Government is failing to protect those on low-incomes

Kate’s latest column for the Shields Gazette:

We are now in the opening weeks of 2022 and one of the biggest issues is the dramatic rise in energy prices.

The worrying cost of gas and electricity is hitting working-class people the hardest and many constituents have already contacted me saying they are already seeing a sharp rise in their bills. I was advised by one constituent that he had been quoted a whopping £246 per month when he was looking at price comparison sites

It is predicted that energy bills are going to rise by up to 50 per cent for millions of households when the energy price cap is adjusted in April.  It is feared that many families could be paying out an unprecedented £2,000 a year, which would leave many people below the breadline.

The explosion of food banks over the past decade-plus under the Conservatives is about more than just hunger – it’s about what sort of society this country has become. 

It is a society where over 15 million people are living in poverty and working people have no choice but to turn to a food bank because their wages simply don’t cover their bills.

It is heartbreaking that one in three children is judged to be living in poverty in this area.

  

With Council Tax set to rise in April, as well as national insurance, many families are wondering how they are going to get through the coming months. 

 

I work closely with our local Citizens Advice Bureau in South Tyneside, who do such an outstanding job assisting many families in the Borough, and I am told that energy bills are the second biggest area of debt behind Council Tax.  Historically, energy bills were 7th on that list and the increase in fuel debt directly correlates to increases in foodbank referrals.         

  

The reality of the huge struggles working people face under this Government hits home when figures from the Trussell Trust show that the need for foodbanks has increased by

128%.

 

This is a damning indictment on this Government and their dreadful running of this country. 

How are families going to manage when they’ve been quoted with an 89% increase in fuel bills?

It comes as no surprise that this Government voted down a Motion tabled by Labour in Westminster recently to cut VAT on home energy bills, which would have saved many households hundreds of pounds a year.  

The Government need to get their head out of the sand and get a hold of this escalating crisis.  

It should not come down to a choice between heating or eating.

Meanwhile, big businesses continue to bring in huge profits and proud, working people are once again forced to pick up the bill. Just this week the Government refused a motion put forward by Labour to introduce a Windfall Tax which would see oil and gas companies pay their fair share.

This is a Government that cares little for the people of this country, particularly the north. Their actions during the pandemic are proof alone – but the failure to support and protect people who are on low incomes, struggling to make ends meet, is yet another failure.

Calling for a U-turn over plans to close driving test centre

Kate’s latest column for the Shields Gazette:

APPROACHING the end of last year, I was left stunned when the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) announced they were considering closing the Driving Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate in Jarrow.

These plans understandably caused a great deal of anger and upset across the whole driving instructor community and for those learning to drive in South Tyneside.

The test centre on the Bede Industrial Estate is the only facility in the borough and it has served the community wonderfully well for many decades.

To close this centre will mean that South Tyneside residents will be forced to use the test centre in Sunderland. It has quite rightly caused immense anxiety and concern for local driving instructors, their pupils, and the local community.

Generations of families have passed their driving test there, and it would be yet another hammer blow to South Tyneside if this wholly unacceptable closure was allowed to go ahead.

The Borough, one of the highest for unemployment, is already one of the hardest hit in this country following more than a decade of Government cuts. Our local authorities have already lost more than half of their funding. We’ve lost vital health services such as the Jarrow walk-in centre, the Special Care Baby Unit and Children’s A&E services have closed between the hours of 10pm and 8pm. Acute services such as stroke and maternity services have also been moved to Sunderland. Jarrow, too, lost the much-loved St. Clare’s Hospice three years ago and we have been without a palliative hospice facility ever since.

However, over the past week the decision appears to have been made without any prior consultation. The DVSA have already contacted driving instructors confirming that the Driving Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate will be closing its doors after 10th April.

I had already agreed a meeting with the DVSA and the driving instructor community later this month. I was hoping that the DVSA would listen to and take the views on board of all those affected, such as the instructors and our community, but it seems they are hell-bent on going ahead with the closure without consulting anyone.

Instead, myself and the local driving instructor community will use this opportunity to urge the DVSA to rethink the closure and preserve a vital local service.

