Shadowed by Parliamentors
Welcomed local @unibirmingham students Claire and Becky to Parliament today for 2nd stage of their #Parliamentors programme placement
— Richard Burden MP (@RichardBurdenMP) June 18, 2013
Jun 18
Learning about the importance of a healthy diet!
Health for Life event – children from Forestdale and Fisher schools on course for healthy future pic.twitter.com/Bjx20XFNNo
— Richard Burden MP (@RichardBurdenMP) June 18, 2013
Cut the deficit in people’s life chances – new data on health inequality
Yesterday I celebrated a really exciting new project – Health for Life in Schools – that aims to provide primary schools children in South Birmingham will the skills to lead a healthy and active lifestyle for life. It was an excellent event – Forestdale and St John Fisher schools from my Northfield constituency were there, showcasing the work of staff and pupils to grow vegetables, encourage healthy eating and promote physical activity.
Health for Life was also a timely event, but one with a sobering context, coming just a week after new data confirmed that where you live in the UK still determines long you live.
Action needs to follow rhetoric at G8
There is enough food in the world to feed everyone. But every year 2.3 million children die from malnutrition. If we’re going to put a stop to this global injustice we need radical change.
Hosting the G8 in Northern Ireland today and tomorrow (17-18 June), the UK once again has the opportunity to demonstrate its ability to show global leadership.
Alongside hundreds of charities and Ivan Lewis, Shadow International Development Secretary, I have been calling David Cameron to use the summit to achieve a commitment by all the G8 countries to meet their aid targets, tackle tax havens and tax avoidance, and fight for greater transparency.
Birmingham protest against the bedroom tax
On Saturday (15 May) I joined over 250 protestors outside Birmingham Council House to campaign against the bedroom tax. People receiving housing benefit, who live in council or housing association homes with a spare bedroom, face a choice between paying £600 more a year or moving home.
But as I know all to well from my constituents, there often just isn’t a choice. The truth is there aren’t enough smaller homes for families to move to – at least not at a price that people can afford. The real issue is the government’s failure to solve the housing crisis.
Labour would bring forward infrastructure spending in houses – to build more homes, create jobs now and strengthen our economy for the future. My message to David Cameron and the government is clear – stop taxing bedrooms, and build more homes.
