February Monthly Report

Parliamentary Business

Children and Families Bill

The Children and Families Bill had its second reading (a debate on the broad principles) on 25 February.

The bill aims to reduce lengthy delays in placing some children for adoption. It will also reform the family justice system and make changes to the special educational needs system to take more account of health needs.

The Government also plans to reform childcare with the introduction of a new system of shared parental leave and extending the right to request flexible working.

I am concerned about the proposals relating to childcare and special educational needs. In the debate I raised the possibility of childcare agencies creaming off a profit and adding costs to parents rather than supporting better child care. We urgently need clarity on what the Government's plans are for agencies.

See my article on the issue here

The bill will now go into committee stage where it will be scrutinised by a cross-party committee of MPs.

Justice and Security Bill

I sat on the Justice and Security bill Committee which completed its scrutiny on 7 February.

The bill aims to modernise and strengthen the oversight of the intelligence and security services by strengthening the role of Parliament through the joint intelligence committee which is made up of MPs and members of the House of Lords.

The Government's bill includes the proposal to introduce closed material procedures or 'secret courts' for civil cases. This would ensure sensitive evidence could be heard in a closed session, particularly in cases which raise national security concerns.

It is crucial that closed material proceedings are only used as a last resort, and at the discretion of judges, not Government Ministers.

The bill returns to the House of Commons on Monday 11 March.

UK Fashion Industry

On 12 February I secured a Westminster Hall debate to speak about the issues facing the UK fashion industry. The debate coincided with London Fashion Week.

Hackney has a thriving fashion community and the London College of Fashion has a campus on Mare Street. We also host the Centre for Fashion Enterprise and the EU funded DISC programme which seeks to improve and develop the UK high end manufacturing base.

In the debate I raised the need for more apprentices, a visa regime that supports foreign students at British colleges to set up business here and the need for wider skills development to support the industry.

I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a show at London Fashion Week.

I met fabulous Hackney hat designer Eloise Moody of Moody and Farrell, based in London Fields. Moody and Farrell export as far afield as Japan.

Along with so many other designers Eloise has never had any business training. Her recent selection for the British Fashion Council's Headonism programme is an opportunity for her to showcase her work.

Bedroom Tax

An opposition day debate on the housing benefit (under occupancy penalty) was held on 27 February.

This change to housing benefit known as the 'bedroom tax' will see the Government cut housing benefit for people with a spare room in their social or council let home, despite the DWP impact assessment acknowledging that there is a shortage of smaller properties for tenants to move to.

The measure will cost an estimated 660,000 people an average of £728 per year. Disabled people, parents of serving members of the armed forces and 140,000 working households will lose out.

The debate called on the Government to withdraw this policy and went to a vote which was lost.

I am very concerned about the impact of this change in Hackney. Many families are unaware that this change is coming. A family with two children aged under 16 of the same gender would be penalised if they have a three bedroom property, but would be entitled to a three bedroom property once the eldest child is 16.

Energy bill and green jobs amendment

The energy bill is progressing through Parliament. This bill seeks to reform the electricity market.

The Opposition is pushing the Government to introduce a decarbonisation target to the power sector by April 2014.

I support the inclusion of a clear decarbonisation target in the bill. I am concerned that the Government's failure to do so will have a detrimental impact on the economy due to the reluctance of clean energy companies to invest and create thousands of green jobs, when there is uncertainty as to whether a target will be introduced and if so, when.

When I was the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, I championed the promotion of green investment to create green jobs and boost UK manufacturing. I am dismayed by how slow the Government has been to act to deliver measures that both tackle climate change and create much needed jobs.

Office to homes

The Government is proposing that office buildings could be converted into housing with a light touch planning regime.

This is very bad news for Hackney and I have joined the council and many local businesses in lobbying the Government for an exemption for Hackney and Shoreditch. The consultation period for exemptions was only 10 days which is ridiculously short for a decision which will have huge consequences if it is agreed.

The temptation for developers and owners to get a one off windfall from conversion will be great. This will denude Hackney of long term jobs and makes a nonsense of the long term economic plans for our area.

I am seeking a meeting with ministers to press the case for why this would be detrimental to jobs and growth locally.

Of course we need more housing locally but converted offices are more likely to become high end loft apartments than the family housing we so badly need. And crucial to Hackney's growth and success in the tech industries, fashion and the creative arts is the mix of business and creatives. This mix is also part of why Hackney is such a great place to live.

