8/2/2019 News Bulletin from Aidan Burley MP #35

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Subject: NewsBulletinfromAidanBurleyMP#35

Date: Thursday,8March201213:39:17UnitedKingdomTime

From: AidanBurleyMP

To: news@aidanburleymp.org

In this edition:

Aidan Burley MPs DiaryWebsite of the Week:The Fairy Mop MotherAidan backs local firm'sgrowthMP welcomes cappedbenefits for families whodon't work

Local MPs visit CannockHospitalAidan welcomes majorinvestment to reduce roaddelaysAidan in Parliament:Aidan questions Work &Pensions Secretary on theUniversal CreditAidan in Parliament:Aidan calls for debate oncapping political donations

Aidan in Parliament:Aidan speaks in TradeUnion Funding debate inWestminster HallAidan in the papers:MPs columnHow to contactAidan Burley MP

Issue 35 Thursday 8th March 2012

Since the last edition, Aidan has:

Questioned the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, the RtHon Iain Duncan Smith MP, on the introduction ofuniversalcredit, asking for him to confirm the reform will reduce thecomplexity of the current benefits system, improve the userexperience and, most important, make clear to all claimantsthat it will always pay to work?

Visited Cannock Hospital with neighbouring MP JeremyLefroy. During the visit the MPs met with Mid Staffs TrustChief Executive Lyn Hill-Tout and Chief Executive of theStaffordshire Cluster of PCTs Graham Urwin. The reason forthe visit was to conduct a walk around the hospital and seefist hand the services being delivered and the patientexperience. Aidan and Jeremy also questioned the Trustabout the future of services at both Cannock and Stafford andthe temporary closure of Stafford A&E.

Welcomed news that Staffordshire County Council PlanningCommittee have approved new Staffordshire UniversityAcademy plans unlocking 9.7million investment ineducation in Cannock Chase.

Called on the Leader of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon SirGeorge Young MP, to organise a debate in Government timeon introducing a cap on political donations to ensureindividual donors cannot have undue influence over thepolitical process.

Met with the Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon William Hague MP,to discuss matters relating to Israel.

Visited local firm Fuel Conservation Services Limited tomeet with management and staff to hear about the firm'srecent growth and plans for expansion in the future.

Spoken in a Westminster Hall debate on the subject of tradeunion reform.

Questioned the Minister of State for Children and Families onaction being taken to identify and support children withdyslexia.

Visited Hednesford Valley High School for assembly and aquestion and answer session with school pupils. Their topic ofthe week was singing and Aidan heard the pupil's own song!

Met with local Cannock policing commanderand partnershipsmanager to address a constituent's complaint and agree aplan of action.

Welcomed news of a Council Tax freeze in Cannock Chasethis year.

Questioned the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State forEducation on what assessment has been made of theoperation of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 in

respect of the support provided to people in care after theyreach the age of 18.

Attended a dinner to mark the tenth anniversary of the thinktank Reform.

Questioned Home Office Ministers on steps being taken toreduce disability hate crime.

Website of the Week:

www.thefairymopmother.co.uk

The website of Cannock based firm TheFairy Mop Mother.Starting only with 2,000 flyers and a cleaningbucket, The Fairy Mop Mother was launched in

August 2011 and now has 8 domestic cleaners,2 commercial cleaners, 3 Ironing Assistants anda shop in High Green Court Cannock.The majority of people employed by The FairyMop Mother have been un-employed for some time and werestruggling to get back into work. They are sympathetic with peoplewho have children to work around and are willing to invest a little time

in people. The Fairy Mop Mother is already looking at a second shopwhich in turn will create more jobs and are also asking people tocontact them if they feel they have the passion to join our team. Theyare proud to help many elderly customers and families with disabilitieswith a whole host of domestic chores across the local region.

Aidan backs local firm's growth

Aidan alongside Mike Myatt and the team at FCS Ltd.

