News from Peter Soulsby, Labour MP for Leicester South Constituency. Gordon Brown visits Crown Hills College

Tackling Lung Disease
Leicester South MP, Sir Peter Soulsby, joined the British Lung Foundation and other campaigners at the House of Commons to welcome a new Department of Health initiative aimed at improving services for people with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

The new initiative comes a year after the launch of the British Lung Foundation’s Mesothelioma Charter, which calls for mesothelioma to be made a national priority by the Cancer Tsar. Sir Peter signed an Early Day Motion at the event welcoming the Department of Health’s Mesothelioma Framework and calling for increased awareness of the disease.

Around 2,000 people died of mesothelioma in the UK in 2005. The UK is facing an epidemic of the cancer in 2011 - 2015 as people exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s are diagnosed with the disease. (It takes 40 years for symptoms of mesothelioma to become apparent following exposure to asbestos). Recent cases show that builders, plumbers, gas fitters and electricians are now the largest high-risk groups. They are likely to come across asbestos in the buildings where they work. There is as yet no cure for mesothelioma and the British Lung Foundation is calling for more research into the disease.

For Further Information about Mesothelioma, visit www.lunguk.org or call the
British Lung Foundation Helpline on 08458 505020.

February 22 2007

Visit to Leicester Print Workshop
Peter took a keen interest in the work being undertaken at the Leicester Print Workshop – a centre of excellence for fine art printing.

The studio offers a range of course, exhibitions and facilities serving the East Midlands region. More information can be found at www.leicesterprintworkshop.com

February 22 2007

Peter Soulsby took a keen interest in the work being undertaken at the Leicester Print Workshop

Peter Calls for Justice
Sir Peter Soulsby pledged to carry on fighting to make sure workers who lost their pensions will be compensated. A High Court judge has told the Government to consider reimbursing workers. However, the Government could still appeal against the decision - or decide not to compensate the employees.

Hundreds of workers at Leicester firm British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) were left without jobs or pensions when the firm went bust in 2000.

Sir Peter said he would continue to lobby the Government to take responsibility for the workers' plight. He said: "I'm so pleased for the pensioners. This makes it more difficult for the Government to avoid facing up to their responsibilities. "I'll be continuing to campaign to make sure the Government gets the message."

February 22 2007

Opportunity to Improve Parliament
Sir Peter Soulsby has been appointed as a member of the Modernisation Committee. The committee has been at the forefront of changing Westminster to make it an more effective forum. Sir Peter commented, “While our Parliament has a great past, it needs to evolve into an institution which will serve the British people in the 21st Century. I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to play my part.”

February 22 2007

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Peter calls for increased Winter Fuel Payments
Peter has called for Winter Fuel Payments, introduced by Labour in 1997, to be further extended and increased. “This excellent scheme needs to reflect the rises in fuel costs”. He raised the issue with the Prime Minister:

Q5. Sir Peter Soulsby (Leicester, South) (Lab): The Prime Minister will be aware of Age Concern’s Fight the Freeze campaign, which includes a call for the Government’s excellent winter fuel payments to be protected and extended to help tackle excess winter debts among the elderly. The campaign was taken up by the Leicester Mercury, with an amazing response of over 1,000 readers backing it within the first week.

Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the campaign, and will he discuss with his colleagues ways of safeguarding the future of winter fuel payments and making sure that they match rising fuel prices?

The Prime Minister: I understand the importance of the Leicester Mercury campaign. As my hon. Friend indicated, we have provided an immense amount of additional help to pensioners—the £200 winter fuel allowance, with a further £100 for those over 80, the free TV licence for the over-75s, and the additional money through the pension credit, which has lifted some 2 million pensioners out of acute hardship over the past 10 years—but we constantly look to see what more we can do. I know that the campaign to which my hon. Friend has drawn attention will form an important part of our considerations.

January 31 2007

School Visit
During a visit to Taylor Road Primary School Peter discussed plans to rebuild the school. Sir Peter, who supported the crumbling primary school's campaign for a new home, said:

"I really appreciated the opportunity to meet with pupils and staff at Taylor Road to discuss their thoughts on the plans. I made the case to the Government for an increased school size in St Matthew's. The Government listened, meaning almost £6 million of investment is being made to pay for the school.

Children deserve the best start in life and that means making sure each child in Leicester gets the best education in the best schools. Second best is not good enough for the children and teachers in my constituency, and that's the message I will continue taking to the Government."

January 31 2007

Peter participates in Westminster First
Recent reforms to the House of Commons mean that witnesses can be called and evidence taken while MPs are discussing the details of bills. Peter, a member of the Public Bill committee on the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, took part in the first ever Public Bill evidence session on January 30th.

Click to read Peter’s speech at Second Reading.

