December 2012
VALERIE QUESTIONS MANOR HOSPITAL DEATH RATES
A report from the Dr Foster Organisation has found that death rates at the Manor Hospital on two
of four key measures were significantly higher than expected. Valerie has written to the Hospital’s
Chief Executive asking for an explanation and raised the matter in the House of Commons.
A number of constituents have contacted Valerie with concerns about the treatment they, or their
relatives, have received at the Manor Hospital. Valerie has made representations to the Hospi-
tal’s Chief Executive on behalf of each constituent who has raised concerns.
Valerie said: “These are very worrying findings and the Hospital must immediately investigate
what has gone wrong and set out the steps it will take to cut death rates as soon as possible.”
NHS QUESTION
Valerie asked the Leader of the House for an urgent debate on why £3 billion has been taken out
of the NHS and not used for front-line services.
Valerie said: “In the light of recent findings regarding patient care at
the Manor Hospital, it is clear that the NHS is being given insufficient
resources to guarantee the highest standards of patient care. The
Government must explain why this £3 billion has been taken out of the
NHS.”
SECOND CHANCES SCHOOL
Students from the Second Chances School in Walsall South
visited Parliament and were taken on a tour by Valerie.
Valerie said: “I was pleased to see the students. I took them
on a tour of the Palace, including the chambers of the House
of Commons and the House of Lords.”
“The School’s Head Teacher, Jan Concannon, told me that
many of the students present had never been to Parliament
before. The students learned about how Parliament works”
WestminsterVisit
Bentley West Primary School invited Valerie to visit the School to speak with pupils as part of
Parliament Week.
Valerie said: “I began by telling the pupils a little about my work and what happens in Parlia-
ment. I showed them copies of Hansard and Early Day Motions. The pupils then took part in a
mock Parliamentary debate on a motion relating to the provision of school milk. They sat on
opposite sides with some pupils representing the Government and some representing the Op-
position. At the end, I asked the pupils to vote on the motion by walking through ‘Aye’ and ‘No’
lobbies as we do in Parliament. The motion to provide school milk was passed by 27 to 23
votes. I was very impressed by the pupils’ knowledge and interest.”
HUMAN FERTILISATION AND EMBRYOLOGY AUTHORITY
Valerie co-hosted an event with Gareth Johnson MP to introduce the work of the Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and their recent consultation on mitochondria
replacement.
Valerie said: “It was important to highlight the work of the HFEA in Parliament. As the body
responsible for the regulation of fertility treatment, the HFEA plays a crucial role in informing
the public and providing support for families with children conceived through IVF.”
PAT FINUCANE
Valerie has put questions to the Northern Ireland Secretary and the
Prime Minister about the Govern-ment’s response to the murder of
Pat Finucane, in which the security services colluded.
Valerie said: “The Government must ensure that Pat Finucane’s
family receive the justice they de-serve. The latest review into the
case—the Da Silva Report—has not achieved this. The Government
must do more to bring justice.”
EU BUDGET
PARKING CHARGES
PETROL TAX
NEW ART GALLERY
The Government was defeated on the EU budget at the
end of October 2012. Valerie voted against the budget.
Valerie said: “At a time when the cost of living is rising
quickly for tax payers in the UK and significant cuts are
being made to vital public services, it cannot be right to
increase the EU budget. This was a perverse move when
governments across Europe are making big cuts in public
spending.”
“It is important that Britain is an active member of the EU,
which is crucial for much of our trade and many of our
jobs. But when EU plans are wrong for Britain, we must
say so. The EU must look at savings which can be made
through measures such as the reform of agricultural sub-
sidies including the Common Agricultural Policy.”
Following an 18 month long campaign by Valerie and
local traders, Valerie has welcomed news that the on-street parking charges on
Ablewell Street and five other town centre streets
have been removed.
Valerie said: “Shortly after the charges were intro-
duced without consultation,
I was contacted by traders from Ablewell Street who were concerned about the drop
in passing trade. Over the past 18 months I have made
several representations to Walsall MBC, presented an
800 name petition to Parliament and raised the matter
during a debate in the House of Commons. Local busi-
nesses should not have had to endure an unnecessary
drop in trade over the past 18 months. The charges must
now be removed from every street. I will continue to
push for the charges to be dropped in every town centre
street and for a proper review.”
Despite voting against an Opposition motion calling for
it to be scrapped, the Government has announced that
the 3p per litre rise in petrol tax that was scheduled for
January 2013 has been cancelled.
Valerie said: “At a time when the cost of living has been
increasing rapidly and families across the country are
struggling to make ends meet, I was surprised that the
Government told its MPs to vote against an Opposition
motion to scrap the 3p per litre rise in petrol tax as re-
cently as 12 November 2012.”
“We continued our campaign and I am pleased that the
Government has been forced to reverse its position and
cancelled the 3p per litre rise that was due to come into
effect in January.”
2012 has been a successful year for the New
Art Gallery and Valerie is a supporter and a fan
of the NAG.
Valerie said: “After making a number of repre-
sentations to WMBC, and collecting a petition
of over 100 signatures, I was pleased when the
Gallery brought back Sunday openings. This
has boosted visitor numbers by 1,400 a month
and is expected to reach 20,000 a year.”
“The Gallery is one of four to be shortlisted to
host the Turner Prize in 2015 and recently
opened a year long exhibition of Damien Hirst’s
work.”
LEVESON REPORT
The Leveson Inquiry into the Culture, Practice and Ethics of the Press
published its findings and recommendations in November. Valerie has
welcomed the report and called on the Government to introduce legisla-
tion for the statutory underpinning of the regulation of the press.
Valerie said: “We were all shocked when details of the phone hacking
scandal emerged. It is simply not acceptable that the Press Complaints
Commission could be allowed to continue as the regulator of the press
when run by the press.”
“I welcome Lord Leveson’s measured proposals to give the self regula-
tion of the press a statutory basis. I call on the Government to imple-
ment Lord Leveson’s recommendations in full.”
VALERIE’S WORK IN PARLIAMENT
Since being elected to Parliament in May 2010, Valerie has:
. Spoken in Parliament 147 times;
. Tabled 264 written questions;
. Primary Sponsor of 85 Early Day Motions;
. Worked on 5,406 constituency cases;
. Been called 7 times at Prime Minister’s Questions;
. Presented 5 petitions to Parliament;
. Published 20 reports of the Health Select Committee;
. Held 70 constituency surgeries;
. Visited or welcomed to Parliament 20 of 42 schools in
Walsall South.
. Introduced 2 Ten Minute Rule Bills on equal rights for adop-
tive parents and a bill to improve health and education provi-
sion for children and adults with epilepsy.
