Winter Fuel Payments

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver Labour’s first Budget on Wednesday the 30th of October. Ahead of the budget, I wrote to the Chancellor calling for an immediate halt to the ending of Winter Fuel Payments and reconsideration of these plans in time for the Budget. According to Age UK, 8400 people in my constituency are set to be affected by these cuts, and Salford City Council estimate around 3735 eligible residents are currently not claiming Pension Credit, who will now lose the Winter Fuel Payment as well.

In my letter, I asked for the removal of or extension to the 21 December 2024 deadline for backdating a claim for Pension Credit to allow more time for those who are eligible to apply before the 31 March 2025 deadline for Winter Fuel Payment claims, and an urgent and effective take-up campaign that significantly improves on the current Government internal analysis estimate of additional Pension Credit take-up by only 100,000 more pensioners in the model underpinning the policy costing, working with Local Authorities and service users to ensure an effective and streamlined communication strategy which makes applications more accessible and pensioner friendly. You can read my letter in full here.

It’s important to claim Pension Credit if you are eligible and to do so quickly. Find out if you or your loved ones are eligible via the Age UK website—you may also become eligible for other benefits, such as help with health and housing costs. Click here for more info.

Ingleside Birth and Community Centre

Ingleside Birth and Community Centre was temporarily closed in 2022 due to an acute midwifery staffing deficit across GM. Salford mothers urgently need local provision so in Parliament, I asked the Health Secretary to meet with me to discuss what he can do to safely reopen the centre and address the midwifery staffing crisis. Watch here.

Unpaid Carers

Unpaid carers are heroes and heroines, but all too often they live in poverty. In Parliament, I called on the government to close brutal carers allowance loopholes and to encourage action in the budget to provide the financial and social support unpaid carers need. Watch here.

Black History Month

October is Black History Month here in the UK. It’s a time to remember that black history is British history, and to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black communities and tackle the inequalities they still face.

I was pleased to join in celebrations with Lusoconnectionuk CIC and our Portuguese speaking community in Salford at Oasis Media City. There was some amazing stalls, performances, talks and fantastic food. Thank you to everyone for putting on such a wonderful event!

It was great to meet with Cllr Hilaria Asumu at the event, who was highlighting the importance of becoming an organ donor. Visit organdonation.nhs.uk to find out how to join the register and save lives.

Salford Youth Council

Along with Worsley and Eccles MP, Michael Wheeler, we met with some amazing young people from the brilliant Salford Youth Council about the work they are doing in Salford, including their projects on crime and community safety. We faced a quick grilling on what politics means to them and what we can do as Members of Parliament to support.

The Broughton Trust

It was great to meet with Dave and the team at The Broughton Trust earlier this to hear about some of the incredible work they do for our communities across Salford. For over 20-years, the Trust have provided services to individuals, families and voluntary organisations in Salford, helping to reduce poverty and increase life chances for all members of our disadvantaged communities. Click here to find out more.

Emmaus Salford

It was lovely to meet the Emmaus Salford team at their community hub to hear about their amazing work supporting those who have experienced homelessness and local residents with a food pantry, skills training and housing. Thank you for all you do.

World Homelessness Day

On World Homelessness Day 2024, I signed an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to urgently scrap the Vagrancy Act and commit to a compassionate approach to rough sleeping. The Vagrancy Act 1824 criminalises rough sleepers. It has no place in a civilised society nor does being without a home to live in. We must work to end this crisis urgently. You can read the full text of the motion here.

The Brain and Spinal Injury Centre (BASIC)

I was pleased to be invited to BASIC charity’s open day and to cut the ribbon on their newly refurbished assisted gym, which is available to all people with disabilities. BASIC are a charity that does amazing work assisting people to recover following a brain or spinal injury, but also work wider with the Salford disability community offering wellbeing sessions, peer support groups, counselling, and wider support for beneficiary and family/carers.

I was impressed with their state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment, including the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) which is the world’s most advanced multi-sensory system (the only one available via self-referral in the UK). They have also introduced a fleet of Electric Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, driven by volunteers, to help beneficiaries access the centre and to ensure they can move comfortably and confidently around the city.

Everyone should have access to high-quality rehabilitation services after suffering from a brain and spinal injury, and it’s brilliant that we have these great facilities on our doorstep in Salford. Visit their website for more information, and to access their self-referral forms: www.basiccharity.org.uk

Salford Lads and Girls Club

You may have seen in the news recently that Salford Lads and Girls Club who, in the last year, have suffered a drop in grant income in an increasingly competitive field. The club opened its door 121 years ago in the Ordsall area in my constituency, and whilst it was originally founded as a club for boys, it is now open to all young people and the Club delivers youth work and activities that have transformed generations of lives in our community.

I’m backing Manchester Evening News’s campaign—please do anything you can to support the Club to keep it open and thriving. Donate here if you are able to. I also spoke to That’s TV News about the Club’s campaign. Watch here.

Improving SEND services and inclusion in Salford

I have written to the Education Secretary, highlighting requests from local anchor institutions in Salford as well as national groups such as the Centre for Young Lives to improve SEND inclusion and the recognition of the crisis we face.

We have a fantastic SEND network in Salford. Under the previous government, we’ve seen a lack of stable, long-term national funding which presents us with an immediate crisis. I’ve written to the Education Secretary, highlighting requests from local anchor institutions in Salford as well as national groups such as the Centre for Young Lives, including:

• The need for renewed and urgent co-ordination with the Treasury and other departments to ensure local councils, organisations and education settings have adequate long term stable resourcing;

• The need to engage with the trade unions representing the SEND workforce to address the concerns being raised that large numbers of staff are reporting feeling unsafe at work, inadequate training and support, low pay for very difficult work, and the impact of a reduced workforce;

• To extend training on SEND for professionals and families, including provision of free but mandatory Continuing Professional Development courses on SEND for educational professionals;

• To deliver a plan to improve earlier identification of SEND, based on both academic and non-academic abilities and co-ordination across different public services and sectors to facilitate improved identification and support;

• Co-production of any Governmental measures with adults and children with SEND and their families and representatives to ensure measures are effective;

• Consideration of establishing a dedicated Government Minister for SEND.

Reparations for LGBT+ Veterans

I have written to the Defence Secretary and the Minister for Veterans about LGBT+ veterans who experienced historic homophobia in the armed forces. Some veterans served prison sentences for a ‘gay ban’, some left service voluntarily after years of abuse while others, like one of my constituents, were given administrative discharges or dishonourable discharges under unclear or outright false allegations.

I asked when a financial scheme of reparations will be forthcoming and backing calls from Fighting with Pride and others to remove the proposed £50m cap on the total available for reparations scheme to ensure adequate reparations for those most heavily impacted, and those whose entire lives were upended and destroyed, can be explored. Read my letter in full here.

Action For Humanity

It was an honour to meet the team at Action For Humanity this week in Salford. The work they are doing to support families in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and so many other places across the world to provide food, clean water and shelter is awe inspiring. Thank you for all you do.

Show Racism the Red Card

Friday the 18th of October was #WearRedDay, organised by Show Racism the Red Card. Racism has no place in society. I stood in solidarity with Show Racism the Red Card in their fight against racism and discrimination in all its forms.