Aidan recently visited Fuel Conservation Services Limited to meetwith management and staff and hear about the firm's recent growthand plans for expansion in the future.During his visit Aidan met with Managing Director Michael J Myatt andthe rest of team to discuss their successful training programme andplans for the future.FCS Ltd, based at Anglesey Business Park in Hednesford, wasestablished in the early 1980's, to service the kiln, furnace, oven and

dryer sections of industry. Manufacturing and installing low thermalmass linings.They employ 30 local people, many of whom joined straight from localschool Kingsmead often with little or no qualifications. The companyspecialise in offering internal training to all their staff at their owndedicated training school as well as a number of external trainingcourses.The company has already worked in overseas markets such asBangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Russia and the USA withmore than 10 of the young engineers having worked on internationalcontacts.Commenting Aidan said: "I really enjoyed my visit to FCS Ltd to meetwith Mike and the team. As the local MP I am determined to visit asmany local businesses as possible not only to get a greaterunderstanding of the challenges facing local firms but moreimportantly finding out what we can do as a government to help thesefirms grow and prosper."I was particularly impressed to learn about the firms training

programmes that enable its employees not only to learn keyengineering skills necessary for their job but also wider life skills. Iwas also excited to hear about the firm's plans for growth and

particularly pleased to learn that that they are looking to employ morelocal people over the coming years."

Mike Myatt MD of FCS said: "Aidan took great interest in the trainingand development of our young engineers, speaking individually tomany of them. His visit gave everyone at the company a lift.

MP welcomes capped benefits for families

who don't workThe Government's victory in passing the Welfare Reform Bill,ensuring that no family can get more in benefits than the average

working family earns, has been welcomed by Aidan.Under the reforms, the benefit payments that a household on out ofwork benefits will be capped at 26,000 per year to ensure that workalways pays. Under Labour, households were able to receive up to104,000 per year in Housing Benefit alone.Labour have opposed this fair cap on benefits, voting to maintaina something for nothing culture whereby some families whodon't work get thousands of pounds more in welfare handoutsthan the average working family earns.Commenting Aidan said: "In Cannock Chase the average person

would have to pay tax for 32 years to pay for one household toreceive 104,000 in benefits a year, which could happen if Labourhad their way."This benefit cap shows that Conservatives are the party of fairness,standing up for hard working taxpayers. By voting against it, Labourhave once again shown they are the party of something for nothing."Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Today marks an historic step inthe biggest welfare revolution in over 60 years. This government hastaken bold action to make work pay, while protecting the vulnerable.Past governments have talked about reform, while watching thebenefits bill sky rocket and generations languish on the dole anddependency. This government is delivering it. Our new law will markthe end of the culture that said a life on benefits was an acceptablealternative to work."

Local MPs visit Cannock Hospital

Aidan alongside Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy and Alison Nunney,

an Occupational Therapist at Cannock Hospital.

Aidan Burley, along with Jeremy Lefroy MP, visited Cannock Hospital

last Friday (2nd March) to meet with Mid Staffs Trust Chief ExecutiveLyn Hill-Tout and Chief Executive of the Staffordshire Cluster of PCTsGraham Urwin. The reason for the visit was to conduct a walk aroundthe hospital and see fist hand the services being delivered and thepatient experience. It was also an opportunity for Aidan and Jeremy toquestion the Trust about the future of services at both Cannock andStafford and the temporary closure of Stafford A&E.

Aidan was shown around the Hospital by Mid Staffs Trust ChiefExecutive Lyn Hill-Tout who has recently committed to the future of

the Hospital following a question by the Cannock MP at a recentpublic meeting, asking her to commit to a "two site solution" whichwould ensure the futures of both hospitals.Both Aidan and Jeremy have been working closely over recentmonths to ensure that Mid Staffordshire Trust, which runs bothCannock and Stafford Hospitals, both re-opens Stafford Accident andEmergency Unit as soon as possible, and ensures that sufficientservices are provided in Cannock to keep it viable.

