Next week, kids across the country will be heading back to school as the new academic year begins.

Whilst they are excited to see their friends in the school playground, parents and carers are faced with the rising cost of school uniforms and other necessities.

Almost a third of children in the North East region live in poverty, with around 118,000 in the North East Combined Authority area alone, the cost of school uniform and supplies stretch family budgets even further, and threaten the education of children living in the North East.

Schools have a duty to provide a level playing ground for all students, from all backgrounds, and it is distressing to be receiving messages from concerned parents in the constituency who are finding it increasingly hard to meet the rising costs of school uniforms.

The stricter uniform policies I have been contacted about recently enforce ‘essential’ branding, inevitably raising the costs and limiting the number, and availability, of stores that uniforms can be bought from. This is outrageous and I have contacted schools about this every year since becoming an MP and will continue to do so.

Uniforms are supposed to act as a social leveller – an equaliser – and should be affordable and accessible for all of their students. Instead, excessive cost and tightening rules around what is required are holding families back and pushing some even deeper into poverty.

Named brands with school logos and preferred providers of clothing are unnecessary and strict rules around this just punish the poorest of pupils, who already face greater financial barriers and add to back-to-school anxiety.

One parent who got in touch recently told me that unless their child is wearing a shirt with the school’s branding on, they are unable to take their jumper off – completely harsh and unacceptable

This poses an obvious concern to the safety and wellbeing of children unable to afford the branded shirts, if they become too warm and are unable to take a layer off.

It is disgusting that it has gotten to this point.

Schools must ensure that they are spaces where children can go to learn without paying extortionate costs to simply attend their lessons.

Many of our local food banks already offer so much support to the most vulnerable across our community – and in recent years they have stepped up to try to bridge the gap in rising uniform costs, with many now offering uniform swaps to help families prepare for new school years without breaking the bank unnecessarily.

This is brilliant of them – but they should not have to do it.

No student, no child, and no family should be left behind when it comes to education, particularly those in the North East.

This summer, over 31% of pupils in London and the South East achieved an A or A* in their subjects compared to just 24.6% in the North.

In the North East, the result of A and A* grades were even lower, at 23.9%.

The North/South divide now lies at 6.5%, a considerable increase from pre-pandemic levels and yet more evidence of the North being starved of investment and our communities being left behind.

Our region suffered fourteen years of neglect, and our children faced the brunt of it. But our new Labour Government will deliver the change the North East deserves to see, and our Mayor of the North East is already demonstrating this.

Kim Mcguinness, our North East Mayor, announced this week that she will establish a Child Poverty Reduction Unit, which will develop and drive a region-wide strategy.

The first priority of the unit will be to develop the Childcare Grant, which would help parents find or return to work and keep more of their earnings and work with the wider childcare system to develop the most effective way of tackling child poverty.

Every child deserves access to every opportunity and together we will eradicate child poverty in the North East.

Our Labour Government has a mountain to climb, but will work harder than ever to ensure that our children’s education is protected and accessible for all students.

I will continue to work hard with our new Government to deliver for the children of this region, the children who were cheated out of months of education during the Covid-19 pandemic, and tossed aside by previous Tory Governments.

If anyone is having issues with the costs of uniforms or anything else please do get in contact with my office to see what I can do to help [email protected]

Our North East communities have sent a message to the racists and fascists that they are not welcome in the UK.

There is no excuse for the violence and hatred we saw in Sunderland and elsewhere over the last few weeks, those purporting to riot in the name of Bede, Alice and Elsie should be ashamed of themselves.

Of course for some, it was just an excuse for violence and looting, I’m pleased to see Northumbria Police take a clear lead with prosecutions already taking place and increased numbers of uniformed officers out and about in our communities.

It is disturbing to see young kids on the streets chanting racist slogans, calling people names, and worrying that some parents think it’s OK to indoctrinate their kids this way. We have seen reports of a 13-year-old girl being charged this week for threatening unlawful violence.

These are not legitimate protests, it’s far right thuggery, with people making Nazi salutes and attacking the police. Children should be protected from this, not exposed to it, taken to riot, to commit violence and neglected by exposing them to the risk of being injured and harmed themselves by other rioters.

We must be clear that when some politicians have used hateful language against migrants, Muslims and LGBTQ+ communities, it has a huge impact in othering people and dividing communities – this has been happening for decades now and too many people are taken in by this hatred and fall for the divide and rule tactics.

Decades of cuts to services, falling living standards and a cost of living crisis has left people desperate and angry – and the far right and some mainstream politicians exploit that anger driving people to hate.