January 31 2007

Impressed by Children’s Centre
On a visit to the Eyres Monsell and Gilmorton Children’s Centre in Hillsborough Road, Peter met with a number of childminders and Sue Sprott, the regional manager for the Midlands Region. “I was most impressed with what I saw and heard”, said Peter.

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December 2006

Farepak
Peter Soulsby was angered by the events which led to the collapse of Farepak, and has backed actions by the government to help those affected. He told the Leicester Mercury "People who have lost money with Farepak are facing a Christmas of misery. I hope this is tearing at the consciences of the Farepak directors and those responsible for this situation." He has thrown his support behind the Farepak Response Fund and echoed Trade Minister Ian McCartney who told the House of Commons that the firm's collapse was a national emergency and invited companies, as well as individuals, to pay into the fund.

Further information can be found at www.farepakresponsefund.org.uk

Peter is personally backing this fund, and with other colleagues in the House of Commons, has contributed a days pay towards it. Peter has signed the EDM which states:

“That this House draws attention to the pivotal role HBOS has played in the collapse of Farepak, the Christmas savings scheme, whose bankruptcy blights the Christmas of half a million decent people, many of whom have been saving since January of this year; notes that HBOS allowed Farepak to continue trading and to draw in savings averaging around £1 million a week since January this year; also notes that HBOS has publicly stated that it’s total clawing back of funds from Farepak’s parent company since the start of the ‘savings year’ amounts to £30 million, and that this sum of money, together with that raised by voluntary contributions, comes within striking distance of the money owed to Farepak customers who have been carefully saving all year to offset the extra costs of Christmas; and further notes that in the last financial year HBOS reported a staggering record pre-tax profit of £4.8 billion and calls on the bank to repay the £30 million it has been able to recover from the wreckage into which half a million decent citizens have been plunged since the collapse of Farepak.”

November 14 2006

Peter visits Leicester’s Postal Delivery Office
As the Christmas card rush reached its height, Peter Soulsby visited the Central Delivery Office of the Royal Mail in Campbell Street. The MP met with Delivery Office Manager Mandy Palmer and local postmen and women and toured the Delivery Office to see firsthand how Royal Mail manages the mail service during the Christmas rush.

“I met my own postman, one of 40 postmen and women at the Central Office who provide an excellent service throughout the year, and saw how they deal with the annual Christmas rush.”

December 13 2006

Canals and Rivers
There has been a transformation of canals and rivers in recent years as more people use them for recreation - as boaters, anglers, walkers, cyclists or nature lovers; more freight is being transported and these waterways, as in Leicester itself, are the backbone of many inner city improvements.

However the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has reduced British Waterways' grant by 15 per cent. this year.

Peter has backed an EDM noting that this decision will result “in a devastating effect upon the inland waterways; further notes that 180 British Waterways' staff are to lose their jobs and canals are to be closed; and calls upon the Government to reinstate immediately the cuts imposed upon British Waterways and to ensure long-term funding is guaranteed to enable continued investment and restoration of the waterways.”

Peter attacks Canal Funding Cut
Cuts to funding for British Waterways have been criticised by Peter in an EDM which states “notes with alarm that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has reduced British Waterways' grant by 15 per cent. this year resulting in a devastating effect upon the inland waterways; further notes that 180 British Waterways' staff are to lose their jobs and canals are to be closed; and calls upon the Government to reinstate immediately the cuts imposed upon British Waterways and to ensure long-term funding is guaranteed to enable continued investment and restoration of the waterways.”

Peter commented, “Improvements to canals and waterways have had such a beneficial effect both on people’s leisure and local economies, it is plain wrong that cuts should now be imposed”

November 29 2006

Environment Minister Responds To Peter on Climate Change
David Miliband has responded to Peter’s support of an EDM calling for binding annual targets for emissions reductions. David wrote:

“I am writing in response to your recent support for the EDM calling for binding annual targets for cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As you know, we today announced in the Queen’s speech that we will introduce a Climate Change Bill in this session.”

Read the Secretary of State’s letter in full…

November 17 2006

Wednesday November 1 2006 : Peter calls for immediate Iraq inquiry

Sir Peter Soulsby intervened in the debate over demands for an inquiry into the Iraq debacle, telling a crowded House of Commons, “in their amendment the Government talk of “the importance of learning all possible lessons” from what went wrong. Does (the Government) agree that there is a widely perceived inadequacy in the inquiries that have taken place so far, which have completely failed to address the mistakes that were made or to reassure the House and the public more widely that the lessons have been learned?

Does it agree that in saying that this is not the right time for a major inquiry the Government would be in a much stronger position if they were to tell us when the right time would be?”

