Frank's Westminster Blog

Two events stand out from the trips I made on Friday. Cathy Earlam is a star on any criteria. With supporters she has established Tomorrow’s Women. This project for women who are on probation, or have been in prison, is simply uplifting. It is how voluntary organisations should be run. There is almost no money and every pound the project gets is matched by one hundred pounds worth of effort and commitment by the volunteers. It challenged my views...

MOST of the reforms I propose are suggested to me by constituents. Last week, a constituent wrote to me over the monopoly position United Utilities has in our area in supplying water and providing sewage services. Why, my constituent asked? Why indeed? The case the Thatcher government made for privatising the Utilities – gas, electricity and water – was that competition would bring down the prices. That was the promise. I have not yet been able to find out what the...

ARE WE becoming insensitive to the neglect and even cruelty suffered by perhaps large numbers of children? This is a question I’ve been pondering over for quite some time.It’s no use simply blaming social services. They are over worked and under resourced.Recently I asked a small group of Birkenhead headteachers how many children in their school they believed should be taken into care that day. Twenty per cent came the reply.There is no way Wirral has the money to meet that...

THERE are real problems with our Local Authority. Much public attention has been focused on politicians, but I believe we are missing a bigger issue. I have had the privilege of representing Birkenhead for well over three decades. Over this time I have been concerned about the quality and judgement of a number of our chief officers. It was on this very issue that I called a debate in Parliament yesterday. Here I was able to detail a whole series of major failures. There was a failure by...

I Chair the Liverpool City Region Child Poverty and Life Chances Commission and the press have got hold of one of our recommendations. It concerns a minimum pricing for alcohol. The recommendation is partly in response to the representations many of you have made to me. The complaints cover small general stores and the pricing in large supermarkets. Some of you may have heard on the radio last week of shopkeepers saying that they can now buy their...