We see a rise in far-right populism across Europe using this playbook.

Yet what is inspiring is the fight back against this hope and despair – it has been heartening to see so many come together in unity against this far right aggression, with thousands gathering peacefully in Newcastle, with chants and signs all showing the real communities across the North East.

Workers of all races, religions and sexual orientation have more in common than those who seek to exploit us.

I’m proud of our North East communities and of everyone across the country who has stood up to racism, islamophobia and division – as one of the signs in Newcastle said Divvent be racist, fascists gan hyem.

It’s only been three weeks since a new Labour Government was elected and what is overwhelmingly clear is the extent of disaster created by the Tories is worse than we thought.

Our new Government has inherited a £20 billion black hole in its accounts created by the Tories’ fiscal mismanagement. We will not be able to fix everything overnight but we have made a start and there has already been many positive changes to deliver the change that the people of this country have been crying out for.

This week I voted for our first piece of legislation, The Passenger Railway Service (Public Ownership) Bill, our first step towards nationalisation.

After decades of failures from privatisation and incompetence our railways are broken, the reform of our railways is an issue that I am extremely passionate about, transport in the North is regularly raised by businesses and constituents from bus networks to rail. It is a priority for me and our region.

As co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the North East, we heard transport is the number one priority for the North East, our next meeting as soon as recess is over in September will continue to speak up for our region’s economy and the challenges our constituents face on a daily basis such as transport.

This week I also voted for the King’s Speech. This will be our pathway to fix the country, as well as this we have already announced a breakthrough in negotiations with Junior Doctors, offered teachers a well-deserved pay award, stopped non-essential spending on external consultants and the closure of tax loopholes and clamp down on tax avoidance.

Additionally, Labour has already begun the search for a Covid corruption Commissioner to recover the money owed to the British public, lost through fraud, we want the money the Tories gave away back and we won’t leave any stone unturned to trace it.

Whilst the new government will work tirelessly to ensure they can deliver from day one, it is important that we also understand the scale of the challenge and allow us the opportunity to put things in place.Locally I am carrying on with our surgeries over summer and street surgeries from September, bringing me and my office to your doorstep – and look out for my leaflet coming through your door this summer.

You can always email me at [email protected]

People have been absolutely desperate to get rid of the Tories, desperate for a better society and desperate for change.

Our new Labour Government has given us all back some hope – yesterday’s King’s Speech with 40 Legislative Bills sets out how we will deliver the change our communities need.

We are just two weeks into a Labour Government and the hope for a better future for people in the North East is palpable – from those braving the rain at the Durham Gala, to people at the wonderful Pride Pooches event last Sunday – to the hundreds of people who have already emailed into my office – all eager to see improvements.

From getting a GP or dentist appointment, to housing, to the NHS, to social care, to paying your bills – everyone of us needs to see improvement in our day to day lives.

The Durham Miners’ Gala brought us all together to remember the struggles of the past and renew our collective strength to fight for more for the North and it was inspiring to hear speaker after speaker talk about the difference a new deal for workers will bring, to hear the impact Labour’s promise on the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme will have and the much needed inquiry into Orgreave.

In the first two weeks Labour has already made a huge difference, from scrapping the vile Rwanda Scheme to launching our border policy, to meeting with NHS leaders and workers to announcements on schools, and house building – we have really hit the ground running.

Yesterday, we saw the first King’s Speech under a Labour Government since 1950 and it included 40 legislative Bills ranging from housebuilding to green energy to constitutional reform to increasing workers’ rights, better transport and nationalisation of rail, a full ban on so called conversion therapy, plans for renters to abolish no fault evictions, saving the NHS and reforming the Mental Health Act, powers to tackle the water companies, the English Devolution Bill, which will help unlock the power of the North and setting out the plans for the national wealth fund that will transform communities like Jarrow & Gateshead East.

I am particularly excited about the New Deal for workers – this will make a huge impact to the North East.

Average wages are only £16 a week higher in real terms than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010, when you combine that with the cost-of-living crisis, high food bills and energy bills – it is no wonder so many are really struggling.

Labour’s New Deal for Working people will help rebalance the workplace, it will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts; end fire and rehire; and introduce basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal.

Energy bills were an issue that kept coming up on the doorsteps, people are struggling and the level of pensioner poverty with our older people living in cold homes is obscene – Labour will now make an immediate impact and a real difference with our Warm Homes Plan to insulate households in fuel poverty, cutting bills and making homes warmer and healthier, with longer term lower energy bills from the cheaper renewable energy and energy independence that GB Energy will bring.