Dissatisfied with the response from Government Ministers, Peter was one of the twelve Labour MPS who voted for an immediate inquiry, despite heavy pressure from Government whips.

Peter said later that “this matter was too important to be ignored. I don’t rebel lightly, but principle was at stake here. The House and Commons and the public need to know how we came to make the biggest foreign policy mistake in over fifty years, and to make sure it never happens again”

Later that evening Peter featured as lead item on BBC Newsnight.

November 1 2007

Leicester MP pledges to reduce energy use at office and at home
Peter Soulsby will be ‘standby busting’ to save energy

Leicester South MP Peter Soulsby is supporting this week’s Energy Saving Week, organised by the Energy Saving Trust. The week is encouraging people to reduce their energy consumption by 20% to help the fight against climate change.

The Energy Saving Trust is encouraging people to take simple steps as part of their everyday life to reduce their energy use, including:

1. Only boiling enough water that is needed when making hot drinks
2. Turning down the thermostat by 1 degree centigrade
3. Switch off appliances, do not leave them on standby
4. Replace light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs
5. Washing laundry at 30 degrees

Peter Soulsby MP is pledging to implement these measures at his office and at is Leicester home.

Peter said: “We need to see urgent action on climate change. We need action from Government, from business but crucially from us all as individual citizens. The scientific evidence is devastating, if we do not act now parts of Britain will simply disappear under water as sea levels rise. If we do not act we will see irreparable damage done to the Earth

We can all take some simple actions in our day to day life to bring down our energy use. I have launched a new policy this week in my Leicester office. My staff and I will no longer be boiling full kettles of water to make one or two cups of tea. The heating will be turned down. At home I will now be washing laundry at 30 degrees.

At home and in the office I will be standby busting. All appliances will be turned off properly. Computers at my office will not be left on overnight and TVs and other appliances at home will all be turned off.

I know that some people do these things already, including myself, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of the importance of this issue.

We also need to see action from bigger organisations. I want to see every school have its own wind turbine to generate its own energy like the one we already have in Leicester at Eyres Monsell School. I am supporting the campaign for a Climate Change Bill to be included in the Queen’s Speech in November.”

Visit the Energy Saving Trust website and find out more...

October 2006

Peter meets Friends of the Earth

Environment Select Committee member, Sir Peter Soulsby, has met with representatives of Friends of the earth at his Leicester Office. (Enlarge photo)

October 2006

Peter Visits Lung Cancer Treatment Facilities at Glenfield

During the summer recess Peter took the opportunity to visit the cancer treatment facilities at Glenfield Hospital. Peter has taken a keen interest in fighting lung cancer and will be participating in Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

October 2006

Peter calls Severn Trent profits ‘Scandalous’
Peter has attacked Severn Trent for increasing its profits whilst failing to adequately tackle its poor record on leaks. Speaking to the Leicester Mercury he said their recent profit announcement was "an absolute scandal".

He said: "They have one of the worst leak records. The company has made these enormous profits with one of the worst services for customers. I will be writing to the regulator to look into the company and I'm sure customers will be as angry as me. I'll also be telling them to write to Ofwat."

Peter has raised the issue in Parliament, asking the Leader of the House, Jack Straw, “Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the announcement this morning by the water services regulator that he intends to fine Severn Trent Water for its appalling level of service to customers?

Will my right hon. Friend also speak to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about making a statement to make it clear that it is the Government's intention that the fine should be paid from the recently announced excessive profits of the company, rather than by the hard-pressed customers who have to suffer the poor service and unique record of leaking pipes, prosecutions for pollution and the fiddling of figures to inflate bills and overcharge customers, recently admitted by the company?

It would be much more appropriate for the fine to be paid by those who own the company, not by those who suffer from its appalling service.”

More on Severn Trent...
WATER FARCE! (Article in Leicester Mercury)
As the county swelters in a heatwave, the amount of water lost to leaks has risen again. Severn Trent Water is now losing more in leaks per household than the average person uses every day, according to water watchdog Ofwat. Leicester South MP Peter Soulsby will table an early day motion about the company in Parliament on Monday. More…

OBSCENE BONUS (Reader's comments in Leicester Mercury)
"The two Severn Trent bosses on your front page ought to look pleased with themselves..." More...

Leicester Hospitals Get £600m Boost
Leicester is to benefit from a boost in investment at its three hospitals. Final development plans have been announced, and the emphasis is on effective and affordable improvements. A massive programme will include major refurbishments and new ‘modular buildings’. These units can be constructed quickly, but have a life span of 25 years. Peter recently visited the orthopaedic operating theatre, which cost £1 million and was constructed in 16 weeks.

Peter commented, “What we will see is a dramatic transformation of all of the three Leicester hospitals. I think that is something we should be very pleased about.”

