The Tory led Government are slashing the money we need for vital local services by an estimated 35% in real terms. Council services have been hit harder than almost any other Government Department and these are the deepest cuts the City has ever had to face. They present a real challenge and will have a huge impact on our schools, housing and care for older people, not to mention our parks, libraries and leisure centres.

I’m determined to work with you, your local Councillors and the City Mayor to protect and improve our frontline services, even during these very difficult times. The Council have launched a city wide consultation to make sure that people’s views are put right at the heart of decision making. I fully support this and would really encourage you to take part by clicking here.

Women’s changing lives: results from a survey and listening forums in Leicester West
Liz Kendall MP

Background
5075 surveys about ‘women’s changing lives’ (see attached) and invitations to attend a listening forum were sent out to all women on the electoral register in the areas of North Braunstone and New Parks.  Both of these are estates on the edge of Leicester, consisting predominantly of social housing, with high levels of deprivation and worklessness and historically low levels of voter turnout, particularly in North Braunstone.

117 surveys have been returned so far – 2.31% of those contacted. 103 respondents have never contacted their MP before.

2 forums were organised
• North Braunstone: 2nd September – 8 women attended
• New Parks: 16th September – 18 women attended

Key findings

Finances
• 92% respondents have had to do something differently in past year to balance finances
• 77% of women now having to spend less
• Many women mentioned not only having to spend less but cost of basics have increased (food/fuel) so can’t afford all they need

Employment
• Most survey respondents were not working – 29% retired, 15% ill/disabled, 9% unemployed
• Of those who are working 50% feel less secure in their job now than a year ago

Childcare
• More pensioners responded to the survey than mothers with dependent children. Of those mothers who did respond, 66% are finding making suitable childcare arrangements harder than they used to
• In the additional comments section concerns were raised about cuts to child tax credits and freeze in Child benefits.

Childcare was a topic that concerned many of the women who attended the New Parks forum.  Many of the women there had young children.  There was a lot of concern about the Childcare Tax Credit cut from 80% to 70% of childcare costs.   All the mothers at the event feel that getting 10% less towards childcare is having a negative impact on finances and has made them question whether working is a viable option.  One woman has had to choose not to work because she cannot afford childcare costs but is not entitled to benefits because she chose not to work.  Another woman now has to work 2 jobs and her partner has one which means she has less time to spend with her family and rarely sees her partner. Although one mother said the local primary school has a breakfast club, several mothers said it is still very difficult to find jobs which fit around school hours.
Pensions
• From the survey results there seems to be a lot of confusion about pensions and the changes to the pension age. Very few of those who responded to this question felt that they were prepared for the rise in the age at which they can claim their pension.  Many women have asked for more information.

Local Services
Women in New Parks and North Braunstone are already aware of cuts to local services:

• NHS 41%
• Parks/Leisure 23%
• Libraries 20%
• Education 16%
• Social Services 14%

Education was an important topic of discussion at the North Braunstone forum.  Several women felt that the ‘academic route’ seems to have been given more priority/emphasis over the past year by the current Government.  Some of the women who attended the forum were concerned about the young people on the estate who would want to take up more vocational jobs and whether these routes would become less accessible.  There was also a strong feeling that careers advice should start earlier in children’s lives.

Public transport
Local buses were mentioned many times in the additional comments section on the survey and in the North Braunstone forum.  Both North Braunstone and New Parks are outlying estates.  Many residents rely on buses to get to work, school, hospital and doctor surgeries and into the city centre.

Over the past year the number of buses serving these areas has been reduced.  Many evening, early morning and weekend buses have been taken off the timetable.   Many of the women who responded to the survey work in jobs which have shift patterns (carers in the private sector, jobs at the hospitals). These women rely on the early morning and late evening services to get to and from their jobs.    Very real concern was expressed about the additional costs of getting taxis into work and how this is having a negative impact on family finances.

Personal Safety/Crime
• 71% of those who responded stated they were concerned about crime and threats to personal safety.
• Many of the comments in the additional comments section mentioned concern about anti-social behaviour and also personal accounts of being the victim of crimes in the past year.

Additional comments
Many women who responded to the survey are carers for their husbands or other family members or sick or disabled themselves.  They are very anxious about the future – lots of confusion about benefits, fear of losing ESA, DLA etc, some people already been assessed and have lost benefits causing hardship.

Many of the mothers at the New Parks forum strongly expressed the view that whilst they are working hard to make ends meet and bring up their families, they get little if any help from the state, whereas other families who don’t go out and work get lots of benefits. One woman said “We’re now benefit Britain.” Several women felt angry that the Government seems to assume that everyone living in a council house is ‘on the dole’, whereas in reality they are not.

