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News from Your Local MP

Posted by Dawn Primarolo, MP for Bristol South, at 13:26, Fri 1 April 2011:

WELCOME!

Here’s the latest edition of my regular newsletter.

BUDGET

The Government’s economic strategy simply isn’t working. When the coalition Government took control, they inherited an economy which was recovering following the global financial crisis. Unemployment had started to fall, and inflation was dropping as well. The Government’s policy of cutting much too deep, much too soon has failed, and both of those key indicators are now on the up again. The Chancellor had the chance to think again in last week’s Budget. He could have focused on creating jobs and working for growth but instead has wedded himself to public service cuts and tax rises. On Saturday, 500,000 people went to London to protest against this policy – the vast majority of them peacefully. We will continue to work to convince the Government to think again.

WINTER FUEL ALLOWANCE

You might not have heard about the Government’s plan to slash winter fuel allowance – it certainly wasn’t in George Osborne’s speech. But, despite promising to protect Winter Fuel Allowance, it has become clear that the Government are going to discontinue the top-up payments of £50 (£100 for older pensioners) that the previous Government brought in. Given the harsh winters we have endured recently, and yet more recent increases in energy bills, this is completely unacceptable. I know that older people in Bristol South will be angry at this callous cut, and I will be urging the Government to reconsider.

ASDAN’s EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS FORUM

It was a pleasure to be able to pop into the launch of ASDAN’s Employment and Skills Forum earlier in the week. ASDAN are a trailblazing education charity who I have been pleased to work with over the years. They are continuing to progress well under the leadership of Marius Frank, the inspirational former Headteacher at Bedminster Down School. More information on the Forum is available at http://www.asdan.org.uk/About_ASDAN/Employment_and_Skills_Forum.

EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE

Cuts to Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) have caused immense anger in colleges and sixth forms across the country. I suspect the Government’s plan for a scheme to ‘replace’ EMA will be similarly met with derision. Under the new scheme, colleges will have a drastically reduced pot of money to distribute to students who are deemed ‘worthy’ of support. These plans will do nothing to increase participation in further education and perversely, at a time when youth unemployment is rapidly increasing, the Government may find itself paying out far more in benefits than they ever would in EMA.

MEETINGS ROUND-UP

This week in Parliament, amongst other things, I’ve had discussions with the International Fund for Animal Welfare about ending the ivory trade and caught up with the Prostate Cancer Charity’s day of action. There’s much more information on how to make sure that the disease is caught early at www.prostate-cancer.org.uk. Back in Bristol, I’ve been busy with meetings and catching up with correspondence from Bristol South residents. As well as my regular surgery, I was also pleased to visit a project being run by the Probation Service before meeting with the Chief Executive of mental health services for our region.

ANY QUESTIONS?

If you have any queries about these issues, or have a question you would like to ask about anything else, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Just email dawn.primarolo.mp@parliament.uk, phone 0117 909 0063 or write to me at PO Box 1002, Bristol, BS99 1WH.