Jon Ashworth MP criticises in Parliament the closure of Santander branches
in Leicester |
|
Thursday February 27 2014 |
|
Jon Ashworth MP criticised the closure of a Santander branch in his Constituency whilst raising the issue in Parliament.
Santander recently decided to close 11 outlets in the city and county, and one of those outlets falls in a deprived area of his Constituency.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday morning, Jon said: “Santander has announced that it will close 11 agency branches throughout Leicestershire and Leicester, including the branch at Highfields in my Constituency, which is a densely populated area of some deprivation. Many of our constituents are getting fed up with how the banks operate.” |
|
|
|
In a matter of days, over 600 people signed a petition to oppose the Santander Highfields branch closure.
Responding to Jon’s comments, the Leader of the House, Andrew Lansley, said he would refer the matter to the Treasury.
Jon commented further: “This issue has been brought to me by my constituents, and the strength of feeling makes it only right that I raise it in Parliament as well as with Santander.”
|
|
|
|
Jon
Ashworth MP collected a petition opposing the closure of Santander
on Melbourne Road |
|
Friday
February 14 2014 |
|
Jon Ashworth MP, and local Councillors, met with some
of the protesters outside the Santander which is ran
from the St Peter’s Post Office.
Jon stated: “I will be taking this petition top the
management of Santander. In a matter of days, over
600 people have signed the petition which shows the
strength of feeling locally. I hope Santander will
listen to local people and reconsider its decision.”
|
|
|
|
The
petition was organised by Hussain Osman.
Mr Osman stated: “The Santander branch is so popular that
people regularly queue on to the street. A lot of the
elderly customers will be unable to get to the nearest
branch on Evington Road.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photo shows Jon next to Mr Osman |
Click
photo for enlargement |
|
Jon
Ashworth MP announced the result of his Tesco Survey
and met local school children |
|
Friday
February 14 2014 |
|
In December 2013 Jon
Ashworth promised to contact every household in
the area to seek their views on the proposed Tesco
development in Clarendon Park.
Approximately 6,000 households received a letter
with a survey on the reverse.
Today, Jon announced the results of his
survey at the former Barclays Bank site.
Jon said: “I promised to listen to local residents
and I have. I contacted every household within a
one kilometre radius of the proposed store and now
the results are in.”
As of yesterday, 13 February, 689 surveys had been
returned (11.5% return rate). Of the 689 returned
surveys the outcome was: |
| |
• No = 609 (88.4%)
• Yes = 72 (10.4%)
• Don’t Know = 8 (1.2%) |
|
Clearly
this is a high degree of opposition to the proposed
store, but there was also a sizeable minority in
favour of the proposal.
After making public the survey responses, Jon visited
Avenue Road Primary School where he met with pupils
who have completed a project on the proposed development.
The children, who have been learning to write persuasively,
have been investigating the proposals to open a
Tesco in the area. |
|
|
|
|
Jon stated: “It was great meeting the children and
listening to their arguments for and against the Tesco
development. I will ensure that their letters are considered
during the planning process.”
Mrs Kandola, Headteacher at Avenue Primary, commented:
“The Year 5 children are very excited by the whole project
and have thoroughly enjoyed their learning, especially
linked into a real, local issue. The children and members
of staff were delighted to welcome Jon Ashworth to our
school to enable the children to present their work.”
|
| Photo
above, Jon with Councillor Kitterick and campaigners
outside the building proposed for the store, photo
top right, Jon with Class Teacher Clare Botting
and Councillor Kitterick, bottom right, children answering a question from Jon |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click
any photo for enlargement |
|
Jon
Ashworth MP officially opens the Support Centre at Open Hands |
|
Friday
February 7 2014 |
|
On
Friday 7 February Jon Ashworth opened the Support Centre
that is located on the corner of Upper Tichbourne Street
and Highfield Street.
The Centre, which has received funding form CRASH
and Awards for All, will enable Open Hands to increase
the services it offers to the local community.
Jon said: “I am a great admirer of the work undertaken
by Open Hands and regularly support the organisation.
This new Support Centre is a fantastic addition to the
facilities available and I hope that it will help to make
a real difference to the lives of local people.”
The Support Centre is already used by the Citizen Advice
Bureau, Jakin and for craft sessions and Cap budgeting
courses. |
|
|
Sue
Smout, the Senior Manager at Opens Hands, commented: “The
Support Centre will enable the Trust to offer further
support, advice and skills courses as well as giving an
opportunity for other organisations to provide essential
services to the local community.”
