Andrew Gwynne MP's June Email Newsletter
Posted by Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, at 17:44, Wed 18 June 2008:
Parliamentary News – June 2008
Welcome to my June 2008 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
Supporting Parents in the War on Junk Food
I am backing the British Heart Foundation’s war on pester power by supporting a Bill to ban junk food marketing that targets children.
MP Nigel Griffiths’ Bill proposed to ban all junk food marketing that targets children, including the use of cartoon characters, games and child-friendly competitions on food and drink packaging. I attended the House of Commons debate to support this Bill, against a Tory and Lib Dem opposition that put the health of the advertising industry before the health of the UK’s children.
Junk food marketing is pitting parents against their kids in a supermarket-aisle battle to see who is more cunning, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF). A new survey of parents in the north of England has revealed the extreme tactics parents employ to avoid a junk food row on the supermarket front line such as a ditching their kids for the shopping trip; bribing children by promising something else; giving the confectionary aisle a wide berth; and making their partner stay at home with the kids.
Children are fighting back with stealthy trolley tactics of their own, with a third trying to sneak junk food into the supermarket trolley when their parents are not looking.
Food advertising for children is unfairly pressuring parents to make shopping choices that they do not want to make. If we are going to tackle obesity in this country parents must be free to make the right choices for their children’s diets without the pressure of junk food marketing.
BHF Director of Policy and Communications Betty McBride said: “Banning junk food pester power ammunition from supermarket shelves will make it easier for parents to make healthier food choices for their families.”
I am asking parents to get involved by signing an online petition to ban junk food marketing that targets children at www.bhf.org.uk/donttargetmykids
Support for Parents: New flexible working rights
Families in Tameside and Stockport have received a big boost with news of a new right to request flexible working.
The right to request flexible working will be extended to working parents who have children up to the age of 16 helping many families balance their work and family life much more easily. I am encouraging parents in Tameside and Stockport to be fully aware of their new rights. Extending the right to request to the parents of older children will give a big boost to busy parents who need more help balancing work and family life.
Employers can benefit too. They will still have the control to do what is best for their business, but many increasingly find that working flexibly allows people to get the best out of their employees.
Support for Parents: A Second Chance at University
I am challenging employees in Tameside and Stockport to grasp the opportunity to improve their job prospects and increase their earnings by taking one of the wide range of qualifications that higher education has to offer.
Current estimates suggest that a university degree is worth well over £100,000 more than having just A-Levels (after tax at today’s prices). Increasing the nation’s skill levels is vital if we are to remain globally competitive. 40% of the 2020 workforce will need degree level skills compared with 31% now. And 75% of the 2020 workforce has already left school. So we need to reach out to people already in the workplace to support them to increase their skills.
In Tameside and Stockport, currently 28% of people in the working age population have degree level skills. To get to 40% we’ll need roughly another 32,000 people to up their skills. So I say to them: it’s not too late to improve your skills to get a better job and to build a better life for yourself and your family.
Universities Secretary John Denham, said: “Opening up the opportunity to millions of people already in the workforce is not just about enabling people to reach their full potential – it is an economic imperative too. I believe that if we are to create the high-level skills base by 2020 that the UK needs, then we must aim to give those four million people who want to go to university the chance to get one of the increasingly wide range of qualifications that higher education has to offer.”
Support for Carers
I have teamed up with charity ambassador and TV & Film actress, Pam Ferris, to show my support for carers in Tameside and Stockport who are amongst the six million people in the UK who tirelessly devote their time, efforts and energy to looking after a loved one. Carers week, now in its 14th year, aims to tackle the issue of carers’ health with a hard-hitting campaign headlining the sobering fact that; “Carers can’t afford to be ill.”
A national survey of 2,000 carers reveals that a large majority feel their health is worse as a result of the strain of caring. Supported by MPs, celebrities, local stakeholders and thousands of carers across the UK, Carers Week (9-15 June) aimed to publicise the support, advice and practical help that is available for those who may be feeling isolated, exhausted or ill as a result of their caring responsibilities.
Pam Ferris said: “I have personal experience of caring for loved ones and know how draining it can be, and how important it is to have support from friends, family and healthcare professionals. But if you can take some time to also look after yourself, caring can be an immensely fulfilling and rewarding experience.”
Carers Week is an opportunity to thank carers for the hard work they do and highlight their cause, but this year’s Carers Week isn’t just about saying thanks. The Government has launched the new Carers Strategy, to put carers at the centre of family policy, and give them the recognition and status they deserve. The Government has fought for carers. It introduced the Carers Allowance, and has given every local authority an annual Carers Grant to support carers. Carers have also been given the right to request flexible working, making it easier for them to combine paid work with their caring responsibilities. But more needs to be done.
The NHS will now trial annual health checks for carers, and look at ways for GPs to support carers better. There will also be more support for the growing number of young carers, both inside and outside school.
Last year, the Government announced a massive expansion of short break services for families with disabled children. Now short breaks for carers of adults are being expanded too. These will be tailored to individual carers’ needs to help them get time away from caring in the way that will make the most difference to their lives.
In the Constituency
Big Wins for Denton and Reddish
I have congratulated sports clubs in the constituency for Big Lottery wins. Over £19,000 has been awarded by the Big Lottery Fund to three sports clubs for young people in Tameside and Stockport.
Reddish Rebels Basketball Club in Stockport has been awarded £4,400 to take a group of young people aged 15 to 17 to Belgium to participate in a Basketball tournament in August; Dane Bank Primary School in Tameside has been awarded £9,937 to launch a programme of extra curricular sports sessions for pupils led by professional coaches; and Denton St Lawrence Cricket Club has been awarded £4,892 for its junior section, to buy new ground equipment, improve the pitch, and to start coaching sessions during winter.