Aidan's was pleased to learn that more services for Minor Injuries willnow be operated at Cannock. Patients needing X rays and plasteringfor breaks or fractures will be able to get treatment at Cannock Chase

Hospital's Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) from April, following an expansionof the current services provided. Cannock Hospital's Minor InjuriesUnit (MIU) already provide treatment for sprains and strains, brokenbones, wound infections, minor burns and scalds, minor eye injuriesand insect or animal bites.Commenting Aidan said: "This tour gave me the opportunity towitness some of the vital services the hospital offers first hand as wellas enabling me to question Lyn on number of key issues raised byconstituents surrounding the hospital, including ward closures and car

parking."Cannock Hospital should be source of pride for the people ofCannock Chase and I am keen, as the MP, to ensure that the Hospitalis fully utilised to ensure that it reaches its full potential. Itshydrotherapy pool and facilities are simply world class and I urge alllocal people to ask their GP to refer them to Cannock Hospital, ifappropriate, for their ailments. We need to bang the drum for Cannockhospital and the quality healthcare it provides on our doorstep."

Aidan welcomes major investment to

reduce road delays

Aidan has welcomed a substantial investment by the Government to

support Police Forces in efforts to reduce the length of time roads areclosed after accidents.Following a review carried out by the Department for Transport, theGovernment is providing 3.14 million to assist Police Forces acrossthe country purchase specialist 3D laser scanners.This announcement comes after pressure from motoring groups andParliamentarians including the Cannock Chase MP who recentlypressed the Government on the issue in a written ParliamentaryQuestion.

Aidan has learned that Staffordshire and West Midlands Police Forces

will be awarded 194,000 to invest in three 3D scanner units whichwill help police on the ground speed up accident investigation andreduce the length of time that roads need be closed followingaccidents.The forces, which bid jointly for funding, are operationally workingtogether on dealing with motorway incidents and will share the cuttingedge scanners. They are due to be operational by the spring.In response to Aidan's Parliamentary Question, the Government hasalso announced a joint initiative called CLEAR with the EmergencyServices, Highway Agency and the Home Office to reduce the re-opening period of motorways following incidents.

Commenting Aidan said: "With the road network being the lifeblood ofthe UK's infrastructure it is vital we do all we can to ensure that wekeep Britain's roads moving as freely as possible. I therefore verymuch welcome this major Government investment to help ease thedisruption caused by traffic incidents and am particularly pleased thatour two biggest local Police Forces have received funding for 3Dscanners."

Aidan in Parliament:

Aidan questions Work & Pensions

Secretary on the Universal Credit

Click on the image above to watch Aidan's exchange with theSecretary of State for Work & Pensions.

The full text of Aidan's exchange with the Secretary of State forWork & Pensions was as follows:Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): What recentprogress he has made on the implementation of universal credit.Iain Duncan Smith (Secretary of State, Work and Pensions;Chingford and Woodford Green, Conservative): We are makinggood progress towards the delivery of universal credit in 2013, and Ihave fortnightly progress meetings with officials and weekly reportsfrom my office. I also chair the universal credit senior sponsorshipgroup, which brings together all Government Departments andagencies that are relevant to the delivery of universal credit. Designwork is well under way and is being continually tested with staff andclaimants, and the development of the necessary IT systems willcontinue in parallel.Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): Many of myconstituents complain to me that the current benefits system is far too

complicated. There are more than 50 different benefits that peoplecan claim, although no one appears to know the exact number, whichleads to huge confusion among those who are genuinely in need. Canthe Secretary of State confirm that universal credit will reduce thatcomplexity, improve the user experience and, most important, makeclear to all claimants that it will always pay to work?Iain Duncan Smith (Secretary of State, Work and Pensions;Chingford and Woodford Green, Conservative): I can confirm that.Universal credit will put together all the benefits that are relevant topeople going back to work. Benefits that are not relevant to the Workprogramme will not be included, but the rest will. That will hugely slimdown the complexities, and will ensure that people understand that in

every hour for which they work, they are better off in work than out ofwork. The migration will take place in three phases over four years,and each phase will bring in a new group of claimants of thosedifferent benefits until we have finally completed the process andthere is a single universal credit.

Aidan in Parliament:

Aidan calls for debate on capping

political donations

Click on the image above to watch Aidan's exchange with theLeader of the House of Commons.

