A question and answer session was organised by the Labour Students and was also attended by members of Politics Society.

As well as Labour Students, the event was attended by students who are members of other parties including the Conservatives, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.

The session also focused on Jon’s career, his work before becoming an MP and why he chose to become an MP.

Jon said: “It was a very interesting debate, and I was asked some very good questions. One question was particularly interesting, when I was asked whether I should vote to trigger Article 50, considering that majority of my constituents were in favour of staying in European Union.”

Ieuan King, the Chair of Labour Students commented: “It was great to have Jon at the event and it was very interesting to hear about his journey to become an MP. It was great to hear Jon’s views as the local MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Health.”

Clinicians began providing healthcare for homeless people in Leicester in 1990, and since 2000 the team have offered full-time primary care services to homeless people in the City. The team at Homeless healthcare were originally employed directly by the NHS but now run the service themselves as a not for profit social enterprise.

Inclusion Healthcare, which provides high quality primary health care services for homeless and vulnerable people, is based at Charles Berry House. The practice has around 1200 homeless people and 1400 asylum seekers registered with them and also runs surgeries from the Dawn Centre in Conduit Street.

CQC rated Inclusion Healthcare ‘outstanding’ in their latest inspection in February 2015 and it remains the only GP practice in Leicester & Leicestershire to be rated by the CQC ‘outstanding’ across all areas of inspection.

Jon said: “It was a very interesting and informativer visit to Inclusion Healthcare. The staff have worked very hard and deserve the ‘outstanding’ rating. I am very impressed that the practice is the only one to receive such a rating in Leicester & Leicestershire. I would like to thank Inclusion Healthcare for their specialist healthcare services for people in Leicester."

Jon then visited the Anchor Centre for street drinkers. Inclusion Healthcare has operated the Anchor Centre on Dover Street since 2013, although it has worked with the Anchor Centre for around 18 years.

Jon commented: “It is clear that the Anchor Centre is very valued by the people who use it and that they want to move forward with their lives. Inclusion Healthcare provide a flexible and responsive GP service and a dedicated Centre for drinkers.”

Inclusion Healthcare has been working closely with Public Health England (PHE) and Leicester City Council to develop a new Recovery Hub to replace the Anchor Centre which is no longer fit for purpose. The funds received from PHE were part of a joint bid between Inclusion Healthcare and PHE and will enable them to develop a Recovery Hub.

Dr Anna Hiley, GP and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Jon to see how our specialist primary care services are responding to the health needs of homeless and asylum seekers.”

Dr Hiley continued, “Our patients experience high levels of physical and mental health problems and at a time where the NHS is under significant strain, it is important that the needs of the most vulnerable in our community are provided in accessible, patient centred ways that help people to improve their health and achieve their long term recovery goals.”

“We are proud to provide Leicester's specialist GP practices and look forward to working with NHS leaders and Leicester City Commissioning group to ensure these services are safeguarded beyond 2017.”

The charity, which supports people in severe financial hardship by providing essential items, including clothing, beds, cookers, grants for utilities and, in emergencies, food, is asking local people to complete a Poverty Action Week card expanding the statement; “The issue of local poverty is important to me because…”.

The charity hopes that people will then take a photo of themselves holding their completed card and either post this on their own social media pages or send it to the charity for a display.

Susan McEniff, Director of Charity Link, says; “Many people don’t realise that there are people living in severe poverty right here in Leicester, or that one in three children in Leicester are estimated to be living in poverty. We hope that our Poverty Action Week cards will get people talking about this important issue, thinking of who is affected by poverty and why, and also considering how we can all work together to make a difference. We would love to hear people’s views.”

Jon Ashworth, MP for Leicester South, is supporting Charity Link’s campaign, and says; “Charity Link supports people all year, but Poverty Action Week brings into focus the vital work it undertakes to help people in our City. The Poverty Action Week cards are a great way to get people thinking about poverty and what it means for them.”

Poverty Action Week takes place in January each year to highlight the issue of local poverty and to encourage support for Charity Link’s work in the local community.

Charity Link helps people throughout Leicestershire and Northamptonshire by providing essential items to improve lives and break the cycle of poverty. The charity currently supports around 8,000 individuals and families each year.

