It’s at the Gateshead Corporation Club (the Bin-Men’s club), 346-357 Alexandra Rd, NE8 4HX. It’s on Friday 27th January and will start at 7.30pm and run until till 11pm.

There will be a light buffet and the usual activities at Labour party events – raffles, quiz’s, and so on. Entrance is £3 (profits donated to Gateshead CLP). Pay on the door.

Contact Ian Mearns for more details.

Topics covered this month include the launch of Virgin Money and the Government’s decision to slash Feed-In Tariffs for solar panels.

Feed-in Tariffs

Members will know of the decision taken by the Government to cut Feed-In Tariffs for solar PV installations. The Government is cut the tariff for solar PV installations with a capacity of 4kW or less by more than 50% – from 43p/kWh to 21p/kWh. This was enforced on 12 December 2011.

Following this decision I had a meeting with Carillion Energy Services based in Newcastle, who informed me that although they expected a reduction, they did not expect this radical reduction. Furthermore, it is actually worse than it appears as only properties in a certain category (ie, mainly new builds) will be entitled to the reduced rate of 21p/kWh; whereas all other properties will only receive a subsidy of 9p/kWh. One of the key issues I took from this meeting was that companies like Carillion are being asked to invest in the Green Deal; however, how are they meant to trust that the Government won’t pull the rug from under their feet in 18 months, as they have done with Solar PV.

The following week, I had a meeting with the Minister responsible for Solar PV and he left us with the view that there could be some potential for change. However, we have not, as of yet, seen any evidence of this, but I remain hopeful. As ever, I will continue to keep members up to date with the future of Feed-In Tariffs.

Industry and Parliament Trust

I have been taking part in the Industry and Parliament Trust fellowship programme. Fellowships consist of 18 days of placements with one or more host organisations over a period of around 18-24 moths. Programmes are bespoke to each parliamentarian’s learning objectives and are designed to fit around their schedule.

I have been focussed on SM Manufacturing Sector and have already attended a fellowship at the Sage this month. This was a great opportunity to see the valuable work that the Sage do for Gateshead and the tourism it brings to the area. I will also be returning to the Sage in the coming months.

I will be attending many different placements and this coming month I will be partaking in a fellowship at C2M, a company which supports inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs in the North East of England.

Tradecraft Visit

Traidcraft, a local company and significant employer on the Team Valley, invited me to visit their site. Traidcraft’s aim is to fight poverty through trade, practising and promoting approaches to trade that help poor people in developing countries transform their lives. I hope that through my role within the shadow DfID team I will be able to promote the work of Traidcraft.

Launch of Virgin Money

As I am sure everyone is aware, Virgin Money have taken over Northern Rock, and this week I was invited by the Chief Executive of Virgin Money, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, to attend the launch at Northern Rock House in Gosforth. This launch was attended by people from across the Northern Rock / Virgin Money spectrum including many Northern Rock staff, but also Sir Richard Branson.

I had the opportunity to chat to Sir Richard Branson for a considerable period of time. In fact, I spotted under his shirt that he seeded to have a black and white t-shirt on, and I proceeded to ask him whether he was wearing a Toon top, which of course he was with the new Virgin Money logo. We also talked about the Northern Rock Foundation and I hope I reinforced how important the foundation is to charities in the North East.

Visit to De La Rue

I was pleased to be invited by my colleague Dave Anderson MP to visit De La Rue on the Team Valley.

This was an opportunity to talk about the future of De La Rue and the changes which are currently taking pl;ace. I order to maintain the effectiveness of the factory there have recently been a job evaluation; and I must say I was extremely pleased to see the committment to their staff and their cooperation with the Trade Union.

Business Breakfast

On Friday 13 January I will be hosting a Business Breakfast with several local companies, with the aim of them taking on young, unemployed 18-24 year olds in a work experience role. In the North East we have the highest number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs) and our unemployment rate is extremely high. I hope this scheme will reduce these numbers.

Topics covered this month include constituency visits, the boundary review and local campaigning.

August Parliamentary Report

As it has been the Parliamentary summer recess, this month’s parliamentary report does not include any Westminster business.

Constituency Business

I visited the North East Regional Youth Work Unit that is based in Design Works, Felling. The Unit has over the past 20 years or so developed a huge array of projects in support of young people and the work around youth participation is of particular note.

I was invited to visit Walkerview, Felling to meet and chat to residents and the care staff. It was lovely to meet all the residents and listen to their concerns and a recurring theme emerged; that Walkerview was well regarded by its residents.

I attended the Labour North boundary review meeting, where those present were given the official timetable and were informed that the provisional recommendations from the Boundary Commission will be published this month.

I spoke to a group of young people and answered an array of questions at a National Citizen Service event, where we discussed citizenship; the democratic process and my own route into politics.

I was pleased to attend the official opening of the Japanese Friendship garden at Saltwell Park and also attended the evening reception at St Mary’s Church to celebrate the twinning link with Komatsu.

