On Friday, Ministers announced that they want to scrap Healthwatch, the statutory patients’ and public watchdog for the NHS and social care. This is my response as Chair of Healthwatch Birmingham and Solihull:
I was privileged to be one of those representing Remembering Srebrenica at Holocaust Memorial Day, hosted by Birmingham City Council today. 2025 is a special year for commemoration – marking both the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 30th anniversary of the genocide near the Bosnian town of Srebrenica when over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were …
Health and social care services in Birmingham are failing to provide the care that many children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) need and deserve, with parents and carers reporting waits of a year or more for assessment and diagnosis, problems getting referrals and a lack of support to help them care for their child. Read …
This is a statement I made in my capacity as Healthwatch Birmingham Chair, which was published on the Healthwatch Birmingham website: Healthwatch Birmingham shares the widespread concerns about Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) decision to close four day centres. Our research underlines how valuable day centres are to the often vulnerable people who use them and their carers. They provide important …
The appalling violence seen in several British towns and cities over the past week has taken my thoughts back to an event attended by hundreds of people in Birmingham last month. We were all there to both remember the past and to make a commitment for the future …
A video featuring highlights of the Remembering Srebrenica memorial event, held at the Council House, Birmingham, on 11th July 2024.
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.