February e@bulletin from Angela Smith MP

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Angela Smith MP

Constituency MP of the year 2011/12

Parliamentarye@ bulletin

8th Febuary 2014

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  Penistone & Stocksbridge constituency

Forgive me if you have already recieved this months email

Im re-sending this months email update as at some point when first sending it out the website server went down I not sure how many emails actually went out. If you have already recieved this mail please forgive me filling your in box again, if you've not recieved I hope you enjoy it.

We need to Build an Economy That Works For Working People

It was pleasing to hear that reform of the banks will be an important part of our plans to build an economy that works for everyone and an economic recovery that lasts.

It’s disappointing that after promising so much on banking reform the Government has dragged its feet on reform. At nearly every stage it is only embarrassing u-turns and defeats in Parliament with regard to banking legislation that has made the Government act. While these u-turns are welcome, it’s not the way to run a Government.

We need a tougher regime for the banks and I welcome the proposals coming from Ed Miliband that a proper code of conduct for senior bankers must be adopted.

With families and businesses facing a cost of living crisis, they need a banking system that is on their side. Small businesses are struggling to access the finance they need to grow, yet it seems to be business as usual for the banks.

The Government seems determined to cling on to the old economy in a global race to the bottom. If we’re serious about winning the race to the top with countries like China and India, then we need to build a new economy – one that allows us to earn our way out of the problems the country faces. That means dealing with Britain’s broken markets, one of which is our banking system.

Britain’s banking system is dominated by just four banks that control 85 per cent of small business lending. This lack of competition is a root cause of poor service, a breakdown of trust and a massive drop of £56 billion in lending to business since May 2010.

Part of the reason we rely too much on low paid, insecure work is that the small firms that could create the good, high paying jobs of the future can’t get the finance they need to grow. We need to support small and medium sized enterprises so they can grow our economy for the future and that means creating a more competitive banking system that works for those it serves.

That’s why I think a legal limit to ensure no bank can get too big is a good idea and one that will help improve competition in the market. Lending to small businesses needs to be increased, the service to all customers needs to be better and we need new banks which will work for the communities they serve.

Reforms like this will give small businesses a better chance of getting the support they need to grow, employ more people at decent wage levels and help Britain earn its way to a better standard of living.

Getting the chair treatment at new dentist’s surgery

Recently I officially opened a new NHS Dental surgery costing £150,000.

There has been a dental practice in Loundside since about 1948 and over the decades it has evolved to become one of the most modern NHS Dental Practices in the country. This latest surgery addition will not only improve street level access but also provide a much needed space for training newly qualified NHS Dentists.

The new HDS Dental Care surgery looks great and it will help to meet NHS patient capacity in our region as well as continuing to improve what is a high quality NHS dental service for Chapeltown.

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Lobbying Bill

Last week I was part of the Opposition team trying improving the Lobbying Bill. It’s a Bill that many constituents have contacted me about and unfortunately it now has Royal Assent and stands as the law of the land. It was supposed to regulate lobbyists and provide transparency with regard to their dealings with Ministers and Civil Servants, but it has failed to deliver on this promise. Instead it gags the ability of third sector groups and charities to campaign on the policies which matter to them most.

Interestingly, if this Act had been in place at the 2010 election the NUS would not have been able to run their very successful pledge campaign on student fees, so enthusiastically taken up by the Deputy Prime Minister and other Lib Dems. And of course in 2015 it could curtail the ability of groups like the NUS and the Badger Trust from holding their MPs to account for their actions. 

Trying to Save Local Pubs

Last week I voted with colleagues to introduce a new code to support small landlords and give consumers greater choice.

Pubs are vital hubs for communities in and around north Sheffield and Barnsley and are valued by local people, but they are closing at an alarming rate. This costs jobs, especially for young people, and hits the local economy by an average of £80,000 each time a pub shuts.

The large chains of pub companies have been accused of giving landlords a raw deal, with many paying over the odds.

That’s why I joined colleagues this week in calling for legislation to introduce a statutory code protecting small landlords and ensuring they are no longer exploited in their relationship with pub companies.

Campaigners have demanded a code that includes a free-of-tie option, open market rent reviews and an independent pubs adjudicator. This would give every landlord the choice to go free-of-tie, allowing licencees to operate in a more competitive market.

We need to back our local pubs and it’s time to take real action to support small landlords, otherwise our area risks losing more pubs and more jobs.

 

The Macmillan Barnsley Appeal – Improving Cancer Care in Barnsley

Macmillan Cancer Support is appealing for help in the area to raise £150,000 to fund vital cancer care services for people in our area. In Barnsley the cancer incidence rate is higher than average, with 446 people diagnosed every year, 13 percent higher than the national average.

Money raised will help fund services for people affected by cancer that will increase diagnosis rates and improve support during and after treatment, such as:

  • a telephone support service for discharged colorectal and breast cancer patients to ensure they continue to receive the support they need to remain well after treatment;
  • a specialist cancer advisor for GPs who will educate and guide GP practices, health professionals and community services in the town to increase rates of early diagnosis.
  • helping the Barnsley Welfare Advice Service to continue its important work for one year, helping people who are struggling to cope with the extra costs that cancer can bring.

