Westminster Week
Posted by Kitty Ussher, MP for Burnley, at 15:37, Mon 2 July 2007:
Dear Friend,
There were no votes in parliament last Thursday so I headed back to Burnley early to greet the minister for Housing and Planning, Yvette Cooper, on her fact-finding mission to East Lancashire. She had very kindly agreed to alter her programme at my request to fit in a brief trip to Burnley.
There is no disagreement about the fact that the multimillion pound Elevate housing programme as a whole is welcome, if not long overdue. Our message to the minister was: look what we’ve done so far, please make sure the money keeps coming so that we can finish the job. I’m delighted to say, as the Burnley Express reported last week, that the government is clear that the investment needs to be maintained in future years.
On her visit, the minister helpfully also clarified the government’s opinion of the (in my view) woeful decision by Elevate, backed by the council, to scrap the £30,000 grant given to people who are forced to move under the Elevate scheme, and replace it with a loan. There are some who have been trying to pass the buck and blame national government for the change so I was pleased that the minister made it entirely clear that this was a matter for local people and was not something that the government intended to get involved in.
It is crystal clear from what the minister has said, both publicly and to me privately, that if the Elevate agency came to government with a proposal that kept the grant system in Burnley, there would be no negative consequences for us, or for this programme. So my proposal to the council is this: let us unite in lobbying Elevate to change its decision to scrap the grants in favour of loans, and to put an alternative to government. I hope they will agree. In the meantime, anyone who wants to sign our petition should visit my website or ring the office (details below).
On Friday I held a number of meetings in the constituency, starting with the local police Federation reps who lobbied me on the contentious issue of police pay which I will raise with the Home Secretary. Then I held our first planning meeting for this year’s school Christmas card competition, followed the usual Friday team meeting with my Burnley team. In the afternoon I visited Hambledon College to meet with staff and pupils and hear about the progress they are making against the issues they face, after which we held a surgery in the canteen at Tescos. And Friday evening was spent at a regular meeting of Burnley Labour party. On Saturday I held another surgery and then a meeting in Daneshouse with some constituents who wanted to discuss the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie.
Down in parliament things are hotting up, and its going to be an interesting week. At the time of writing (Tuesday) the corridors are full of gossip and opinion as to the factors that led Harriet Harman to win the deputy leadership contest, plus jubilation on the Labour benches at the defection of longstanding Tory MP Quentin Davies. He said his reasons for leaving the Conservative party were David Cameron’s “superficiality, unreliability and an apparent lack of any clear convictions” and I would recommend anyone who is interested in the current state of the Tory party to read his resignation letter in full. Contact my office if you’d like us to send you a copy.
Finally, congratulations to police in Burnley for the fantastic recent fall in crime figures. It’s a tribute to their hard work and a vindication of our policy to increase the numbers of police across Lancashire in the last few years. Keep up the good work!
6 ways to contact Kitty Ussher MP
Write to: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or 2 Victoria Street, Burnley BB11 1DD By phone: 01282 450840 By fax: 01282 839623 By email: ussherk@parliament.uk On the web: www.kittyussher.com In person: Next surgeries are Friday 6th July 4.30pm – 6.30pm, Padiham Town Hall; Saturday 7th July 10am – 12noon Central Methodist Church, Hargreaves Street. No appointment needed.
Kind Regards,
Kitty Ussher MP
Comments
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Posted by Jamie McGowan, 16:42, Mon 2 July 2007: (Is this post abusive?) #
i appreciate that you are very busy but when i applied for a job posted in the burnley express by you i was concerned that i didnt get a reply, bearing in mind i applied in April. it is obvious to me that i wasnt suitable but a letter or something would have been nice.
Posted by Kitty Ussher, 09:45, Wed 4 July 2007: (Is this post abusive?) #
Thank you for your response.
I am sorry you were unsuccessful this time and that you did not receive a letter to inform you of this outcome. Unfortunately there was a large number of applications for the post and it has been filled by someone who has a lot of experience in a caseworker role. We tried to reply to all applications however it is not always possible, due to time and work load constraints, to respond or provide feedback to all applications.
Pete Marland
Office Manager The Office of Kitty Ussher MP