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It's been a varied week

Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 09:46, Fri 27 June 2014:

I was delighted to visit Stretford High school last Friday to discuss democracy and the importance of voting with GCSE students. The questions and discussion were great, and the timing was especially good, as many of the students will be eligible to register to vote soon, and with individual voter registration now being introduced, they won’t be able to rely on their parents to put them onto the electoral register. So many decisions politicians take have a direct effect on young people –from the abolition of the education maintenance allowance to the shared room rate for housing benefit to crime and policing to access to sexual and mental health services, and it’s really vital young people vote so that politicians have to take notice of what they think.

I spent Friday afternoon at Trafford College to celebrate adult learners’ week. I met some really enthusiastic students, who were taking courses on everything from English as a second language (ESOL) to computer skills to flower arranging. They told me how much they were enjoying their courses, the chance to gain new skills and meet people – and they were adamant you’re never too old to learn.

I was also delighted to sit in on a lecture on health and safety issues in relation to asbestos. This is a subject on which I do a lot of work in parliament, and my colleague Stephen Timms, who’s Labour’s health and safety spokesperson, and I are planning a seminar here in parliament on the matter. So it was good to hear issues and ideas from the class.

I went on Saturday to the Imperial War Museum to visit the world war one anniversary exhibition, From Street to Trench. This describes the experiences of people in the north west during the first world war, and I found it very moving, sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny, sometimes very beautiful and touching. I’d strongly urge you to visit.

I was particularly keen to make this visit in advance of a debate in parliament this week on the centenary of the start of the war, in which I wanted to speak – you can read a transcript of the debate at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140626/debtext/140626-0002.htm#14062667000003 or watch the debate at http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Live.aspx . It was a really fascinating afternoon, as MPs described the history of the war in their own constituencies, or sometimes how it had affected their own families. I was very pleased to be able to highlight the contribution made by local people, not just on the frontline, but also in the factories, especially on Trafford Park. Like a number of colleagues, I pointed out how the war had changed the role of women, many of whom took jobs in the factories which had been left vacant when the men had gone to fight – and who finally began to get the right to vote only after the first world war. And I also spoke about the conscientious objectors – their story was one of the aspects of the exhibition I found most absorbing and thought provoking, with many showing great courage in standing up for their beliefs.

In fact, unlike last week, when I spent little time in the chamber, this week, there has been a lot of activity there. On Monday afternoon, we had our regular slot to ask Iain Duncan Smith and his team questions. We are really concerned about the situation in his department, the wheels are coming off so many of his pet projects now, and it’s having a devastating effect on people who’ve lost their jobs, the chronically sick, and disabled people, as well as piling up huge costs for the taxpayer. IDS was rattled and cross –we’ll be returning to the chaos and waste in his department in a full debate on 30 June.

On Tuesday, it was questions to treasury ministers, and I was in the chamber again to ask about employment of disabled people – there’s a 30% gap in the rate of employment between disabled working age adults and non disabled people. George Osborne says his ambition is “full employment” – we’ll never achieve that until we close that gap.

And on Thursday, I was scarcely out of the chamber all day – not just because of the debate on the first world war, but also to ask ministers about employment opportunities for young blind people ahead of a reception I hosted for young blind activists in parliament that afternoon; and most disturbingly, to hear the statement by health secretary Jeremy Hunt about the history of abuse by Jimmy Savile in hospitals across the NHS, going right back to the 1960s and continuing for decades. MPs were truly shocked at what we heard, and very angry at what he’d been able to get away with. I asked Jeremy Hunt what support was being given to Savile’s victims, many of whom remain traumatised years afterwards, both because of what he did, and because, appallingly, so many were not believed.

I’ve also been busy this week with some very interesting meetings and events: a discussion about women in the penal system to follow up my recent visit to Women Moving Forward, a group of women with experience of the penal system whom I met in Manchester; a meeting with Lifeworks, a group of mental health patients who are losing services because of massive cuts in mental health budgets; a meeting with the National Autistic Society about their concerns about new eligibility rules for care and support for adults with autism; and a reception hosted by the Speaker to mark the launch of a new fund in memory of former Wythenshawe MP and the very first minister for disabled people, Alf Morris.

And on Wednesday, the shadow work and pensions team also took an afternoon out for an “awayday”, followed by a little canvassing, and finally an ice cream. It’s been a varied week.