In Jarrow and Gateshead East, 7,000 children are growing up in poverty – one of my main priorities of this parliamentary term is to ensure child poverty is eradicated and I am supporting campaigns to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

This Labour government will not promise the world with empty rhetoric as the Tories did – we are clearly saying there is so much that needs fixing it will take us time. But we are offering hope, honesty and a plan to deliver the change our country needs.

We will grow the economy, we will cut NHS waiting times, we will launch a new Border Security Command, we will deliver better transport, more jobs, we will set up GB Energy to slash your bills and we will also help to create wealth in every community and hand the power back to local leaders.

There is so much to be hopeful about and so much that we can change – I want to also take this opportunity to thank everyone in Jarrow and Gateshead East that voted for me two weeks ago today.

I understand people’s anger at the last government translating into protest votes – but as I said on the BBC last week we need to resist attempts by politicians to turn our anger into hate for others – bigotry and hatred is not the way forward.

I hope that our Labour Government will transform people’s lives and if you did not vote for me this time, I promise to serve you during our project of national renewal all the same.

As your MP, I will always be accessible and present in the communities I serve – you can email me on [email protected]

Last week the Conservative government set out its long-awaited road map for easing restrictions but for businesses and families alike there’s still no clear sense of direction following yesterday’s Budget.

With over 20 million people already vaccinated so far, there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel.

That in no small way is down to the extraordinary effort of our NHS and GP staff, scientists, lab technicians, nurses and volunteers.

But there is still some way to go, and I know it will still require a huge collective effort to make sure we emerge from this crisis as quickly as possible.

The million-dollar question is how we emerge from this latest lockdown, and what kind of economy we build in the future?

Yesterday’s Budget was the Chancellor’s last chance to put that right, and this government’s opportunity to make amends for their dreadful handling of the pandemic over the past year. They failed to do so.

The pandemic has delivered a hammer-blow to the economy, with so many businesses hit hard, resulting in more job losses and businesses ceasing to trade.

The government has rightfully committed to extending the furlough scheme until September, but what then? The huge question that still remains is what will happen to those jobs when the scheme ends?

Our NHS – already crippled by 10 years of Tory austerity and underfunding – has needed huge sums of money to cope with the mammoth demands placed upon it, not to mention the billions wasted on ‘crony contracts’ handed out to the Tories and their friends during the pandemic.

Conservative-driven austerity under David Cameron, George Osborne, and Theresa May has already laid the foundations for the destruction of our health service, its consequences already have our NHS regularly at breaking-point. Prior to the pandemic, there were 100 thousand vacant jobs within the NHS. How will this be resolved when the Chancellor had absolutely nothing in this Budget for Health and Social Care and the workers within it?

From the mass shortages of PPE that Health Secretary Matt Hancock now claims never existed, to the unacceptable staff shortages that forced hard-working doctors and nurses to work themselves into the ground for lots of Boris Johnson-led claps on the steps of Downing Street, we must never forget the failings of this government over the past 12 months and beyond.

Economically, we are in the direst of situations and the Chancellor has had little choice but to extend the furlough scheme and maintain the £20 uplift of Universal Credit for another six months – but still refuses to extend the uplift to legacy benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance. Where is the additional support for those living with a disability?

For many months, I have joined many MPs in Parliament calling for more help for the self-employed and although more are now eligible for grants, is a year too late – these valued workers should have been given help months ago.

Despite all of the Tory spin and press releases they have churned out in the run up to the Budget, one thing is certain – Rishi Sunak has played a huge part in this government’s shambolic handling of the crisis.

Sunak is seen as something of a media darling but he, along with Boris Johnson and the rest of the Conservative government, have presided over this country’s extended length of battling Covid and the UK having the biggest death toll in Europe. The Conservative government were too slow to act throughout the crisis and their failings have been laid bare for all to see.

The reality is that the Conservative government wants to continue with the same austerity programme and unequal country that’s been so cruelly exposed by the virus.

A Conservative government whose decisions have left us with the mess we find today with unemployment at 5% and debt at over £2tn.

No matter how Rishi Sunak tries to gloss over his terrible record with glitzy images on social media, the government has no plan to rebuild our shattered economy, much of it of their own making. We need and deserve so much more.

I fully understand how difficult and challenging the pandemic has been for businesses, traders, freelancers and self-employed workers who have not been eligible for government support over the past eleven months.

