This week, I spoke in a Parliamentary debate about the experience of cancer patients. How patients and their families are treated by NHS staff is absolutely crucial at such a frightening time in their life. A good experience not only makes people feel supported and respected but can also improve […]
The Government isn’t being straight with elderly people about the extra costs they will have to pay under their new proposals for funding social care. Interest will be charged on the new universal deferred payment scheme – council loans to help cover care home fees which have to be paid back after a person dies by selling the family home. My Parliamentary […]
The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently spoke about the important problem of loneliness amongst elderly people, saying families should do far more to look after their relatives. I think Mr Hunt has completely overlooked the amazing work more than six million unpaid family carers do in Britain every single day. These unsung heroes, one in five of whom […]
Ministers have repeatedly claimed that their plans mean no one will have to sell their home to pay for the costs of their care. But in a recent House of Lords debate it emerged that only people with assets worth less than £23,500 will be eligible for deferred payments – loans to help cover care home fees, which have to be paid back […]
Unemployment takes a huge toll on families and communities in my constituency. For young people, getting that first break can mean the difference between a fulfilling career and a life on benefits. Under this Government, we’re seeing the slowest economic recovery for 100 years and getting a job is […]
Leicester City Community Badminton Network does some terrific work to promote badminton in our schools. I’m really keen to support this work, so I recently went along to one of their tournaments for primary school children, which was held in Aylestone Leisure Centre. I was really impressed by the enthusiasm […]
On Wednesday 23 October, I gave a speech at a conference organised by Shared Lives Plus – the UK network for family based and small scale ways of supporting adults. I talked about the need for fundamental changes in our care system to improve the lives of older and disabled […]
Students from Glebelands primary recently came on a tour of the Palace of Westminster organised by the Parliament Education Service, which works with schools to support young people’s understanding of democracy. I met with the pupils to talk to them about what I do as the MP for Leicester West […]
On Monday 14th October I joined MPs from across the city and county at 10 Downing Street to present the petition to keep Richard III in Leicester. Over 40,000 people have signed the petition and it’s really important that the Prime Minister knows the strength of local support for St […]
I recently met with a group of young people and Brook Charity to talk about the need for good quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and sexual health services. All of the young people told me SRE was really important to them but that it is often treated as an […]
For the past year, Macmillan Cancer Support and De Montfort University have been working together to improve care for cancer patients. This fantastic initiative is making a real difference in Leicester. Just one example is a mobile team of student volunteers who travel around the city talking to cancer […]
When we talk about people’s health we usually think about the role of GPs, ambulances and hospitals but the reality is that other services and support can have a big impact on a person’s wellbeing. I recently hosted a round table discussion at the Brite Centre to look at the […]
