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Another busy but rewarding week

Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 14:29, Fri 25 July 2014:

It’s been a busy final few days before the summer break. Last Friday, in the constituency, I started the morning with a meeting with the head of the Lowry theatre to discuss education and job opportunities in Media City for young people from Trafford. Media City is right on our doorstep, and I really want local people to benefit from the investment that’s gone into the area.

Then I headed off with Joel, who was spending the week in my office in Urmston on work experience, to visit United Response, a charity that works with learning disabled people. I’d been invited to sit in on a session in which they prepare an easy-read newspaper – which tells contemporary news stories in accessible language and with illustrations to help those with learning disabilities to understand the news. I was really impressed at the skill of the translators – all learning disabled people themselves – in conveying complex news items in straightforward language, and I was delighted to be interviewed by them for an article in the next Easy News.

Joel and I then set off to Wythenshawe hospital to visit the Cystic Fibrosis unit there. I take a lot of interest in developments and policies in relation to this condition, about which I’ve learnt a lot since I’ve been in parliament, and I was very impressed at the expertise and commitment of the team. One very interesting topic of discussion was the potential impact of the latest round of proposed NHS changes in Greater Manchester. The team told me of their worries that the Healthier Together programme could mean specialisms like the CF unit would be put at risk – and I’m very concerned about that. I was glad to have the chance to raise these concerns in a debate in parliament on the subject on Tuesday afternoon.

Then I held two advices surgery sessions, including meeting community elders in Old Trafford who wanted to express their concerns to me about the terrible situation in Gaza, and the shocking number of deaths among Palestinian civilians, including many children. Again, I was glad they'd been able to meet me before a statement in parliament on Monday on the subject, when I was able to raise their concerns directly with the Prime Minister.

Finally on Friday, I went back to my office to meet John and Paul, two academics from Edge Hill University, along with my colleagues Roxanne and Barry from the Webb Memorial Trust (of which I’m a trustee). We had commissioned the Edge Hill team to do some research for us on fairness and poverty commissions around the country (including the Greater Manchester poverty commission), and we wanted to discuss next steps. They promised to write up the ideas we discussed and Roxanne described her plans for a conference to highlight some of their work.

On Sunday, I was very pleased to drop into Cheeky Cherubs, a new community play and learning centre in Urmston, which was holding its opening day. It was great to see so many families enjoying this new facility – Sue and the team have put in so much work to get it off the ground.

Back in London this week, I’ve mostly been catching up on a mega backlog of emails as parliament has been in recess since Tuesday, which has given me a chance to get on top of my mailbox! But I’ve also been meeting campaigners from Inclusion, Disabled People against the Cuts, and the fabulous Albert Kennedy Trust that supports young homeless LGBT people. I also made a visit to the British Fashion Council with disabled model Chelsey Jay to discuss how we could encourage more agencies, brands and casting directors to give work to disabled models. Chelsey Jay has set up a campaign, Models of Diversity, calling for more opportunities for disabled models in the industry.

As the summer break’s started, this will been my last regular blog until parliament returns in September. But I’ll be out and about in the constituency (as well as taking some holiday!), so hope to catch up with lots of friends and constituents over the next few weeks.