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

The Free TV Licence for over-75s was something the Labour Government in 2000 proudly introduced as a package of social welfare policies for the elderly.

But it was a Conservative Government who, in 2015, callously outsourced this treasured benefit to the BBC, as part of a “Hobson’s Choice” Charter renewal.

The 2017 Conservative Party manifesto itself committed to protecting “all pensioner benefits including… TV licences for the duration of this Parliament” Which would take us to 2022, not 2020 when these changes will come into effect.

So, whilst a Conservative Party manifesto has been broken without any consideration, it is the elderly and most vulnerable in our society who will suffer.

The changes to the free TV licence for over-75s, which will see only those receiving Pension Credit acquiring a free TV licence, means that approximately 3,150 households in Washington and Sunderland West will now miss out on a free TV licence.

Many of my constituents have contacted me about this issue, and I share their concerns about the impact this could have on those affected by these changes.

Age UK estimate that for over a million of the oldest people in our country, television is their main form of company. Further analysis shows that scrapping the free TV licence could push 50,000 pensioners below the poverty line.

I am therefore concerned about the isolation and loneliness this could cause, as well as the financial implications on some of the oldest and most vulnerable in our community.

The blame for this lies squarely at the feet of this Conservative Government. Public broadcasters should not be responsible for social policy.

I contributed to the BBC’s consultation on the free TV licence back in February, spoke in a recent debate on the proposed changes and hosted the National Pensioners Convention’s parliamentary lobby in March protesting the changes.

Since the consultation began, I have argued that the Government should take back responsibility for funding the free TV licence for over-75s.

Lets not forget, amongst all the noise around Brexit and the leadership contest to be the next Prime Minister, the Government can change all of this and I will continue to urge them to do so.

In the meantime, any constituents who are concerned about the impact these changes will have on them, their friends or family, please ensure that you are claiming all the benefits that you are entitled to, particularly Pension Credit. Visit www.entitledto.co.uk to check this out.

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo website.

Today, the UK goes to the polls to vote in the European Parliamentary elections.

After the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU) in the 2016 referendum, no one envisaged we would be voting in an EU election ever again.

The blame for this lies squarely with the Conservative Government for failing to secure an agreement that Parliament can support.

Their botched Brexit deal fails to: protect jobs, secure workers’ rights, environmental protections, and guarantee the frictionless trade that our manufacturing industry relies upon.

But whilst the Conservative Party has been failing to secure a deal that works for everyone and the country has been arguing over remain and leave or hard and soft Brexit, we have been guilty of missing something much more important and problematic for future generations: child poverty.

Last week, the End Child Poverty coalition released new statistics which found that half a million more children are having their lives blighted by poverty today than at the start of the decade; two thirds of which are growing up in working households.

In some constituencies across the UK, more than 50% of children are living in poverty.

In my constituency, Washington and Sunderland West, 39% of children are growing up in poverty.

That is almost 9,000 of our local children going to school hungry, being poorly clothed and suffering in the cold during winter.

Poverty instantly disadvantages children from their more affluent peers in every aspect of their life: health and wellbeing, education and future employment.

That so many children throughout the UK are growing up in poverty should shame this Government into action.

Yet, when confronted with the issue that millions of households across the country face, the Conservative Government are quick to dismiss it as an anomaly.

But this is a reality for far too many.

We have a duty to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to grow up into a healthy adult.

But we risk losing a generation to poverty, fuelled by the Conservative Government’s callous austerity policies and ignorance to the real issues families face.

As the UK goes to the polls today, we must remember what really matters.

Brexit may be important, but sadly it is proving to be a huge distraction from national scandals such as child poverty.

These children deserve better.

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Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or on the Sunderland Echo website.

Last Thursday, The Trussell Trust, a nationwide network of foodbanks, released its latest figures.

A shocking 1.6 million emergency food parcels were given to people in crisis by Trussell Trust foodbanks between April 2018 and March 2019. More than half a million of these went to children.

In Sunderland, 4,821 three-day emergency food supplies were given to local people in crisis. 1,234 of these went to children.

These figures, which do not account for every foodbank in the country, show that the number of food parcels given out across the UK has soared by 73% in the last five years.

In February this year, I raised a question in the House of Commons with the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd, about the link between Universal Credit and the rise of foodbanks.

For the first time, the Government admitted that there was a link between Universal Credit and the rise in foodbanks; but it shouldn’t have taken them so long to make the connection.

