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Michael Foster’s Parliamentary Bulletin

November 2009

There’s never a quiet month in Parliament and over the last four weeks we have seen the State Opening of Parliament – famous for the traditional door thumping of the Black Rod and the Queen’s Speech. Opinion is divided on ceremonies such as this; some see it as a great tradition that gives character and life to our history and political tradition. Others see it as a redundant throwback to a bygones era. I tend to lean to the former view as I think it’s these great little traditions that set us apart and remind us of the journey we have taken since the Magna Carta was drafted in 1215.

The Monarch’s speech set out the Government’s forthcoming agenda but I firstly wanted to talk about a couple of bits of local news.

 £220,000 Boost for Hastings

The Government have announced that an extra £219,674 is being invested locally through the Working Neighbourhood Fund to help Hastings recover from the downturn. The Fund is a dedicated pot of cash for Hastings Borough Council to develop concentrated, community-led approaches to getting people back to work.

The money is available immediately and is on top of the £7,741,756 already allocated through the Fund. It also builds on the £2.3million recently awarded to Hastings from the Government’s Future Jobs Fund to create 175 jobs for young people in the town.

I welcome the extra investment. No one denies this past year has been difficult - the global economic downturn has affected everyone. However, the Government continues to recognise the unique needs of Hastings and this latest funding injection shows a clear commitment to continue the regeneration of the town.

The Tories say we can’t afford to help, but the truth is we can’t afford not to. Abandoning a generation would cost us all more in the long run, and devastate entire communities.

Tackling Child Poverty through Helping Families

Since 1997 we have lifted half a million children out of poverty but some families still struggle to cope and that can lead to poverty and anti-social behaviour. I believe prevention is better than waiting until things get out of hand. The Government is providing a package of £325,000 in East Sussex to help launch a Child Poverty Family Intervention Project. It is likely Hastings will be targeted with the greater part of the money. There will now be dedicated support workers who will work with those at risk families to help them overcome the challenges they face.

Queen’s Speech

Firstly I’ll mention that I’ve written a longer article about this online that you can access here http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/michaelfoster/The-Queen39s-Speech-2009.5839280.jp

The Queen's Speech set out the next steps in Building Britain's Future. Our legislation for the next parliamentary session is a programme of tough action on the big issues in line with this Government's core values of fairness and responsibility.

At its heart is the conviction that government can be a force for good - to secure economic prosperity and build a fairer society. Not small government or big government, but smarter – reformed and responsive – government.

So here are some of the major Bills we aim to pass in the next session:

·        Financial Services Bill – banks will be reformed and made to pay for their own failings. The FSA will also be given greater powers to regulate bankers' pay and bonuses.

·        Fiscal Responsibility Bill – this will place a legal obligation on the Government to halve the budget deficit within four years.

·        Equality Bill - I will be taking this through Parliament in my role as Equalities Minister. We will place a duty on the public sector to reduce inequality – the gap between rich and poor. We will also tackle age discrimination and the gender pay gap.

·        Personal Care at Home Bill – will guarantee free personal care for the 280,000 people with the "highest needs", such as those with serious dementia or Parkinson's disease. Reform is necessary as we face the challenges of an increasingly elderly population.

·        Child Poverty Bill - will enshrine in law the Government's commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

This agenda is counter to the Tories' fundamentally pessimistic vision for Britain – about a Britain that is broken and with only an age of austerity to look forward to. The Conservative approach is to abandon the responsibility of government; to let the recession take its course; and to leave people to sink or swim.

NHS a “World Beater” 

An international survey by the Commonwealth Fund of frontline doctors in 11 countries, including the USA, Netherlands, Germany and Australia, ranked the UK as 1^st in short waiting times for specialist care and quality of clinical care. This is fantastic news for the NHS and a worthy recognition of the professionalism of NHS staff at the Conquest and across the UK.

The NHS is one of the best things about being British. A service that is available to all based on need - not ability to pay.  From being on its knees in the mid 90s the NHS is now in better shape with more staff on the ground and new hospitals.

Improved Eurostar Connections

Transport is key to local regeneration efforts and following a long campaign by a host of local pressure groups and myself, Eurostar has re-jigged their timetable to improve connections with Hastings and Rye.

From December 14^th the current 06:27 service from Ashford International to Brussels will move to the later departure time of 06:57. Thanks to simultaneous timetable amendments from Southern travellers on both the 05:21 and 05:47 services from Hastings will be able to connect with the Eurostar train. In addition to the later departure time the train will also stop at Calais and Lille allowing passengers to benefit from connections to a range of European Destinations including Lyon and Amsterdam.

Greater role for grandparents

In my role as Minister for Equalities I am backing a new initiative to support Grandparents. We are talking to older people to explore the changing role of grandparents in society and how the Government can support them.

I know from family experience just how important grandparents can be in helping families juggle the demands of work and home life. Thousands of grandparents across the country are playing a vital role in all our lives and we want to do all we can to help support them. We need to recognise the role of the extended family. Older people are a reservoir of knowledge and we need to work harder to ensure they are able to pass that experience on. I will be working locally and in Government to see how we can make that a reality.

That concludes things for November but remember you can always keep up to speed with what I’m doing by logging onto my website www.michaelfoster.org.uk or get in touch with me by emailing mp@1066.net or calling 01424 460070.

With best wishes

Michael Foster DL MP