I am delighted that our local schools and sports clubs for children are receiving so much support from the Big Lottery Fund. Taking part in sport is very important for children, not just to stay healthy, but also to learn social skills and respect for others.
I am also delighted to announce that following last year’s £85,000 renovation of Victoria Park’s sports facilities, Groundwork have now successfully applied to Barclays Spaces for Sports and the Tameside Sports Development Fund for an additional £20,000 to run sports activities on the new multi-use courts for the next three years.
100 Years of Reddish Community Action
On Saturday 24th May I celebrated 100 years of the historic community buildings complex in Reddish, and also 25 years of the Reddish Community Centre.
I cut the ribbon to the Edwardian community buildings complex which houses Reddish Community Centre, Reddish Library, and also the now closed historic Reddish Baths.
Local community groups turned out to celebrate 100 years of community action in Reddish, and the provision of vital services to the surrounding communities. Friends of Reddish South Station, Friends of Reddish Baths, and the Reddish Buildings Preservations Trust were all at the event to celebrate past successes and enlist further support from the community for goals still to be achieved.
Stockport Council even opened the old Reddish Baths building for tours to the general public, and the Fire Service Museum were on hand on the day with a pristine old fashioned fire truck to celebrate the complex’s centenary. The building that has now housed the community centre for 25 years was once home to the Fire Station.
I would like to thank all the local community groups that have worked so hard to keep these buildings in use for current generations, and for turning out to make the joint centenary and silver anniversary such a success.
Closure of Post Offices
It has been announced that Denton Road Post Office in Audenshaw, and both North and South Reddish’s Post Offices will be closed as a part of the current network review.
The closure of Denton Road Post Office is a regretful consequence of the Post Office’s network review programme, which is reducing the Post Office network because of dwindling customers. I am saddened that Denton Road is down for closure although I acknowledge that Audenshaw Post Office is very close by; which is the reason given by Post Office Limited for the closure. This closure brings Denton, Audenshaw and Dukinfield to the minimum network standard, having suffered from a small number of Post Office closures in 2005, as well as a larger number of closures under the previous Conservative Government.
I was extremely surprised by the Post Office’s decision to close both North and South Reddish’s Post Offices. These are well used branches, and it is some distance for people to travel to the remaining branches in Houldsworth Square and Broomfield Grove. I am particularly concerned about the closure in North Reddish as the proposal acknowledges that there are no public transport services for the people of North Reddish to travel to the remaining alternative at Oak Drive, Denton. The Post Office’s reduction strategy is supposed to ensure customers have easy access to a remaining Post Office, and it is disturbing that the distance for some people in Reddish to travel will be substantial.
I very much support the Government’s £1.7 Billion investment subsidy of the Post Office network which will put the network on a more stable financial footing until 2011. But the message has to be ‘use it or lose it’.
There is a consultation exercise taking place up until October and I would encourage local people concerned about the closures to write to:
National Consultation Team, Post Office Ltd, FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM or call 08457 22 33 44 or email online at www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange
I will always fight to make sure my constituents have good access to Post Office services, and that those services are the ones that people need and want to use.
Campaigns in Parliament
My Pledge to Protect Endangered Elephants
I have taken a stand to protect thousands of endangered elephants from the brutal ivory trade. In July, a decision may be made to allow China to buy ivory from government stockpiles in southern Africa – a move that could spell disaster for elephants.
I am supporting the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s ivory trade campaign calling on the government to bring together EU partners to oppose China as an ivory buyer. Ivory trade has been banned since 1989, however, every year approximately 20,000 elephants are killed to supply the illegal ivory trade, and this is on the increase. China is the single major destination for this illegal ivory, and has the world's largest black market for ivory.
IFAW is campaigning around the world to ensure that China is not allowed to import stockpiled ivory, a move which could see ivory from illegally killed African elephants being laundered within legal stocks, due to the country’s inadequate enforcement controls.
Robbie Marsland, Director of IFAW UK said: "If China is approved as an ivory buyer it will open the floodgates to allow large quantities of illegal ivory to be traded. The rise in legal trade will act as a smokescreen for illegal ivory to be laundered on the black market. Opposing this decision is crucial in the fight to protect the world's remaining elephants."
For more information on IFAW’s campaigns please visit http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?splash&oid=17831
Wrong Trousers Day 2008
I have joined forces with animated stars of the silver screen, Wallace and Gromit, to help promote Wrong Trousers Day (WTD) 2008. This year Wrong Trousers Day, which raises money to improve the lives of children in hospices and hospitals throughout the UK, is music themed. Participants are encouraged to wear a ‘rocking’ pair of trousers and donate £1 to Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, who are spearheading the event.
The Children’s Foundation are also encouraging schools to get involved with the day. Children can submit footage of themselves rocking out in the Wrong Trousers. A panel of experts will select the most 'rocking' entry and the winner will win tickets for them and their classmates to see hit London West End musical "We Will Rock You" and meet the cast backstage.
Nicola Masters, Director of Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, said: “I’m delighted that Andrew Gwynne MP has lent his support to this year’s Wrong Trousers Day. This year’s theme is ‘Wrong Trousers Rocks’. It is great that Andrew Gwynne has shown he is game for a laugh and I hope it encourages other people locally to join in the fun and help us to raise over £1million for good causes.”
To get involved in Wrong Trousers day please visit www.wallaceandgromitfoundation.org
Best wishes,
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
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