Daniel GreenhoughOffice of Catherine McKinnell MP
Newcastle CVS
20 February 2012
Newcastle MPs
• Nick Brown – Newcastle East
Former Chief Whip, Minister for North East
• Catherine McKinnell – Newcastle NorthShadow Minister for Children and Young Families
• Chi Onwurah – Newcastle CentralShadow Minister for Business, Innovation & Skills
MP’s role
MPs represent constituents by :Contributing in Parliament Taking up individual casesSpeaking in the mediaCampaigning on specific issues
Parliament
• Questions to Ministers (written and oral) – including the Prime Minister
• Debates – initiating debates, speeches, interventions.
• Early Day Motions
• All Party Parliamentary Groups eg APPG on multiple sclerosis, international anti-corruption
Working together through Parliament
• MPs can use parliamentary questions to raise issues and obtain information useful to voluntary organisations
• MPs can raise the cases of individual organisations (or service users) in debates
• APPGs work with many voluntary organisations
• Tours and visits to Parliament
Individual casework
• Make contact with agencies on behalf of individuals
• Strict protocol that MPs can only take up the cases of constituents
• Data protection of paramount concern
Working together on casework
• Collaborating on individual cases
• Sharing briefing information about cases or trends
• Potential for joint surgeries on particular issues
Media
• Commenting on constituency, city or regional issues
• Events : meeting service users
• What’s the story?
• What’s the image?
• Real life examples
Working together through media
• Building profile eg supporting campaign / launching report
• Highlighting issues / experience of individuals
• Ongoing campaigns
Ongoing campaigns
• Apprenticeships
• Economic development
• Front bench policy – including adoption and looked-after children
Communications
• Email/post but follow-up by phone
• MPs normally in constituency on Fridays / recesses
• Briefing : who, what, when, where, why?
• Constituency-level information