Caroline's Weekly Update: 16 - 22 November

Caroline's latest weekly update:

Here is a summary of my work for Brighton Pavilion locally and in Parliament from November 16- November 22. As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need my help with anything. 

Paris Attacks

129 men and women went out on Friday night in Paris and never made it home. They were ordinary people: football fans, concert-goers and those out for dinner and drinks with friends. Many of them were young and the loss of each and every one of them is a scar upon a family that will never heal.

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Paris we’ve seen Government Ministers push forward with plans to bomb targets in Syria, and to increase surveillance here in the UK. I wrote a piece in response to the Government’s plans for Left Foot Forward. Ultimately ISIS fear the strength of our solidarity. That’s why we need to do even more to work together – from our neighbourhoods where we support Muslims fearing attack to the international stage where we sit down with countries from across the world – to find a solution to this deadly crisis.

I’ve seen no evidence so far which suggests that further Western military intervention will help resolve the crisis in Syria or bring us further safety at home. I spoke about the issue on the World this Weekend on Sunday.

 

Opposing cuts to local Government funding

On Wednesday I joined Green Party Councillors – including Brighton Councillor Dick Page – in handing in a letter to Downing Street opposing cuts to local government budgets.

In Brighton, people face the hollowing out of council services – included the proposed closure of up to five children’s centres. I’m really concerned about the effects of the next round of spending cuts and I’m proud of the Green Party for standing up for the local services upon which we all rely.

 

NUT Lobby

Last week I was lobbied in Parliament by constituents who shared their concerns about education funding ahead of next week’s Spending Review. Over the past 5 years education has been subjected to extensive cuts and yet more are planned, with the Government warning that it will freeze school funding at its current cash level per pupil. Research carried out by the National Union of Teachers paints a stark picture of the impact on both students and those working in our schools: nearly 60% of those surveyed report bigger class sizes; 45% state that teachers were more likely to be paying more towards classroom resources than previously; and half of respondents report cuts in support to pupils with Special Educational Needs and English as a second language.

I’m standing with teachers in opposing this Government attempts to scale back our education sector with its ideologically driven short termism and failure to invest in future generations.

 

Energy Announcement

The Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd, gave a speech last week outlining the Government’s energy strategy. While there was some good news, it was on the whole disappointing and wholly contradictory. She offered warm words about “a new energy infrastructure, fit for the 21st century”, yet her department ploughs ahead with firing up outdated high-carbon gas power stations set to burn climate changing fossil fuels for decades to come. The announced shutting coal power stations is a good move – and campaigners should be applauded for their long-running focus on this important goal – but doing so while promising a wave of new gas power stations simply doesn’t go far enough to ensure that we meet the energy challenges we face.

My full response to the speech is in a letter in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/19/tackling-climate-change-should-be-the-uks-top-energy-priority

 

Paris Climate Talks: Speech in Parliament

On Thursday I spoke in a debate in Parliament about the upcoming climate talks in Paris. Despite very few MPs turning up to the debate it was very interesting – and I hope that the Minister listened carefully to the points put across. You can watch my speech here: http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/844090d0-2ada-4d19-84f6-197f08bf571c?in=14:17:49&out=14:29:02

 

Trans day of Remembrance

On Sunday I attended the Trans Memorial Service in Brighton. A huge number of people came to this deeply moving event.

It’s outrageous that so many transgender people across the world have been killed this year simply for being who they are. The only fitting response to such tragedy is to redouble our efforts for justice and equality for the trans community. That why here in Britain we must work harder to battle discrimination in the media, our workplaces and indeed in schools.

I’m specifically concerned about the treatment of trans people in our prisons. The deeply sad news about Vicky Thompson, a trans woman who died in a male prison this week, must serve as a wakeup call to the Government. I’ve written to the Ministry of Justice urging them to take urgent action to protect trans people in our prison system.

Transphobia is not inevitable, nor unbeatable. I look forward to continue working trans activists and allies to continue the fight for real equality.

 

Junior Doctors

Last week 98% of Junior Doctors voted to go on strike.

This strike has come about because Jeremy Hunt is refusing to drop his threat to impose his new contract on junior doctors.

I know from the doctors in Brighton & Hove that they take the Hippocratic Oath extremely seriously.  They have, reluctantly, been forced to strike because they are not being heard. They have been telling the Health Secretary that this contract change is not just unfair on them but potentially unsafe for patients too. That’s why many consultants are backing the junior doctors too.

If this unfair contract is imposed, I fear even more NHS trained doctors are likely to leave for places like Australia where they feel more valued.

Today’s junior doctors are tomorrow’s leaders of the NHS, yet this Government’s intransigence has left junior doctors at the end of their tether. I hope that the Government now drops the threat of imposing these contracts and sits down with the BMA to find a solution that delivers the fairness vital to patient safety, and I support the action taken by the doctors.

 

Closure of Children’s Centre’s and threats to special educational needs provision

I wrote to Brighton and Hove Council this week to raise my concerns about the closure of children’s centres in the city. There’s plenty of research that shows the improvement in outcomes for young people and their families when support can be accessed in the early years, thus marking these closures as potentially very short-sighted. I’m also really concerned about changes to special educational needs provision in the city, which the BBC suggests could mean that ‘services for autism, sensory needs, language, literacy and pre-school support would no longer exist in their current form.’

I recognise the very serious budget pressures faced by the Council because of cuts from central Government, but I do hope that alternative plans can be made to protect these vital local services.

 

Samara’s Appeal

Because the people of Syria are faced with continuous injuries from shelling and the ceaseless conflict, there is a desperate need for first aid kits that can be given out to individual families.

This week a group in Brighton are collecting first aid kits to send to Syria. You can order them online.

Please do support if you can: http://www.samarasaidappeal.org/first-aid/

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