On Friday 9th March, housing leaders from across the East Midlands came together at Leicester Tigers’ for the National Housing Federation’s annual regional conference on ‘Investing in Communities’.

I led a session that looked at the crucial links between housing, health and care. Poor housing and disjointed services have a major impact on people’s health and can prove very costly in the long run.

You can read my speech about what needs to change to improve housing, health and care across the East Midlands, and the rest of the country, by clicking here.

On the 14th March I questioned the Deputy Prime Minister about record-high unemployment rates during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The latest figures show that unemployment is now at its highest 17 years, and women’s unemployment is at its highest for 23 years.

Nationally, the number of young unemployed is over a million. Here in Leicester West the number of young people claiming unemployment benefits for more than 6 months has more than doubled over the past 12 months. Across the East Midlands, there are now more than 5 unemployed people for every available vacancy.

These shocking figures show that the Government’s reckless economic plan is hurting, but not working. More people out of work – claiming benefit rather than paying taxes – will not help Britain reduce the deficit, which was the goal of the Government’s ruthless cuts in the first place.

Their plan has backfired – they should change course and adopt Labour’s five point plan for jobs, including a tax on bankers’ bonuses to fund 100,000 jobs for young people, and a temporary VAT cut to help people struggling with rising prices and kick-start the economy.

On March 6th, the Care and Support Alliance organised a mass lobby of Parliament. Over 1000 campaigners from charities and organisations that work with older and disabled people came from all over the country to call on the Government to end the care crisis.

I attended the lobby to show my support for this absolutely vital campaign. I met and spoke with many older and disabled people. They told me about the challenges they face every day trying to get the care and support they need, and the very real impact that cuts to local services are having on them and their families.

£1 billion has been cut from local council budgets for older people’s social care since the Conservative-led Government came to power. Fewer older people are getting the help they need and families face soaring care charges, which vary hugely across the country.

We must act now to reform services and support, and ensure a fair and sustainable funding system that delivers dignity, independence and peace of mind for older and disabled people and their families.

Labour is determined to play our part in achieving radical reforms to social care. We called for cross party talks on Andrew Dilnot’s proposals for funding social care and these are now underway. We are also pressing the Government for legislation on this crucial issue during this Parliament.

Soaring energy bills are driving up inflation and making it increasingly difficult for ordinary families to make ends meet.

That is why I am supporting the ‘Big Switch’ campaign, which calls on consumers to join together to pressure suppliers to lower of energy prices.

Collective purchasing is a simple, but potentially trailblazing way to help bring down soaring energy bills. When people come together, they’ll have more power to negotiate cheaper energy bills with the big energy companies. It sets an exciting precedent which local councils and housing associations could take up to negotiate better energy deals on behalf of their residents.

You can read more about this important campaign here.

Shadow Cabinet shows their support for the Big Switch campaign