New Support for Asbestos Victims
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I have welcomed a multi-million pound package of help for individuals whose health has been put at risk due to exposure to asbestos. It includes action to help people with asbestos related diseases to claim compensation, increase their upfront payments, and work towards a fund of last resort for people diagnosed with a serious asbestos-related illness who cannot trace their insurance records. It also includes financial help to people with pleural plaques who were left in limbo by a House of Lords ruling in 2007. The full list of measures, which was announced as part of the Government's response to...
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TV Time Warp: what's in the future for blind TV fans?
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I have thrown my support behind RNIB campaign this weekwhen I sat down to watch Dr Who with a partially sighted person at a Parliamentary reception which called for an increase in the amount of Audio Description on television. Audio Description (AD) is an additional commentary that describes the body language, expressions and movements that someone with sight loss cannot see. Currently only 10 per cent of television programmes are audio described. This limits blind and partially sighted people's access, understanding and enjoyment of television. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) organised the event and is calling for...
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British Heart Foundation and I call on Birmingham to go Red for National Heart Month
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I am throwing my support behind the NationalHeart Foundation's Red for Heart campaign during February which is National Heart Month. National Heart Month is an annual campaign organised by the charity to increase awareness of heart and circulatory disease and to raise funds for their research, prevention and care services. I am calling on people in Birmingham to join in with National Wear Red Day on Friday 26th February to show their support for the charity. The charity is also calling on people to follow their 'BEAT' health code on the day as well. The BEAT health code is:...
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I am welcoming the announcement that Birmingham hasbeen shortlisted to become the UK's first City of Culture in 2013. Birmingham beat10 other cities to get into the final four and the results will be announced in the Summer. The other finalists are Derry/Londonderry, Norwich and Sheffield. The cities were shortlisted by an independent judging panel, whose recommendations were accepted by Secretary of State Ben Bradshaw. This is fantastic news for our city and I'm really pleased to seethat Birmingham has been shortlisted. This is exactly the opportunity that we need to show the world how great Birmingham is. Margaret Hodge...
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Cash Boost for Brandwood Housing
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I have welcomed the announcement today by housing minister, John Healey that Kings Heath will receive almost £200,000 to fund affordable housing for families in Brandwood. Waterloo Housing Association will receive £1,960.00 to fund 20 social rented and 16 Low Cost Home Ownership units, which will complete the final phases of the 300+ development at Brandwood End which was started in 2002. The scheme has already offered employment and apprenticeship opportunities in its earlier phases and will continue to do so through this current phase. The scheme comes as part of today's announcement by the government that it is providing...
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Vital hospice cash must be sustained
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After visiting the Acorn's Children's Hospice on the Bristol Road in Selly Oak, I am urging the government to ensure that current funding for hospices is sustained in the next spending review. Hospices have always been funded from a range of different sources. Fundraising and government grants both play a part. Labour promised to double spending on hospices as part of its General Election manifesto in 2005. This has been met - £47 million is being spent on children's hospices between 2006 and 2011. £286 million has also been allocated to primary care trusts to spend on end of life...
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Delivering prestigious lecture to Chevening Scholars
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 I was privileged to deliver the annual parliamentary lecture to Chevening Scholars at the University of Birmingham last Friday, 29th January. The scholars came from about 15 different countries including Russia, China, Afghanistan, Kenya, Somalia and Turkey and representatives included the Deputy Solicitor General from Sri Lanka, a senior Hong Kong Police Inspector, Speaker of the Ethiopian House of Representatives and Assistant Chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia. My lecture was on the main features and effectiveness of the British Parliamentary system and the challenges facing a liberal democracy at a time of global recession and international terrorism. The...
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Environment Secretary meets local park champions
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 Environment Secretary Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP recently joined me in a visit to Cotteridge Park in Bournville to see the work that local volunteers were doing in preserving their park. Cotteridge Park, which is one of the many Victorian parks and takes up over 22 acres of land, nearly faced closure in 1997 after a threat from the council to de-commission the park after budget cuts were announced. However outcry from local residents and park users led them to run a campaign that gained a lot of attention from local media and the council decided against decommissioning. Since then...
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Local shop is nominated for 'Small Shop of the Year'
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I have nominated Kings Heath convenience store, Woodthorpe Provisions and Convenience Store on Woodthorpe Road for the Small Shop of the Year award. The awards, run by the All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group, recognise the hard work and excellent service that small, independent shops provide to the local community. I was keen to nominate Woodthorpe stores, which is owned by Mr Solanki and run by his son-in-law Girish Chauhan and has been open for at least 20 years. The family run business regularly raises money for deserving causes like the Poppy Appeal and the Haiti Appeal. It is open...
