I am pleased that higher apprenticeship courses will be offered alongside construction courses for trades in wood, brick, and plaster for both young people and those looking to retrain or build on their current qualifications. We need centres like this around the country to develop our vocational capacity, to provide young people with the trades and skills that will help them into well paid jobs, and to show a commitment to ensuring that learning a trade is given the same level of investment and respect as learning in an academic setting. Both are vital for the prosperity of this country and both are needed to help our towns and communities recover from a decade of austerity and the pandemic.

If there are issues you want to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing Karin.smyth.mp@parliament.uk or by calling 0117 953 3575.

The post Weekly Round Up first appeared on Karin Smyth.

Chi has written to Steve Barclay, who has replaced Michael Gove in the Cabinet Office, to see if he will honour his predecessors commitment to meet with Wylam Brewery regarding their ongoing problems with exporting to the EU.

Letter here: LettertoBarclayWylam brewery

Transforming social care is the challenge of our generation. This was true even before Covid struck, but the pandemic has exposed, more than ever, the urgent need for reform.

A future Labour government will modernise the welfare state from cradle to grave, investing in social care as part of our ambition to make Britain the best country in which to grow old.

However, the Tories’ plans won’t “fix the crisis in social care”, let alone deliver a proper vision.

In the build-up to Labour Party Annual Conference next week, I’ve written an article for LabourList on Labour’s ambitions for social care, and why a universal, needs-based, nationally funded, locally delivered care system needs to be at the heart of our modern welfare state.

Read the full piece on LabourList.

The post Labour’s ambition for social care is as far reaching as Bevan’s was for the NHS appeared first on Liz Kendall.

To mark World Alzheimer’s Month, Catherine McKinnell MP joined Alzheimer’s Research UK at an event in Parliament to show her support for dementia research. In the UK nearly 1 million people are living with dementia, and it is one of the leading causes of death. We all know someone affected by dementia. It has a … Continue reading NEWCASTLE NORTH MP JOINS ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH UK TO SUPPORT DEMENTIA RESEARCH IN WORLD ALZHEIMER’S MONTH →

The post Toby Perkins MP encourages local people to be a part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games appeared first on Toby Perkins Labour MP.

This week in Westminster there were a series of late night divisions in the House of Commons. On Monday, Labour MPs voted against New Clause 2 of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill which called for reviving the prerogative powers to dissolve Parliament and to call a new Parliament, in effect giving the Executive (ministers) of the UK Government powers to dissolve Parliament thus not involving MPs, and Labour MPs abstained on 3rd Reading.

On Tuesday Labour MPs voted for the Official Opposition Reasoned Amendment to the Second Reading of the Health and Social Care Levy Bill, which stated that “the UK Government failed to set out a plan to fix the crisis in social care, improve pay and conditions for social care workers, or clear the backlog of NHS waiting lists by the end of this Parliament, while breaking the Prime Minister’s promise that no one will have to sell their home to pay for care because it lacks a guarantee that Parliament will vote on a social care plan before spending the money it raises, and because it breaks the UK Government’s promise not to increase National Insurance, raising taxes on employment that will disproportionately hit working families, young people, those on low and middle incomes and businesses trying to create more jobs in the wider economy whilst leaving income from other sources untouched”  Labour MPs voted against Second Reading. Labour MPs abstained on Amendment 4 tabled by the SNP, voted for New Clause 3, which required the Chancellor to review the revenue of this Act and lay a report before the House after 6 months of the Act being enacted and every 12 months thereafter, voted for New Clause 5 which required the Chancellor to review the equality impact of the Act and lay reports as in the timeframe set out in New Clause 3, and voted against Third Reading. Unfortunately, we lost all votes.

On Wednesday Labour was granted Opposition Day debates. The first called on the UK Government to end its planned cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits which from the end of September 2021 will reduce support for many hard working families by £1040 a year. It is unconscionable that while we are still struggling with the financial effects of the pandemic the Government choose to cut essential support from hard working families up and down the country. It is shameful that the very workers who got us through this crisis are in the firing line for over £1000 cut to their income every year. The £20 uplift in Universal Credit is what enables some families to put food on the table. There is now near-universal opposition to these plans –  the UK Tory Government cannot claim to be supporting working people while they persist with this damaging policy.

