Letter from Parliament - Tony Lloyd

Date published: 01 July 2019

In Parliament I supported National Carer’s Week which celebrates and recognises the vital contribution made by those caring on an unpaid basis for someone living with an illness, disability, mental health condition or as they grow older.

Research suggests there could be many more people than previously thought acting as unpaid carers to their family and friends. The seven charities driving this year’s Carers Week are calling on individuals, organisations and services throughout the country to improve the lives of carers by getting carers connected to practical and financial support and are calling for a step change in the way society supports those caring unpaid for family and friends.

The call comes after new research revealed that one in three unpaid carers (35 per cent) are always or often lonely, compared with one in twenty (five per cent) of the general population.

If you’re a carer, or know somebody who is, plenty of advice and support is available at:

• www.carersweek.org

 

 

In Labour’s Shadow Cabinet we discussed the shocking news announced by the BBC that the TV licence concession for over-75s will be linked to Pension Credit. This is another ruthless welfare cut for the most vulnerable in our society. By offloading this responsibility on to the BBC, the Conservative Party has broken its Manifesto promise to “maintain all other pensioner benefits, including free bus passes, eye tests, prescriptions and TV licences, for the duration of this Parliament”.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128389/over-75s-need-not-take-immediate-action-says-tv-licensing

Free TV licences are an important tool in the battle against loneliness and social isolation. Four in ten older people say the television is their main source of company. I think very few of us would begrudge our older generation, who have worked all their lives and paid their taxes, this little bit of consideration at this later stage in their lives. 

Age UK has found that over two million over-75s would have to go without TV or cut back on essentials such as heating or eating if the concession is scrapped, and 50,000 pensioners could be pushed below the poverty line. The prospect of elderly people losing their free TV licences makes a mockery of the claim that austerity is over.

Free TV licences for over-75s were introduced in 2000 by the-then Labour Government, and the current Labour Party is determined to fight to keep them.

The Labour Shadow Cabinet also held a meeting to discuss climate change which is now at the top of our agenda. Following Labour’s calls in Parliament, the UK was the first country to declare a climate emergency. The positive message which came from the meeting is that the Committee on Climate Change has announced that as long as we have the political will, we can make the difficult decisions required to make a difference to our climate, and our world. This means that climate change is a political choice and not an unavoidable threat, so long as we act immediately.

Climate change can destroy the planet and our way of life, but Labour will challenge the Government to ensure we have net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible so that we can create a world where our children and our children’s children can live safely.

I attended another meeting of the Parliamentary Group on Pubs. As we all know, pubs have taken a hit over the past few years and the group has been committed to promoting and campaigning for the interests of pubs, landlords, and their communities. Currently, the group is taking part in an enquiry into the relationship between brewers and the pub owning companies, to make sure the balance is right.

 

 

In Rochdale it was a pleasure to attend the handing over of a £700 donation to the Cancer Research Shop on Yorkshire Street, along with the Mayor Billy Sheerin and Councillor Faisal Rana. This money was raised through the generosity of customers and staff at United Petroleum UK Ltd.

 

 

I also joined Councillor Sheerin and other local councillors at Deeplish Community Centre to recognise the great work done by the centre’s volunteers. People who give up their own time to help the community don’t always get the recognition they deserve so it was great to present them with awards and thank them for their contribution.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128559/volunteers-recognised-at-deeplish-community-centre

I then visited the Polish Community Church on Manchester Road, firstly to join the parishioners in mass and then to discuss their concerns and questions around Brexit and how it will affect them.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128588/tony-lloyd-mp-surgery-at-polish-catholic-centre

 

 

The EU Settlement Scheme has been designed for people and their families to apply to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021. EU Nationals, particularly Poles, have contributed to our community since the second world war and it is therefore a worrying time for those who have made a home here in Rochdale, given the uncertainty around Brexit. I therefore took this opportunity to give some advice and reassurance at this unsettling time.

In light of Refugee Week, which takes place in the week around World Refugee Day on the 20 June, I attended a number of events across Rochdale. RADAR (The Rochdale Action for Destitute Asylum Seekers and Refugees) is a new organisation which has been put together to help asylum seekers and refugees who find themselves destitute.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128294/new-rochdale-organisation-set-up-to-help-asylum-seekers-and-refugees

The group held a Civic Service at St Chad’s Church to celebrate the work carried out by various groups and charities to ease the plight of refugees and asylum seekers across the town. I also attended ‘Refutea’ at St John’s Church on Dowling Street, this was a chance for people to get together and see the human being behind the refugee.

 

 

I also joined Ben & Jerry’s in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester to support their ‘Welcome not Walls’ campaign to call to lift the ban on asylum seekers taking on paid work. I’ve never understood why the Home Office insists that refugees who want and are capable of working are told they cannot – not good for them and not good for the wider community.

I had a meeting in Parliament for MPs to bring their constituent’s cases to the Minister responsible for the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service works out how much, and when, child maintenance should be paid on behalf of some separated parents in England, Wales and Scotland. It also has the capability, where necessary, to collect child maintenance from one parent and pay it out to the other (e.g. by deducting child maintenance at source from earnings or bank accounts).

Sadly, some parents are unwilling to pay to support their children, even when they can afford to do so. It is a national scandal that parents are having to chase up their ex partners who are unwilling to pay for their children. It is even worse that the Child Maintenance Service is allowing these parents to get away with it and are letting children across the country down.

I took the cases of two families from Rochdale who had been treated very badly by the service.

In Rochdale I attend the ‘Improving safety by engaging communities’ event organised in light of National Neighbourhood Watch Week at Castlemere Community Centre. The aim of the event was to bring neighbours together to create strong, friendly, active communities where crime and anti-social behaviour are less likely to happen.

Working closely with the police, community safety and as neighbourhood watch volunteers, members hope to reduce crimes in their respective areas and by reporting any suspicious activity to the police. The shortage of police officers, due to government cuts, and its impact inevitably came up as a main topic of discussion.

Neighbourhood watch schemes like this can provide some aid in this period of austerity, but unfortunately our police do need more funding to keep our streets safe.