Frank's Westminster Blog

The Centre for Social Justice report on worklessness makes appalling reading.  In some areas of our town over half of the populationbetween the ages of 16 and 64 depend on out-of-work benefits.  If this is not a wake-up call for the national political parties I don't know what it is. Since the 1960s politicians have seen the solution to unemployment as increased training.  It hasn't worked. The lack of skills is important in understanding...

Last Friday I paid another visit to Wirral’s foodbank, which is run by the Tussell Trust. Here's my second report on their fantastic progress. I hope the words ‘fantastic progress’ jar. They are meant to. 120 volunteers who run this extraordinary project met together after helping to feed the thousand families coming for help. Any sense of celebration was overcome by the awesome feeling of what their work meant. How can one be celebrating feeding...

Large numbers of young people leave school and enter unemployment.  It is as ntrue in Birkenhead as it is in the rest of the country.  So what are we going to do about it?   Studies on where children end up in life show that probably at the age of 3 years, and certainly by the age of 5, it is possible to predict (on average) which children will have jobs; which children will fly; which ones will struggle; and even the ones likely to go to prison. So...

Andrew Adonis – now Lord Adonis - is in town on Friday. He was the great reforming education Minister of the last Labour government.   The main point of his visit is to open the extension to the Birkenhead High School Academy. It was Andrew who was anxious that this school should come into the state sector as our first Academy in Birkenhead.   I was very supportive of this move. Under Chris Mann, a new head, the school has been safely extending its catchment to girls and...

I have written before on the bedroom tax, but the more I think about it the more angry I am. Over a thousand constituents will this month find that their rent is not covered in full.   I object to the bedroom tax on a number of grounds.  Many tenants would be happy to have smaller accommodation if it was available.   It is the extreme worry that many of my constituents face that so appals me.  I think of my mum.  She would be worried out of her mind if she was in...