This has left millions of businesses and self-employed workers facing an extremely precarious financial situation. Many have been forced to rely on whatever savings they have, or the generosity of friends and family just to try and simply make ends meet.

During the pandemic people have worried about how they are going to feed their children, or keep the heating on, over what has been undoubtedly the most difficult of financial situations for decades.

Although people continue to receive financial assistance through the furlough scheme or the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, the Government continues to ignore a group of around three million people who have fallen through the gaps.

These people have not been eligible for support due to the strict eligibility criteria.

Some had started a new job and had not been on the payroll long enough, others, had taken the massive step to start up a new business and did not have sufficient trading history to quality for support.

Almost a year has passed and the ‘Excluded’ remain forgotten about by this government.

These are genuine, hard-working people who have built up businesses and paid taxes all their lives.

Those who have been excluded span many different categories of workers, including, but not limited to, employees who were denied furlough or were ineligible for it, which includes new starters; the self-employed, including those newly self-employed; those over the £50,000 threshold; those who earn less than 50% of their income from self-employment; directors of limited companies who are paid annually or via dividends, or directors of such companies that are not yet in profit; and PAYE freelancers.

They now find themselves facing hardship with little of the current support available to them.

They have done nothing wrong to warrant being cut out of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

What’s more, our communities are going to need as many of them as possible when the pandemic is over.

I have already raised this matter in Westminster and I will continue to do so.

It is appalling that the Chancellor has repeatedly refused to do anything to address these injustices.

Universal Credit is mentioned as the fall-back. However, let’s face it, Universal Credit is nowhere near adequate, otherwise, the Government would not have felt the need to create the furlough scheme or the self-employed income support scheme in the first place.

I also remain extremely concerned about the impacts on mental health on many of those excluded from support.

My plea to the government is to listen to how those that have been and continue to be ‘Excluded’ are feeling and to put adequate support in place.

The way they have been treated during this pandemic is disgraceful and will have consequences for our ability to recover in 2021 and beyond.

With the vaccine offering hope of a return to normality, the cost of extra support must be weighed against the damage caused if the ‘Excluded’ continue to be ignored.

It seems every aspect of our lives has changed in some way, particularly the things we often take for granted.

From going to school, to having a medical appointment, from the weekly shop, to using public transport, the coronavirus pandemic means that the past 12 months will be one which we will never forget.

The pandemic has gone to reiterate what all of us already knew. That our public sector workers make a unique contribution to the running of our country, and are there for us even in the most challenging of times.

Last Saturday I visited the brilliant team at The Glen Covid Vaccine Centre in Hebburn, to see for myself the well-organised and friendly way that the vaccinations are being carried out.

I can’t speak highly enough about those on the frontline who are keeping our country running, from everyone in our NHS and Social Care staff to the Emergency Services, Shop and Postal Workers, Police Officers, Teachers, Supermarket staff, and many more. Each and every one of those workers deserve our thanks and our gratitude.

The past year has thrown up some true heroes who have kept our communities working and kept it moving during these tough times.

Right now, food bank volunteers are on the front-line helping families during the pandemic, working around the clock to deliver food parcels to local people and their families who are in desperate need of help.

People have really gone above and beyond to support each other during these exceptionally challenging times.

Of course, in this day and age food banks should not be needed. However, I can’t praise highly enough the selfless people who work, and generously donate to our foodbanks across the Boroughs. People such as Jo Durkin and Angie Comerford from one of our wonderful local food banks, Hebburn Helps, Tracy Beaton at Bede’s Helping Hands at the Former Primrose Library in Glasgow Road, and the volunteers at Boldon Community Association, Gateshead Foodbank, Key 2 Life, and Hospitality and Hope, who regularly deliver food parcels in this area to ensure food is available for those who help the most.

And there is also Pub Landlord Lee Hughes, from the Red Hackle, and Nico, a local shopkeeper on the Scotch Estate in Jarrow, who have also gone above and beyond through these difficult times to help others.

The examples of these selfless people have shown that community spirit continues to thrive.

It’s truly inspiring that people are helping their neighbours, their friends, and their families, by making such a big difference and bringing a smile to someone’s face.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has played a part in supporting our communities and will continue to do so in these difficult weeks ahead.

Creating food parcels for vulnerable members of the community, making PPE equipment, and fundraising to support others, are just a small part of many acts of kindness.

As always if you need any assistance from me or my team please contact me at [email protected] or call 0191 466 1509 and I will do everything I can to help.

This Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that there are many things in life that we can’t plan for.

