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Newsletter March 2011

Posted by Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, at 18:18, Tue 1 March 2011:

Dear All,

In Westminster

Something new this month. I have been put on the Health and Social Care Bill committee. This is different from a select committee in that it is set up to scrutinise a particular piece of legislation. It will meet for approximately ten weeks with four sessions per week totalling at least ten and probably more hours per week. The first week was fascinating as we heard from so many experts in the health field as well as the Secretary of State. Now we are going through the bill line by line. Bill committees take precedence over everything else in Westminster so I have had to re-organise my work somewhat.

I was able to take part in two debates in February: a debate on Economic Growth answered by the Business Innovation & Skills ministers and I spoke in a backbench debate on the Big Society.

I have questioned and / or written to Ministers about the following issues during February:

• Business, Innovation and Skills: I have questioned Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, about Government support for small businesses.

• Health: I have written to Earl Howe, Health minister, about the access to treatments for rare conditions.

• Education: I have written to Michael Gove, Education minister twice; to arrange a meeting to discuss education funding in Dudley with representatives of Dudley Education Authority and to make representations on behalf of King Edward’s College who are being penalised for being at the more academic end of the post 16 educational spectrum.

• Home Office: I have taken up the case of a constituent, who had to go through a huge number of Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks, with Lynne Featherstone, the Minister for the CRB. I have also tabled a parliamentary question on this issue.

• Cabinet Office: I have written to Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, to ask how small and medium sized enterprises can find out more about Government procurement.

• Education: I have questioned Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, about the political motivations of some opponents of the school academies programme. http://www.margotjames.com/07022011_academies

• Justice: I have written to Crispin Blunt, Minister for Prisons, to request that the Government engage fully with the voluntary sector with regard to human trafficking. • Animal Welfare: I have called for a Groceries Code Adjudicator which may prevent the move towards intensive dairy farms by ensuring fairer prices for dairy farmers. http://www.margotjames.com/17022011_uk_dairy_industry

• Health & Safety: I have questioned a number of Government departments about their plans to implement Government proposals on health and safety.

I have attended briefings on various subjects as follows:

• I met with Chris Ham, director of the King’s Fund, a respected Health research institute and attended a wider briefing by the King’s Fund and the Nuffield Institute to discuss the Health and Social Care Bill.

• I attended the All Party group on Hospices and Palliative Care where Cancer Networks, rarer cancers and the need for greater awareness of cancer symptoms were all discussed.

• Remploy held a working breakfast to discuss how best to enable more people with disabilities to get in to employment, I attended this and committed to offer an internship and support to someone with a disability.

• The Home Secretary held meetings with groups of backbenchers, I attended one and lobbied her to sign the EU directive on trafficking and discussed the effect of student visa restrictions on our top international universities.

• I attended a briefing from Home Office minister, James Brokenshire, on the government’s new measures to combat anti-social behaviour.

• I attended an excellent briefing by the Health Secretary on the public health white paper. The prioritising of public health and the return of the function to Local Government is a very good step in my view.

• I attended a meeting at the Home Office with ministers and voluntary organisations to discuss what more the Government and criminal justice system can do to combat human trafficking.

• Alistair Burt, Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for the Middle East briefed a very small group of backbenchers, including myself, on the fast changing situation in the Middle East.

I welcomed students from the London School of Economics (LSE) Conservative Society (which I chaired myself a terribly long time ago!) to the House of Commons and spoke to them about my experiences as a new MP.

In Stourbridge

We had another meeting on the Farmer’s Market, some stallholders, the proposed new market operator, Dudley Council and Cllr. Margaret Cowell attended and an application has since gone in to Dudley Council. I am hopeful that we can get a new market up and running next month. http://www.margotjames.com/14022011_farmers_market

I visited a number of interesting local projects and organisations including:

• Mousesweet Brook, a nature reserve that has been brought back to an excellent standard by volunteer effort and a grant from the Environmental Agency. http://www.margotjames.com/15022011_mousesweet_brook

• Hanbury Hill Baptist Church, where excellent work is in progress for people with learning disabilities and we also discussed international development, a pleasure to discuss this with people who actually approve of our policy here. http://www.margotjames.com/18022011_hanbury_hill_baptist_church

• Dudley Council, I met the new head of Adult and Social Care, Andrea Pope-Smith who joins us from Sandwell. Andrea has a very inspiring vision for older people’s services and is also passionate about meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities. I then met the Chief Executive, a finance officer and the leader, Cllr. Millward to discuss the Council’s budget for next year.

• I visited Birmingham Prison at Winson Green; I met the governor, the prison health team, some inmates as well as looking at the work and training facilities.

• I held two surgeries, at Quarry Bank and in the Crystal Leisure Centre.

I met the principal of King Edward’s College to discuss funding issues.

I enjoyed my monthly interview with the Bridge Radio station, this time with Al Jackson.

Finally, warm congratulations to Mike Wood, Chairman of Stourbridge Conservatives and his wife Laura, on the birth of their second child, Benjamin Daniel, some ten days ago. We hope everything is still going well for Mike and his family.

It wasn’t all work

The Speaker’s lecture series continued with a fascinating lecture given by Sir Peter Tapsell MP on the life of F E Smith who was elected from 1906 until 1928 and became Lord Chancellor.

I went as a guest to the Conservative Party’s spring fundraising party in Battersea Park and sat next to a director of Westfield who I lobbied about Merry Hill and what they might do for people in the surrounding area.

I held two really enjoyable dinners at home in Stourbridge and found time to cook for one of them at least as it was when the House finished sitting for the half term recess. An old friend also visited who does excellent voluntary work mentoring ex offenders with his manic German Pointer, Finn. It was nice to have a dog in the house again.

My former company held a wonderful dinner, cooked up by top chef Angela Hartnett, to honour a great friend of mine, Jenny McGregor, who is moving on from Ogilvy & Mather after 25 years of excellent service and I was so pleased to be able to join her and my old colleagues.

I caught up with my two favourite Aunts, now both well in to their eighties; and Rupert and his family. It was a particular pleasure to take three year old Poppy for a walk on what seemed like the first day of spring.

Finally, just before the debate on the Big Society... Jay brought a very big society in to our home all day last Saturday. Jay supports the ‘Post Adoption Centre’ a charity that supports people affected by adoption and a really good cause. So she is making a series of films for them to use to promote their work for no charge. Filming was at home last Saturday and involved a good thirty adults and children in and out all day with me in charge of hospitality. It was great fun and went very well. The filming schedule was very tight and Jay and her team worked flat out for nearly ten hours.

Best wishes

Margot

http://www.margotjames.com