The second called for a joint committee of the Lords and Commons for the remainder of the Parliamentary session to consider UK Government policy on Afghanistan from the Doha Agreement signed on February 2020 to the conclusion of Operation Pitting on 27th August 2021. The committee would have powers to investigate the accuracy of intelligence assessments during this period and the consequent decisions made by ministers, plus the eligibility and policy of the ARAP scheme. The committee would be required to publish its report not later than 31st March 2022. Unfortunately, we lost the vote on each debate.

On Tuesday afternoon I chaired a series of debates in Westminster Hall beginning with a 90 minute debate on reducing the fire risk in high rise social housing. The debate was led by Andy Slaughter, Labour MP Hammersmith. Andy spoke about the human tragedy of Grenfell Tower, as the world woke up on the morning of 14th June 2017 to the horrifying images of people being killed in their own homes. Four years later the scale and depth of this tragedy are only now being explored. Interim investigations such as the Hackitt Report have provided some clues, but the UK Government has been slow to legislate. Andy referred to Daniel Hewitt’s distressing documentary “Surviving Squalor: Britain’s Housing Shame” which was on ITV last Sunday night. Andy also focused on the causes of fire in social housing, especially electrical fires, and asked why more is not being done to prevent them. UK Government minister Luke Hall stated that his Government had provided £5 billion grant funding to support remediation of unsafe cladding on high rise buildings over 18 metres high in England. Stephen Doughty, Labour MP Cardiff South and Penarth, asked the minister for clarity on the amount and the date when the Welsh Government will receive the funding Consequentials, because the £5 billion fund was announced in February 2021, and they need to move forward with their plans. Andy wound up the debate by calling for a holistic approach looking at buildings below 18 metres, too; examining other defects in other buildings, schools, care homes, hotels; adequate law and enforcement; and to champion social housing.

The second debate was led by Alexander Stafford, Conservative MP Rother Valley, about decarbonising the UK and the role of shipping emissions, and highlighted that in the year of COP26 the role of shipping carbon dioxide and hydrogen can play in ensuring a prosperous and environmentally sustainable future for British Industry. The Committee on Climate Change advocates more ambition and support for as many potential Carbon Capture Utilisation and Utilisation technologies (CCUS) clusters as possible all over the UK. Alexander mentioned the UK projects. The UK Government minister Michael Tomlinson stated that the debate was timely in that it is London International Shipping Week, and that the UK Government had made huge progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 13% between 2018 and 2019, but must go further to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. He spoke about the UK Government Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy published in March 2021, the launch of phase 1 of CCUS cluster sequencing in May, and the summer publication of the UK’s first ever hydrogen strategy which will put the UK at the forefront of the race to develop low carbon hydrogen, driving innovation, jobs and investment to scale up the technology. The minister recognised the importance of non-pipeline transportation and shipping for decarbonisation of the broader economy and stated that the UK Government is working with devolved Administrations to understand how best to incorporate non-pipeline transportation and shipping within a UK carbon dioxide network.

The last debate was about real fur sales and was led by Christian Wakeford, Conservative MP Bury South, who opened his remarks by stating the huge support for Fur Free Britain campaign, whose petition has been signed by more than 1 million, and led by the Humane Society International UK. In 2000 the House banned fur farming in England, which was enacted by Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2002. More than 100 MPs from across the House (of which I am one) have signed Christian’s letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last month calling on the UK Government to ban the import and sale of animal fur. Christian mentioned Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP Chatham and Aylesford, and her Early Day Motion on the same issue, and Tracey intervened to thank Christian for the mention, and stated that 140 MPs signed her EDM during the last session and it has been signed by the highest number in this session. There were over 20 MPs attending the debate in the hope of speaking or intervening in support of this very important matter. Unfortunately, the debate was scheduled for only 60 minutes, but many did succeed in speaking to add their support to ban fur sales.

I am honoured to be part of the team from the Panel of Chairs that has been chosen to oversee the passage of the committee stage of the Elections Bill through the House over the next 6 weeks. Firstly, on Monday, I chaired the Programme Sub-committee, when the UK Government’s minster’s draft resolution – containing the timings and the witnesses which will be invited to give evidence – is debated and accepted. Then on Wednesday and Thursday I chaired the Evidence sessions, when the minister, opposition spokesperson, SNP spokesperson, and the members of the Elections Bill committee, had the opportunity to ask relevant, in scope, scrutinising, questions of each witness who appeared before the committee. We heard from 22 witnesses, during 9 sessions over two days. My thanks to the team of House of Commons clerks, who serve the committee chairs, for all their assistance. Next week the committee will meet again to consider clause by clause scrutiny of the Elections Bill.

