March Monthly Report

Parliamentary Business

Benefit changes come into force

From the 1 April many of the Government's welfare changes will apply and I am concerned that the Government has got these badly wrong.

The bedroom tax, where 660,000 people in social housing will be fined an average of £728 per year (or £14 a week) if they have a spare room, has had much national media coverage, but another change, the benefit cap, has received less attention.

The cap restricts total benefits for households to £500 a week for a couple and £350 for a single adult. If benefits exceed those amounts then housing benefit will be reduced. The cut is being trialled now in four London boroughs but it will also hit Hackney residents on 15 July this year.

The measure has not been thought through and I fear will be unworkable. It discriminates against people who live in costly areas, such as Hackney, or who have larger families.

Labour supports reducing complication, waste and fraud but these changes are not designed to do that; they are about the Government's desire to slash the size of the state.

And while the Government is slashing benefits for the poorest with one hand, with the other it is giving a tax cut worth £100,000 a year on average to 13,000 millionaires.

From 1 April there will also be changes to council tax and housing benefit. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2.4 million families on low incomes will pay on average £138 more in council tax in the year 2013/14, as a result of cuts to council tax benefit.

Taking into account all changes to tax, tax credits and benefits that have been introduced since 2010, households in the UK will on average be £891 a year (or £17 a week) worse off in the 2013/2014 financial year.

A benefit cap helpline has been set up by the Department for Work and Pensions and the number to call is 0845 6057064 (or 0845 6088551 for people with hearing or speech impairments). There is also a benefit cap online calculator available at here.

If you are affected by the benefit cap, the bedroom tax or any of the other benefit changes imposed by this Government please get in touch. The more examples we have to use the more powerful will be our voice in opposing the changes.

Justice and Security Bill

The Justice and Security Bill had its report stage in which amendments from committee stage are debated in the main chamber of the House of Commons on 7 March. Opposition amendments to ensure that secret courts (also known as closed material proceedings) only take place as a last resort were voted on. The Government won the vote in the Commons and later in the Lords after the bill was debated there.

The Government brought in the bill in an effort to ensure that any serious allegations made against the UK's intelligence service can be heard and resolved in a court rather than, as has often previously been the case, the Government settling with claimants out of court due to the sensitive nature of the evidence to be considered.

Civil cases will be heard in court, whilst also ensuring that no evidence currently heard in open court will be heard in secret in future. As a result of the changes the bill introduces, allegations made against the Government will be fully investigated and scrutinised by the courts.

Leveson

After an extraordinary weekend of last minute negotiations all three party leaders agreed an approach to the future of press regulation.

I remain concerned that such an important issue became an issue of brinkmanship between the political parties and that this was precipitated by the Prime Minister.

I want our press to be free, fair and ethical. We have seen some serious abuses but these were contrary to the criminal law in most cases. Editors did not help the case by disappearing into secret meetings to draw up new rules.

Overall the key decisions about transparent and free media has been in private.

We now see confusion over how the rules will apply to the internet. I am clear that anyone who publishes information or views in the public sphere needs to be responsible and accurate but there needs to be freedom to comment without fear because of the potential costs involved.

In all this debate about press standards little has been said about press ownership at a time when we have seen huge expansion of media opportunities through local TV licences.

Polling station queues

After a battle with the Government there has finally been a change in the law allowing anyone queuing in a polling station at an election before the close of poll to vote.

In 2010 in Hackney many people were inside the polling station but not allowed to vote. I am delighted that, at last, this sensible and proportionate measure has been agreed.

Police treatment of people with mental health problems

I am delighted that Parliament's Home Affairs select committee is holding an inquiry on this issue.

After I made representations it has agreed to invite witnesses and evidence from Hackney.

We have a high incidence of people with a range of mental health problems in Hackney. It is important that all services are sensitive to their needs.

Other matters

NHS commissioning and tendering

The Government has tied itself in knots defending an indefensible and incoherent approach to tendering contracts.

Hackney GPs were told a year ago they could run the local out of hours service and, as I reported last month, were then told the contract had to be tendered.

I have pressed Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England, who was clear that there is no requirement to tender for the new clinical commissioning groups. But Hackney's CCG will inherit a tender because the previous commissioners decided they would risk a legal challenge if the service was not tendered.

It seems that the mere threat of legal action, which favours bidders with deep pockets, is enough to force commissioners to tender a contract.

I will continue to pursue this matter with the CCG and health ministers.

HMRC: Customer Service

As a member of the Parliamentary public spending watchdog Public Accounts Committee, I have been questioning HMRC about the quality of its customer service.

Despite spending approximately £900 million on customer service in 2011-12, 20 million of the 79 million telephone calls made to HMRC went unanswered and cost customers £136 million in total waiting to speak to an adviser.

