Westminster Week
Posted by Kitty Ussher, MP for Burnley, at 10:12, Fri 14 September 2007:
Dear Friend,
Last week I visited a primary school with the new Secretary of State for Education, Ed Balls. We were publicising the money that the government is making available to help young people understand their own finances so that they would make better decisions and be less likely to get into debt in later life.
The children who are starting school in Burnley and up and down the country this September are the first ones to get the governments Child Trust Fund - £250 of government money put away for their futures (or £500 for the less well-off) – and we are using this fact to publicise the resources the government is putting into schools to help people learn about financial literacy.
I would encourage all parents of young children in my constituency to make sure they are aware of how their Child Trust Fund works. If you, or other family members, can afford to top it up a bit it is well worth doing so, because a few pounds invested on a regular basis now can make a big difference later – it could be the deciding factor as to whether they can take up the course they want to do when they are 18, or put a deposit down on a property, or just travel the world.
Back in Burnley on Friday I held a surgery in Padiham and then attended a routine scheduled meeting of the general committee of Burnley Labour Party. We had as our guest speaker the housing minister Ian Wright (the MP for Hartlepool not, to the disappointment of some, the ex-Burnley football player) who confirmed to us that the decision of Elevate, supported by the Lib-Dem leader of Burnley council, to scrap the grants compensation system and replace it with loans was something that national government wasn’t concerned with either way.
As I’ve said before, I’d like to see the council joining my campaign to get Elevate to back down but for some reason they seem reluctant to do so. Their proposal is to implement the loans from the next financial year, so we still have some time to persuade them to change their minds and I can assure my constituents I will keep fighting right up until the last minute.
After the meeting I drove the minister in my car, late at night, round some of the parts of town where I feel most frustrated about the lack of progress and he was left in no doubt about the need for government funding to keep coming for us to be able to regenerate our communities in the way that we want to. We already have a general commitment for the money to keep coming; the detail of the precise settlement for the next three years will be known around January.
After Saturday’s surgery in Burnley town centre I was the guest speaker at a meeting of the NW Co-operative Party up in Brierfield. This is a political party, affiliated to the Labour Party, which aims to promote, as the name implies, co-operative ways of working. In a nutshell its about companies that aim to do more than make a profit, whether it’s the investment policies of the Co-op Bank, the ownership structure of mutual organisations including football supporters trusts or the crucial work that credit unions perform in our communities. Its part of a global movement and has strong links to the North West (its origins in Rochdale) and I’m proud to be a member alongside my Labour party membership. With my Treasury ministerial hat on, I’m looking at ways that we can give this sector a boost, particularly by giving credit unions greater freedoms to invest in and support the communities in which they operate.
Finally this week, can I just remind any trade unionists out there that tickets are selling fast for the Burnley 2007 Trade Union Dinner on Thursday 20th September at the Kierby Hotel. We’ve got great food, political speakers and musical entertainment lined up so don’t forget to ring Hannah on the number below to reserve your ticket. Its only £10 which we think is very reasonable.
Kind Regards,
Kitty Ussher MP
6 ways to contact Kitty Ussher MP
Write to: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or 2 Victoria Street, Burnley BB11 1DD Phone: 01282 450840 Fax: 01282 839623 By email: ussherk@parliament.uk On-line: www.kittyussher.com In person: Next surgeries are Friday 14th September 3.30pm - 5.00pm, Terracefields Development Trust, 96 Springfield Road, Burnley Wood and Saturday 15th September 10am – 12 noon. Open Hands Centre, 24 Colne Road, (corner of Hebrew Street)
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