Andrew Gwynne MP's Summer Email Newsletter
Posted by Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, at 10:59, Wed 22 August 2007:
Andrew Gwynne MP
Labour Member of Parliament for Denton and Reddish
Welcome to my Summer 2007 newsletter, for members and constituents who have asked me to keep them updated on my work in Parliament for Audenshaw, Denton, Dukinfield, Haughton Green, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Norris, and Reddish.
News from the constituency
Historic Droylsden Factory to Close After completing a review of their production sites, Premier Foods has regrettably announced its intention to close its Droylsden factory.
I am genuinely shocked that Premier Foods has decided to close this factory. The Droylsden factory, based in the Tameside ward of Audenshaw, has been producing jam and marmalade products since it opened in 1890. Currently employing 260 people, this closure will have a significant effect upon the employees and their families.
As the local MP for the area I am holding meetings with Premier Foods bosses, Tameside Council and the unions, to ensure that the 260 affected employees receive the best possible support throughout the coming months.
An official spokesperson for Tameside Council said:
“We are incredibly disappointed with this news, especially with the closure of two additional Premier Foods factories in the Manchester area.”
“We will be working closely with Job Centre Plus to ensure there is co-ordinated support in terms of training, information advice and guidance and job search skills to support those workers affected to find alternative employment.”
Summer Reading Challenge
I am backing the Big Wild Read campaign to get children along to our local libraries and keep them reading throughout the long summer holidays.
I joined more than 100 colleagues at a reception in July held by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Libraries in the House of Commons, and the Reading Agency.
The campaign organised by the Reading Agency aims to encourage children to visit their local libraries during the summer holiday period so they do not lose any reading skills during the break from school teaching.
To support this initiative I have donated books, courtesy of The Reading Agency’s publishing partners, to the Haughton Green and Reddish Libraries.
I fully support this campaign, and our local libraries, and am delighted to be donating books to support their excellent work. Our libraries and librarians help children get the reading habit early, and are great places to spend time and learn to enjoy books.
While children are having a great time, they are also reinforcing their educational achievements. Holidays are a good time to enjoy reading for all of us, and I urge everyone to go along to one of our fabulous libraries to pick up a book this summer.
Event host, APPG chair Lyn Brown MP, said:
“Local libraries always have an important part to play in children’s development, but never more than in the long summer holidays.” “Research from The Reading Agency shows that children can take a step back in their reading during the summer holidays, and that by visiting libraries and reading regularly, reading levels could improve before children return to school in September.”
Every year, more and more children take part in the Summer Reading Challenge, undertaken in partnership with public libraries and supported by children’s publishers. This summer a staggering 700 000 children are expected to take part, and an estimated 16 million books will be borrowed.
For more information please visit http://www.bigwildread.co.uk/accessible/aboutbigwildread
For information about local libraries in the constituency please visit http://www.tameside.gov.uk/libraries/index.html or http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content/leisureculture/libraries/libraryfinder/?a=5441
Supporting hard working families
Backing working carers in Denton and Reddish
I am currently backing two Usdaw campaigns. Firstly, I am backing their call to allow working carers to earn more before losing vital benefits.
I joined John Hannett, General Secretary of the retail union Usdaw, at Westminster to back their campaign to persuade the Government to allow more workers who care for severely disabled adults and children to work longer hours but still claim Carers Allowance.
The present rules on access to the Carers Allowance mean that anyone earning more than £87 per week cannot qualify for the payment of £48.65 per week.
I know from my constituency surgeries that Tameside and Stockport’s army of carers provide an invaluable service to loved ones and save the taxpayer millions on services that would otherwise have to be provided by the state.
Unfortunately the existing rules make it harder for working carers to earn extra money while caring for others, and can also make it less attractive for some employers to give jobs to carers. That is why I’m delighted that Usdaw is urging the Government to change the rules, and why I am supporting the campaign.
Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett said:
“We are delighted to have the support of Andrew Gwynne for our campaign which seeks to allow carers the time to care, but also allows them the dignity of earning a decent living.”
“We get a lot of feedback from our members who are working carers, many of whom report they are struggling to make ends meet. They tell us loud and clear that removing the earnings rule or at least raising the limit will make a big difference to their household income and enable them to have a better standard of living.”
Local MP Backs Shopworkers Call for Respect
I am also backing an Usdaw campaign to tackle abuse against shopworkers after a survey found one third of shopworkers are subjected to vicious verbal abuse every month.
I have signed up to Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear campaign to remind shoppers that 'It’s your store – respect it'.
I was shocked by a recent survey showing that over one-third of shopworkers are verbally abused every month in their workplaces, where they should be able to work free from mindless abuse. I was particularly concerned that a quarter of staff suffer abuse weekly, and was shocked to discover that one in ten shopworkers are verbally abused on a daily basis.
I believe our local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has a key role in reducing the unacceptable levels of abuse in our stores. I’ll be urging our Partnership to talk to local shopworkers and retail employers about how to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour in and around our shops.
Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett said:
“Our members in Tameside and Stockport are delighted to have Andrew Gwynne MP’s support. The support of MPs like Andrew Gwynne has helped reduce physical abuse aimed at retail staff, but the levels of vicious verbal abuse, threats and assaults against shopworkers are still far too high.”
“Usdaw has worked hard with retailers to improve in-store security that has helped protect staff but we are urging a minority of shoppers in Tameside and Stockport who abuse staff to change their behaviour and respect shop workers who are only doing their best to serve their communities.”
