Sharon Hodgson MP has written to Home Secretary seeking urgent clarification on the impact on Washington and Sunderland West following news that 400,000 police records were deleted.

Click the above image to read Sharon's letter in full

The letter sets out a number of key questions for the Conservative Home Secretary, including, how many people have been affected in Washington and Sunderland West, what work is being done with police to identify gaps in the system and what the impact will be on vital safeguarding issues, such as domestic abuse and stalking.

Commenting Sharon Hodgson MP, said:

“This fiasco is incredibly serious and the Conservative Government’s incompetence is putting the safety of people at risk in Washington & Sunderland West.

“Unfortunately, it seems inevitable that as a result of this mess criminals will escape punishment, victims will miss out on justice and our community will be less safe.

“As such, I was very disappointed that the Home Secretary failed to appear in the House of Commons to answer Labour’s questions on Monday

“I’ve raised this as an urgent matter with the Home Secretary demanding information of the full impact on our area and, vitally, how we can fix this serious problem.”

The Conservatives have established a pattern of incompetent failures. On Free School Meals, on exams, on the delay to introducing a lockdown and now on our very safety, the Government have dropped the ball.

ENDS

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

Last week’s schools chaos shows that the Government’s priorities do not lie with families.

Parents finding out at 8pm on a Monday night that their children wouldn't be going to school the next day, after being reassured the opposite, indicates a wider problem; the Government’s incompetence is leaving families behind.

Seeing children out of school is disappointing, but is now necessary. Schools are open to vulnerable children and those with essential worker parents, but this limited safe capacity has quickly been filled leaving schools under serious pressure.

Meanwhile, parents who cannot work from home are being told to remain at work, creating a childcare issue and leaving parents with the difficult decision of working and keeping their job or looking after their family.

On Wednesday, after pressure from Labour, the Chancellor updated the guidance to make these parents aware that they would be eligible for furlough. But this is at the discretion of employers. It also means a 20% pay-cut.

That’s just not good enough. Once again, working parents are left to juggle childcare and work. It isn’t fair on parents, school staff or children.

As we face the deepest recession of any major economy, we must protect family incomes.

Labour is calling on the Government to create an immediate right for parents to request paid flexible furlough.

Child poverty levels were striking pre-pandemic, with 35% of children in the North East living in poverty. This has now worsened, regional inequality has intensified, and Councils have been starved of income.

Despite this, Boris and Rishi want to cut Universal Credit, which will mean millions of families lose £1,000 a year and another 200,000 children put into poverty. They also plan a raise in council tax, landing every family an extra £90 on their bill.

This harsh austerity won’t help our region build back its economy. It won’t help parents and children build back our communities. It certainly won’t level us up.

Not only are the Tories proving their incompetence, but they are proving that families are not their priority.

Sunderland Echo website >

Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Dec 2020-Jan 2021 number 135

Sharon has today (30^th December 2020) raised in Parliament the importance of Nissan to the North East and called on the Government to help build and support a local supply chain, so that tariff-free trade can continue in the coming years.

During her speech, Sharon said:

“Nissan in my constituency is the largest Nissan Plant in Europe, proving the North East’s worth to the world's automotive industry and it must continue to be so in the post-Brexit world.”

Sharon also called on the Government to invest in a local battery supply chain, so that the UK automotive industry can meet the Rules of Origin criteria set by the deal, by 2024, so that tariff-free trade can continue.

After the debate, Sharon said:

“Sunderland voted to leave and I know that my constituents will be pleased that a Deal has been achieved and successfully voted on in the Commons.

“The Deal is by no means a perfect one, but it can be built upon in the future.

“My priority now is championing the North East and ensuring that our area benefits from investment by battery manufacturers in the coming years so that the UK automotive industry can continue to thrive, without trade tariffs or barriers.”

Sharon voted in favour of the trade deal with the EU, saying it was “in the national interest to do so”.

The deal passed in the House of Commons by 521 to 73.

ENDS

You can watch Sharon’s speech on Facebook here >

During Prime Minister's Questions, Sharon today called on Boris Johnson to urge Centrica British Gas to halt their fire and re-hire plans for skilled workers and return to the negotiation table with workers and their Union, the GMB. Sharon also called on the Government to introduce legislation to outlaw fire and re-hire once and for all. 

You can watch Sharon's Question and the Prime Minister's response on the below links:

Twitter

Facebook

ParliamentLive.TV

You can also visit the GMB Union website here >

New analysis by Labour reveals that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will hit every key worker earning over £18,000 in England with a real-terms pay cut next year.

This includes 52,267 key workers in the North East region – the teachers, police officers and Armed Forces personnel on the front line of the battle against Covid-19.