As always, if you have any questions or issues and want to get in touch, please do not hesitate to drop us an email on christina.rees.mp@parliament.uk or call us on 01639 630152 – we are here to help.

On 17 September, 34 Parliamentarians from across parties are calling on the UK Government to take urgent action against human rights abuses in Egypt. 

Tory MPs were out in force this weekend to support Boris Johnson’s National Insurance rise and repeat the mantra that the NHS is safe with them while blaming all problems on Covid.

We know the NHS needs an annual increase of around 6% to keep it on track. The last Labour Government recognised this and invested to reduce waiting times.

The result was a vastly improved service with big reductions in the wait for things like hip and knee replacements but that funding plummeted when the Tories returned in 2010. Boris Johnson now says his NI increase will solve the latest difficulties although it sounds like he’s trying to spend it twice by saying it’s for both health and social care.

This PM regularly claims he’s recruiting 50,000 extra nurses but that figure includes 18,500 existing nurses he expects to leave but hopes to retain. Retention is important but hanging on to staff doesn’t mean you can call them new.

The independent Kings Fund says we’re short of 38,000 nurses, so his plan must involve leaving the NHS 6,500 nurses short. There’s also that claim about 40 new hospitals where they’ve been caught out describing a new wing as a hospital. That doesn’t improve credibility.

There’s no argument that the pandemic has placed enormous pressure on ITU beds but by the time of the 2019 election, the NHS had already lost 17,000 hospital beds. That wasn’t down to Covid but nine years of Tory underfunding.

Waiting lists are currently the highest since records began and could reach 13 million. By the time any new money comes on stream, thousands of essential operations will have been cancelled and many will have died while waiting for treatment.

The PM says he’ll improve the NHS and simultaneously fix social care but strangely there’s absolutely no mention of his plans in the Health and Social Care Bill, currently making its way through parliament.

I welcome any extra money although I’d prefer it was raised fairly. The figures, the exaggerations and the downright fibs inevitably make me question whether the NHS is safe in their hands.

Privilege to attend celebration of excellent work by Dolen Teifi in providing community transport including in Llanelli and, with support from John Burns, in Kidwelly & see launch of electric 7-seater vehicles.

Many thanks to all involved, including 900 trained drivers, and to Welsh Government Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Transformation Fund & Community Transport Association.

Alongside other Labour Metro Mayors, South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis has called on the Government to scrap the cut to Universal Credit.

A quarter of families in South Yorkshire will have their incomes cut by more than £1,000 a year, at a time of economic crisis, and a planned increase in National Insurance.

In her latest editorial in the Telegraph & Argus, Judith talks about her recent work on a range of important local and national issues:

I hope that people have managed to get a break during the summer. Over the summer months we saw terrible events unfold in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is an international crisis which the government needs to lead the national response to. The withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan has left many people in fear of their lives from Taliban reprisals. The government has a moral responsibility to play its part in defending those Afghans who are in the greatest danger from the Taliban.

This situation requires a national response; it should not be left up to local authorities across the country to volunteer to support those escaping from the new Afghan regime. The Government must lead a coordinated and well-resourced plan that disperses those seeking refuge from Taliban across the United Kingdom in a fair way. I expect Bradford to play its full part in this. But I also expect every other council to do the same, and for the government to fully fund any resettlement program.

The Government have given us lots of words at present but very little credible action as to how they are going to do this and also how they plan to bring British nationals that are still stranded in Afghanistan home. This must be their immediate priority.

The Government should have acted to improve Social Care over a decade ago. The delaying of taking decisive action has left social care in a crisis with services grossly underfunded and understaffed – something that the coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated. However, rather than leading a national debate on what care services should look like in the future, the government is rushing through a manifesto-breaking raise to National Insurance. This is not a plan to tackle the crisis in social care, it is just an unfair tax rise.