The loss of the Jarrow facility is yet another blow to South Tyneside, while lesson times, prices and waiting lists all increase at a period when waiting times for driving tests are at an all-time high.

I am seriously concerned about the poor communication and lack of consultation with the driving instructor community about this decision.

Moving the test centre away from South Tyneside could discourage many from learning to drive in the Borough. There will undoubtedly be an increase in fuel costs should pupils have to take their tests out of South Tyneside. This will impact the travelling times for lessons should they need to prepare students for driving tests away from South Tyneside.

This closure risks skilled Instructors and Examiners leaving the industry which will further exacerbate the long waiting times.

Due to the financial pressure of booking longer lessons, parents will have to teach their children themselves. While this is an acceptable practice, it will lead to more vehicles without dual controls on roads which pose a safety concern to all road users.

The added distance South Tyneside learners will be forced to drive to take lessons in Sunderland will increase emissions and impact negatively on the environment.

I have again contacted the Chief Executive of the DVSA and the Transport Secretary, urging them to reconsider this ill-thought-out decision.

I’m 100% behind the campaign to save our Test Centre and I encourage as many people as possible to sign the online petition to urge the DVSA to reconsider the closure of our Test Centre and the relocation of its services via www.change.org/p/stop-the-proposed-closure-of-south-shields-driving-test-centre

Energy price hikes are hitting working-class people the hardest

The government have made clear that they have no intention to back opposition calls to introduce a windfall tax on the huge profits being made by North Sea oil and gas companies. The simple fact alone that this government is more focussed on bailing out businesses as opposed to supporting and protecting everyday people on low income, truly shows that this government has its priorities wrong.

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As your MP, I promise you I am up for the political fight

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a restful Christmas and New Year. I’m sure 2022 will bring fresh challenges for us all and I sincerely wish everyone all the very best for the year ahead.  

You might’ve pledged in 2022 to drink less, lose weight, do some exercise, or change tact and embark on a new career. Often it is the case that we set our resolutions and they go out of the window in the opening days of January.

My resolution that I fully intend to keep is to fight hard for the people of the Jarrow constituency because every single passing day under this incompetent, clueless Conservative Government means falling living standards, low wages, insecurity and the running down of our NHS.

This is a Government who have lost the plot and, more importantly, have lost the trust of the people in this country. 

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

When the Prime Minister and his Ministers shamelessly broke the rules they set that we all followed, it is no surprise people are angry and have lost all trust in this Government.   

More difficult challenges lie ahead in 2022.  The cost of living is increasing, energy bills are rising, wages are stagnant and tax rises are coming in this April.

I’ll continue to fight for more money for our local authorities in South Tyneside and Gateshead who have been starved of vital funds after more than a decade of Government austerity. 

I’ll continue to raise key issues in Westminster such as the unfair cuts to Universal Credit and the grossly unfair Fire and Rehire tactics.

I will also keep up the fight to save our local health services and do everything in my power to ensure vital health facilities are maintained in this area.

I will also continue to work hard to ensure that schools in the Jarrow constituency and across the country get enough funding and guidance to make sure our children receive the best opportunities possible.

As your MP representing much of South Tyneside and parts of the Gateshead Council area, I promise you that I’m up for the political fight.

Just over two years ago I was elected as MP for the Jarrow constituency.

It has been a difficult two years, but I feel positive and optimistic for the year ahead. It is an honour to represent the great people of our community and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability. I regularly send out updates of the work I do, but what I don’t share often is the work myself and my dedicated team do behind the scenes in the office helping constituents every day with any issues or concerns that they have.

Over the past year alone, my team has helped constituents with thousands of cases. Some of the issues that we have helped constituents with are residents being rehoused or having their banding changed due to a change of circumstances; being awarded a back payment of benefits; being awarded compensation by DWP/HMRC for errors/delays made on claims; and liaising with the Home Office on immigration cases.

I look forward to continuing my work both in Parliament and around the constituency to hopefully make 2022 a better year.

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

You can also visit my website www.kate-osborne.co.uk or social media to keep up to date with my work.

