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Caroline's bulletin - June 2011; August 2011 bulletin coming soon

Posted by Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton, Pavilion, at 12:26, Thu 18 August 2011:

BRIGHTON PAVILION BULLETIN Update on the recent Parliamentary work of Caroline Lucas MP

Energy Bill

I am a member of the Committee that is scrutinising the Energy Bill and work on this has been dominating May and June. One of the Bill’s main proposals is for a Green Deal to promote energy efficiency. I have submitted a number of amendments to strengthen the Bill, including calling for household energy saving initiatives to deliver emissions reductions commensurate with a 90% cut in greenhouse gas reductions by 2030; to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards in private rented sector by 2016; and to impose a moratorium on off shore oil drilling in the Arctic Circle and other sensitive environments. In May I also spoke at the launch of a new report by the Fuel Poverty All Party Group, of which I am a co president.

Circus Animals

I have been calling for a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses since I was an MEP and have had the opportunity to take it up further in the House of Commons. There has been an urgent debate in the chamber of the House of Commons, as well as one in Westminster Hall – I spoke during both. I have also raised the matter with the Minister during DEFRA question time and condemned the Government’s hiding behind alleged EU court cases to avoid introducing legislation. At the time of going to press there are encouraging signs that the Government will respect the outcome of the vote.

Drugs Policy

I spoke in June to members of the Brighton and Hove PCT’s clinical network on harm reduction. This was an opportunity to launch a debate on drugs policy and to announce that reducing drugs related deaths is one of my top priorities. Having the backing of Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett of Brighton and Hove Police has proved invaluable. I will be working closely with Brighton and Hove Green Cllr Ben Duncan as well as health officials, the police and practitioners to take this forward – starting with a roundtable in September.

Guantanamo

This month I hosted a screening of a film called Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo. It tells the story of Guantánamo: torture, extraordinary rendition and secret prisons. Focusing on the stories of three prisoners, Shaker Aamer, Binyam Mohamed and former Brighton resident Omar Deghayes, the film examines how the Bush administration turned its back on domestic and international law, rounding up prisoners in Afghanistan and Pakistan without adequate screening and often for large bounty payments. The US lawyer Tom Wilner, who has fought against Guantanamo in the courts and the film makers took part in a panel discussion too, with the focus very much on how we in the UK can contribute to the closure of Guantanamo, which has its tenth anniversary in January 2012. This is a campaign I will be working in the months ahead.

AV referendum

I spoke at a number of press events to increase awareness of the need for a yes vote in the AV referendum. I was disappointed in the result and know that many constituents are concerned with how we take forward the issue of electoral reform in future.

Red Tape Challenge

This is an initiative designed by the Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is consulting people about which unnecessary red tape they’d like to see scrapped. However, the definition of red tape is so broad as to include crucial health and safety regulations, for example, and key environmental safe guards. I quizzed the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs about air pollution controls in particular:

Caroline Lucas : What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the environmental regulations considered for possible revocation under the red tape challenge.

Caroline Spelman: I want to make it clear that there is no intention of relaxing existing levels of environmental protection. As a former MEP, the hon. Lady will be well aware that most environmental legislation emanates from European directives, and their complete removal would not be possible. Nevertheless, it might be possible to improve their implementation arrangements. The red tape challenge should therefore be embraced by all as an excellent opportunity to gather ideas on how we can regulate better.

Caroline Lucas: I thank the Secretary of State for her answer, by which I am not entirely reassured. Does she know that in my constituency, in Brighton and Hove, standards for nitrogen dioxide are regularly exceeded at 20 sites across the city? Much of the pollution—as well as its costly health consequences—is caused by traffic. Will she therefore absolutely guarantee to defend the regulations on air quality that set health protection standards should they come under threat from the insidious red tape challenge?

Caroline Spelman: The air quality directive is a piece of European legislation. Therefore, it is not involved in any red tape challenge. I share with the hon. Lady a desire to improve air quality, as it has enormous benefits for the environment and for human health. The fact is that air quality demands at a European level are very ambitious and we are working closely with local authorities, the Mayor of London and others to do all we can to improve air quality.

In fact air quality legislation is featured on the Red Tape Challenge website (see http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/environment/air-quality/) and I have written to the Secretary of State to ask her to correct her response and find out exactly why the Government is considering scrapping laws designed to improve air quality in Brighton and Hove.

Other parliamentary work

One of the best ways for me to raise the concerns you have is via parliamentary questions and Early Day Motions, so I have been making good use of these opportunities. You can read all the tabled questions to which I have received replies here and also keep up to date with the EDMs I have tabled, sponsored and signed here.

Parliamentary work has included hosting a meeting about lessons to be learned from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and one to mark the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. I was also on the panel for an event organised by the Free West Papua Campaign and have spoken in a number of parliamentary debates including about the Middle East/Libya/Afghanistan. For example, last month I questioned the Foreign Secretary on two occasions:

Caroline Lucas: Does the Foreign Secretary accept that our activities in Libya have now gone well beyond the terms of a no-fly zone to protect civilians? Is he not concerned that we will be giving the impression that we are taking sides with the intention of regime change, rather than protecting civilians? Is that impression not being strengthened by the fact that we are not even calling for sanctions in Bahrain and Syria, in spite of the atrocities being carried out there?