We are all in agreement that Social Care needs extra funding, but there are fairer ways that this money can be raised. The government should be considering introducing new income tax brackets that ensure that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share of the social care bill, instead the current government proposals will mean that lower paid people across my Bradford South constituency will instead be worse off. Fundamentally, we need a fair and equal plan to fund our Social Care services not one that will seemingly mean that the rich stay rich, but the poor become poorer.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted and increased many of the inequalities and challenges faced by employees such as low-pay, insecure work, and insufficient working hours. As we move forward, we now need to look at addressing these issues as it’s simply not good enough to go back to the pre-Covid ‘normal’ of a deregulated labour market, we need to create a new way of working that is fairer for all.

The government commissioned a report into this issue in 2017, but as is typical of the current Government – it has still has not implemented any of the report.

People in Bradford South, and right across the country, need strong legislation to bolster employment protections in the post-Covid world.  I will be strongly advocating for this as we continue to emerge from the pandemic.

As big national and international issues dominate the headlines, here at home in Bradford there are many local nuisances that gravely impact on people’s lives.

As we approach bonfire night the issue of fireworks disturbances after dark will become an even greater annoyance. Although unfortunately this is an issue that sadly plagues many people all year round.

Using a firework after 11pm is an offence under the Fireworks Act 2003. There are various ways in which police can deal with this and I will be ensuring that the council and the police must make full use of the current powers that they have at their disposal.

However, it is clear to me that the legislation around fireworks needs to be improved and that is why I am planning to call for a debate in Parliament to challenge the government to do more to help my constituents live in a less noisy and safer environment.

Before the summer recess, I challenged the Government in parliament to tackle the issues surrounding quad bike use, with a view to exploring the banning of quad bikes for on–road use. I speak with many local residents who have concerns that quad bikes driving up and down our roads, and sometimes pavements, in an anti-social manner often with face coverings and no licence plates.

As the Government have no current plans to introduce legislation on this serious issue. I will continue to work to ensure this issue gets the attention from Government it deserves. Local people shouldn’t have to put up with this.

Related Posts

Closing Date: 19 September 2021

Job Title: Parliamentary Researcher / Senior Parliamentary Researcher

Working For: Tulip Siddiq MP

Location: London

Salary: In line with IPSA pay scales

Length of Contract: 12 months

Job Details

Tulip Siddiq MP is seeking a Parliamentary Researcher / Senior Parliamentary Researcher (depending on experience) for one year. It will be a fixed-term contract for 12 months to cover absences due to a staff member taking paternity leave.

The position will be based primarily in Tulip’s Parliamentary office in Westminster. We are happy to discuss options for flexible working at any stage including part-time remote working, flexi-time, job shares and other forms of flexibility.

Key responsibilities:

• To write articles, press releases, speeches, parliamentary questions and briefings to support Tulip’s work as MP for Hampstead and Kilburn
• To proactively engage the national, regional and local media with Tulip’s work and reactively handle enquiries from the media
• To write and oversee production of Tulip’s annual report and newsletters.
• To monitor correspondence with constituents
• To undertake research on a wide range of policy areas, in order to inform both new and existing campaigns
• To liaise with Tulip’s constituency office to progress casework and policy work through liaison with local and national bodies, government agencies and others
• To support Tulip in her capacity as Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years
• To show clear competence in using parliamentary procedure to achieve campaign objectives, such as UQs, EDMs, WPQs, PQs, Ministerial Correspondence and FOIs
• To show a clear understanding of the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency and work hard for the communities that shape life in the area

Ideal candidate:

• Will have excellent writing skills and acute attention to detail
• Will demonstrate good communication and people skills and a working knowledge of new media
• Will be sympathetic to the aims and objectives of the Labour Party and be politically aware
• Will have strong time management and able to produce high quality work under pressure
• Will be able to prioritise tasks and manage own workload in a fast moving environment
• Will ensure accurate records are kept and respect the confidentiality of data at all times
• Will have previous experience of working in Parliament or a political environment

Closing Date: 19 September 2021

Interview/Start Dates

Interviews will be held in central London in the week following the closure of the advert on 19th September 2021. This will involve written and in-person exercises.

Application Details

Applicants should email their CV and a one page covering letter to tulip.siddiq.mp@parliament.uk with the subject line ‘Job application – *Full name*’

Due to the high volume of applications, only successful applicants for interview will receive a response.

