Newsletter April 2013
Posted by Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, at 10:34, Thu 4 April 2013:
Dear Subscriber,
The Government’s reforms to the social security system are highlighted this week. Reforms that were much discussed back in 1997 when Tony Blair first came in to office and later abandoned are finally coming to fruition. Despite the controversy Iain Duncan Smith has acknowledged that the reforms will only manage the increased cost of social security rather than actively reduce those costs.
However one reason for that is that the social security budget combines both working age benefits and the state pension. Because the government has increased the state pension and is committed to raising it by 2.5 %, the rate of inflation or the rate of earnings whichever is the higher in every year during this Parliament then all the cuts in planned spending are having to fall on the working age benefits half of the total bill for social security.
During the last three months I have visited the company (Atos) charged with evaluating whether people receiving disability benefits are fit to work, the tribunal service charged with hearing appeals against those decisions and my local Job Centre to see how the system of sanctions and support for people claiming working age benefits is working in practice. Last year I also visited two providers of the government’s Work Programme; the Salvation Army and EOS.
The Work Programme has, according to official statistics, only helped 4% of people into work so far. This low figure contrasts with the experience of the Tipton branch of EOS where many more people who were classified as long term unemployed have been trained and supported in to jobs for more than six months. Atos has found on average 32% of people receiving disability benefits fit to work but there is a high cost of appeals. The reason so many appeals are upheld at tribunal is the presence of a doctor on all panels. By contrast, although many of the ATOS staff are health professionals, few are doctors.
The most interesting learning came from the Jobcentre. More than a million jobs have been created by the private sector since 2010, compensating for the loss of public sector jobs by a factor of nearly five to one. The system of sanctions (withdrawal of benefits, mandatory work placement and so forth) mean that Job Centres are now empowered to put more pressure on the minority of people on jobseekers allowance who are not actively seeking work.
---In Parliament---
I asked questions and I spoke in debates on:
• The Secondary School Curriculum: to note the importance of making students aware of the implications of subject choices at GCSE in order to maximise their opportunities to attend top universities if they have the academic ability to do so. http://www.margotjames.com/content/margot-james-highlights-importance-post-16-subject-choices
• EU Treaty: stressing the importance of negotiation and alliance building in reforming our relationship with Europe. http://www.margotjames.com/content/margot-james-welcomes-alliance-building-eu
• Cyprus: to highlight the terrible effect of the so-called bail out on savers and the integrity of banks across Europe and to ask the Treasury Minister what can be done to protect British pensioners in Cyprus. http://www.margotjames.com/content/margot-james-calls-government-protect-british-pensioners-living-cyprus
• NHS redundancy packages: to ask the Department of Health how much money was spent on NHS redundancy packages since 2008. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130301/text/130301w0003.htm#13030166002860
I wrote to Ministers on the following subjects:
• David Laws, Minister for Schools, on behalf of a constituent concerned about the school start date of children born prematurely during the summer.
• Earl Howe, Health Minister, regarding the uptake of the CardioQ Oesophageal Doppler Monitor in the NHS.
• Anna Soubry, Minister for Public Health, about diabetes policy.
• Lord McNally, Justice Minister, regarding legal aid for travellers in the UK.
• George Osborne, the Chancellor, on behalf of a constituent to ask whether the Treasury can publish a simple breakdown of the Budget in future years.
• Esther McVey, Minister for Disabled People, regarding the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) regulations.
I attended various events and had meetings in and around Parliament:
• Speaking at the South Eastern EEF Manufacturers Organisation conference.
• Hosting a reception for a delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Several meetings about trade between the UK and the EU.
• A joint meeting of Conservative MPs and MEPs from the West Midlands to discuss how we can work together in the region.
• The UKTI/British Chambers of Commerce event to promote collaboration to help exporters.
• Hosting a breakfast with Lord Green for MPs to discuss trade issues.
• A joint meeting of the APPG for Trade and Investment, which I Chair, and the APPG for Indonesia, to hear from Indonesia’s candidate for the Director of the World Trade Organisation.
