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A little persistence in parliament can pay off

Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 11:49, Fri 16 May 2014:

I'm just leaving Westminster for another two weeks back in the constituency, which I'll be spending campaigning for Labour's candidates in the local and European elections at the end of the month.

It's a great way to stay fit. And I love the chance to get out and about to meet constituents on the doorstep. That's the best way for me to hear about the things politicians need to change in parliament.

It's how we know for example about pressures in the NHS, problems getting a place at the school you want for your child, or the difficulty of assembling a package of care for a frail and elderly relative. There's no doubt the doorstep is one of the best sources of information about policies we're thinking about as politicians.

I attended a very interesting conference on Monday organised by asbestos victims support groups. I've become more and more involved in the campaign to bring justice to sufferers of this terrible disease since working on the legislation that led to the passage of the Mesothelioma Act early this year.

That legislation now means some victims will receive payouts from insurers if they were exposed to asbestos at work but can't trace an employer's insurer. It's a welcome step forward, but there's still more to do, and at the conference we discussed some of the changes that are still needed. I was very pleased to confirm Labour would ensure there is funding for more research into the disease as well as legislating to guarantee the level of financial contribution made by the insurance industry.

I was also very pleased to see when I got back to parliament that the government is doing something else I've been calling for. We're debating the Deregulation Bill, and the government has proposed a clause in the bill that means that families of mesothelioma victims won't have to get a court order to access employment records after a victim's death. That's another small step forward, and it shows how persistence can pay off in parliament.

A meeting I had with officials from the Business Innovation and Skills department (BIS) this week also shows that it can be worth persisting. I've been campaigning since I was first elected to parliament for higher safety standards on overseas adventure activities. Luke Molnar, the 17 year old son of constituents from Stretford, died in 2006 while participating in such an activity in Fiji. Together with his parents, I've been pushing for more information about safety measures.

It's been a long haul, but I was pleased to hear the Foreign Office as well as BIS are finally taking action to raise awareness of safety issues and get information to consumers. Citizens Advice are also helping to disseminate information. Again, the battle is far from won, but there has certainly been some progress. And that's thanks to the determination of families like the Molnars not to let matters rest.

I've been speaking in a few debates this week: on the government's idea of a huge secure training centre for hundreds of young offenders (I think this creates huge risks, and I spoke out against it); on changes to help with paying council tax that will leave many low income households struggling; and on protecting the human rights of elderly and disabled people in residential care accommodation. We've all heard some utter horror stories about this, but a loophole in the Human Rights Act meant those in private residential homes wouldn't have the same rights as those in council care. I asked the minister for more information about steps the government is taking to address this.

There have also been some very good meetings organised by All Party Groups that I've attended - a meeting on migration and how the public feel about it; a meeting with young disabled people to discuss access to shops, bars, and clubs, and accessible transport; the All Party Group on the Magistracy, discussing sentencing for drink driving; a meeting to hear about new research into motor neurone disease, attended by a constituent, and her brother who has MND (both spoke movingly and powerfully about this horrible disease); and I was very pleased to be guest speaker at a reception organised by a group of organisations campaigning for services for deaf people.

Their persistence has paid off too: for months, they've been highlighting changes that have meant deaf people were unable to get funding for British Sign Language interpreters to enable them to function at work. MPs have been asking questions about this too, and just before the reception we were really delighted to hear the minister has agreed to carry out a full review of the problem.

Getting things done in parliament is always best when it's part of a joint effort.