“Usdaw members need the back-up of their local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership who have tough powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, and the support of Andrew Gwynne MP is vital in making sure that retailers can effectively work with their local Partnership”.
For more information on Usdaw’s campaigns please visit http://www.usdaw.org.uk/campaigns
My work in Parliament
A new Prime Minister
I have welcomed the news that Gordon Brown is the new leader of the Labour Party, and the new Prime Minister of Britain.
I supported Gordon Brown throughout the leadership process as his priorities are Denton and Reddish’s priorities: Education, local hospitals and health services, crime, and the need for more affordable housing.
I am very much looking forward to the Autumn Labour Party Conference to learn more about the policies Gordon Brown will be promoting, to improve the lives of Denton and Reddish’s hardworking families. There are many challenges ahead, both for the Party and the country, and I intend to be at the forefront of upcoming debates to ensure that our local needs are properly heard.
Andrew Gwynne MP promoted
I have taken another step up the ladder of government by being appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary - The Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP.
I am absolutely delighted to have been given such a position of responsibility. This is a very difficult time for the security of the country, and I will be working hard to help our new Home Secretary to convey her priorities amongst my Parliamentary colleagues.
After the recent changes in the Home Office, it is better placed than ever to deal with the whole range of security threats that our communities face, from anti-social behaviour and crime, to terrorism. These challenges are as relevant to the families of Denton and Reddish as they are to the British people as a whole, and I am proud to have been given the opportunity to do what I can to help.
Drugs: Our Community, Your Say
As a part of my new responsibilities as PPS to the Home Secretary I am involved in the current drugs review, launched by Jacqui Smith in July. Drugs cause damage to individuals, families and communities. Too many young lives are taken over by drugs leading to wasted potential, broken relationships and, for some, a life of crime. Too many of our communities still live under the shadow of drug dealing, making some of our public spaces very intimidating.
The current drugs strategy, launched in 1998, has been backed by record levels of investment in drug treatment, education and enforcement, including giving greater powers to the police. Nine years on, it is right that the Government now updates its approach for our current circumstances. Over the summer and autumn the Government will be undertaking the largest single consultation programme on the future of tacking drugs that this country has ever seen, in order to determine the best policies to put more drug dealers out of business, get young people better educated and informed, and make effective drug treatments widely available.
If you would like to take part in this consultation, there are a number of key questions that the Government would like your opinion on. You can complete or download an on-line version of the questions at http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk, where you will also find more information and the full consultation document, or you can simply provide your opinions and arguments via email to DrugsStrategyConsultation2008@ipsos-mori.com, or send a letter to:
Drug Strategy Consultation 2008 Ipsos MORI MORI House 79-81 Borough Road London SE1 1FY.
Home Office committees
I have taken part in a legislative committee on Asylum. An important part of ensuring that our asylum system functions properly, and preserves our tradition of providing humanitarian protection for refugees, is keeping the system properly up to date, and in line with current circumstances.
The number of people seeking asylum is now at its lowest level since 1993. The UK is now considering claims much faster than it once did, with 40% granted or denied within the first 6 months, and last year more people making unfounded claims were removed than came into the country. This committee put in place further measures to ensure that when an asylum claim is deemed to be unfounded, the claimant can be removed back to their home country as quickly as possible.
Speaker’s Scouts Tea Party in the House of Commons
I joined Explorer Scout Robert MacDonald and Group Scout Leader Sheila O'Flaherty of 4th Denton (St. Anne's) for a tea party with the Speaker in the House of Commons this week. The tea party, the only entertaining the Speaker carries out during the parliamentary term-time, was particularly special as the Scouts are now celebrating their centenary year.
I have taken the opportunity to talk to lots of Scouts this year about their upcoming centenary activities and World Scout Jamboree. It is clear from the conversations that I have had that Scouting is as popular and as important as ever, and I know that in Tameside and Stockport, leaders are working very hard on their centenary celebrations.
Chief Scout, Peter Duncan, speaking at the tea party, said:
“This is a very special year for Scouting as we celebrate our 100th birthday and events like coming for tea with the Speaker, visiting Downing Street and taking part in the World Scout Jamboree in Essex, are all part of the celebrations.”
“Across the world in 2007, the centenary is likely to be the largest ever example of youth cooperation and one of the biggest global celebrations since the turn of the Millennium. 28 million Scouts worldwide – including 400,000 in the UK – will celebrate the movement and all it has achieved, but most importantly, start the work for the next 100 years of Scouting.”
In July I hosted a large Parliamentary tour for Scouts from right across Denton and Reddish. Whilst camping near London for the World Scout Jamboree 65 young Scouts from the First Heaton Norris, Third Reddish, and the St. Catherine's 2nd 241st Manchester Scout groups enjoyed a tour of Parliament as well as a ride on the Millennium Wheel. If any other Scout groups wish to tour Parliament, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My contact details are below.
Thank you,
ANDREW GWYNNE MP
For more information on my campaigns, and for full copies of my press releases please visit my website at http://www.andrewgwynne.co.uk/.
Please read my Parliamentary speeches at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/andrew_gwynne/denton_and_reddish
Please feel free to contact me at gwynnea@parliament.uk; phone me on 0161 320 1504 or send a letter to Andrew Gwynne MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
If you would like to be removed from this email list, please email Ben Garratt in my office at garrattb@parliament.uk.
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