Two hours ago the Chancellor George Osborne finished delivering his Budget Statement in the House of Commons.
However much George Osborne may try to duck or dive to shirk his own responsibility, the facts won’t go away. He is borrowing nearly £100bn more than he planned but the economy is still flat lining three years after he took over.
Last week was National Apprenticeship Week. I was delighted to celebrate the start of the week by attending an event on apprenticeships in the motor industry organised by the Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders and Semta. In particular it was great to meet Carolyn Lee and James Doughty, two new Jaguar Land Rover apprentices from the West Midlands. If anybody ever doubted the value of...
Delighted to join Jaguar Land Rover apprentices from the West Mids at @smmt event celebrating #NAW2013 twitter.com/RichardBurdenM…
— Richard Burden MP (@RichardBurdenMP) March 11, 2013
Kings Norton based Mechatronic Solutions this week celebrated 25 years in business.
I was delighted to attend their open day yesterday to join their celebrations and have a guided tour of their shop floor.
The latest employment figures for January 2013 were published on Wednesday.
The fall in the headline rate of UK unemployment is clearly welcome news. But here in Northfield the number of people unemployed in January was actually up on the previous month.
My letter to Birmingham City Council Leader, Sir Albert Bore and Cabinet Member for Jobs & Skills, Councillor Tahir Ali regarding the Birmingham Jobs Fund:
18 February 2013
Dear Albert and Tahir,
I wonder if you or relevant officers could answer some queries I have about the Birmingham Jobs Fund?
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.