For over a year, I have been Co-Chairing an Inquiry into food insecurity and hunger amongst young people, entitled “The Children’s Future Food Inquiry”, which published its report on Thursday last week.

The inquiry heard from children and young people about their own experiences of food at home and at school. We heard worrying stories of limited access to free water provision in schools; pupils spending their free school meals money on water is outrageous, especially when they are trying to stretch it far enough so they don’t go hungry. We also heard about young people rationing their own food at home, to make it stretch.

All this in the world’s fifth richest economy. The Government should be ashamed.

As the Co-Chair of the Inquiry, I am calling on the Government to establish an independent food watchdog that will consider the costings of policies that could prevent us losing a generation to hunger and its consequences in this country.

A Labour Government will end the benefits freeze, stop the rollout of Universal Credit and ensure that our social security system supports any one of us should we need it.

Hunger and high foodbank use should have no place in the 21st century.

The Government must urgently recognise these stark figures as yet another red flag that proves their welfare reforms, and particularly Universal Credit, are hurting too many people and simply not working.

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo website.

This week, I opened a Westminster Hall debate on the effect a No Deal Brexit could have on public sector catering. Public sector catering includes schools, universities, hospitals, care homes and prisons; and therefore caters for some of the most vulnerable in our society.

It is estimated that 10.5 million people in the UK rely on public sector catering for some of their food, of which some are completely reliant for all of their meals. Away from all the Brexit arguing, are people, young and old, who will suffer in the event of a No Deal Brexit.

I was therefore clear to the Government that no deal should not mean no meal for millions of people up and down the country who rely upon public sector catering for their meals. Meals in our schools, hospitals and care homes provide important nutritional value to children, patients and the elderly and are catered to their specific needs, such as dietary requirements and health needs.

Any rise in food prices, delays in food deliveries or decrease in nutritional standards or safety of food, in the event of a No Deal Brexit will be detrimental to service users. For example, it could slow down recovery time for a hospital patient.

That is why I called on the Government to ensure that institutions such as schools, hospitals and care homes are given priority in the event of food shortages, and asked the Government to support Local Authorities and public sector caterers in absorbing any increase in food prices in the event of a No Deal Brexit.

When we talk about the impact of a No Deal Brexit on our health and wellbeing, we must also consider the availability of food to the most vulnerable in our society. Brexit shouldn’t be the reason that millions of the most vulnerable in our society can’t eat.

That is why I was proud to stand up in Parliament and speak on behalf of public sector catering services, users and campaigners.

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo website.

This week, January 21 to 27, 2019, is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, a campaign spearheaded by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, and supported by other charities, such as The Eve Appeal.

As the Shadow Minister for Public Health, I work closely with charities, health professionals and the public to raise awareness of cancer symptoms, so that cancers can be diagnosed early, in order to improve the effectiveness of treatment.

Cervical cancer is currently one of three cancers that are screened for nationally, along with bowel and breast cancer.

However, cervical cancer screening rates are at their lowest rate for two decades.

Three million women across England have not had a smear test for at least three and a half years.

A survey, published this week by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, found that eight out of ten women said they had delayed a smear test or never gone for a screening because they felt embarrassed.

In November 2018, it was found that more than 40,000 women in England have not received information regarding cervical cancer screening.

We must do better.

Each day, nine women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and two women lose their lives to the disease.

Seventy-five per cent of cervical cancers can be prevented by smear tests.

It is therefore crucial that women, aged between 25 and 64, firstly know that they are eligible for a smear test, and secondly take up the opportunity to attend.

Most women receive a normal screening test result; but for those that don’t, the results from the screening will provide a gateway to treatment and care.

This is not something women, or men either, should be embarrassed talking about to their families and friends, after all it could save lives.

This Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, I encourage all of my constituents to talk about cervical cancer and smear tests, and the lifesaving benefits of attending appointments.

If you have been invited for a test, don’t delay your booking any longer.

The number of cervical cancer deaths has fallen in recent years, but it remains the most common cancer in women under 35.

If we want to prevent more cancers, we must be open to talking about symptoms and concerns about screening tests.

If you are concerned about cervical cancer, please contact your local GP.

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo.

Amidst the latest Brexit chaos were several resignations of senior cabinet ministers.

One particular resignation of interest was Esther McVey, who has overseen the botched roll-out of Universal Credit (UC) and has failed to acknowledge the criticisms and real-life experiences of families up and down the country who have struggled to make ends meet because of UC.