The post Statement on Afghanistan appeared first on Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

Last week, I met with the Chief Exec and Operations Manager of Tyne Tunnel 2 to raise concerns following a spike in complaints about the tunnel operators since the introduction of the controversial “pay later” scheme.

I have to agree with many of the complaints, I believe that the payment instructions could be clearer. The ticket states a date and a time however, if you wait until the date shown, it’ll be too late and you’ll incur a £30 fine, I can see how many people are easily misunderstanding what the ticket says.

During the meeting, I asked the Chief Executive, Phill Smith if he could look at other options and suggested changes should be made to the wording on the tickets to make it clearer.

Furthermore, I learnt about plans for the tunnel to remove the barriers completely in a new system called Open Road Tolling.  This would mean that there would be no barriers and payments will need to be made either using an online account or the pay later option. Tyne Tunnel 2 say this would increase tunnel capacity, reduce carbon emissions and mean more a more reliable and quicker journey through the tunnel.

However, I again expressed concern that more drivers may receive fines, as the onus would be on drivers to remember to pay the toll as under the new system, they would not receive a ticket which in many cases acts as a reminder. I also asked what facilities have TT2 put in place to support those drivers who do not have access to the internet, in order to pay their toll charge. It was explained that drivers who do not have smart phones or access to the internet could pay their toll at shops who have a PayPoint facility.

I feel many constituents’ pain and frustration. Many people have told me that the current system of pay later is confusing and lacks clarity, I agree and will continue to seek a resolution to this matter.

Visit my Facebook page for upto date news on my work as your Member of Parliament.

In response to a question at July Full Council, the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources has called on the Government to retain the £20 a week uplift in Universal Credit – highlighting how it supports many low paid working people in Nottingham.

There are roughly 35,000 people on Universal Credit in Nottingham and in response to the pandemic in April last year the Government introduced an increase in payments of £20 a week. There is growing speculation that the Government will reverse the uplift later this year resulting in increasing difficulty for many people who are already struggling.

Responding to a question at Full Council on the issue, Cllr Sam Webster said “Universal Credit supports low paid working people in our city, tens of thousands of children in our city and people who are entitled to support with housing costs or have lost their job during the Covid pandemic.”

Cllr Webster commenting on the consequences of the £20 a week uplift being reversed warned that “It will often be felt most acutely by Nottingham children who are growing up in families where there already isn’t much money around, families who are living in poverty.”

In January this year Nottingham City Council passed a motion urging the Government to retain the £20 a week increase to Universal Credit and urging an extension of the payment to claimants of legacy benefits who are currently excluded from the additional support. This was followed up by a letter from the Leader of Nottingham City Council to the Chancellor emphasising the importance of the £20 a week uplift.

Cllr Webster continued his response by saying “Lower paid and lower skilled working people are much more likely to have lost their job, not be able to work from home, have additional childcare needs, have gone through periods of Covid isolation without receiving pay, have lost hours at work….and the list goes on. Reducing Universal Credit now would be big blow to many families who are already struggling to make ends meet.” He also argued that the uplift in Universal Credit should be seen as a litmus test for how seriously the Government is about levelling, saying to not make the uplift permanent would be a case of “levelling down”.

Cllr Webster ended by saying “In the aftermath of the global financial crisis a decade ago it was (and still is) shameful that the poorest people in this country were made to pay the price of mistakes made by the wealthiest. In terms of the policies that our national politicians pursue – this is one of those markers – who will The Conservative Government expect to pay for this latest economic and public debt crisis?  The message from Labour in Nottingham is crystal clear – let it not be the poorest families again.”

The post “Universal Credit uplift should be permanent” says city councillor appeared first on Nottingham Labour.

There seems to be a webinar for everything — from cooking an apple pie and setting up your email list to creating a company and making your first million. This form of interaction with the target audience became popular for a good reason. It allows to achieve numerous goals:

• Selling products
• Attracting new audience
• Improving engagement
• Building and improving brand awareness
• Creating an image of an expert for yourself or your company
• Distributing content

And that’s we’ve just scratched the surface. Every person who creates a webinar has their own unique goals in mind. This wide array of benefits is what makes webinars such a great way to promote your brand.