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Calling for a Greater Awareness of Sickle Cell Disorder
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I am calling for more awareness and better provisions for sufferers of Sickle Cell Disorder after meeting with some of the countries top experts on the disease. I was contacted by a constituent whose son suffers from Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD) and had concerns about the care that is being provided to people, in particular children who suffer from the illness. Sickle Cell is a blood disorder that affects 1 in every 2000 children in the UK. Currently around 15,000 people across the UK suffer from the illness making it the most common blood condition and the figures are set...
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Cookware manufacturer Jean-Patrique Cookware has agreed to sign the Government's knife sale safety pledge after I raised concerns about its online knife sales. The government recently launched a pledge for retailers to sign up to where they commit to a number of measures to ensure they aren't selling knives to under-18s, including providing training to staff and displaying signage stating that knives are not for sale to under-18s. Large retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Homebase and B&Q have already signed up to the pledge. I welcome this step forward by Jean-Patrique Cookware but call on them to tighten up...
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I am encouraging shoppers across Birmingham to buy Fairtrade products during this Fairtrade Fortnight which runs from 22nd February to 7th March. I have welcomed the government's plan to boost funding for the Fairtrade labelling system and urged shoppers in Birmingham to look for the Fairtrade Mark on food, gifts and other products in the shops. Small changes in our shopping habits can make a big difference to the world's poorest people. By buying food, gifts and other products from developing countries we will help grow their economies and reduce poverty. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the...
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Police Listening Campaign
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I am encouraging people have their voices heard by getting involved with the West Midlands Police Authority (WMPA) listening campaign. The WMPA is holding a number of forums across the region to give members of the public an opportunity to tell the police what they think they should be doing to best serve communities needs. The sessions will also explain what the role of the WMPA and then allow attendees to voice their opinions on what they think needs to be improved. It is vital that people get involved with forums like these. The police are there to serve you...
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Cadbury update - press release from Unite
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Cadbury update from Unite:
Stop using Cadbury's workers as a political football, Unite tells Midlands Tories Attempts by the Conservatives in the Midlands to jump on the Cadbury bandwagon will not play well with the anxious workforce, Unite, the workers' union has warned today. It comes as local Conservative party councillor Nigel Dawkins accuses Labour MPs of failing to back the workforce as they fought to keep their company independent during the recent Kraft takeover. Councillor Dawkins has distributed leaflets across the Selly Oak ward claiming that Labour MPs did not do enough to help fight for Cadbury's future. John Flavin,...
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Supporting Establishment of National Victims Service
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I am welcoming the Labour Government 's new plans to change the way the victims of crime are supported and to ensure that they are at the heart of the justice system. Justice Secretary; Jack Straw unveiled the new plans after the latest figures showed crime continuing to fall, breaking the pattern of previous recessions, with the lowest murder rate for a decade and the British Crime Survey showing the chances of being a victim the lowest since records began I have been doing a lot of work with the victims of crime lately trying to find out how we...
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Local Student to Represent UK on Commonwealth day in presence of the Queen
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Nadira Khan, a student at Aston University and a Billesley resident has been selected as one of the two young people to represent the UK at special event in observance of Commonwealth Day on the 8th March. Nadira is currently doing an internship with me as part of her university degree and I was delighted to nominate her. The event, which has been organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in order to observe Commonwealth Day, will involve Nadira attending a number of debates with representatives from other commonwealth countries as well as visiting and UK parliamentarians. She will also attend...
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Free laptops and broadband for families with children in Birmingham
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 I am supporting the announcement that hundreds of families with school age children across Birmingham could benefit from a new scheme offering a free laptop and broadband access. The scheme, which has been launched by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Schools Secretary Ed Balls, will mean thousands of children and their parents will be able to get internet access at home to boost their school work. Trials of the programme showed that children who were eligible spent an hour more each week learning online, compared to their classmates who already had the internet at home. And 81 per cent...
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Tighter restrictions for online knife sales
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I am calling on the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, to introduce compulsory age checks on online knife sales. I have been campaigning for measures to make it harder for under-18s to buy knifes and have been working with retailers in my constituency to build awareness of the government's Knife Crime Pledge. Shops can sign up to the pledge and display signs which show that they are taking steps to ensure they're not selling knives to children. However, I don't think that the action doesn't go far enough with online sales with only a handful of retailers taking action to remove...
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Pledging support for cancer research
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I am pledging my support for the new Breast Cancer Campaign which is campaigning for more funding for vital research. Around 46,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year and one woman in nine in the UK will be diagnosed in her lifetime. Research is needed to further improve treatments and survival rates for women affected by breast cancer. Breast Cancer Campaign's mission is to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure. They are currently supporting 113 research projects in the...
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 After meeting with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Parliament recently, I am pleased to give them my support for their campaign to help small businesses in Birmingham. I joined them at the launch of their Election Manifesto in Parliament last week, and at their annual dinner. The FSB's plans to promote self employment has my fully support and after the success of the Enterprise Allowance Scheme I think a new version would be very welcome. I would also support plans to make it easier to recruit apprentices, particularly for small organisations. Apprentices are extremely valuable, both for an...
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