“We are really thankful to both CRASH and Awards for All
for their funding and support to enable us to develop
this new addition to our Compassion Centre. We were pleased
that Jon could officially opening the Support Centre.” |
|
| Photo
top right, Jon speaking before opening the Support
Centre, photo bottom right, Jon prepares to cut the ribbon and officially open the Support
Centre with Sue Smout, Senior Manager at Open Hands |
Click
any photo for enlargement |
|
|
|
Jon Ashworth MP visited Montrose Primary School |
|
Friday
February 7 2014 |
|
Jon
Ashworth was talking to children in class F2 as part of
their ‘People Who Help Us’ Project.
Speaking before the event Jon said: “I’m looking forward
to speaking with the young children about what an MP does.
Sometimes the toughest questions I get are from children.
Hopefully it will be a fun and interesting session for
everyone.”
A policeman, fireman, and even a pizza delivery man have
visited Montrose as part of ‘People Who Help Us’.
Jon was joined at Montrose Primary by Councillor Adam
Clarke, who is a local Councillor for the area.
Councillor Clarke stated: “I’m really pleased that our
MP came to Aylestone to meet children at Montrose School
with me. You never know, Jon’s visit might inspire the
career of a future hardworking Member of Parliament.”
After speaking with the children about the role of an
MP Jon had a tour of the school with the Head Teacher,
Mr Owens, and Chair of Governors, Mrs Squance. |
|
|
|
Mr Owens commented: “It was good meeting Jon and finding
out a little about the busy life of an MP. I’m sure
the children tested him with some tricky questions!”
|
| Photo
above, Jon with (left to right) Councillor Clarke,
Mrs Squance (Chair of Governors) and Mr Owens the Head Teacher photo top right, Jon explaining where he
works to the children, bottom right, Jon
and Mrs Kelly talking about Guy Fawkes |
Click
any photo for enlargement |
|
|
|
Jon Ashworth MP speaks out against education funding cuts affecting nearly 10,000 students in East Midlands |
|
Wednesday
February 5 2014 |
|
The Government has announced that from September 2014, funding for 18 year olds in full-time education will be cut by 17.5%. These cuts will affect up to 10,000 students in the East Midlands and see a regional loss of £7,229,073 in funding, making the East Midlands the worst hit region in the country after London. Jon Ashworth has spoken out to raise the concerns of students and colleges alike.
Jon Ashworth said: “I’ve met with representatives from colleges in my Constituency, and it’s clear that there’s concern about the Government’s decision. Colleges are forced to suddenly find additional money to support these students.”
According to EMFEC, a further education charity, there are approximately 61,000 16 – 18 year olds in full-time further education in the East Midlands. Out of this figure, it is known that 9,556 will be affected by the cuts. The Association of Colleges has published a report examining how the East Midlands will be the region worst affected by these cuts after London.
The Department for Education also published an impact assessment report on these cuts. The Government’s own findings demonstrate that the decision will have a disproportionate impact on young people from disadvantaged and Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
|
|
|
|
However, there are concerns that the Government’s report underestimates the true impact of these cuts. According to the Department for Education, only 5,000 students will be affected in the East Midlands. Data from 22 East Midlands further education colleges, however, demonstrates that 9,556 students will in fact be affected – nearly double what the Department for Education had estimated.
Jon commented further: “These figures are shocking. Nearly 10,000 students affected in one region is a huge amount, and nobody knows where the colleges are expected to find the £7 million they’re losing. What’s also worrying is that the Government’s own impact assessment underestimated the effect of the cuts by half. If the Government had made the effort to consult with colleges, things might be different.”
|
|
|
|
Photo
above left, Jon being filmed during his interview with John Hess, photo above, Jon being interviewed by John Hess from the BBC outside the Houses of Parliament
|
| Click
any photo for enlargement
|
| |
“I’ve raised this matter with the Secretary of State for Education and hope to get a response.”
Verity Hancock, Principal of Leicester College, stated: “These are young people who risk ending up as NEETs if they don’t receive fully funded education in colleges. They may find their choice of courses severely curtailed if these cuts go ahead.” |
|
Jon
Ashworth MP fights heart disease by Ramping up the Red in pop-up
Parliament shop |
|
Tuesday
February 4 2014 |
|
Leicester South Labour MP, Jon Ashworth, supported the British Heart Foundation (BHF) on 4 February when the BHF revealed their first ever pop-up shop in the Palace of Westminster.
Jon met shop staff and volunteers to hear how BHF shops raise vital funds for life-saving research. During the visit, Jon added his voice to the call for people to Ramp up the Red this February.
On the 7 February, the BHF are urging the public to Ramp up the Red by wearing something red, hosting a red-themed party, or baking some red-coloured treats.