However, there is one issue with them — they’re popular. Ironic, we know. But this popularity makes it hard for new webinars to actually attract the audience because people are already bored of them. That’s why we need to create a truly outstanding webinar to make it stand out, gain the interest of the audience, and be a success everyone will be talking about for a while. Here is how to do it.

Start with the topic

While it seems like an obvious thing — to have a great topic for a webinar — many lecturers miss the whole point of creating one. What might seem like an amazing thing to talk about for you can be hard to understand or useless for your listeners. Topics that don’t get attention from the public are born because the lecturer didn’t think of their audience’s interests hard enough.

So before picking a matter to talk about, determine your target audience. What are its interests, what does it want and need to know? Do your best to put yourself in the shoes of your future listeners and understand what they want to hear during the perfect webinar. This will help you to figure out the best topic your audience will find valuable.

Also, make sure that the topic isn’t too complicated if it’s your first webinar. Start with basics and slowly raise the difficulty of your lectures. This will help you to attract both beginners and advanced specialists gradually thus improving your image and positioning you as a true expert in your field.

Tip: you can test topics in your blog if you have one. Or on some kind of platform such as Medium. It will help you understand if the matter is really interesting to the target audience. Also, you can promote your future webinar in such an article.

Finally, remember about keywords, especially if you plan to keep your webinar uploaded somewhere online for people to watch and rewatch it after the actual stream. By including relevant keywords in the title and the description of your webinar you will increase the chances that users will find your webinar through the search.

Figure out the best date and time

The best day and time for your webinar really depends on your target audience. While some experts say that it’s best to host a lecture on Tuesday through Thursday, and others say that Monday through Friday is fine, too, some listeners might find weekends the best time for a webinar. So before selecting a date, think of your target audience — when they would be able to make time for your lecture? The best solution would be to ask your future listeners when they want to attend your webinar if you have such an opportunity, of course.

Things get especially tricky when your audience is spread around the globe. If you understand that some of your listeners live in a drastically different time zone from other listeners, you should consider holding two streams for these groups.

Another thing you should consider is holidays in different countries — you wouldn’t want to have a webinar when a large part of your audience is busy having a vacation or celebrating.

Invest time in your presentation

Your slides are just as important as whatever you’re telling your audience. Many lecturers treat presentations as just some visual entertainment for their listeners — why pack slides with information if you already tell it verbally? But that’s a false thought. Think of this — your visual presentation can later become a valuable piece of information both for those who attended your webinar and those who just found slides later. Why would you want to lose an opportunity to keep attracting attention to your work even after your stream? Moreover, an informative presentation you send to your attendees after the webinar is another way to show your audience that you care.

So take your time and put enough work into your presentation — it will be worth the effort. If you aren’t sure about your design skills, it will be a good idea to get a designer. The slides should both be informative and look appealing.

Actually, talk about the matter

We all know these webinars that seem to have the sole purpose of promoting some product of a lecturer. And they’re extremely annoying. People listen to a person bragging about their product for an hour and get little to no information from the lecture. That’s something you don’t want to do if you really want to create a useful and popular webinar.

Build your material with useful information and be generous when sharing your knowledge. The bad example would be to start telling about some matter and then say, “I’ve told about it in my book in chapter four — you can read all the info there.” Don’t be greedy — tell your audience at least half of the information, and then follow it with encouraging listeners to get your book if they want to know even more.

Answer questions

Don’t end a webinar once you’re finished with your material. Ask the audience if they have any questions and give as detailed answers as possible. Of course, you should remember about time, too. So it would be a good idea to dedicate, for example, an hour to the lecture itself and then another 30 minutes — to the questions.

Creating and holding a truly outstanding webinar is not an easy task. Yet, if you succeed, you will benefit a lot from your work. Use our tips, and you’ll definitely host a useful and engaging lecture.

The post 5 Secrets of the Best Webinars appeared first on Berger.

The post Steve Reed calls on Council to work with residents to save South Norwood Library appeared first on Steve Reed MP.

I wanted to take a moment to explain my reasoning behind abstaining from the vote in Parliament on Wednesday (30/12) as the Governments’ Brexit deal returned to the House of Commons.

