I have been telling different people in the constituency about the new Child Trust Fund which has been introduced by the Government and which will benefit more than 2,500 families in Birmingham Northfield. All children living in the UK born on or after 1st September 2002 and who receive Child Benefit, will receive a £250 voucher to open a Child Trust Fund account, with up to £500 given to those …
I recently took action after a recent survey showed more than half of guide dog owners have been turned away by a service provider such as a pub, restaurant, hotel, shop or bank in the last five years.1 I pledged my support to Theresa May MP’s parliamentary motion, encouraging local businesses to not only welcome guide dog owners through the door, but to make their services fully accessible for …
I recently attended an Arctic experience, recreated in Westminster by the WWF to raise a sense of urgency about the devastating impact climate change is having on people and places around the world. WWF invited an Arctic “Climate Witness” called Mille Porsild to VictoriaTowerGardens – close to the House of Lords, and set the Arctic scene with a life-size igloo hand sculpted from ice and …
At a meeting of the Council’s Northfield District Committee on 12th February, I was told that the bus company, Pete’s Travel, had taken the Fordrough, Houldey Road and Slingfield Road off the 634/635 bus route. Residents had been given virtually no notice of this change. I spoke to both Centro and Pete’s Travel and they accepted that the route for this bus should not have been changed without …
I have campaigned for better support for local workers – such as those at Kalamazoo – who lost their pension rights when their firms go bust. Last month, the government announced the details of the Financial Assistance Scheme which included the levels of assistance that eligible members will receive when the FAS starts making payments. The FAS will provide: – assistance to all those …
Richard exposed the failure of the Council to proceed with the Fairfax Road regeneration scheme on time and pushed for progress. In Parliament during February he welcomed the big increase in funding for Birmingham from the Labour Government but criticised the Conservative- Lib Dem administration, which runs the City Council, for shelving a Labour plan to put an extra £7.3m into better youth …
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.