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My recent work in Parliament

Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 14:36, Thu 26 April 2012:

A constituent’s written to ask me why I seem to ask more questions about, and take a particular interest in, certain subjects in parliament.

There’s an enormous amount going on in parliament: debates, question sessions, committees, all-party groups, briefings, meetings with lobby and campaigning organisations, meetings with other MPs, and dealing with constituents’ queries. No wonder MPs tend to specialise in certain issues.

As far as I’m concerned, the first priority is to deal with matters that are important for the constituency. So in recent weeks, I made sure to attend a debate on the future of biomass energy to raise questions and concerns on behalf of constituents, I’ve been asking questions about the reorganisation of the NHS, I participated in a debate about cuts to the fire brigade, I’ve been very involved in the debates on the Legal Aid bill, and spoke in the chamber this week about the abolition of no-win no –fee arrangements that will mean mesothelioma sufferers won’t be able to afford to go to court to get the compensation they’re entitled to. I’ve also been working with colleagues to challenge plans to close local DVLA offices (one is in Stretford), I attended a meeting about the future of high streets and retailing, I’ve been asking questions about ESOL courses (Trafford College has lost its funding), I attended a meeting on governance of football clubs, I asked ministers about the role of volunteers in libraries, and about feed-in tariffs which are crucial to projects like the Sunshine project at St John’s in Old Trafford.

Then there’s my role as Labour’s spokesperson for equalities. So recently I’ve been raising issues about women’s equality, disability, equal marriage, and race equality. Today I went into the chamber to challenge ministers about age discrimination – they said they’d introduce regulations, but nothing’s happened to progress this. And in a couple of weeks’ time, I’m attending a roundtable to discuss why unemployment rates are much higher for those from BME backgrounds.

Then there are subjects I’ve got a longstanding interest in (and judging by my postbag, they’re important to a lot of my constituents too). I spend a lot of time working on issues around family budgets, tax and benefits, jobs and wages. This week, we’ve been debating the Finance bill, which puts George Osborne’s budget into law. So there’s been a lot to get my teeth into.

We’ve had debates on the “granny tax”, the “caravan tax”, the “pasty tax” (the government’s introducing VAT on hot takeaway snacks), tax changes to donations to charities, churches, mosques and temples, and changes to child benefit. I’ve been into several of the debates about these proposals this week to raise concerns about the impact of the government’s announcements on family budgets in Trafford. Sadly, when it come to voting, only a handful of LibDems and Tories were prepared to join Labour MPs in voting against the Chancellor’s budget.

I also do a lot of work on the criminal justice system. For 16 years, before I was elected to parliament, I served as a magistrate, so it’s a subject I’ve long been interested in. Since my election, I’ve been able to spend time with the probation services in Trafford, with magistrates, with the police, and made visits to prisons to learn about the steps they’re taking to tackle crime and reduce reoffending. Right now I’m working on a project with the Howard League for Penal Reform about keeping girls out of the penal system.

Next week, there’s a debate on smart meters – a company in Trafford manufactures them so I’ll make sure to attend that debate. And there’s also a debate on the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has one of its main offices in Manchester, and employs a number of my constituents. I’ll go to that debate to stand up for local jobs, and also to ask about the resources needed for the EHRC to fight discrimination in my role as the shadow equalities minister.

The next few weeks look busy. But if there’s ever anything I can help to highlight in parliament, please don’t hesitate to let me know.