I am incredibly proud of the warmth and generosity that so many people across our communities

FOR the second successive year, Christmas is going to feel very different for most of us once again.

Life continues in the face of Covid, as people have adapted to life amidst the disruption and uncertainty that the pandemic continues to bring.

I understand that these are difficult times we are all living under, but I hope that you can find enjoyment at this time of year, in a safe way.

The year began with England entering its third national lockdown and legal limits on social contact only lifted on June 21.

On a local level, people have stepped up to the challenges and continued to support their communities.

There has been much to celebrate across South Tyneside this year. I am incredibly proud by the warmth and generosity that so many people across our communities have shown each other over the past 18 months.

On a personal level, this is my second year as MP for the Jarrow constituency and I have enjoyed the immense challenges this prestigious position holds.

I’ve tried to visit as many schools and businesses across the constituency as time and restrictions have allowed and raise key issues that affect local people, such as unfair cuts to Universal Credit.

I would also like to pay tribute to our NHS workers, care workers, delivery drivers, retail staff, police officers, council bin collectors, postal workers, food bank volunteers, and each and every person from our communities who go that extra mile to help others.

South Tyneside is renowned for its community spirit, and we continue to see it in abundance every day.

This is an area that has been hit hard by over a decade of Tory austerity and I will continue to fight hard for more investment across our local communities.

Over the past year Boris Johnson has continued to demonstrate that he and his Government clearly aren’t up to the job.

The stunning loss of North Shropshire, following by the top civil servant appointed to investigate Downing Street parties resigning his post, is yet more proof that Boris Johnson is on borrowed time.

Time after time, Boris Johnson’s Government have scored a series of contemptible own goals from a free pass on sleaze to lockdown double-standards.

2022 will, of course, more difficult challenges ahead but I can assure you that I will continue to work hard for the people I represent and continue to hold this dreadful Government to account.

Myself and my team are here for you if you ever need any help or support at any time. I wish you and your families a happy, healthy and safe Christmas and a more positive and prosperous 2022.

The integrated rail plan is a betrayal of the North

Kate’s latest column for the Shields Gazette: 

The recent announcement of the scrapping of HS2’s eastern leg and the downgrading of Northern Powerhouse Rail is yet more proof that this Government has no intentions of levelling up at all.

The Government’s integrated rail plan fails to deliver on the levelling up agenda and the much-needed commitment for transformational projects for the North.

The Government’s integrated rail plan fails to deliver on the levelling up agenda and the much-needed commitment for transformational projects for the North.

It hardly comes as a major shock when the Conservative Government’s latest rail announcement goes back on their promise to level up in the North of England.

Earlier this year, the Prime Minister said: “We’re going ahead both with HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.”

Now it seems this, like so many of Boris Johnson’s promises during his tenure as Prime Minister, amounts to absolutely nothing.

The long-awaited integrated rail review will scrap the upgrade of the Leamside Line, affecting over one million people across Tyne and Wear.

And what makes this announcement even worse is that new analysis has shown that transport spending per head is over double in London than it is in the North of England, with £877.76 spent per head in London compared to £314.11 per head in the North East in 2019/20.

Boris Johnson regularly churns out phrases such as “world-beating” and his government is rebranding Network Rail as “Great British Railways”.

However, there is nothing world-beating or great about this recent announcement. Indeed, if Britain’s railways as a whole are in need of investment, then those of the north will clearly be far worse off than those in the south.

The London to Birmingham and Manchester leg of HS2 will go ahead, but Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds will not benefit nearly as much as expected.

Then the scaling back of the east-west line which had been expected to remove the very real barriers to connectivity in the north will mean inferior transport links will continue to hold back a vast swathe of the north.

This is especially disappointing after COP26 in Glasgow and the need to shift travel from road to rail to meet net-zero targets.

It has been reported that there could now be more than 12,000 extra car journeys a day in the North of England due to the poor rail connections in the North causing congestion and impacting on air quality.

The Government’s integrated rail plan fails to deliver on the levelling up agenda and the much-needed commitment for transformational projects for the North.

Without the full delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail, the eastern leg of HS2, and improved capacity on the East Coast Main Line, our region’s potential will continue to be held back by outdated rail infrastructure.