The full text of Aidan's exchange with the Leader of the House ofCommons was as follows:Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): The GMB union hasclaimed that, without the support of trade unions, Labour would havelost another 40 to 50 seats at the general election. With severalmarginal constituencies receiving thousands of pounds, such as the5,600 given by the GMB to Dudley North, which was won by just 649

votes, may we have a debate in Government time on capping politicaldonations to end any undue influence by only one political donor?George Young (Leader of the House of Commons, House ofCommons; North West Hampshire, Conservative): I am grateful tomy hon. Friend, who may know that there was a debate on the reformof trade union funding in Westminster Hall yesterday. He may like toread the response by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, myhon. Friend Mr Hurd. On the broader issue, we want to reformfunding. My hon. Friend will know that we are trying to achieve aconsensus between the main parties on the way forward and thatGovernment Memberscertainly the Conservative part of thecoalitionbelieve that any restriction on funding should embrace thetrade unions rather than their having the privileged position that theycurrently enjoy.

Aidan in Parliament:

Aidan speaks in Trade Union Funding

debate in Westminster Hall

Click on the image above to watch Aidan's speech.

The full text of Aidan's speech was as follows:Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): It is a pleasure toserve under your chairmanship today, Mr Owen.I, too, start by congratulating my hon. Friend Fiona Bruce on securingthis important debate. The level of taxpayer funding of trade unionshas clearly become a major political issue. As sunlight is the bestdisinfectant, it is important that such issues are debated honestly andopenly in Parliament.I am amazed at the churlish comments made by some Opposition

Members in not congratulating my hon. Friend on securing thedebate. The trade unions, over this Parliament, under a Conservative-led Government, will still receive more than 500 million pounds oftaxpayers money. I cannot think of any other issue that MPs feelshould not be debated at all. We can argue about reforms to thenational health service and the police, but when it comes to tradeunion funding, Opposition Members feel that it is somehow beyondthe pale to even debate or discuss it. I can only think that they worrythat when the public realise how much of their taxes go on funding thetrade unions and not on front-line services, there will be a huge publicoutcry. They fear that the momentum for reform would beunstoppable.Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Labour): Will thehon. Gentleman give way?Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): No, I will not.We, on the Government side of the House, feel that the public have aright to know where their taxes are going. That is why my hon. Friendthe Member for Congleton has done such an important job thismorning in securing the debate on behalf of hard-pressed Britishtaxpayers.

As my hon. Friend said, there is now widespread public andparliamentary concern about paid time off for trade union activitiesand duties, an issue that has been acknowledged by the Minister for

the Cabinet Office and the Minister for Local Government. They areboth looking at reforming that practice, known as public sector facilitytime.I understand that the Cabinet Office is about to launch a consultationinto the extentindeed abuse, as pointed out by my hon. Friend PritiPatelof so-called facility time. I would be grateful to the Minister if hecould update us on when the consultation will take place, what itsparameters will be, when it will be likely to conclude, and what therecommendations for reform might be.The issue this morning is one of basic principle: is it appropriate forthe taxpayer to subsidise trade unions at all, and if so, to what extent?

In the brief time I have this morning, I want to deal with the issue ofprinciple, because as far as I can tell, it has never been properlyexplained or defended in public.I listened carefully to the response of John Healey to the ten-minuterule Bill tabled by my hon. Friend Jesse Norman on the issue. It wasnotable that in his response, at no point did the respected formerMinisterI am sorry to see that he is no longer in the Chamberdefend or explain the principle of a public subsidy to trade unions. Heopened his response by saying:

This Bill attacks the most basic and most benign feature oftrade union workthe day-to-day support for staff at work by