From the outset, I have sought to respect the decision of the referendum in 2016 and have been happy to work with colleagues in Parliament to deliver a compromise between those 16 million people who voted to remain in the EU, and the 17 million who voted to leave with the myriad of different options that would entail. It has become clear to me over the last 4 years that many people who voted to leave the EU in Gateshead, did so for very different reasons and with very different expectations of our future relationship ranging from close alignment like Norway, to what has now been termed a hard Brexit, essentially no formal trading relationship with the European Union, operating on basic WTO rules instead. I was re-elected to represent Gateshead at the last General Election on the pledge to respect the result of the referendum and to negotiate a deal that would meet the 6 key tests.

It would seem that successive Conservative Prime Ministers have seem set on rail-roading their respective deals through Parliament without proper scrutiny our accountability, and this week is no different. It appears to be the case that the Government may have sought to hold out for demands within the negotiations that they knew could not be agreed, around fishing quotas as an example, knowing that once these demands were dropped a deal could be agreed between both sides. They have then sought to drop these demands as Parliament goes into recess for the Christmas period, and bring back a deal of some 1200 pages for 5 hours of debate at 3 working days’ notice; 48 hours before the UK would end the transition period with no deal if this was not agreed.

The deal itself does not satisfy the 6 key tests I was elected on, and the way in which the Government appear to have manipulated the Parliamentary calendar to force MP’s into a vote quite literally between this deal or no deal, brings great shame on any type of Parliamentary Sovereignty. What we now have in the UK is Government sovereignty without proper input or scrutiny from democratically elected Members of Parliament.

To this end, I found that while a deal, even this deal, is better than a no deal, I could not in good conscience vote in favour of a deal which did not satisfy the key tests in the manifesto on which I was elected, and in essence to vote to help the Government extricate themselves from a mess entirely of their own making. It is the Government who have sought to negotiate this deal alone, it is they who have forced the timetable for approval and who have removed any Parliamentary Sovereignty and scrutiny from the timetable and it is the Government who must be judged on the success or failure of this deal.

As a local resident of Gateshead for over 40 years, I absolutely hope that this deal goes far enough to safeguard jobs and livelihoods of families across the North East. I also hope that this does not lead to shortage of supplies or price increases. This affects us all, and in many ways I do not wish the Government deal to fail to protect us from any negative consequences of it. However, with the way the whole process has been manipulated to force MP’s into a corner, and with the deal not meeting the 6 key tests set out in the manifesto on which I was elected, I could not see fit to vote in favour.

This is the Conservative Government’s deal, their deliberate mismanagement has brought it to Parliament, on a timetable manufactured by them, with no time for appropriate scrutiny, it’s their deal and they should own it!

I hope this sets out my reasoning, as ever please do get in touch should you have any further questions.

The post Very proud day today – the law change I fought for to protect pensioners comes into force appeared first on Mark Tami.

A&E @ the Glam – Strength in Unity

I have said from the very beginning that if we are to ensure a 24 hour A&E Service at RGH then we need to forget about Party Politics, and come together to work cross-party.

We need you to play your part too, by signing the below letter. If you wish to do so then please let me know by filling in the form at the bottom of this page:

 

The configuration of Emergency NHS services across Cwm Taf Morgannwg has changed over the years – and will continue to change along with medical advances and changes in the local population. We welcome, for instance, the development of the new Major Trauma Centre at UHW, which will almost certainly save lives and we recognise that for some specialist forms of care it will be necessary to travel to a regional centre of excellence such as the Burns Unit at Morriston. We also understand that there is a UK-wide shortage of Emergency Consultants. and that Cwm Taf Morgannwg is not in a unique position with the recruitment challenges it faces,but would note that 5 of the 7 LHBs in Wales have substantially increased emergency consultant numbers over the last 6 years whereas Cwm Taf Morgannwg has not. We would argue that the uncertainty created over the future of the hospital due to the South Wales Programme has itself created a self-fulfilling prophecy about recruitment problems.