William Hague: Well, no. It will be evident that I do not agree with that. I think we are operating within the UN resolutions and so do the vast majority of other nations-so does the whole of NATO and the vast majority of the Arab world, including the Arab League. I stress again the importance of the legitimacy of our actions internationally, which means that where the Arab League has called for assistance, as it did in the case of Libya, we are in a different situation from other countries and regarded as such at the United Nations Security Council. We are operating in response to the calls from the Arab League and with the authority of the United Nations Security Council, and we will continue to operate within those constraints.

and

Caroline Lucas : Does the Secretary of State agree with the comments made at the weekend by the Chief of the Defence Staff about increasing the number of targets that we can hit, with specific reference to infrastructure? What discussions has he had with NATO colleagues about the apparent change of focus to regime change rather than the protection of civilians?

William Hague : I do agree with the comments of the Chief of the Defence Staff, but they did not relate to regime change; they related to implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions. It will be evident to the House that over the last few weeks the regime forces have tried to adapt to what we have done to implement the resolutions. They have made themselves look like the forces of the other side, and have fought in a more asymmetric way. In such circumstances it is legitimate for NATO to increase the proportion of targets that are the command and control systems of the regime forces who are harassing and threatening the civilian population. That is what the Chief of the Defence Staff was referring to.

I have been lobbied extensively in the last few months about changes to the NHS, the need for a strong Energy Bill, arms sales to Libya, police funding and national landlord accreditation. I met with constituents taking part in the Hardest Hit disabled people’s lobby and have since tabled a number of follow up parliamentary questions.

Members of Brighton Link came to a meeting I arranged with the Health Minister Lord Howe and were pleased with his promise to consider their proposals for reducing medicinal waste. I also met the Treasury Minister David Gauke about my Tax and Financial Transparency Bill. This and my other Private Members Bill on illegally logged timber have been postponed for debate in the House of Commons until later in the year.

Constituency Work

Meetings locally have included with the Federation of Small Businesses, Brighton Line Commuters, Sussex Beacon Women’s Group, Brighton Oasis Project, Student PRIDE, Zap Art, Sussex Wildlife Trust, and Environmental Protection UK. In the wake of Green local election successes I have met with a number of council officials and am very optimistic about the opportunity to take forward a number of key projects, including on green energy.

Following on from an inspiring meeting with two Brighton women that run media training in a local prison I was able to ask the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries to support rolling out this project more widely.

Caroline Lucas : Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on the contribution of media training programmes to the rehabilitation of women in prison.

Edward Vaizey : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State discusses a broad range of issues with his Cabinet colleagues. The Government believe that education and training programmes, such as the prison media centres project at HMP Downview, play an important role in the rehabilitation of prisoners.

Caroline Lucas : I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he agree that we should roll out rehabilitation models that use culture—such as the prison media centres project, which is run by people in my constituency—more widely, and will he therefore have further talks with the Secretary of State for Justice to ensure there is a national roll-out of such schemes?

Edward Vaizey: I understand that one of my officials is due to visit the project at the end of June, and no doubt he will return filled with ideas about how we might encourage such projects around the country.

I was quizzed by students during a visit to Varndean College and interviewed AC Grayling at an event for Charleston Festival. I spoke at the AGM of the Bus Users group, at a Sussex University Stop the Cuts discussion, at student PRIDE and at a Public and Commercial Services seminar on ‘Being Green: A Trade Union approach’. I also did my first roving surgery – visiting constituents in their homes to see if they had any concerns/questions to raise. This was very useful and we will be repeating this type of surgery in future.

Travellers

Concerns about travellers and the protest site at Old Steine have been considerable and I am working closely with councillors to ensure there is a firm but fair and consistent approach. Simon Kirby MP has arranged a Westminster Hall debate on the issue, at which I was able to intervene, but sadly only very briefly. I will continue to support local councillors in efforts to find a viable long term resolution to the annual cat and mouse game that is played out in our city. Above all, I want the Government to adopt a national strategy so that areas like Brighton and Hove do not bear more than their fair share of responsibility for providing authorised sites.

You can read the Westminster Hall debate at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2011-06-15a.280.0&s=section%3Adebates+section%3Awhall+section%3Alords+section%3Ani+speaker%3A24910#g288.0

Contacting me

If you are a local resident and want help with case work or to find out more about my activities locally please contact me at the office of Caroline Lucas MP, Brighton Media Centre 15-17 Middle Street, Brighton BN1 1AL. Tel: 01273 201 130. Email: brightonoffice@parliament.uk

If you want to know about my parliamentary work please get in touch at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. Tel: 020 7219 7025. Email: caroline.lucas.mp@parliament.uk

If you want to receive this bulletin automatically by email please send a message to caroline.lucas.mp@parliament.uk putting ‘email bulletin’ as the subject. Your details will not be passed on to any third party and will only be used to send you news bulletins every two months and the occasional additional update.

Media Highlights

I now write a blog on a weekly or fortnightly basis for Guardian Environment – read it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/series/caroline-lucas

Since my last bulletin I have been on Radio 4’s Great Lives talking about German Green Petra Kelly and I was interviewed at length about my tax and financial transparency bill for Decision Time. I have done interviews with the BBC Politics Show SE, Sussex Life, the New Review for the Independent on Sunday, So Brighton and Hove, ITV Meridian’s Last Word, BBC Radio 5 Live, and Gaydar amongst others. I was featured in a Guardian head to head piece with George Monbiot about nuclear power after Fukushima, which you can read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/26/conversation-monbiot-caroline-lucas-nuclear-power