their colleagues who are prepared to volunteer as trade unionrepresentatives.That rather missed the point, because we have no problem withcolleagues who are prepared to volunteer as trade unionrepresentatives, just with colleagues who think they should be paid bythe taxpayer to be trade union representatives. In fact, if I was avolunteer trade union rep, doing a worthy job for a few hours a weekbecause I believed in helping colleagues, I would be rather annoyedto think that whereas I worked for free, other colleagues felt that theyneeded to be paid to do it; in fact, some feel that they need to be paidfull-time to do it. Where is the fairness in that? Why do some tradeunion reps need to be paid while others do not?Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore, Labour): Perhaps I could defend thatby pointing to Germany. Not only does Germany have the mostproductive manufacturing and industrial sector, it has one of thehighest levels of public subsidy, recognising that productivity, healthand safety and the competitive nature of its industry benefit fromhaving active union-work force engagement. There is the defence.How would the hon. Gentleman respond to that?Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): I am grateful for thehon. Gentlemans intervention; at least he has had a go. I find it utterlycounter-intuitive to claim that higher public services can somehow bedelivered with public sector staff working for the union rather than intheir jobs. There may be case studies of union reps doing valuable

work, but equally, there are case studies of union reps workingagainst the public interest, as has been exposed by MPs and themedia, so I do not think the hon. Gentlemans point holds.In the minute that I have left, I want to point out a new statistic. Thecampaign that we formed, the Trade Union Reform Campaign, haspointed out that the TUC now receives three quarters of its fundingfrom the public purse, runs a surplus of 40 million a year and issitting on top of 1 billion of assets. The last time public sectororganisations operated at that sort of profit was in the 90s in theprivatised utilities, which were struck with a windfall tax by Mr Brownin 97. We have to question now whether the trade unions should besubject to a similar windfall tax. They received 113 million last year

and 80 million in paid time for staff. As I have said, under theConservative-led Government, they will still get more than 500million. It is right that we ask whether that money could be betterspent on the front line. That sum buys a hell of a lot of nurses,doctors, teachers and police officers.It is unfair for taxpayers to shoulder the burden. Trade unions shouldpay for representation in the public sector themselves, using theirsubscription income. An hon. Member said that that would somehowend trade unions. It will not; they can clearly afford to representthemselves, as we have seen with the huge sums that Unison has.Taxpayers should no longer be expected to fund the army of tradeunion representatives.

Aidan in the papers:

MPs columnAidan Burley MP, Staffordshire Newsletter

Thursday 1st March 2012

A few weeks ago, on Monday the

13th February, a 51 year old manwalked out of Long Lartin prison in

Evesham on bail, against the wishes of the British courts, the Britishgovernment and many of the British people. That mans name was

Abu Qatada.Many people are angry about the events surrounding Qatadas bail,myself included. I believe the decision, made by the European Courtof Human Rights, to allow Mr Qatada not only to remain in the UK, butto be released on bail is abhorrent and yet another case of poordecision making on the part of the judges of the ECHR. The greatestdamage that this ruling does is not simply to allow a man oncedescribed as Osama Bin Ladens right hand man in Europe to leavecustody but to undermine the faith of all good, hard working Britishpeople in the institutions to which we turn for justice.

The rule of law is a founding principle of the British constitution, and itis our own courts that have upheld it through the ages.The only way to return the necessary powers to our courts is toembark immediately upon bold reformation of the Human Rights Act1998, passed by Tony Blairs government and which makes the lawsof the United Kingdom subordinate to the will and diktats of foreigncourts, and the European Convention on Human Rights, a goal whichour current chairmanship of the Council of Europe offers a rareopportunity to pursue.The government has already commissioned a report into the viability

of introducing a British Bill of Rights. Due to report before the end ofthe year, this report could be the turning point in our battle to makethe British courts solely responsible for British law and, as an MP, Iwill be doing everything I can to ensure that the supremacy ofStrasbourg is challenged in this country.

Abu Qatada must be returned to Jordan, in line with the judgments ofthe British courts, to face justice from a Jordanian court for breakingJordanian law. Only by ensuring that criminals are prosecuted for theircrimes can we uphold the rule of law, and only by upholding the ruleof law can we consider ourselves a modern, civilized country.

5 ways to contact Aidan Burley MP:

By Phone: 01543 502 447

By email: aidan.burley.mp@parliament.uk

By post: Aidan Burley MP6 High Green Court,Newhall StreetCannock, WS11 1GR

In person: Click here for details of how tobook an appointment at AidanBurley MPs regular help andadvice surgeries.

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Aidan Burley MP Putting Cannock Chase First!

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