Following the conclusion of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights report in the UK, it was expected that McVey’s successor, Amber Rudd, would finally recognise the failures of UC and make urgent changes to the system.

Instead, she said that the report was “disappointing”, not because of the shocking evidence it unearthed of 21st century Britain, but because of “the extraordinary political nature of his language”.

The UN rapporteur, Philip Alston, said that “British compassion for those who are suffering has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous approach.”

He called Universal Credit “Orwellian”, and was struck by the mobilisation of food banks saying that they “resembled the sort of activity you might expect for a natural disaster or health epidemic”.

The UK is not suffering from a natural disaster or a health epidemic.

It is suffering from a Conservative Government that is so wrapped up in its own internal battles and negotiating a bad Brexit deal, that it is forgetting the people at home.

Fourteen million people, a fifth of the population in the UK, now live in poverty.

The use of food banks increased by 13% when comparing figures from April to September 2017, to the same period this year.

In the 2017-18 financial year, more than 1.3 million three-day emergency food supplies were given to people in crisis by Trussell Trust food banks.

That is almost a million more packages given compared to in 2012-13, when 346,992 three-day emergency food supplies were provided.

The number of people sleeping rough in England has risen each year since 2010, with 4,751 people sleeping rough in 2017, and just last week it was reported that there are now 320,000 homeless people in Britain.

Life expectancy for both men and women has stagnated for the first time in over a century, and in some areas has even begun to decrease.

All of this would not be out of place in a Charles Dickens novel, but unfortunately it is the reality of 21st century Britain.

The UN rapporteur’s report should have been a wake-up call for the Government, but instead they are plunging our communities into a living nightmare.

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo.

During her Party Conference speech earlier this month, Theresa May declared austerity over and promised better days ahead.

Despite this rhetoric, the reality remains that there will be millions of households up and down the country who will feel the pinch for a long time to come.

Amongst the chaos of Brexit negotiations, it would be easy for the Prime Minister to forget families living in poverty.

But colleagues and I are keen to ensure that the Government doesn’t forget those in need.

Under this Government’s watch, Trussell Trust foodbanks have increased from 60 to 2,009 in just eight years.

Jacob Rees-Mogg MP may think that the rise in foodbanks shows what a “good, compassionate country we are”, but in reality, the rise is attributed to years of austerity, with families around the country struggling to make ends meet.

Parents are skipping meals so that they can provide for their children, and in one particularly worrying case I have heard recently, they giving their children sugar and water to keep them hydrated and their stamina up.

You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that stories such as these should have been banished to a Dickensian era.

It should shame this Conservative Government that this is a reality of 21st century Britain.

According to the Food Foundation, almost four million children in the UK are estimated to live in households that would struggle to afford to buy enough fruit, vegetables and other healthy foods to meet official nutritional guidelines.

That means that the poorest 20% of households would need to spend 42% of their disposable income to afford the Government’s diet guidelines.

Children and families shouldn’t be priced out of having a healthy diet and lifestyle.

That is why I campaign for Universal Free School Meals, so that children can receive a hot and healthy meal during the school day, and also support initiatives to ensure that children are fed and kept active during the school holidays.

I am also chairing an inquiry into children’s food security, because time and time again I hear from children who don’t have access to anything to eat when they’re at home, and I fundamentally believe that the Government must take action to right this wrong.

Whilst the Government’s attention is drawn to in-fighting over Brexit, they become further and further removed from the daily reality of the millions of households up and down the country who are still waiting for those better days ahead.

Sunderland Echo Website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo.

At time of going to print, there are just 197 days until the United Kingdom (UK) leaves the European Union (EU).

Considering that there are still many important and outstanding issues to address as part of the negotiations, you would expect the Government to be diligently focusing on getting the best Brexit deal possible.

Unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth.

Parliament returned from its summer recess last week, and since then the headlines have been dominated by sordid details of Boris Johnson’s private life, and talk of his impending leadership bid.

This country deserves better than to be led into one of the most historic periods of our history by a Government that spends more time talking to itself than it does with our negotiating partners in the EU.

According to the former Brexit Minister Steve Baker, MP, there are now a significant number of Conservative MPs who are actively working to try and derail the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan and have signalled that they won’t vote for it in the House of Commons.

I know that people did not vote to leave the EU only for that decision to be manipulated into an internal battle within the Conservative Party.