Jon said: “I am delighted to help raise awareness of heart disease by taking part in Ramp up the Red. I hope the public join me on the 7th February and help to beat a devastating disease which can affect anyone, from babies to grandparents.
“By popping up in Parliament, the BHF has reminded us of the vital role their shops play in raising funds for life-saving research.”
|
|
|
Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer, responsible for almost 74,000 deaths in the UK each year, an average of 200 people each day. There are currently 2.3 million people in the UK living with coronary heart disease.
Mike Taylor, Retail Director at the BHF, said:
“We wanted to show MPs just how important our shops are – without our shop staff, including 23,000 volunteers across the UK, we simply couldn’t continue our life-saving work.
“It is fantastic to see Jon Ashworth showing his support and ramping up the red. All the money raised on 7 February will help us truly fight for every heartbeat.”
For more information about
Ramp up the Red or to donate please visit bhf.org.uk/red |
|
|
|
|
Photo
above, Jon at the first ever pop-up shop in the Palace of Westminster.
|
| Click
any photo for enlargement
|
|
Jon Ashworth MP says questions still need to be answered on British
involvement
in Golden Temple attack |
|
Tuesday
February 4 2014 |
|
Today
in the House of Commons the Foreign Secretary delivered
a statement on the British Government’s involvement in
the storming of the Golden Temple in 1984. The statement
comes following the publication of the Cabinet Secretary’s
inquiry report into this matter.
Immediately before the Foreign Secretary’s statement was
delivered, Jon met with a representative of the Leicestershire
Sikh Alliance in the House of Commons.
Jon has said that questions still need to be answered,
and has written to his constituents and community groups
in Leicester. The text of the letter is below:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friend,
Re: Golden Temple Raid 1984, Operation Blue Star
and the British Government’s Involvement
Today the Foreign Secretary made a statement in the House
of Commons about the British Government’s involvement
in Operation Blue Star. This follows the publication of
the Cabinet Secretary’s report on the inquiry he led on
this matter.
I welcome the light that this report sheds on the allegations
of British involvement in the storming of the Golden Temple.
We now know that the British Government did give military
advice to the Indian Government.
However, there are still serious questions that need to
be asked.
For instance, the Cabinet Secretary recommended the public
release of numerous Government documents on this matter.
One of these documents is the letter from Indira Gandhi
to Margaret Thatcher, explaining the Indian Prime Minister’s
reasoning for Operation Blue Star. However, it is unclear
why the Government has chosen to publish that letter,
but not the letter from Margaret Thatcher to Indira Gandhi.
|
|
|
The
Government has so far refused the Labour Party’s request
that all relevant documents relating to the incident that
can be published are made public. The Cabinet Secretary’s
report cites that officials were interviewed over the
course of the investigation, but there has been no publication
of a list of those officials, and neither have those testimonies
been made public.
Additionally, it is disappointing that there was more
than a three week delay in the Cabinet Secretary publishing
the terms of reference of his inquiry. It is also unclear
whether the terms of the inquiry changed over its course,
and this is something the Government needs to clarify.
The Cabinet Secretary’s report specifies an investigation
time frame of December 1983 to June 1984. However, this
time frame was not made public prior to the report’s publication.
Many representatives from the Sikh community have expressed
regret that the investigation only covered the first part
of 1984. Given the legacy of the events in the weeks and
months after Operation Blue Star, I believe it is only
right that the Cabinet Secretary makes clear whether a
full enquiry is needed to cover a longer period.
On the actual findings themselves, the Cabinet Secretary’s
report states that the British advice was that “this type
of operation should only be put into effect as a last
resort when all other courses of negotiation had failed.”
However, the Foreign Secretary has not set out what type
of operation this quote was referring to, and the Sikh
community deserves further information on this.
The report also touches on allegations that the provision
of military advice was linked to the potential sale of
Westland helicopters. The report states that no evidence
was found to substantiate this, but unfortunately none
of the documents that have been recommended for publication
relate to this issue.
|
|
|
|
| Jon
Ashworth in the House of Commons with Mr Kartar Singh of
the Leicestershire Sikh Alliance |
For the sake of transparency, and in order to provide
much-needed answers, the Foreign Secretary should commit
to publishing correspondence pertaining to this matter,
as this is a very serious and worrying allegation.
I understand that the pain and suffering caused by the
events of 1984 still resonates with the Sikh community
today. The legacy of these events and the confirmation
of British military advice in the lead up to Operation
Blue Star places a duty on the Government to provide
full answers to the questions asked by the Labour Party
and the Sikh community.
I hope that the Foreign Secretary and Cabinet Secretary
will provide us with these answers.
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan
-----------------------------------------------------------
|
| |
|
|