HMRC propose to make a number of changes including the introduction of a call-back service for customers whose queries cannot be resolved first time, aims to resolve more queries in the first call and the replacement of 0845 numbers with cheaper 03 numbers.

I welcome HMRC's change in attitude from viewing high quality customer service as a 'nice to have' feature to an essential part of a strategy to collect revenue while also reducing costs.

However, I am concerned how HMRC will maintain these targets in the face of cuts to front-line staff and a higher volume of calls.

Cycle safety inquiry

I was delighted to welcome my colleagues from both Houses of Parliament to Hackney as part of this inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, of which I am vice chair.

After six evidence sessions the committee was keen to see some of the best practice on the ground.

Hackney council hosted the visit and highlighted the importance of political leadership in driving the cycling agenda; the focus on cycling and walking as a priority in all highway works and the fact that not all improvements were expensive.

New Homes bonus

This Government money is given to councils based on council tax income from new homes and empty homes brought back into use. The money is paid for six years. The aim is to reward councils which are proactively encouraging new homes.

Hackney council is receiving £8,891,679 this year which includes payments for three years including this year's payment of £4,486,526 and includes an affordable housing premium of over £350,000 over the three year period.

The national spending watchdog the National Audit Office published a report on 27 March which praised the scheme for its simplicity but criticised it for being unreliable in its estimates of how many new homes it would achieve. The National Audit Office downgraded Government forecasts by 25 per cent.

While the money is welcome for Hackney it is a very small step towards tackling the vast housing need in the borough.

Offices to homes

I have written before about this policy which eases planning restrictions on turning disused offices into homes.

I managed to secure time to raise this in Parliament and pointed out the disjointed approach of a Government whose Chancellor and Prime Minister praise business development in Shoreditch only for another Government department to put that under threat. The minister could give me no reassurances.

I support the over 1000 businesses and Hackney Council which have registered a desire for Shoreditch and parts of Hackney to be excluded from this policy, which would reduce business opportunity and job creation in Hackney and create more loft apartments rather than homes for local people.

While the money is welcome for Hackney it is a very small step towards tackling the vast housing need in the borough.

See my speech here

Hackney Issues

The Hackney to Chelsea line

Business umbrella group London First published its final report on proposals for a Crossrail 2 line in February.

The long campaigned for new rail line, would run south-west to north-east across London and would mean the journey between Dalston Junction and Tottenham Court Road would take only 11 minutes.

I welcome the proposal and voiced my support in a short debate on 5 March. It will bring many benefits to Hackney including better transport links, more jobs and spur the building of homes.

I will be working with other MPs and interested parties through the new All Party Group which my neighbour David Lammy has set up.

Mayor's Police and Crime Plan

The Mayor of London proposes to close 63 police stations and front counters across London and cut more than 1500 police officers and PCSOs.

The Mayor claims he is prioritising front-line police officers over underused buildings which will be replaced by alternative reporting stations such as supermarkets and post offices. Safer Neighbourhood Teams will also be cut from 6 officers per team to 3.

Although Hackney will gain 3 police officers by 2015, this is a much smaller increase than neighbouring boroughs. Hackney police station will also be closed and sold.

I'm concerned that the Mayor is trying to implement a one-size fits all model of policing to London with little consideration or thought for how it will affect different London boroughs.

Easter workshops for tech students

Hackney UTC and their employer partners will be holding a jam-packed two days of practical workshops exploring the fast-moving and developing world of digital and health technologies.

If you are interested in designing apps for the latest mobile phone technology, biomedical sciences and medicine or exploring a future career into one of these fields, then I encourage you to get involved.

The workshops will be held on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April and if you would like to book a place or get more information, please call 020 7613 9212.

Kingsland Fire Station

I welcome the news that plans to close Kingsland Fire Station have been delayed.

Members of the London Fire Authority accepted that no cuts to frontline services will be included in the 2013/14 budget. This is a welcome reprieve not just for Kingsland Fire Station, but for the 11 other fire stations, 18 fire engines and 520 fire-fighters which would be axed under the Mayor of London's proposals. This delay will mean there is now time for a full and wide ranging consultation with Londoners.

Please sign the petition here.

Hackney New School

The Department of Education has agreed to fund new free school Hackney New School.

The secondary school, which will open in September on Downham Road, De Beauvoir, will eventually provide 700 places for pupils aged 11 to 19.

We will also see the new Mossbourne Academy open near Victoria Park in September 2014.

Secure stations in Hackney

Both Haggerston and Hoxton rail stations have been re-accredited under the secure station scheme after maintaining high standards in station, passenger and staff security.

The national scheme covers all rail and underground networks which are policed by the British Transport Police rewards stations that implement security measures and maintain standards of good practice.