When asked what would help them most – more money for tax credits or more hours of free nursery care – most mothers said more hours of free care would be better for them.

Dear Peter

Re: Unauthorised Traveller Camps

As you are aware, unauthorised traveller camps have been a long-standing issue for the city. I am often contacted by a significant number of constituents who are very concerned about the impact these camps can have on their community – as I understand my predecessor, Patricia Hewitt, was too.

The problems tend to be concentrated in Beaumont Leys and Mowmacre, due to the historical ties these areas have with seasonal farm work. However, I very much see this as a city wide problem, for which a city wide solution is urgently required.

In order to directly hear the views and concerns of my constituents, I held a very well attended public meeting on the 2nd September 2011 at St Patricks Church in Beaumont Leys.  At the meeting I shared a platform with the Beaumont Leys Ward Councillors, Cllr Mohammed Dawood, Matt Bagley from the Multi Agency Travellers Unit and Sgt Simon Ward. Members of the Gypsy and Traveller Equality Project were also present.

You will not be surprised to hear that local residents aired extremely strong feelings at the meeting. They told me they are very concerned about antisocial behaviour, fly tipping and traffic offences at unauthorised traveller sites. They feel it still takes too long to move unauthorised travellers on.  Many residents also expressed a deep sense of unfairness that they have to abide by the law, including paying their Council Tax, yet they feel the same rules do not apply to the travelling community.

There was a specific concern over the site on Greengate Lane. Initially, residents were informed that a family would be able to stay on the site as a temporary measure until their situation stabilised, as one of the family members was suffering from severe ill health. However, some three years on the family and indeed other travellers are still there, and residents feel that Greengate Lane is now becoming a permanent site by stealth.

Overall, there was a huge sense of frustration and anger amongst local residents about the perceived lack of progress by the City Council in tackling this issue and in finding a lasting solution.  Members of the traveller community who were present, as part of the Gypsy and Traveller Equality project, also talked about their frustrations regarding the lack of permanent or transit sites available.

In my view, there is a very clear and pressing need for the City Council to produce a comprehensive strategy that seeks to address the concerns of both the settled and traveller communities. The establishment of sufficient transit sites and additional authorised permanent plots appears to be the only viable, long term solution.

I must emphasise that whilst the issue is of grave concern to many of my constituents, this is a city wide issue, for which a city wide solution must be found.

Cllr Dawood gave an undertaking to report back on the Council’s progress on this issue in November. It is vital that real and substantial progress is made by this date. As the Mayor of Leicester I know you will ensure this happens.

In the meanwhile, I would be very grateful if you could update me on the Council’s plans so I can report directly back to my constituents.

With best wishes as ever

Liz Kendall MP
Member of Parliament for Leicester West

CC: Cllr Mohammed Dawood, Cllr Sundip Meghani, Cllr Paul Westley, Cllr Vi Dempster, Mr Matt Bagley

I am appalled and saddened by the violence that has taken place in Leicester and other cities in recent days, as are the overwhelming majority of people in this country.

There is no excuse for this violence, or for the destruction, theft and looting. Those who have committed criminal acts must face full and appropriate punishment from the Courts.

I want to thank and pay tribute to the hard work of the police in Leicester over the past few days. I know from speaking to Leicestershire’s Chief Constable that many officers and PCSOs have had their leave cancelled and are working extremely long shifts, with few breaks, in order to keep our city safe. We are indebted to them for their efforts.

I also want to thank our Mayor and Council for working to ensure our city centre is cleaned up and back to normal as quickly as possible. Most of all, I am grateful to the businesses, community organisations, voluntary and faith groups who have spoken up for our fantastic city. They are right when they say that the behaviour of a small minority of young people will not have a lasting impact on Leicester or prevent us from making it an even better place to live and work in future.

I spent today in Parliament – which was recalled from its summer break – listening to the Prime Minister’s statement and the emergency debate about the public disorder and violence.

I am glad that the Home Affairs Select Committee will look at the police response across the country to see what lessons can be learned for the future.

However, I was very disappointed that the Prime Minister did not set up a wider inquiry to look at what has happened in the past few days.

We cannot afford to let these events pass without taking a long hard look at the underlying reasons and causes. These causes are complex – and there will be no simple solutions – but it is vital that we try to understand what has happened in order to prevent such events happening again. Most importantly we need to ensure the views of the communities that have been affected by the violence and disorder are properly heard.

The Prime Minister should have announced an inquiry. I and my fellow Labour MPs will continue to press him to do so. Our communities and country deserve nothing less.