It is bizarre that the same Government that is both publicly and privately talking up the growth of tech and creative businesses is allowing such a hair brained policy to dent the UK's industrial policy.

I will work hard to press the common sense case that Hackney will contribute more with a mix of housing and jobs.

Other matters

Visa and immigration delays

I have many constituents who have submitted an in-time application and have received an acknowledgement from the UK Border Agency but not heard anything further. When my office chases up some months later, it turns out that they have not even been input into the UKBA computer system. I pressed the Home Secretary in the House of Commons about whether this is an attempt by the Home Office to massage figures about the number of applicants and the speed with which it is dealing with them.

She denied this but acknowledged that there are problems in some areas of the operation of the UK Border Agency. She went on to promise that work is being done to improve the matter so that there is a system that provides an efficient and effective response to those who are applying.

Scrap Metal Dealers Bill

As both Houses have agreed on the text of the Bill it now waits for the final stage of Royal Assent when the Bill will become an Act of Parliament. A date for Royal Assent has yet to be set.

I welcome this consensus and support to reduce metal theft from churches, railways, war memorial and, even, on one estate I visited recently, two feet of copper heating piping sawn off overnight from outside someone's front door.

Bee population

I share the concerns about neonicotinoid pesticides and their impact on the health and population of British bees which constituents and Friends of the Earth have raised with me.

Bees and other pollinating insects are vital for our food supply and economy. The bee population has fallen dramatically in recent years with a growing body of evidence pointing to neonicotinoid pesticides as a key cause of this trend.

I have written to Lord de Mauley, the Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to highlight the issues and seek clarification on what the Government is doing.

London cycle network

Sustrans have provided evidence to the ongoing All Party cycling group inquiry of which I am vice chair. Sustrans is a leading UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys they make every day.

Sustrans has had a lot of support from individual boroughs and Londoners who want to see a safe network of quiet cycling routes across the capital. Sustrans want to see the world's biggest and best cycle network created by 2020 that benefits every Londoner. To join the campaign and pledge your support visit www.sustrans.org.uk.

Hackney Issues

Out of hours GP services

I am dismayed that a recent bid by local GPs to provide Hackney's out of hours service has been thrown out on legal grounds.

The GPs had been advised that they could bid to run the service which is currently run by private provider Harmoni following the financial collapse of the previous out of hours service.

The North East London health board has now told the GP consortium that they must bid in full competition and that this will now be after the end of the financial year in March. The board says that if there is no tendering process there is a risk of legal challenge by any private provider which could have bid.

The process has been a shambles. The GPs were working on advice and told that the advice was wrong but only after they have drawn up a bid and made plans to run the service.

The former Secretary of State for Health pledged that open market competition would not be a pre-requisite for delivering services but this belies that.

I have raised my concerns with the health board and with the Secretary of State for Health.

Growbaby

Growbaby is a new session at the Ivy Street Family Centre which aims to provide good quality, new and second hand baby clothes and equipment (ages 0-3) to families in need.

The sessions run on the first Fridays of the month (term time only) at the Ivy Street Family Centre, 54 Ivy Street, Hoxton (opposite Burbage School).

The centre is also accepting donations of clean baby clothes and equipment in good condition.

For more information contact the centre on 020 7729 2789 or click here

Friends of Homerton Station

Friends of Homerton Station is a registered charity set up by local people to plant wildflower meadows at the station.

Planting wildflowers helps to preserve native species (which are in decline in many areas due to changes in gardening and agricultural practices). And a variety of wildflowers on the embankments in the station creates a wildlife-friendly habitat to encourage butterflies, bees, other insects and birds.

There are two upcoming tidy up and weeding sessions taking place at 10am on Sunday 10th and 24th March. Contact friendsofhomerton@hotmail.co.uk if you would like to attend any of these events, or volunteer for future tidy up and weeding sessions. Tidy up and weeding sessions take about 30-60 minutes with two people, and can be any day or time that suits you.

Dance marathon

Headway East London's 5th annual dance marathon fundraiser will be taking place on Saturday 27 April.

Headway East London is a charity based on Kingsland Road supporting people affected by brain injury in the community and is currently celebrating its 15 year anniversary.

The dance marathon will be 8 hours, 8 decades and 8 styles of music and aims to raise as much money as possible to support people affected by brain injury. Anyone can join and all are welcome.

For more information and to find out how to sign up click here or call Headway on 020 7749 7790.