• A dinner with RBS Chairman Philip Hampton.
• A meeting between female Conservative MPs and the Prime Minister, to discuss issues of particular concern to women
• A reception at Downing Street for business leaders This month, I was delighted to lead a trade delegation to South East Asia on behalf of the APPG for Trade and Investment. The group of six MPs and twelve businesses and Colleges spent four days visiting centres of business excellence in Singapore and Jakarta, as well as meeting Government officials in both countries to promote trade links. I was very pleased to hear that several companies have already signed trade deals, or are close to doing so, following the trip.
My Article for ConservativeHome, Why the Next Eleven group of countries offer exporting wins for Britain.
---Out and about in Stourbridge---
I took part in various visits and meetings:
• Visiting Thorns Community College to congratulate them on the recent good news about being taken out of special measures • Visiting Blacks Vets to promote pet micro chipping and meet local vet Liz Jefferson who has been shortlisted for Veterinary Nurse of the Year at the Vet Awards 2013
• Launching Supportive Minds, a new counselling service in Stourbridge set up by single mother Sam Mullett who re-trained at Stourbridge College • Meeting Dominic Young, a Stourbridge College student and Aldi apprentice who is part of a new wave of young apprentices in Stourbridge, to mark National Apprenticeship Week
• Meeting Paula Clark, Chief Executive of the Dudley Group of Hospitals, to discuss issues of concern locally and to hear about improvements to various services in the hospital.
• Attending a meeting with the Black Country Chamber of Commerce to discuss the possibility of the four Black Country local authorities working more closely together in order to promote a strong Black Country economy
• Meeting a constituent to discuss ways to clean up the River Stour, which I believe is one of Stourbridge’s best kept secrets and should be made a greater priority.
• Visiting the Stourbridge Job Centre to learn about the support and facilities available to people who are looking for work, and the penalties available to sanction those who can work but make little or no effort to find employment.
• Visiting Peters Hill primary school to meet with the acting head, tour the school, and discuss the pupils’ aspirations for secondary school and beyond.
I was also pleased to host the second in our series of ‘Aspiration’ events for young people in Stourbridge. The Further Education & Apprenticeships event at Glasshouse College, was well attended by students from Stourbridge secondary schools and their parents. I was able to attract over 35 companies offering apprenticeships, FE colleges and training providers to the event, who were on hand to offer advice and give students information about the various options open to them after leaving school. http://www.margotjames.com/content/mp-promotes-apprenticeships-and-further-education
Finally I would like to advertise the Stourbridge Conservative Association’s annual dinner, being held on Friday 26th April, at 7.30pm, at Hagley Golf and Country Club. Our guest speaker will be Dr Liam Fox, MP for North Somerset. Tickets are £24.50, and please email me on margot.james.mp@parliament.uk if you would like to join us.
---And it wasn’t all work---
A week away on the trade visit cut my month short but I still managed to enjoy some interesting diversions. The highlight of the month was a reception at Buckingham Palace which Jay and I enjoyed very much, never having been there before. Sadly it was the week that the Queen was ill so we did not get to meet her, but we were received in her place by the Duke of Edinburgh which was a great honour.
MPs in the greater Birmingham area were invited to see the new production of Aladdin by the Birmingham Royal Ballet which was very good.
I also got to see a production of Giselle by the Mikhailovsky ballet company from St Petersburg. This was truly memorable as it was the first night in the UK for dancers Ivan Vasiliev and Natalia Osipova, my friend Peter Field who accompanied me and knows his ballet reckons they are the Nureyev and Fonteyn of their generation.
Jay and I visited my cousins Daniel and Jo and their family for dinner at their converted pub, ‘The Fox’ in Henley on Thames and finally it was a real pleasure to catch up for lunch with my best mate Jenny McGregor who has just started as a fully trained listener with the Samaritans.
Jay and I spent Easter in the Cotswolds, and my cousins from Warwick and Kenilworth came over for Easter day.
Margot
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