It is time for the Government to take a proper long-term approach to invest in our railways in the North East.

We know that Boris Johnson’s promises are worthless – he has proved this time and time again.

It was only in September that he had to back down on his £20bn dream to build a bridge or tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Now he can’t even ensure the North East gets proper funding to invest in our railways.

 

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate

Jessica Taylor – House of Commons photographer

Jessica Taylor – House of Commons photographer

Kate Osborne MP for the Jarrow constituency has voiced her concerns at any potential moves to close the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate, Jarrow, and the proposed relocation of Examiners and test candidates to the Sunderland Test Centre. 

Following contact from constituents who had voiced concerns to Ms Osborne relating to the future of the DVSA Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate, the Jarrow Constituency MP received an official letter from the DVSA confirming the test centre was being evaluated.  The letter seems to contradict itself by saying “We have carried out a review of the local area to ensure that the provision of local services is satisfied, and the impact of any proposed closure is minimalised. A larger site in Sunderland is approximately 5/6 miles away and the examiners at South Shields will be working at Sunderland to ensure our local service delivery continues to maintain a high standard.”

The impact of this possible closure will have a devastating impact on South Tyneside and a large number of my constituents. Relocation of this valuable service will mean that longer lessons will be needed to travel to test areas with extra lesson costs to South Tyneside learners estimated at £512,000 per annum.

Furthermore, this possible closure would also increase waiting lists for Driving Instructors as well as waiting lists for Driving Tests which would also financially impact many of Kate’s constituents. This closure risks skilled Instructors and Examiners leaving the industry which will further exacerbate already long waiting times.

Kate strongly believes that any potential relocation of services from South Tyneside would have a devastating impact on the local community.

Kate Osborne MP said: “I strongly oppose any moves to remove any services from the DVSA Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate in Jarrow. This would have a devastating impact on learners, instructors and examiners.

“The Bede Industrial Estate site is a hugely important part of the local community and has been for decades.  Generations of families have passed their driving test there and it would be a devastating loss to the South Tyneside and our close-knit local community if this unnecessary and wholly unacceptable closure was allowed to happen.

“I have written to the DVSA and the Transport Minister about this issue as a matter of urgency.”

KATE OSBORNE MP BACKS CAMPAIGN FOR PAID MISCARRIAGE LEAVE

Jarrow MP Kate Osborne has added her support to the campaign to introduce paid leave for families who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks.

One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, however, under current legislation, workers are only entitled to paid bereavement leave following a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

As a result, families across the country are forced to rely on their employer’s good will or sick leave to allow them to grieve their loss.

Next month, a private members’ bill introduced by Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley which would see three days of paid leave for parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks will receive its second reading in the House of Commons.

A petition has been launched calling for the UK Government to support the campaign and MPs from all parties have backed the bill.

Many parents have spoken of the stigma associated with miscarriage and this bill would finally close the gap in support.

Some companies have already gone further than the bill proposes and offer paid leave for between seven and 14 days for people who experience a miscarriage at any stage of the pregnancy.

Other countries, including New Zealand, have written similar provisions into law and in September Australia became the latest country to adopt paid miscarriage leave.

Commenting, Kate Osborne MP said:

“I know many parents in the Jarrow constituency have experienced miscarriage and too many of them have to rely on their employer’s good will or take sick leave when it happens.

“Miscarriage is no one’s fault yet the stigma associated can often put parents in a position where they are unable to properly grieve their loss.

“Countries like Australia and New Zealand have already taken the progressive step to ensure all parents affected by miscarriage are entitled to paid leave.

“It is time that the UK followed in their footsteps and I will be supporting this bill to provide the support grieving parents need and finally end the stigma associated with miscarriage.”

You can view the petition calling for the UK Government to support the campaign here

The petition can be viewed and signed at https://paidmiscarriageleave.co.uk/

Government Sleaze and Corruption

This Government is rotten to the core and always have been throughout their 11-plus years in office.  We will continue to keep exposing their shameful running of this country and put pressure on them to do the right thing, such as keeping the safeguards that protect us from corruption in public life.

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