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News from
Debbie Abrahams MP
For Oldham East and Saddleworth
March 2020
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Contact Me
Call the Oldham office: 0161 624 4248
Send an e-mail to: abrahamsd@parliament.uk
Website: www.debbieabrahams.org.uk
Twitter: @debbie_abrahams
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DebbieAbrahamsOES
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Dear <<First Name>> <<Last Name>>
This latest edition contains an update on the Budget announcements, Coronavirus and my activities across the constituency and in Parliament.
For more regular news you can like my page on Facebook, follow me on twitter or visit my website.
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Debbie Abrahams MP |
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The Budget and social security; doing nothing is unthinkable
Ahead of the Budget I wrote to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, urging him to act on the deaths of DWP claimants and hold an independent inquiry into this as well as increasing the adequacy of social security support which is driving so many vulnerable people into poverty.
Following years of the benefit freeze, changes to Universal Credit (UC) as well as the freeze to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, our social security system is no longer the safety net it needs to be for people on the lowest incomes. This is particularly the case for people of working age who have had approximately £37bn of reductions in support since 2010. Working age disabled people have been the most detrimentally affected of all groups losing on average over £1,000 a year as a result of the various changes.
In addition to this poverty, there is also growing evidence from coroners’ reports and elsewhere that DWP policies are associated with real harm, including the premature deaths of claimants. I spoke about this on 24th February in the House of Commons when I read the names of 24 people who had died after being found fit for work and losing their social security support. It wasn't an exhaustive list but it shames us all. Since my speech, I have also been interviewed by the Radio 4 Today programme and BBC Jeremy Vine show.
I have therefore urged the Chancellor to take action including:
- An urgent, independent inquiry into the deaths of DWP claimants since 2014
- Scrapping the five week wait for Universal Credit
- Increasing the adequacy of social security support
- Restoring the disability premiums in Universal Credit
- Scrapping repeat Work Capability and PIP Assessments for people with progressive or unchanging conditions or impairments
I really do hope the Chancellor will consider these steps because doing nothing is unthinkable. Read my full letter here.
On the Budget more broadly, although I welcome the fiscal stimulus particularly for the NHS as it struggles to cope with the Coronavirus, I was really disappointed that there was no mention of anything specifically for social care. Similarly, my call to tackle the inadequacy of social security and to fix the so called safety net seems to have gone unheard. I fear the poverty and destitution that so many people on low incomes face, including many across Oldham East and Saddleworth, is set to continue.
Extending the Business Rates retail discount is good news for those businesses, but what does this cut in revenue mean for local authorities who have already had about half their budgets cut since 2010 while demand for social care, for example, is surging?
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Coronavirus update
A total of four people have now been diagnosed as infected with Coronavirus, Covid-19, in Oldham. The two new cases announced on Monday 9th March are known contacts of an existing case. I have been receiving daily updates from Oldham Council and Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group. I understand that robust plans are in place but I have asked agencies to update me on their preparedness. I will be working closely with partners to monitor the situation as well as lobby the Government for adequate resources locally, for example, with regard to the £500m Coronavirus hardship fund announced in yesterday's Budget.
As local residents, I would ask that you please continue to follow advice:
- Stay calm and wash your hands regularly with soap and water or hand sanitiser gel
-Catch coughs and sneezes with a disposable tissue
-Throw away used tissues and then wash your hands
-Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose with unwashed hands
-Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
For the latest advice and guidance, visit the NHS website here.
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All Party Delegation to Kashmir
Last month, as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir, I led a delegation to Islamabad and Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-administered Kashmir). The aim of the delegation, which included Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians, was to carry out a fact finding visit and report on human rights matters and the pursuit for a sustainable peace, on all sides of the Line of Control. We met with politicians including Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials, community representatives, refugees and organisations including the British High Commission and United Nations Military Observer Group.
During the meetings with Pakistan and Azad Kashmir politicians I asked about progress on human rights including their commitment to tackling terrorism. Although there has been some progress made in relation to the 2018 UN Human Rights report's recommendations as it relates to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, there was a recognition that more needs to be done. However, the delegation were pleased that we were given unfettered access to the groups and organisations we requested to meet.
The most striking issue for the British High Commission in Pakistan and the UN Military Observer Group was the threat to international security of the current impasse between Pakistan and India in relation to Kashmir. It is clear that two nuclear powers currently at loggerheads with each other poses a threat to the world, not just Asia. We must all take these human rights and security issues seriously.
The APPG had hoped to visit Indian-administered Kashmir as well, but unfortunately I received no response from the Indian High Commission to my request. The Kashmir APPG delegates have met recently following the visit to define the recommendations from our visit to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir and a report will follow soon. I have also been successful in getting a debate in the House on this important issue.