Who would have thought that almost a year ago the world would experience a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, causing so much human suffering and loss of life, dramatically affect our relationships with other people in our communities and our families, and create a new way of living.

The coronavirus pandemic has placed enormous strain on our NHS and robbed individuals and businesses of their livelihoods and we face many more difficult months ahead.

What this pandemic has also showed us is that we need a social security system we can rely on.

We entered the crisis with an inadequate benefit system which has been hit by years of freezes and cuts by this callous government, leaving low-income families struggling to make ends meet.

In March last year, with our social security system unable to keep many families above the breadline, the government were left with little choice but to implement a £20-per-week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit for a year.

This uplift has been a lifeline to many working families, many of whom are on low pay, or have seen their incomes drop because they have been furloughed.

This would mean over six million low-million families would lose £1,040 from their annual income from April.

This would also create serious financial hardship and pull 500,000 people into poverty, including 200,000 children.

I can remember when the government said at the beginning of the pandemic that they would “put their arms around” us.

But those words will certainly ring hollow when they intend to take £1,000 a year off Britain’s poorest families during the pandemic and that’s why Labour forced a vote in Westminster this week, to highlight this.

I pressed the Chancellor on this issue only last week. It is vital that the Government must change course, and accept that this uplift must be extended but also extend the uplift to all legacy benefits too.

It is inexplicable that the Tories are now apparently ready to take this lifeline away from struggling families.

Almost 9,000 people in the Jarrow constituency will see their household income drop by around £1,040 a year and around half a million more people, including 200,000 children across the country, will be pushed into poverty.

To remove this vital support for struggling families at this difficult time is taking away help from the very people who need this financial help the most.

This is against a backdrop where unemployment is forecast to hit 2.6 million by the middle of the year.​​

Alongside this, support provided by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is set to end after 30 April 2021, likely resulting in further redundancies, increased unemployment and more people needing to claim Universal Credit.

This extra £20 a week does not afford applicants a lavish lifestyle. Instead, it has provided a lifeline to many families who have already seen their already meagre incomes squeezed during the pandemic because they have had to spend more on food, gas and electricity, internet connection, and home schooling. That’s why it must be extended.

The roll-out of the vaccine has given us hope but needlessly and heartlessly cutting family incomes will heap more financial pressure on them.

The government did the right thing last year with the uplift in Universal Credit, however, the level of need has not changed. The pandemic continues to hit us hard, so they must extend this uplift and extend to people on legacy benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support, who haven’t received an equivalent uplift to their benefit awards.

With continued restrictions and the added costs of lockdown it is critical families keep this added support and are told so now, rather than facing weeks of uncertainty ahead.

The MP for Jarrow has come out against proposals for a flyover development after hundreds of constituents signed a petition opposing the project.

South Tyneside Council is weighing up plans to replace two level crossings in Boldon through a separate scheme, which is supported by Network Rail.

The council says ‘Tilesheds Flyover’ proposals are being considered as an alternative to an East Boldon ‘road-over-rail’ bridge development that would see existing half-barriers at Tileshed Lane and Boldon Lane replaced by full ones.

The flyover plans have, however, sparked a considerable backlash among residents and environmentalists.

An online petition that has garnered more than 4,000 signatures overall and several hundred among area residents has prompted a response from Jarrow MP, Kate Osborne, ahead of a council meeting where the petition is due to be discussed.

The council meeting will be held later today.

“I have closely looked into the proposals and I strongly believe that the construction of a bypass and bridge will have a hugely detrimental impact on the environment and the lives of people who reside, travel or work in the area,”

Ms Osborne said.

Just over a month ago, the Green Party opposition councillor, David Francis, requested the plans be considered by the Place Select Committee, one of the council’s scrutiny panels.

Councillors were told then that the proposals had come about as a result of Network Rail’s plans to install full barriers at the site, with the current half-barriers having been considered a “serious risk”.

Campaigners opposed to the scheme argue that the green belt area’s protected features – including its designation as an area of Special Scientific Interest – make the project unworkable.

They point to the borough council’s climate emergency declaration, which the Jarrow MP also highlighted, saying that “these proposals, were they to come to fruition, would completely go against the local authority’s commitment to a carbon neutral future by 2030.”

A council spokesperson previously said no decision has been made and there is a substantial amount of work still to be done, including a full detailed design and environmental assessment of the bridge option.

Should the council’s cabinet decide to progress with the proposed bridge it would also be subject to the planning process.

To find out more, visit: www.southtyneside.gov.uk/btlc