If you’d like to support the Macmillan Barnsley Appeal, get involved in fundraising, volunteering or help form a new fundraising group that would directly raise funds for the appeal then please contact their local fundraiser Rob Turner on 07545 419 725 or email

However, many of you may not feel able to make such a commitment, but would be happy to become a Macmillan e-campaigner. |From pushing for free prescriptions to calling for an end to hospital parking charges and freezing out fuel poverty, Macmillan’s campaigns can make a difference. Macmillan is looking for people to join its growing network of e-campaigners and become a force for change for people affected by cancer.

For example, they are currently campaigning against Hospital Car parking charges for cancer patients. Did you know the average daily cost of using a hospital car park is £7.66, but the situation is a lottery with some hospitals offering completely free parking, while others charge anything up to £24 a day.

Despite government guidance, 59% of hospitals in England are still charging at least some cancer patients to use the car park. Almost 10% of hospitals in England have ignored government guidance completely and continue to charge cancer patients the full price for parking. Macmillan want to change this and need your help to do so.

It’s very simple, you sign up to be an e-campaigner and then when you get an e-mail from their campaigns team you choose whether nor not to support a particular Macmillan initiative. Your support could also be requested to add weight to any petitions they launch on key issues of concern. You will typically receive emails every 3 months and if you’re not happy you can easily cancel. To sign up why not email for more information.

Latest on Broadband

Further to my recent comments on this most thorny of subjects the Government has recently announced it wants South Yorkshire to sign a deal with a private sector technology firm – likely to be BT – to extend the area’s existing commercial broadband network to more remote areas, and so ensure 90 per cent of the county has superfast coverage. Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) believe this approach would cost taxpayers just £10m.

Under DCMS’s proposals, the Government’s rural internet quango Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) would put forward half the money, with South Yorkshire’s four local authorities expected to find the rest.

Apparently BDUK has earmarked £5m of funding for a South Yorkshire project and as with the rest of the country; they expect that BDUK would provide 50 per cent of the necessary public funding and that local funding - including the option of European funding sources – would provide the other 50 per cent.

I am still in the process of meeting officials both locally and nationally to see how best we can progress this and it would be unfair at the moment to make any public announcements.

I am also due to meet one of the industry bodies to see if we can progress a national route to challenging the role of BT as a competitor and infrastructure provider, which is of course one of the main obstacles to progress when the cost of laying down the infrastructure is very high.

Poverty on our doorstep

There are 13 million people living in poverty in Britain and for the first time ever, the majority are in working families. These people are working harder, for longer, for less, year after year. The latest employment statistics show that real wages have fallen by over £1,600 since 2010.

Britain will only succeed in the 21st Century with a race to the top, a race that will mean average earnings rise not fall. To do that we need a well qualified, educated workforce. One of the main reasons why so many of the long-term unemployed find it hard to get a job is their lack of basic skills in maths, English and IT. That is why this week we announced plans that would require jobseekers to be assessed for their basic maths, English and IT skills, with the offer of proper training for those who don’t have the skills they need for a job.

This Basic Skills Test will assess all new claimants for JobSeekers Allowance, giving the long-term unemployed a better chance of finding a job and helping Britain to compete in that global race.

My HS2 consultation Response

January 31st was the deadline for responses to the consultation on phase 2 of the HS2 project, which will take the line to Manchester and Leeds. While I am a keen supporter of this project, I am also very mindful that costs need to be controlled and the whole project should remain in the current financial envelope.

In responding to the consultation I have said there is no doubt a new railway will be needed to address the major capacity issues building up on the network and that is vital any new north/south railway serves the Sheffield City Region area. For it not to do so would put the region at a severe disadvantage. It is already pleasing to see that HS2 Ltd has taken on board the concerns already raised about the proposed route in the Meadowhall area, to avoid major damage to a key employer in the area, Firth Rixons. However, I do have further concerns about the line as it leaves the city and heads north and into Pensitone & Stocksbridge through the Chapeltown area. At this point the track, as it is presently configured, will cut through two ancient woodlands and through the middle of a proposed country park in the area. This I feel is unacceptable. Therefore I am asking HS2 Ltd to look at mitigation strategies that will protect these three areas, namely a tunnel or a cut and cover tunnel through the area.

On the thorny issue of the location of the City Region station, I have on balance agreed with the HS2 assessment that it would be better for the whole sub-region if the station were to be located at Meadowhall, as currently recommended by HS2 Ltd. While I understand Sheffield’s ambition to secure a city centre location and appreciate the work carried out by Sheffield, I still feel the Meadowhall option offers the most favourable location.

I also feel a city centre loop would cause massive disruption to the city over many years for marginal benefit and I am particularly concerned about the effects the loop would have on the village of Ecclesfield as it passes through it.

While Meadowhall is already well connected to the rest of the region and beyond I do feel this connectivity needs to be improved if Sheffield City Region is to take full advantage of a major gateway to the rest of Britain’s major cities and beyond and I have made the case for this in my response. I also make the point that cross Pennine connections need to be improved to the City Region of Manchester if the Sheffield City Region is to take full advantage of the extra north/south capacity.

If you want to read my full response to HS2, please follow this link

www.angelasm ith-mp.org.uk | | Twitter

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