HearFromYourMP

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It’s always rewarding to help make a difference

Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 08:48, Fri 4 April 2014:

Hot on the heels of my last blog.....

It's been a quieter week this week in parliament. I arrived in Westminster on Monday afternoon in time for the regular Work and Pensions question session, when Iain Duncan Smith and his team have to come to the chamber to answer MPs' questions. It's never an edifying experience, as IDS, and his sidekick Esther McVey, deny the facts in front of them.

Work and Pensions Questions were followed by an urgent question from Yvette Cooper on the shocking death of a detainee at Yarls Wood detention centre. This follows complaints last year of women being abused at the Centre. I'd been briefed about how bad things are for women at Yarls Wood by Women Asylum Seekers Together in Manchester. They've told me that in the past women who experienced or witnessed abuse had been deported before they could give evidence. I challenged the minister to guarantee that wouldn't happen in relation to this case, but I was very disappointed he avoided the question.

I then went off to meet the CBI to discuss work they're doing on how to ensure the economic recovery benefits everyone. That was followed by a fantastic event hosted by the Fabian Women's Network and the Girls Network to give young women the chance to hold a debate in parliament. It was great to see so many confident, articulate women crowded into the room, and listen to a lively and well informed debate. I hope to see some of them back as MPs in the future!

First thing Tuesday I met the chief executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to discuss the system of allocation of lungs for transplant. I've been campaigning in parliament on the need for a fairer system (people wait longer in the North West for a transplant than anywhere else in England), and the Trust recently published an important report arguing for the national allocation system I've been calling for. So we wanted to compare notes on how we could keep up the pressure for reform to the system.

I went into the chamber for Health Questions, to ask about testing pregnant women for Group B streptococcus. I'd asked the minister about this before, and was told the test wasn't being made available. But things have moved on in the past few weeks, and I was delighted that this time I got a far more encouraging answer from the minister. A number of MPs campaign on this issue, and it is always good when pressure from parliamentarians and outside bodies gets the government to shift its position. It takes time and persistence, but it's what parliament is for, and it is always rewarding when you've helped make a difference.

In the afternoon, I attended a very interesting meeting with the chair of the government's social mobility and child poverty commission, Alan Milburn. In the evening, a bit of a treat - my colleague Chris Bryant MP has just published a book on the history of parliament, and a reception to mark the publication was held in Speaker's House. It was great fun, with MPs from all parties enjoying the evening - but I then had it go back to the office to finish off great piles of work, so was quite late home that evening!

I wasn't in parliament much on Wednesday, as the Shadow Work and Pensions team went off on a planning away day. But I did manage to get back in time to meet a lecturer from Trafford College who'd come to parliament as part of a lobby organised by her trade union to talk to MPs about lack of funding for students at FE colleges, and to drop into a reception organised by Brake charity, who've helped me with my Safer Trafford Streets campaign.

Thursday began with a meeting with the Football Association about their programme to support disability football. I also had a meeting with Living Wage campaigners, and a long session in the afternoon with the taskforce that has been set up to advise Labour on disability and poverty.

Then on the train back to Manchester for a curry evening to raise funds for campaigning in the forthcoming local and Euro elections. I'm looking forward to that!