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Constituency update
The findings from the recent independent review of historical child sexual exploitation (CSE) of Operation Augusta in Manchester are shocking. It concluded there were failings from multiple agencies including Greater Manchester Police, Manchester City Council and even the Coroner’s Office. These were inexcusable and we must ensure that everything is done to prosecute those responsible for CSE.
‘Tackling Violence and Sexual Exploitation’ is one of my priorities. I have had regular briefings on, and visits to, Operation Messenger and subsequently Operation Phoenix. I meet regularly with local groups, such as Keep Our Girls Safe (KOGS) and I use my visits to schools to promote equality, self-awareness and resilience. In Parliament, I am a member of the CSE All Party Parliamentary Group chaired by Sarah Champion MP and I have asked a number of questions about CSE and Home Office procedures in the House.
I was shocked to hear the claims being made on social media about CSE in Oldham in the summer of 2019. In response to these, Cllr Sean Fielding, the leader of Oldham Council has asked for the Greater Manchester-commissioned independent review into historical safeguarding practice led by Malcolm Newsam CBE and Gary Ridgeway to be expanded to include Oldham. I am reassured that their review of historic safeguarding practices in Oldham will be as thorough as the Operation Augusta review. I would urge anyone who has concerns or evidence of CSE to report it to MASH Phone: 0161 770 7777, Email: child.mash@oldham.gov.uk Any recent, current or historical concerns or evidence can also be raised directly with the police. Read my statement here.
Figures released by the Local Government Association (LGA) last month indicated that Oldham Council may lose nearly £5.35 million from 2021, under a reallocation of funding to local authorities. This follows a "fair funding review" set up by the Government last year. The LGA's analysis shows that £320 million a year could be taken away from the most deprived areas, mainly in the north of England, and £300 million redirected to affluent areas, mainly in the South East. If confirmed, this will further hurt areas like ours. Read more here. I have signed a letter alongside felow Greater Manchester MPs urging the Chancellor to level up funding in Northern areas, including Oldham.
In January, I submitted my formal response to a consultation on how buses in Greater Manchester should be run in the future and whether a proposed franchising scheme should be introduced. I support the option to pursue the franchising option which would allow the bus network to be controlled in Greater Manchester as many buses are in other major cities, including London. We need to address this key regional imbalance and ensure routes, timetables, tickets and standards are set by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and not individual bus companies who cream off the profitable routes and allow too many communities to languish without a functioning bus route. Read my full response here.
There is also an urgent need to reform the current complex and expensive ticket system and ensure we have an integrated public transport system, something which I know is a key priority for the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham. A decision is due to be made by the Mayor this month.
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Parliamentary update
I was extremely proud to launch the All Party Parliamentary Group for Compassionate Politics with co-chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi. Toxic language, given a platform by some irresponsible politicians, the media and others, is finding its physical manifestation in the violence and hate crime we see on our streets. Social media is increasingly weaponised, with individuals, groups and even foreign powers emboldened in the language of fear and hate they promulgate with impunity.
This group will work to put compassion at the heart of the politics of the future, to provide a platform to voices and stories as yet untold, and to transform Britain from a divided nation into one which offers care, support, and aid to all people of all backgrounds. Read more here.
During Work and Pensions Questions, I asked the secretary of state to clarify if social security claimants who are affected by coronavirus and miss a work capability assessment or work related activity will not have their support stopped. Watch here.
I attended the Raise The Rate debate last month, calling on the Government to raise the national funding rate for 16 to 18 year olds in colleges to at least £4,760 per student, per year in the 2020 spending review. This is imperative as funding has been cut twice since 2010 and frozen since 2013. The rate should be raised in line with inflation each year to ensure students in our colleges receive a first class education.
I also raised concerns in the House expressed by charities - like Joseph Roundtree Foundation - who have concluded that the cuts around social security are driving child poverty and disability poverty. Watch here.
It was also a pleasure to speak at a recent conference on Improving Dementia Care as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia. I spoke about our APPG Inquiry report called Hidden No More. If you haven't had chance to read the report, you can here. Our report shines a spotlight on dementia as a disability. It identifies wide-ranging action and seeks to tackle the discrimination that people living with dementia too often experience, emphasising their rights under the UN Convention of the Rights of Disabled People.
The publication of Professor Sir Michael Marmot's 10 year review on health inequalities has revealed that life expectancy since 2010 has flatlined and for deprived areas of the country this is particularly an issue. For women, life expectancy has actually fallen. Worryingly, this slowdown is worst for the UK compared with most European and other high-income countries.
I have written to the Health Secretary on this asking where extra funding promised by the Government would be targeted. Read more here. I also raised this directly with the Secretary of State for Health in the House following the publication of The Marmot Review, 10 years on.
Please go to my website to read my latest articles and speeches.
https://twitter.com/UKLabour/status/1044980165103644677
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