Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Sep-Oct 2021 number 143

Click on the picture above to read Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Sep-Oct 2021 number 143

Sharon Hodgson MP is proud to join Oxfam this September in taking a stand against the 'fast fashion' industry.

Caption: Sharon Hodgson MP and Dawn Butler MP, wearing personal second-hand items in support for Oxfam's Second-Hand September. (Photo Credit: Oxfam, 2021)

You can read Sharon's latest Echo Column below or on the Sunderland Echo website.

Britain’s social care system is on its knees

A decade of Conservative and Lib-Dem rule has seen a generation of older people struggle to access the care they both need and deserve.  Years of neglect have brought about high employee turnover, low pay and chronic funding shortages which plague the sector.  It is no exaggeration to say that the Conservatives are the party of levelling down.

Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Aug-Sep 2021 number 142

Click on the picture above to read Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Aug-Sep 2021 number 142

Sharon Hodgson, Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food, recently visited the ‘Wear Here 4 Summer’ programme at Rickleton Cricket Club, Washington.

The ‘Wear Here 4 Summer’ programme, which is funded by the Department for Education’s Holiday Activity and Food Programme, has been supporting children and young people with a range of fun activities and food throughout the summer holidays.

The ‘Wear Here 4 Summer’ bus has been travelling around Sunderland bringing different activities to different areas across the city.

On Wednesday when Sharon visited, the children were taking part in a huge range of activities including smoothie making, boxing, boot camp and circus skills. There was also lots of hot and healthy food available.

The Holiday Activity and Food Programme was announced in 2020 by the Department for Education. It provides funding to Local Authorities. The funding covers Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021 only.

Speaking at the ‘Wear Here 4 Summer’ bus, Sharon said:

“It was great to see the children and young people enjoying the Wear Here 4 Summer programme. They’ve had some fantastic activities and delicious food over the school holidays.

“As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food, I have been campaigning for many years for the Government to introduce funding for food and activities for children on the approximately 170 days a year when the school gates are shut.

“This programme will no doubt have had a positive impact on children across Sunderland this summer. That is why I believe the Government’s Holiday Activity and Food Programme should be available for all school holidays during the pandemic and beyond.”

ENDS

You can read Sharon's latest Echo Column below or on the Sunderland Echo website

I can’t imagine many people in the region missed the news coming from Nissan last week, and rightly so.

This three-headline announcement has the potential to transform our country’s automotive industry and is an incredible vote of confidence in our region’s world-class workforce.

Firstly, Sunderland will move full throttle towards its aim of being a carbon-free city by 2040, providing green jobs and clean energy with the construction of a ‘microgrid’.

This microgrid will then power a Gigafactory, which will be producing batteries for electric vehicles as we race towards the 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.

And finally, to match the increasing demand for electric vehicles, Nissan have announced their next electric model will be built in Sunderland.

This collaboration between Nissan, AESC Envision, and Sunderland City Council, with support from the Government, is a result of incredible hard work.

But let’s not forget, the automotive industry was pushed to a cliff edge last year awaiting Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal which came through at the very last minute.

The deal emphasised the necessity for a domestic battery-manufacturing industry which for years has been highlighted by Nissan, local stakeholders and in Parliament by myself and colleagues, in order to meet the 2030 electrification goal and the moving goalposts of the UK-EU trade deal.

The Gigafactory commitment is therefore a massive sigh of relief for us all, and will pioneer the way ahead for British batteries.

The Sunderland plant has truly been certified as the jewel in the Nissan crown, with our region reaping the economic and employment rewards. In the North East, we all know people employed by Nissan or its supply chain, so we should all be very proud that their hard work has brought us here.

I will continue to showcase our automotive superpower in Parliament; a job that will be significantly easier after last week’s announcement.

Sunderland Echo website > 

Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Jun-Jul 2021 number 141



Click on the picture above to read Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Jun-Jul 2021 number 141

Following today's statement by Nissan (01.07.21) please see below Sharon's statement:

"I am thrilled with Nissan’s announcements which have the potential to transform car-making in the UK.

"Nissan’s confidence to make their next electric vehicle model in Sunderland is testament to the incredible skill of our region’s world-class workforce, and certifies the Sunderland plant’s position as the jewel in the Nissan crown.

"Having worked closely with Nissan to raise in Parliament the necessity of investment in battery technology for the long-term success of operations, I am delighted to see firm commitment with the announcement of a local Gigafactory.

"This is a massive sigh of relief for us all and will help the UK as we move through complex trading arrangements towards the 2030 electrification goal, as well as bringing a further 6,200 high quality jobs across the whole supply chain. 

"I will continue to work closely with Nissan to help build and support a localised supply chain for components, so that tariff-free trade can continue in the coming years.

"This announcement is also testament to Sunderland City Council’s dedication to becoming a city of the future, providing green energy, green jobs and green investment.

"This collaboration between Sunderland Council, Nissan, Envision AESC with support from the Government will ensure that Nissan stays on the map as a global automotive superpower, with our region reaping the rewards.

"The North-East fuelled the industrial revolution with coal, and 200 years later we are taking a leading role in the development of the green revolution with our automotive giant - we should all be very proud."

ENDS

Read the announcement from Nissan here >

You can read Sharon's latest Echo column below or on the Sunderland Echo Website

A deep groan was heard across the region this week, as the Prime Minister announced a delay to the easing of lockdown.

What was supposed to be June 21 has become July 19.

Boris Johnson sees politics as a game and has once again shifted the goalposts. So, in the spirit of the Euros, let me address this in football terms.

The Prime Minister promised us a “World in Motion” this summer but, in the words of David Baddiel, has thrown it away. His decisions left us with a leaky defence and now we are well into extra time; our nation exhausted.

By keeping our borders open, despite worrying rising cases internationally, the Prime Minister left the UK vulnerable to new coronavirus variants.

And it was entirely avoidable.

The Conservative Government were warned of the threat of variants by scientists, and Labour has been calling for our borders to be closed, to protect the UK, since the start of this year.

But the Government decided it knows best, so let’s give them the credit; let’s call this the Johnson Variant.

The Conservatives haven’t just ignored science, they’ve ignored the people of Britain.

For those couples who planned to marry after the lockdown, who have already rearranged their special day once, twice, or maybe even three times, this announcement will be yet another blow. Even with increased capacity, dancing inside is forbidden by the rules.

And it is not just couples that this affects, but the entire wedding industry which, like many, has suffered massively throughout the lockdowns.

For those on furlough, the delay brings serious worries about their job security. From July, businesses will have to pay more of their employees’ wages. For nightclubs, who have been shut since the start of the pandemic, this is clearly unworkable.

The Chancellor should link business relief to the extension of lockdown and provide proper financial support for those who need to self-isolate. But instead he is playing politics with the livelihoods of working people.

What’s more, there is real concern that the Government will continue to repeat its cycle of incompetence, as many countries with rocketing cases are on the vague and unhelpful ‘amber’ list, which Labour would scrap entirely.

The Government must take this seriously so we can finally hear the full-time whistle on lockdowns.

Read Sharon Hodgson MP's other column pieces here >

Sunderland Echo website >

Sharon Hodgson MP's report - May-Jun 2021 number 140

Click on the picture above to read Sharon Hodgson MP's report - May-Jun 2021 number 140