May Monthly Report

Parliamentary Business

Queen's Speech

I spoke during the Queen's speech debate on visas for tech businesses and on housing needs in Hackney. See my speech here.

Energy Bill

A rule change in Parliament allows some bills to be carried over into a new session of Parliament. Previous rules meant all uncompleted bills fell at the end of a session. The energy bill is had its report stage and third reading on 3 and 4 June. I voted for the UK to adopt a 2030 emissions target. Sadly this was defeated even with a few Government MPs rebelling.

The Government's energy policy is a shambles. There have been three energy ministers in the last year. This is an area of policy where a long term view is vital and the short term tensions within the coalition do not make for good policy.

Same sex marriage

This bill passed its third reading and has since passed its 2nd reading in the Lords.

I voted for the bill which was passed by 336 votes to 161. There was no vote on allowing humanist weddings but I would have voted against this. I voted against the extension of civil partnerships to heterosexual couples as civil marriage already offers all the legal protections that are required.

I voted for an amendment that allowed freedom from less favourable treatment for anyone who does not support same sex marriage. This was separate to the one that would have allowed registrars and others to opt out of officiating at same sex marriages which I did not support.

Childcare ratios

Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg challenged the chaos over Government policy to increase the number of children that carers of under 5s should be allowed to look after.

In a farcical chase the education minister could not be located so Parliament had to rearrange business until she came to the House of Commons to be questioned.

I challenged her directly about the future of her "pile them high and teach them cheap policy". The minister was determined that she would not backtrack.

In Hackney over one fifth of residents are under 16 and childcare is a worry for many parents. The cost of full time childcare for a child under 5 coupled with high housing costs is a real concern, but I have yet to meet a parent who wants to see quality of childcare reduced.

Last week the Government announced it was dropping the proposal. It should never have got so far in the first place and has diverted Government attention from the real issues of cost and wrap around care for school age children.

We need to see childcare as an investment in our children and in helping women fulfil their career potential. Over time the extra tax from parents supported into work will pay for an investment in childcare.

See my recent article here.

Welfare changes

With 49 per cent of Hackney residents affected by changes to rules on welfare benefits we are seeing the personal impact of the changes to out of work and other benefits played out in Hackney.

I called for a debate in the House of Commons and continue to work with other MPs to call ministers to hear the direct experiences of constituents.

I also met with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with Hackney's Mayor Jules Pipe and other London MPs to press home the disproportionate impact on London families.

We made little headway but I did detect a flicker of interest from the Secretary of State in the idea of capitalising housing benefit. This would mean that instead of spending money on the growing housing benefit pot this money could be used to build more affordable housing which would not require ongoing subsidy through housing benefit.

Work programme

Early this month I raised with the Business Secretary concerns I have that many more part-time jobs are being created specifically to meet targets.

A number of providers of the work programme have direct links with national businesses to fill their vacancies. The Government funded programme which pays private companies to support unemployed people back into work funds the training and placement providers if an individual is placed in a job and remains employed for a minimum of six months.

It is hard to prove a direct link but a number of providers have agreements with large businesses, such as supermarkets, to fill their vacancies. A number of constituents want to work more than 16 hours but are unable to increase their hours of work because their employer takes on more part-time workers rather than increasing part-timers hours.

The benefits to the Work Programme provider are clear. The employer at the very least gains from lower national insurance contributions.

Please let me know of your experiences as I am trying to compile data on these practices. Call 020 7219 5325 or contact me at meghilliermp@parliament.uk.

Housing

The cost of housing to buy or rent and the impact on local families will not be solved until we have greater housing supply. The Government's funding for lending scheme has been used heavily by buy to let landlords and the Government guarantee on mortgages announced in the Budget is in danger of greater a Government financed housing bubble.

I questioned Treasury ministers on housing supply on 14 May. You can read their response here.

Green Investment Bank

I remain concerned that this Government backed investment vehicle for green industries is focused on supporting larger companies rather than some of the emerging small and medium businesses which are developing innovative green solutions to climate change.

I questioned the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change about this in the House of Commons.

While large infrastructure projects such as carbon capture and storage are vital in ensuring the UK meets its carbon emissions targets it is important that the UK's green industrial base is boosted.

The Green Investment Bank needs to be a vehicle for industrial investment in new technology, not just the relatively safe bet of companies which can secure multi- million pound loans from elsewhere.

Credit and sub prime lenders

As a member of Parliament's spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee I took part in an inquiry into sub prime lending. This is lending to people with poor or no credit records.

We heard evidence from local social enterprise funder; Dalston based Fair Finance, as well as commercial sub-prime lenders. See our report here.

