Monthly Report for June 2008

Below is a summary of my work in Parliament and in Southampton for the month of June 2008. Click here to read previous reports.

If you'd like to know more about any of the work I've been doing, or if you think there is another issue you think I should be acting on, you can always contact my office.

• Work in Parliament
• Work in Southmapton

Work In Parliament

Bills and Committees

In line with the maxim about waiting for buses, three bills or draft bills in which I have taken a strong interest are making their way through the house, and I have been, or am on the relevant bill committee for each.

The Energy Bill has now completed its committee stage and Third Reading. I was on the committee and spoke in report stage on proposals to introduce an amendment on ‘feed in tariffs’ for renewable energy as a substitute for the present Renewable Obligation system. The amendment that was introduced on this matter was seriously flawed, and was defeated. I am working towards the introduction, hopefully with Government support, of a workable microgeneration feed in tariff amendment during the passage of the bill through the Lords.

The Draft Marine bill is being examined by a joint commons/Lords committee, of which I am a member. It will report by the end of July.

I was a member of the joint committee that examined the draft Climate Change Bill last year. The Bill itself had its second reading earlier in the month, and I spoke during the debate on energy use and combating climate change. I am now sitting on the committee to decide on the detail of the bill also throughout most of July.

I have also asked written and oral questions last month on waste policy, ozone depleting substances, local government finance and on party funding limitations.

Temporary and Agency Workers

As some may know, I was one of the backbench Labour MPs who supported different Private Members Bills put forward over the last two Parliaments to give temporary and agency workers equal rights as full-time employees.  It had become increasingly clear to those who supported these Bills that many individuals on temporary contracts were being employed for years doing the same jobs as ‘permanent’ staff, but were not entitled to the same rights and benefits.  Last year when such a Bill was put forward it was talked out; in February we managed to get a vote on the Bill and it was successfully sent to committee.

In the wake of that vote, the government has now secured an agreement between CBI and the TUC to bring in the equal protection we were campaigning for.  The joint declaration states that there will be an entitlement to equal treatment after 12 weeks in a given job.  Equal treatment is defined to mean 'at least the basic working and employment conditions that would apply to the workers' concerned if they had been recruited directly to do the same job.  The proposals will benefit around 70 percent of agency workers.  12 weeks is, I believe, a fair bench-mark which allows employers a certain level of flexibility when they are employing someone who is genuinely a ‘temporary’ member of staff, while still ensuring that when someone is doing the work of a full-time employee, they do get the same rights.

Equal treatment for temporary and agency workers was one of the joint policies agreed by the Labour party and the TUC as part of the Warwick Agreement.

More information

Carers Strategy

In July last year I organised a consultation event for Southampton carers to feed in to the government’s ‘New Deal for Carers’ strategy, which was published last week.  Several of the suggestions from Southampton were taken up in the final report, including more respite days, regular health checks and more help for carers who want to work part-time.  The measures announced in the government’s strategy include:

Articles and speeches
The following articles are now available on my website:

Work In Southampton

Foyes Corner festival

Earlier in the month I attended the Foyes Corner Festival, organised by local residents to highlight just what a benefit the Civil Service Sports Ground could be for the local community.  There was an excellent turnout at the event and I got the chance to speak to a number of residents about what they wanted for the future of the site- in particular the popular sentiment that there should be some form of community use element for the field if and when the Council buys it back.

The current proposal is for the Council to buy the sports ground back from Bovis Homes for use as a school playing field as part of a combined Learning Campus featuring both St Marks and Regents Park.  The main obstacles that remain to be cleared are the negotiations involved in the purchase itself; the City Council being able to make a successful bid for Building Schools for the Future funding from the government to fund the redevelopment of the site; and the future of StMarks with regards to this year’s Council review of primary education in the city.  Representations from myself and from John Denham have cleared the way for the Council to bid for BSF funding early, however the Council does not appear to have made any progress with regards to the other two hurdles.  I do not believe the Council needs to wait until the end of the Primary Review to do much of the preparatory work that has to happen for a successful reacquisition of the land to happen, and I have written to the Council as long ago as last year highlighting a number of issues on which I think preparatory action should already be being taken.

ASB book

My office has produced a handy booklet on ‘Your Guide to the Law’ when dealing with anti-social behaviour.  Copies are currently being sent to approximately 1200 residents in Southampton Test who have previously contacted me about anti-social behaviour problems, in addition to copies being sent to libraries and residents groups.  If you know a group that would like some copies, please contact my office and we will send them out.

Freemantle Listening Panel

I ran another Listening Panel earlier this month on issues relating to housing and neighbourhoods.  The main message coming out of the panel was that people were often unclear about what their rights were when dealing with anti-social behaviour (see above).  There was also concern expressed about the long-term effect of increasing buy-to-lets can have on a local community, especially when the owning landlords do not live in Southampton.  I explained about my continued work on a Bill in Parliament which would require landlords to apply for planning permission if they wanted to convert a family home into a large House of Multiple Occupancy housing more than 4 people.

£1 million in government funding for new Play Areas

The government has just awarded Southampton £1.1 million to build new play areas, which will fund new or improved play areas in 20-25 sites across the city.  If you believe there is an area in near you that could benefit from a new play area, or improvements to existing areas, please let me know.

Bus passes finally arrive

Many pensioners have contacted me over the last two months wanting to know why there has been such a delay in them getting their new nationwide bus pass.  The issue was that although the government made it absolutely clear from July 2007 that free nationwide travel would be coming in, preparations did not get underway in Southampton to introduce the new passes necessary until far too late in the day- hence the delays.  I have called on the Council to take additional steps to improve public transport take-up as a way of compensating for the 2 months of lost travel time outside the city that pensioners in Southampton effectively lost.  In particular I have suggested that the Council:

Alan Whitehead June 2008