I popped in to the annual summer Flower Show at Gateshead Central Nursery in Lobley Hill.

I attended the Launch of the Tyneside Irish Festival at the Allied Irish Bank this week.

I also was invited on a tour of International Paint Ltd. in Felling. It is the largest single Private sector employer in the Borough and their Research and Development unit is at the forefront of protective coatings technology worldwide. The R and D function employs nearly 300 scientific and technical support staff who are working at the cutting edge of paint coatings and fire protection materials that are being developed to protect structures and their occupants from the ravages of fire. The Gateshead plant could arguably be one of the crucial nerve centres of a business that employs 55,000 people worldwide wide turnover of in excess of £12 Billion pounds.

Campaigning

This week I have campaigned in Dunston and Teams, Windy Nook and Whitehills and Deckham. I am hoping to campaign regularly with local councillors; therefore, if you could let me know your availability, we can certainly arrange some door knocking or leafleting.

Ward Visits

I attended Deckham/Bridges, High Fell and Saltwell ward meetings this month.

EDMS and Parliamentary Questions

If you would like to see the EDMs I have signed and the questions I have submitted please visit http://www.parliament.uk/

Like most seats, the existing Gateshead seat will cease to exist. A new Jarrow and Gateshead East constituency will include four wards from the existing Gateshead seat: Chowdene, Felling, High Fell, and Windy Nook and Whitehills.

Blaydon constituency will also be abolished, and five Blaydon wards and six Gateshead wards will be joined together to make a new Gateshead West constituency. The six wards from Gateshead CLP will be Bridges; Deckham; Dunston and Teams; Lobley Hill and Bensham; Low Fell and Saltwell.

Full details are available here and there is also a map. This is a consultation, so there is a chance these proposals may change.

Tickets are now available for Labour North’s annual Members Awards Dinner. Their Gala Dinner earlier this year sold out quickly, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

This is a great tradition in the North, and is an excellent opportunity for CLPs and MPs to recognise the hard work and commitment of members for their work throughout the year, especially at the General Election and this year’s Local Elections. Tickets are £30 each or £300 for a table of 10. Guests will enjoy a drinks reception and canapés, a superb 3 course menu, plus coffee and wine. David Miliband MP will be presenting members with their Awards.

Nominations and booking should be made by Tuesday 16th August at the latest. Click here to nominate online and to download booking and nominations forms.

For more information, contact Labour North on 0191 2465276 or email north@new.labour.org.uk

Topics covered this month include the phone hacking scandal, the future of the Northern Rock Foundation, Carers’ Week and the visit of students from Cardinal Hume School to Parliament.

Ian Mearns MP for Gateshead

July Parliamentary Report

Parliamentary Business

PHONE HACKING SCANDAL

As I am sure all members will already be aware, the main topic of discussion amongst not only parliamentarians but the general public has been the phone hacking scandal; in particular, the hacking of murder victims and families of dead soldiers by journalists within News International.

It has now become all too apparent that the stance taken by the Government, the police and News International’s management over the telephone tapping scandal has been totally inadequate, in coming to terms with the enormity of the awful happenings that journalists and their hirelings have been involved in at News International.

I have no doubts whatsoever, and I have never hidden my feelings on this, that Rupert Murdoch’s media empire have had far too great a hold in British and international News and current affairs output. You have my absolute assurance that I will be doing my utmost in conjunction with colleagues to try to prevent News International and the Murdoch Corporation from gaining a greater foothold in the British media; and I am pleased to hear yesterday that News International have withdrawn their BSkyB bid and I believe that this is due to a great amount of campaigning by the public.

It is quite clear from ongoing developments that a whole range of enquiries should be commenced with significant teeth in order to properly establish the full facts, the levels of criminality involved and the extent to which corrupt practices involving police officers have been complicit to the situation in which we now find ourselves; and I was pleased to see that the Government, after some serious arm pulling, have decided to agree to two enquiries and we will obviously see how this situation pans out over the coming weeks and months.

NORTHERN ROCK FOUNDATION

I have organised a meeting with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP, to discuss the future of the Northern Rock Foundation, a fantastic organisation that provides support for many charity and voluntary organisations in the North East and Cumbria. I have invited other parliamentary colleagues to this meeting so that the views of the whole North East and Cumbria can be considered. Furthermore, I also tabled an Early Day Motion in support of the Northern Rock Foundation.

There has been serious concern amongst members of both houses from the North East and Cumbria, amongst our constituents and representatives of the voluntary and charitable sectors in the region that, unless the Government make the retention of the Northern Rock Foundation a condition of the sale of Northern Rock bank, there could be serious repercussions for many charitable and voluntary organisations and the people they serve in both areas.

In the last 13 years, nearly 2000 organisations have been supported by the Northern Rock Foundation, with over 3,700 grants totalling £187 million being allocated; for a Government who are pushing forward with the idea of a Big Society, surely the retention of the Northern Rock Foundation would be crucial to this initiative.