The impact of changes such as the bedroom tax and the requirement that all but pensioner households pay at least 15 per cent of their council tax mean that already many local families are struggling.

I asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Secretary to ensure that he is mindful of the very real risk that many people with poor or no credit records will be driven to find funds from unregulated sources rather than legitimate (if often expensive) lenders.

Future of the high street

I used a debate in Westminster Hall to highlight the challenges to local high streets of the current retail market.

I highlighted local successes as well as the Council's plan to make Hackney Central an outlet shopping centre.

See the debate and my full speech here.

Legal aid cuts

I have been contacted by local solicitors regarding proposed changes to criminal legal aid. I raised my concerns about these changes in the House of Commons with Justice ministers. You can read my question Justice ministers here.

The current consultation could lead to drastic changes in how someone accused of a crime is represented. The Government's proposals seek to reduce the number of contracts awarded to legal firms who represent people facing criminal legal charges from around 1,600 to 400. The contracts will be put out to tender.

I am concerned that the quality of legal advice will suffer as firms (which do not have to have specific experience in legal services) bidding for these contracts may try to undercut each other and reduce the quality of service they provide.

I am particularly concerned that under the changes a solicitor will be paid the same fee whether the defendant pleads guilty or has a trial lasting three days or less. I fear that because of the possible changes to the fee structure, this may provide an economic incentive to solicitors to encourage their client to plead guilty at the same time as providers are under great pressure to turnover high volumes of cases.

I am also concerned about the possibility that one accused individual could have multiple lawyers if accused of more than one offence.

My colleagues and I will continue to press for a rethink.

GP out of hours services

I urged Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt again to explain whether clinical commissioning groups, the new GP led organisations which now determine which health services to buy into locally, are required to tender their service.

National NHS leaders say this is not necessary but locally in Hackney the CCG's predecessor first encouraged GPs to bid for the contract and months later decided to tender the contract for fear of legal challenge.

I am still awaiting a definitive answer from the chief executive of NHS England.

In the meantime I persuaded the Guardian to run the story and it featured local GP Deborah Colvin who highlighted the absurdity of the local situation.

I continue to pursue the matter.

Other matters

Skills for Work Month

Britain's food and grocery industry has launched its Skills for Work month.

The national campaign unites Jobcentre Plus with the food and grocery industry in an effort to tackle youth unemployment by providing free pre-employment skills training, such as CV writing workshops and interview techniques.

Contact your local Jobcentre Plus for more information. If your business would be interested in taking part, you can find out more information here.

Special traffic courts

The Government has announced plans to set up special courts for traffic-light jumpers and speeding motorists in order to free up time in magistrates courts. The courts will be trialled in nine areas across England including London.

Roughly half a million motoring cases are heard in magistrates courts each year and despite more than 90 per cent of cases resulting in a guilty plea or being uncontested, they can often take longer to progress than more serious offences.

Hackney Issues

Hackney housing summit

On 11 May, I held a housing summit to discuss the housing situation in Hackney and develop a list of positive, workable policy proposals to improve the local housing situation which could be put to the political parties nationally.

Speakers included Hackney's deputy mayor Karen Alcock and Digs (a group which provides information and support for Hackney private renters).

Three workshops on the private rented sector, the social housing sector and home ownership explored local housing issues in more depth.

The full report of the event will be out shortly and I have already raised the concerns and ideas from the conference in the House of Commons.

Housing is one of the biggest issues in Hackney and nationally. We need to make sure that housing is higher on the agenda for the next General Election if we are going to get the solutions we need.

Green jobs training

If you are 16-25 years old and interested in working outside, learning about the environment and getting a job in gardening or grounds maintenance then green project Otesha is providing a free horticultural work training programme. The course lasts for 10 weeks and provides practical skills which can lead to a level 1 City and Guilds horticultural qualification.

Otesha is holding an open day on Wednesday 19 June from 10am to 12 noon at Workshop 44, Marlborough Avenue, E8 4JR. You can find out more here or call 020 3609 6763.

Sport England funds London sport

Sport England has announced £249,000 of National Lottery funding for London-based sports project Getting Ready.

The Federation of London Youth Clubs will provide 60 youth clubs with a bespoke sports offer chosen by young people in their community. The project aims to capture the interest of nearly 5,000 young people through taster sessions, keep them engaged in a 10-week programme and then provide opportunities for coaching qualifications and volunteering.

Bids for the second round of funding are now being accepted. Community groups or charities seeking funding for a local sports project, can bid for £50,000 to £250,000 over 3 years. Bidding closes on 1 July 2013. For more details, click here.