Our starting point, however, is that all NHS services should be safe, efficient and delivered as close to people’s homes as is medically and logistically feasible. Time-critical medical interventions can make the difference between life and death in many emergency situations and we are concerned that if the A&E were permanently to close at any one of the three hospitals, significant numbers of patients in some of the most deprived communities would not be able to get to an Emergency Department in time. A&E cannot be seen in isolation from other services such as GP surgeries, local minor injuries units and out-of-hours support. Additional capacity in these services would almost certainly lighten the load in the Emergency Departments, but this must be put in place before any changes to the configuration of Emergency Care is considered, let alone implemented, with evidence that they have substantially reduced the load on Emergency departments required before any changes. Changes to A&E provision at any one of the hospitals would have serious implications for other services within the hospital, including ITU and theatre and might harm the recruitment of other specialists.

There would be significant knock-on effects if the A&E at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital were to be downgraded to a Minor Injuries Unit, as the hospital would almost certainly lose its Intensive Care Unit and operating theatre. This could jeopardise the long-term future of the hospital. The RGH’s Emergency Department is the most used in the area, with roughly 65,000 attendances a year, and ranked the best in terms of viable outcomes.  We fear the two other Emergency Departments would find it impossible to cope with the additional workload and that many patients will travel instead to UHW, which is also already over-stretched. We are also concerned that extra A&E admissions to PCH and POW would put additional pressure on not just their respective A&E depts but onwards and throughout the hospital system. We are determined to work with people of all political parties and trades unions (and none) to get the best possible outcome for the communities we represent. We believe the eventual decision should be informed by clinical best practice and local experience on the ground – and not by any partisan consideration.

We are calling on the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to do the following:
1) Rule out the closure of A&E at the RGH or changing it to a 24-hour Minor Injuries Unit.
2) Reinstate the option of maintaining a full consultant-led A&E at all three hospitals. This would require a serious new attempt at recruiting Emergency Consultants who would have secure full-time permanent posts working across all three hospitals. It would also require at least a ten-year commitment to RGH so that potential staff can apply with confidence.
3) Bring forward proposals to extend the opening hours of the Minor Injuries Unit at Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda and Ysbyty Cwm Cynon and make these units more readily accessible for walk-in patients.
4) Bring forward other proposals for community health services, including improvements in the out-of-hours GP service, that might alleviate the pressure on all three A&E departments
and bring services closer to local communities.

In addition, we are calling on the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to publish the following:
1) A socioeconomic and equality impact assessment of any proposed changes.
2) Detailed analyses of travel-to-hospital times, average ambulance response times and levels of car ownership, for all electoral wards in the area. that analyses such times during periods of poor weather.
3) Detailed statistics for levels of ischemic heart disease, diabetes, stroke and infant and adult mortality for all electoral wards in the area. and how they compare with the Welsh averages/wealthier wards in Wales.
4) An assessment of how many patients from each electoral ward would be affected by a proposal to move to an 8 to 8, and 8 to 10 and an 8 to midnight Emergency Department.
5) An assessment of capacity in the Emergency Departments at POW, PCH, and UHW and how they would cope with additional patients.
6) Statistics for the number of patients who are admitted on towards at each hospital from A&E.
7) An assessment of the impact to the Welsh Ambulance Service, Ambulance response times, handover response times, in terms of waiting times at hospitals, blue light trauma travel times
and non-emergency transport between hospitals.

The post A&E at The Royal Glam appeared first on Chris Bryant.

First of all, thank you to everyone who has sent such kind messages to me after last night’s result in Birmingham Northfield. Even though I never took this election – or any election – for granted, it is still a big blow to lose the seat I have represented for 27 years and which is […]

Labour has pledged compensation packages for millions of women hit by state pension age rises imposed by the Tories.

Pay-outs of up to £31,000 will be made, with an average payment of £15,000.

The scheme will be delivered within Labour's first full five year term of government.

Payments will go to women born in the 1950s who had their state pension age hiked.

David Cameron's coalition government presided over a change in the law that increased the women's state pension age to 65 in November 2018 - followed by 66 in October 2020.

Labour will introduce a compensation scheme as rapidly as possible for the 3.7million women hit by the changes, which Cameron's Tory-Lib Dem government imposed in 2011.

It comes after Boris Johnson u-turned on his pledge to help those affected.

He dismissed the concerns of a woman who has lost out on her pension, telling her it’s “not possible” to right the huge wrong she and so many others have suffered.

The next Labour government will compensate women who were unfairly hit by the rise in the state pension age and give them the respect they deserve.

They were not able to prepare and have had to suffer serious financial consequences as a result.

We have a historic debt of honour to them.