For more information email [email protected]

Friday 27th January will mark the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the largest mass murder in history.

In the lead up to and on Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. The theme for this year’s commemorations is ‘How can life go on?’

After signing the Book of Commitment, Jon commented: “Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity for people from Leicester South and across the country to reflect on the tragic events of the Holocaust."

"As the Holocaust moves from living history, to just history, it becomes ever more important that we take the time to remember the victims and also pay tribute to the survivors. I would encourage my constituents to show their support for such an important day.”

Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “Our mission is to educate young people from every background about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance. We are very grateful to Jon Ashworth for signing the Book of Commitment, signalling a continued commitment to remembering the victims of the Holocaust as well as challenging antisemitism, prejudice and bigotry in all its forms.”

or Public Affairs Officer Jack Mason via [email protected] .

The event marked a new partnership between Facebook and Internet Matters, who have joined forces to ensure that children have a positive experience online.

Jon talked to representatives of Facebook about the Facebook Parents Portal, a major new resource that gives parents, teachers and guardians the tools they need to ensure the children in their care are safe on Facebook. Jon also met with Internet Matters General Manager Carolyn Bunting to discuss their work to keep children safe.

Also attending the event was anti-bullying charity the Diana Awards. Jon met three Diana Awards anti-bullying ambassadors, who told him about their efforts to eliminate bullying and engage students in social action online.

Jon Ashworth said: “Online safety is an issue which affects families across Leicester. It is vital that parents and children use the resources available to them to deal with issues like sexting, online pornography and cyberbullying.”

“It is great news that Facebook and Internet Matters are working together to make sure that this happens. I would encourage everyone concerned about the online environment to go to the Facebook Safety Centre and the new Parents Portal.”

Internet Matters General Manager Carolyn Bunting said: “We are delighted that Jon Ashworth attended our event today to learn more about how we help parents keep their children safe online".

"The internet offers children an astonishing number of way to connect, create, learn and have fun, and it is vital that we support families on how best to help their children have a safe and age-appropriate experience.”

TwentyTwenty are launching their new delivery model, Journey to Work, which has secured more than £1.5 million of grant funding.

Journey to Work is designed to prepare young people with the skills and attitudes needed to launch a successful career. This new funding will help to support even more young people in their Centres in Leicester, Loughborough and Derby.

In addition to Journey to Work, TwentyTwenty runs various other educational programmes such as a Mentoring Scheme which provides intensive volunteer lead employment support, and Love for Life which is a programme designed to support vulnerable women and girls.

Founded in 2007 TwentyTwenty helps young people build their skills, knowledge and confidence by providing quality education support and helping to achieve sustained employment. The charity identifies the most effective ways to support young people from some of the most disadvantaged areas of the region.

Jon stated: “Lifeskills Centres like TwentyTwenty are essential to our community and it was good meeting the team and some of the young people. The highlight was talking to young people and hearing at first-hand how TwentyTwenty has helped them and encouraged them”

Mike Hughes, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’re really excited about welcoming Jon Ashworth to our Lifeskills Centre so that he can meet our amazing young people and see the work we do first hand.”

Rock Kitchen Harris has built the Porthole user lab at its offices on Pocklingtons Walk to help businesses improve the efficiency and usability of digital products and services in areas such as e-commerce, mobile apps, online booking and transactional services for government.

Jon visited Rock Kitchen Harris, a fully integrated marketing digital agency, to see how a new purpose built user research lab can support businesses and organisations, both regionally and nationally.

Jon said:“It was a very interesting and enjoyable meeting. It was great seeing how the new lab operates and actually taking part in research. Rock Kitchen Harris has been in the City for three decades and I am very impressed by the services they provide.”

The in-house user researcher can set up the lab to be used in various ways. For example, clients can use it to see how proposed new website designs perform with real users.

In addition, the laboratory enables businesses to gather unique insights about their users and customers before even starting a project, helping to ensure a successful start.

Paul Sculthorpe, Director of Rock Kitchen Harris said: “We’re really pleased that Jon has showed an interest in the work we’re doing. User research allows us to ensure that we are designing products that actually meet user needs. It’s especially important in the projects we do for central government where value for money is a top priority.”