Taking this into account, I believe we should be prepared for the very real possibility that the Prime Minister may fail to deliver the Brexit deal that our country needs.

Our withdrawal from the EU is one of the most complex issues our country has faced in generations, and I know that there are strong views on how best to approach it.

That’s why I want to hear from constituents about what they think should happen in this eventuality and other potential scenarios, and more generally their thoughts on how Brexit has played out thus far.

More than 500 people have already taken part in the survey that I launched last month, and I want as many of my constituents to do so as possible. It will be running throughout the rest of the month and into October and can be completed in either of the below ways:

• Online: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BrexitSurvey2018

• Via Post: Please contact my office to request a paper version of the consultation by using the details below:

  Telephone: 0191 417 2000
  
  Email: [email protected]
  
  

Please note that this survey is intended for residents of my constituency only – you can find out if that applies to you by inputting your post code into this website: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo.

Last week the NHS celebrated its 70th birthday. Our NHS remains one of Britain’s greatest institutions, and it is a Labour Government that proudly introduced it in 1948.

The NHS was founded on three core principles: that it meet the needs of everyone; that it be free at the point of delivery; and that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay.

As a local Labour MP, and Shadow Minister for Public Health, I am committed to defending these founding principles, so that our NHS is available for many, many more decades to come.

Sadly, the future of our NHS is under threat by this Tory Government.

Not only have they starved it of the funding it so desperately needs, but they have also failed to commit sufficient funding to public health and social care.

This comes at a time when demand on NHS services is growing.

A&Es are over-stretched and overcrowded; increasing numbers of people are waiting too long for operations; and key performance targets are being missed month after month.

This demand is coupled with a NHS workforce crisis. We should all show our appreciation for the thousands of people who work tirelessly to provide people with health care every single day.

Whether that’s the nurses and doctors in A&E, the porters and cleaners who keep our hospitals clean, or the cancer surgeons who perform ground-breaking operations, I know that we have all had reason to be thankful in one way or another.

But the truth is that the workforce is in crisis. Across the NHS there are more than 100,000 staff vacancies, including 40,000 nurses and 11,000 doctors.

Eight years of austerity have left their mark on the ability of the NHS to carry out its intended aims.

As of May this year, around 4.2 million people were waiting for non-urgent hospital treatment in England, and over the winter the rate of people being seen in A&E within four hours fell below 80% in some months. The target (set at 95%) has not been met since July 2015, a shocking indictment of this Government’s record.

We must not underestimate the extent of the long-lasting damage that the intentional under-funding of the NHS has already had.

NHS staff and patients deserve so much more from a Government that puts the health and wellbeing of everyone first.

It is no longer good enough for the Government to provide piecemeal increases, whilst people wait for the care they need.

A Labour Government founded the NHS 70 years ago, and it will only be a Labour Government that will continue to fight for it and give our NHS the funding it rightly deserves.

Sunderland Echo website

Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or by going to the Sunderland Echo. 

This week (June 15 to 25, 2018) marks Royal Life Saving Society UK’s (RLSS UK) Drowning Prevention Week.

In partnership with the RNLI and Swim England, RLSS UK aim to reduce the number of drowning and near-drowning incidents that occur in the UK every year, by showing people how to be safe and have fun near water.

Sadly, drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death in children in the UK, and over 700 people drown in the UK and Ireland every year – equivalent to one person drowning every 20 hours.

As summer quickly approaches, it is important that children and adults are taught about the dangers of the water, especially open water, and cold water shock.

Whilst jumping in the river on a hot summer’s day might seem an attractive way to cool off, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

As the vice-chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water Safety and Drowning Prevention and as a local MP, I have heard many stories of lives being tragically lost in the water; including Chloe Fowler, 14, and Tonibeth Purvis, 15, in July 2013 and Ross Irwin, a 22-year-old, who sadly drowned in the River Wear at Fatfield two days before Christmas in 2016.

A water safety throwline board was unveiled last month, close to the spot where Ross drowned at Fatfield Riverside.

It was unveiled by his father, David Irwin, of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Northumbria Police, Sunderland City Council and RLSS.

This was the first throwline board unveiled in the North East, and I hope there will be many more boards alongside our open waterways in Washington and Sunderland and across the region very soon.

I will continue my work with the APPG on Water Safety and Drowning to urge the Government to increase water safety education in schools, and encourage them to install initiatives such as throwline boards, so that we can soon see the number of people, especially young people, drowning in the UK decline.