MP steps in to help Community Centre
Peter has stepped in to help residents waiting to use a new community centre that was built four years ago. Many of the rooms in the £4.8million building, in Melbourne Road, Highfields, are not in use. Chairs are still covered in cellophane and computer equipment lies behind locked doors. Campaigners say the city council has not yet come up with the cash to pay for staffing and equipment.

The council says the issue "is more complex than first thought" but it is working with community associations to draw up a business plan and find more funding.

Peter Soulsby has said: "It's an absolute disgrace that the centre has been left unused, particularly as it's such a needy community. I hold my surgeries at the centre and we are the only ones in the building. I have written to the chief executive and asked for an early meeting with him and the councillors involved."

World Environment Day
Sir Peter is personally backing, and is encouraging his constituents to back, the ‘promises’ which are being promoted for World Environment Day. These are about small changes in behaviour which can have a big impact on the health of our planet. Visit the “Promise” website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed/

Small promises make a big difference
Making little lifestyle changes can have a big effect if everyone does it. Whether you take a shower instead of a bath, reduce your energy use or use the car less, the benefits are big.

June 2006

Debt Relief – Peter tables written question
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made on 100 per cent. bilateral and 100 per cent. multilateral debt relief for the poorest countries.

Mr. Ivan Lewis: At the G8 meeting in Moscow Finance Ministers called for full implementation of commitments made on the multilateral debt relief initiative, aid effectiveness, and increasing resources for development. They supported the decision by the IMF Board to implement 100 per cent. debt relief for 19 countries and encouraged the World Bank and African Development Bank to finalize urgently all necessary steps for implementation.

Russia also announced that it will be providing 100 per cent. debt relief to the heavily indebted poor countries. With this step forward the G8 are now all providing additional debt cancellation on the bilateral debts of HIPCs.

The UK has also proposed going further than the existing list of HIPC countries to extend relief to all low-income countries that can use the debt service savings effectively for poverty reduction. The UK is paying 10 per cent. of the share of the debt interest payments of the eligible non- HIPC countries.

Leicester Needs its own Mayor
Sir Peter Soulsby has called for the establishment of an elected mayor to spearhead regeneration in the City. Responding to calls for Leicester’s own mayor, Peter told the Leicester Mercury, “The advantage of people knowing who is responsible for taking decisions and making things happen is something that would be of enormous benefit to Leicester, in exactly the same way the mayor has been in London.”

Peter backs Callum’s Law

Sir Peter Soulsby took the campaign, inspired by the tragic death of Callum Deacon, to change the law on causing death by dangerous driving to the House of Commons. During a debate on the second reading of the Road Safety Bill, Peter told MPs “I wish to draw attention to a particular case (which points) up the gap between the present offences of dangerous driving and careless driving, and the penalties associated with them. The case illustrates why that gap must be filled.

On the afternoon of 12 June 2004, 12-year-old Callum Deacon, from the Saffron Lane area of my constituency, was out on his bike with friends in Asquith Way. He was hit and, tragically, killed by a speeding motorcyclist. Significantly, the motorcyclist did not brake immediately, but carried on for a few hundred yards. Because he did not brake, there were no skid marks, so it was not possible to tell definitively at what speed he had been travelling….

As a result of the inability to convict for dangerous driving, the motor cyclist, who had admitted careless driving, was fined £2,000 and given a few points on his licence.

To my mind and those of many hon. Members, that penalty was derisory. It is not surprising that Callum's parents, Mandy and Ivan, who had to wait 20 months for that verdict, described it as an insult to his memory.

Of course, they know, as we all know, that nothing can bring Callum back, but they have, very much to their credit, actively campaigned to ensure that drivers who cause death by careless driving receive an appropriate prison sentence in future….

Callum's death is by no means unique or, I suggest, unusual. It is one of many cases in which justice has been denied to the friends and relatives of those killed by careless drivers.

There have been far too many such cases. With some exceptions, the majority of right hon. and hon. Members will agree that we should quickly ensure that his death is one of the last cases when those who are guilty appear to escape proper punishment because of an unacceptable gap in the law.

Chancellor visits Leicester South
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and Home Office Minister Hazel Blears joined Leicester South MP Peter Soulsby to visit Crown Hills College.

Peter showed them the excellent work that the College is doing to train young volunteers as sports coaches. They met and talked with college students and staff and heard from College Principal Gary Coleby about their pioneering work.

Speaking after the visit, Peter said, ‘Both Gordon and Hazel were enormously impressed. The young people were so keen and committed and the College is showing how to build successful partnerships in education.

‘Many years ago I started my own teaching career working at Crown Hills. It was good to visit it with the Chancellor and show him how far it has come since those days!’

March 2006

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