The Work Capability Assessment is clearly not working. A third of the decisions that the health service provider makes are being overturned in appeals. Charities and the medical profession have issued strong criticisms of the assessment process, calling the government’s system inhumane and often inaccurate. I know that assessments are causing real hardship and humiliation for many people in...
My first ever ‘Ask Me Anything’ session will be held on my Facebook & Twitter pages at 5.30 - 6.30 pm on Tuesday 5th June 2013 . I will be online, waiting to give live answers to questions from anyone who posts on my Facebook or Twitter pages during the hour. The intention is to give all the people of Birmingham Northfield the opportunity to ask a Member of Parliament any question about what I...
Earlier today (8th May) was the State Opening of Parliament, where the Queen formally opens the new Parliamentary Session with a speech setting out the Government’s agenda and priorities for the next year. Unfortunately as anticipated the Queen’s Speech, which was one of the shortest in years, failed to recognise many of the problems concerning real people. It was a stark reminder that this out...
On Friday 3rd May I opened Northfield’s first ever ‘Time Bank.’ It is a bank that rewards people for sharing skills within the community – with time. Anyone can exchange an hour of their time for credit to withdraw when they require. Activities that are shared range from cooking, budgeting, gardening, childcare and arts training. I am proud to support a project that enables people of all ages...
Today I went along to a local care home in the constituency as part of Good Care Week; a UK-wide annual awareness campaign which sees local initiatives come together to create a national presence with which to celebrate and promote excellence in social care and influence Government. It was great to meet residents and find out how important their carers are in enabling and supporting them in...
Last Tuesday (16 April) I attended the launch event for Holocaust Memorial Day 2014. Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated each year on 27 January, marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death and concentration camp. HMD provides an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides (in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and...
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.