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News from Parliament and the constituency

Posted by Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, at 06:55, Thu 19 September 2013:

The House of Commons was due to return at the beginning of September, but because of the Syria crisis we returned a few days earlier for a special session. It was a powerful debate on all sides, and at the end of the day I voted with my Labour colleagues and many MPs from other parties against the government's plans which in my view would have made it much likely that the UK would have become involved in precipitate military action in Syria. I've set out some of my views on the current situation in Syria on my blog.

When Parliament returned for the planned session, the first major business was a debate on the 'Get Britain Cycling' report produced by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling. I was part of the panel of MPs which was responsible for the report. The debate was very well attended, but I was able to speak in the debate on the report.

Later in the week, there was a debate called by the Labour Party on rising energy bills and energy company profits. Once again I was able to speak, and in the very short time available, I raised the particular case of people who were low energy users actually having to pay more as a result of the government's botched proposals which they claimed would make sure consumers got the best available prices for their gas and electricity.

I was also able to question one of the government's Culture, Media and Sport Ministers on the way in which the government's promise to provide super-fast broadband is not actually happening for everyone in Edinburgh. .

I am sending the Minister details of some of the areas in my constituency which do not appear to be getting super-fast broadband of my constituency - if you are affected and would like me to pass on details, do let me know.

A controversial Bill which was discussed on a number of days dealt with the Government's proposals on lobbying. These were originally meant to deal with 'big money' lobbyists. However the government's eventual proposals will not cover some of these activities, but will introduce tighter controls on bodies like trade unions and charities.

The proposals on charities in particular attracted a great deal of opposition from charities, who felt they would inhibit them from putting forward their views in the year before the election. During the debate, in which I intervened several times, the government promised to make changes to at least try and meet the objections from the charities. The details of these concessions are not yet known, however.

I continue to be an active member of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. I was pleased that the committee chose to visit Edinburgh for a hearing as part of the Committee enquiry into the Green Investment Bank (you can find more details here). We also had a useful meeting with the MSPs on our counterpart Committee in the Scottish Parliament. Our committee has also just produced a report on sustainable development following on from the Rio 20+ Earth summit. You can find the report here on the committee's website.

I continue to work and campaign on a wide range of local issues, normally along with other local elected representatives. These issues include the bedroom tax, the campaign against the government's plans to reprivatise East Coast Main Line rail services, overcrowding in local schools, Leith Walk cycle and pedestrian facilities, payday loans, and a number of large planning issues in the constituency. You can find more details of these campaigns, together with other local activities in which I have been involved on my website at www.marklazarowicz.org.uk.

You can also find on my website details of my MP advice surgeries and other ways to contact me. Because of the pressure on my existing two surgeries every week, I've now added an extra surgery every month in Royston/Wardieburn Community Centre, Pilton Drive North. Details are on the home page of the website. Coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support Come along and join me on Friday 27 September at 10 am in Vittoria (Leith Walk) to join in the biggest coffee morning in the world. See my website for details!