At the Spending Review on 25 November, the Chancellor announced a ‘pay freeze’ for all public sector workers earning above £24,000 in 2021-22.
NHS workers weren’t included, while those earning less than £24,000 were promised “a fixed increase of £250”.
Taking into account inflation over the next fiscal year, that means every non-NHS public sector worker earning over £18,000 will actually get a real-terms pay cut.

In the North East this includes:
• 5,691 police officers
• 23,471 teachers
• 22,035 civil servants, including tax inspectors, prison officers and probation officers
• 1,070 members of the Armed Forces

That’s a pay cut for every police officer in England, all 501,000 teachers in English state-funded schools and over 90% of the Armed Forces personnel based in England.

On top of the pay freeze, the Spending Review also contained a one-billion-pound council tax bombshell hidden in the small print and a cut to Universal Credit that will hit those who can least afford it.

Labour has condemned this triple hammer blow to people’s pockets as totally irresponsible when the economy is so fragile.

Making people worried about making ends meet will pull spending out of local high streets and small businesses, damaging consumer confidence at the very moment the Government should be building it up.

Sharon Hodgson MP said:
“The Chancellor was happy to clap for our key workers on his front step on Downing Street, but now that push has come to shove he has failed to show them the respect they deserve. Clapping doesn’t pay the bills.

“I believe those who serve our country deserve fair reward; by cutting their real-terms pay, the Government are punishing those who serve our country every day.

“The country needs a plan to recover jobs and rebuild businesses to fight the wave of unemployment. The Chancellor must think again.”

Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said:
“Key workers kept our country going this year, but the Chancellor has rewarded over a million of them with a real-terms pay cut.

“It’s totally irresponsible to hit workers in their pockets when the economy is so weak, but the least the Chancellor can do is be upfront about it.

“Instead, he’s trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the police officers, teachers and Armed Forces personnel who’ve kept the country going during this pandemic.

“They shouldn’t have to carry the can for this Government’s mistakes.”
ENDS

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

When Penshaw monument comes into view on the A1 or A19, you know you’re almost home.

The announcement of a coronavirus vaccine feels like that too.

Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Nov-Dec 2020 number 134

Click on the picture above to read Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Nov-Dec 2020 number 134

Sharon challenges Government to include conditions on securing UK jobs as part of financial support for Aerospace Industry

Sharon Hodgson, the Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West, and Shadow Minister for Veterans, has challenged the Government to include conditions on securing UK jobs as part of any financial support for Aerospace Industry.

During Transport Questions on Thursday 3^rd December 2020, Sharon urged the Government to ensure that financial support for aerospace businesses includes conditions to retain high-skilled jobs in the UK.

This comes as Rolls-Royce were accused by Unite the Union of 'choking' the company’s future and 'selling family silver’ in a sell-off and plant rundown announcement.

Sharon said:

‘’Today’s announcement from Rolls-Royce will add further worry to hundreds of workers ahead of what is already going to be a difficult Winter.

‘’It highlights the need for further Government support for the aerospace sector, and that such support should be conditional on retaining and increasing highly-skilled jobs here in the UK.

‘’Manufacturing will be key to our recovery from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government and businesses should be investing in our future, rather than letting more jobs fall by the wayside.’’

Ends  

• Sharon’s question can be viewed in full here: https://twitter.com/SharonHodgsonMP/status/1334475347082010626?s=20
• The announcement from Rolls-Royce can be found here: https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/2020/03-12-2020-rr-to-create-global-aerospace-leader-as-part-of-review-of-civil-aerospace-footprint.aspx
• Reaction to that announcement from Unite the Union can be found here: https://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2020/december/rolls-royce-accused-of-choking-company-s-future-and-selling-family-silver-in-sell-off-and-plant-rundown-announcement/

A small group of cross-party MPs have met recently to discuss the reinstatement of former Kenyan Civil Servant pensions, after their constituents stopped receiving their pension payments in March 2019.

The pensions are paid by Crown Agents Bank on behalf of the Kenyan Government. However, Crown Agents Bank say that they have not received pension payments from the Kenyan Government and therefore cannot pay it out.

Six cross party MPs have therefore written to the Minister of State for Africa, James Duddridge MP; written to His Excellency Mr Manoah Esipisu MBS, High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya to the United Kingdom; tabled Parliamentary Questions and Debates, with the aim to resolve this issue for their constituents and other former Kenyan civil servants who have not received their pension since March 2019.

In a joint statement, the group said:
“It has been over 18 months since our constituent’s stopped receiving the pensions they are entitled to. We believe that the Government should treat this matter with some urgency, which is why we are now doing all that we can to bring this issue to the Government’s attention.”

The group is convened by Sharon Hodgson MP, Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West and includes Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford and Isleworth; Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham; Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West; Tan Dhesi, MP for Slough; Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston and Paul Bristow, MP for Peterborough.