Jon Ashworth dropped into The Exchange Bar and donated a prize for the raffle.

The event, which ran from 10am to 1pm, was organised by Frances Williams who is raising money for Tommy’s charity that funds research into pregnancy problems and provides information to parents.

Jon said: “When I read in The Mercury about the work that Frances is doing to doing to reduce the number of women who will lose a baby during pregnancy or childbirth, I wanted to contribute somehow and show her my support.”

The event was a mother and baby clothes, toys and book swap fund raiser. There was also a raffle to which Jon donated a box of House of Commons Handmade Mint Creams.

Frances commented: “I was delighted to hear Jon wanted to support my charity event to raise money for Tommys. Many people are unaware that currently in the UK 1 in 4 babies die during pregnancy and childbirth. As I developed one of the complications that can lead to a mother or baby death I really wanted to raise awareness of the work Tommy’s do.”

“No one can tell me why I developed pre-eclampsia so this is a worry in any future pregnancies and why I want to raise as much money as possible to help all mothers and babies.”

At an event in Parliament, Jon Ashworth supported the contributions of De Montfort University students to the national policy debate ahead of the 2015 General Election.

The University launched their Policy Commission in the House of Lords earlier today, producing a report with 100 policy ideas from its students. The aim of the Commission is to engage students in public life and new ways of learning.

Jon commented: “I always support young people’s participation in public life, and this is a great example of just that. The Policy Commission brings together student opinion in a serious, thought-provoking way, and I’m deeply impressed at the talent we have at our local universities.”

The event was hosted by Lord Waheed Alli, Chancellor of the University. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard led the discussions, and students were given the opportunity to present their ideas to members of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The themes of the report are: future of our urban spaces and cities; citizenship and political participation; welfare reform and communities; young people and employment; and migration and communities.

Jon met residents and staff at Harley Grange which is based in his Constituency.

This is the second year running care homes across the country are opening their doors to the public.

Speaking before the visit to Knighton, Jon stated: “I’m really looking forward to visiting Harley Grange and with this year’s theme being the World Cup it will be a fun and enjoyable visit. Unfortunately, there was little to cheer about after Thursday’s match with Uruguay.”

National Care Home Open Day has the aim of showing everyone what care homes are really about, not the negative media coverage associated with a very small number of badly run homes.

Jon Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, presented certificates at the Saffron Lane Preparation for Work Training Club.

Speaking before the event, Jon said: “I am looking forward to presenting certificates to the local people who have completed the course. I have always supported Phoenix Therapies with their innovative projects and I am especially keen to have a Work, or Job, Club on Saffron Lane.”

There were seven learners on the 15 week Preparation for Work Course, aged between 23 and 59 years of age, who were all long term unemployed with complex barriers to employment.

Paula North, one of the Directors of Phoenix Therapies, stated: "Phoenix Therapies believes that in order to successfully tackle unemployment you must first repair the damage that it creates. Research has shown that the vast majority of people want to work and that the biggest barrier to employment is low confidence.”

“It takes motivation, confidence and courage to find employment in today's economic climate. Phoenix Therapies empowers people to create and maintain these attributes so that finding and sustaining employment goes from being impossible to highly likely."

All the participants are now either in paid work, are undertaking voluntary work or attending different courses as a step to increasing confidence and gaining employment.

The positive effect the course has is clearly shown in the following quote from Naseem Akhtar: “When I first joined the course I thought life was not worth living. I blamed myself for everything and thought I was a failure. The course has taught me look after myself; helped me to deal with stress in a positive way; that there is always a solution to a problem and to face my fears using affirmations. I am 25% more confident than I was.”

Although the headline unemployment rate for Leicester is decreasing, the latest figures show that there are still over 1,100 of Jon’s Constituents who have been unemployed for over 12 months.

Jon commented: “With so many Constituents being long term employed, there is a need for more Pre-Work Clubs to assist people back into the job market.”

Jon was at Shama Women’s Centre to launch a ground breaking bereavement counselling support project for black minority ethnic women in the City.

This two year project, which is funded by the National Lottery, will provide a holistic approach in supporting black minority ethnic women who are suffering from the trauma of bereavement of a loved one.

Jon stated: “As a supporter of the Shama Women’s Centre and the much needed work it does for our communities, I am pleased to launch this new project. This multi-agency service will hopefully increase the uptake of bereavement counselling among black minority ethnic women.”

The project will provide early interventions to help overcome long term mental health conditions. Shama Women’s Centre will work closely with health agencies, including the Laura Centre, University Hospitals Leicester Bereavement Services and Leicester Partnership Trust, and a range of other community and faith organisations.

Khudeja Amer-Sharif, the Centre Coordinator, commented: “Women will be able to access the service either direclty or through referrals from health agencies. They will benefit from one to one and group counselling sessions with multi-lingual bereavement support counselling workers.”