November saw Leicester Schools Sport Partnership hold its annual awards to celebrate the exceptional hard work and excellent performances of Leicester’s young people over the past academic year.

Leicester West has produced another victorious team, with Folville Junior School winning the Primary Team of the Year as well as Luqman Said from Folville winning Sports Personality of the Year.

I am deeply concerned that the Tory/LibDem Government wants to remove funding from Leicester’s School Sports Partnership, which has helped over 2,500 more students take part in school sports in the last few years alone. Over half a million people nationwide signed a petition to call on the Government to change its mind. Under huge pressure, the Prime Minister recently told the House of Commons that the Government will look again at the issue.

Having seen at firsthand the impact that Leicester’s School Sports Partnership is having on raising the aspirations and the health of young people in Leicester west, I will continue to do all I can to make sure this vital funding stays in place.

The big news from our campaign this week is that Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, came to visit us in Leicester West. Harriet met and talked to local residents about the issues that matter to them, and what more people think needs to change in this area.

First up was the beautiful Brite Centre in Braunstone. We caught the end of a half-term childcare session (lots of glitter everywhere) and popped-in to talk to a group of men who’ve been getting new skills and were about to take an exam – they seemed very happy to see us but I hope we didn’t put them off! We also talked to the librarians about all the activities that go on during the week and their plans for the future, and chatted to people in the café. Lots of local party members also came to meet Harriet at the Brite Centre, which was great.

Our next stop was the New Parks Children’s Centre on Pindar Road. The Centre provides fantastic help and support to local parents. On the day we were there (Wednesday) there was a midwives health clinic, a ‘Mums to Tums’ group for expectant mums and new dads, a ‘Parents as Partners in Early Learning’ play session, and a new group for teenage parents. On top of all this, a ‘Multi Access Centre’ was giving help and advice to parents about training and employment.

I was really proud to show Harriet how Labour’s investment is making a difference here. It makes me angry when the Tories say they would immediately cut public spending, because it would put services like these at risk. And their proposal to make Children’s Centres available only to the very poorest families would be a real blow to hundreds of ordinary families here. That’s why I’m campaigning to make sure we continue to invest in supporting local parents and families in Leicester West, and that services like those at the Brite Centre and New Parks Children’s Centre are available in every community that needs them.

I think one of Labour’s proudest achievements is our investment in children’s early years. When I was Director of the Maternity Alliance, I saw the difference good quality help and support can make to parents and young children, particularly if it starts very early on in life.

We’ve now got Sure Start Children’s Centres in Beaumont Leys and Stocking Farm, Braunstone, Braunstone Frith, New Parks, Rowley Fields and the West End. These are brilliant services that help improve children’s life chances and which local parents really value.

Labour has also put much needed investment into our local schools. Leicester was one of the first places to get money from the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) fund. £235m is being spent on rebuilding and transforming every secondary school in the city. The first two schools to benefit from BSF in Leicester West are Fullhurst College and the award winning school at Beaumont Leys. We’re starting to see a real difference in school results too: last year Leicester’s GCSE results improved faster than the national average.

But there’s still a long way to go. Leicester is 129th out of 151 local authorities in terms of GCSE results, and this isn’t good enough. That’s why I’m pressing for faster improvements in our schools. I’ll work with parents, teachers, councillors and the Government to make sure all parents in Leicester West have the choice to send their children to a good, local school.

You might not believe it when you read the newspapers! But good progress is being made in Leicester West: there are more police, including a neighbourhood police team in every area, crime is being reduced and our Labour council and Labour government have helped fund new play areas like the ones in Westcotes Park and Braunstone Park.

But I know there are still very real issues that need to be tackled to make all our communities decent, safe places to live in.

One of the biggest problems local residents raise with me is that there’s still too much anti social behaviour. I’ll support tough action on the minority of people who create anti social behaviour in our communities. I’m also backing Labour’s new proposals to crack down on shops that sell alcohol to underage children, and pubs that encourage binge drinking.

Alongside these measures, we’ve got to give our young people more things to do, especially in the evenings and weekends. I know that local voluntary groups are already working hard to get young people involved in sport, dance and music. I’ll support this work, and work to get the investment we need to provide better facilities for young people in every community.