This meeting took place on 14th July and was attended by myself, Pat Glass MP, Chi Onwurah MP, Catherine McKinnell, Lord Shipley and Lord Beecham; and although there were only 6 of us, this was due to a number of Bill Committees that were sitting and over a dozen MPs had sent their apologies, as had Baroness Quin and Baroness Armstrong. Unfortunately, the meeting was unfruitful with the Minister holding the line of the Government, that their prime objective was to gain maximum value for the tax payer through the bidding process. Obviously those present including myself argued very strongly that Northern Rock the Bank, and the Foundation were of great value to the regional economy, not only through the jobs they provide, but also the charitable giving of the foundation itself, and that a bad decision could lead to a great deal of taxpayer expense down the line. Although the meeting was cordial, there was a clear difference of opinion between representatives of the region and the Minister. We did ask the Minister to keep us up dated on the timelines of the bidding process and for them to expand on the criteria used to evaluate bids.

LGA VICE PRESIDENT

As members will be aware for many years as Deputy Leader of Gateshead Council, I served in senior roles in the Local Government AssociationExecutive; initially I served as a Member of the Education Board, and subsequently on the Environment and Cultures Board. On my election to Parliament, I was delighted that the LGA invited me to continue my association in the role of Vice President.

At a recent Parliamentary Reception the LGA invited me to continue in the role for the year 2011/2012. I see this role as particularly important given the coalitions policies and approaches towards Local Government funding and I will be working closely with them to ensure Local Government is well represented in Parliament.

APPG ON OSTEOPOROSIS

I JOINED THE ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY OSTEOPOROSIS GROUP AT THE LAUNCH OF ITS NUTRITION INQUIRY, WHICH INVESTIGATED THE LINKS BETWEEN GOOD NUTRITION, HEALTHY BONES AND OSTEOPOROSIS.

The Group calls for a clearer official policy on vitamin D and urged the UK Department of Health to issue guidance on safe sun exposure. It also recommended that the food and supplement industries should offer a wider range of products, targeted at the different demographic groups.

While awareness is important, it is also vital to understand the barriers that exist which can prevent people from getting the nutrients they need. More needs to be done to ensure that people have a clear understanding of what is required for strong bones. This report is a key stage in applying pressure so that healthcare professionals and the general public have clear guidance on protecting bone health through diet and sunlight exposure.

APPG ON HOUSING IN THE NORTH

After discussions with colleagues, I thought it would be a good idea to establish an All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing in the North in conjunction withThe Northern Housing Consortium.

After several weeks of contacting members of both the Houses of Commons and Lords, we were able to reach our quota of members from opposition and Government benches and, in fact, exceeded our expectations in terms of the number of interested members.

On the 4th July, I hosted the inaugural meeting of the APPG where we were able to elect officers and discuss with the National Housing Consortium our goals and aims of the Group, which in essence are to improve the housing prospects of residents in the North of England. The turnout for this meeting was excellent and I hope that our next meeting in September will be as successful. I will continue to keep members up-to-date on the progress of this APPG and if you would like me to pass on your comments, please do not hesitate to let me know.

CARERS WEEK 13 -19 JUNE 2011

During Carers Week I attended a speed-networking event, which was designed to increase the understanding of the lives of carers in my own constituency.

I had minutes to discuss the differing experiences of a number of unpaid carers and to ask them about what their lives are truly like. The discussion included ways in which carers lives could be improved, through better support, recognition, and advice.

New research for the awareness week showed that more than 75% of unpaid carers are worse off financially since taking on their caring responsibilities and three quarters have suffered with health issues as a result of caring.

The theme for Carers Week 2011 was ‘The True Face of Carers” and it calls for greater recognition for the diverse range of people who have caring responsibilities.

This was a great opportunity to hear first-hand about the lives of the carers who give so much to their families and to us, their local community.

BREAKTHROUGH BREAST CANCER ANNUAL PARLIAMENTARY RECEPTION

I attended a Breakthrough Breast Cancer Parliamentary Reception this month and was shocked to hear that UK survival rates still lag behind other European countries. With 1 in 8 UK women developing Breast Cancer at some point in their life time, this is simply not acceptable, so I will ensure I keep this disease high on the political agenda in this parliament. The Parliamentary Reception highlighted the charity’s vital research, campaigning and education work.

During the reception, I learned that nearly 48,000 UK women are diagnosed each year with the disease.

10 MINUTE RULE BILL: SMOKING IN PRIVATE VEHICLES

My colleague, Alex Cunningham, introduced a 10 minute rule bill on Smoking in Private Vehicles on the 22nd June 2011, of which I was a co-sponsor. This Bill, if passed, would require the Secretary of State to make provision for a ban on smoking in private vehicles where there are children present; and for connected purposes.

As someone who is an avid anti-smoking campaigner, I believe that this Bill is crucial for the health of our children; it is wrong that a child should have to suffer the effects of second hand smoke from adults smoking in the confined space of a vehicle.

Thankfully, this Bill passed through its 1st Reading 78 to 66; furthermore, I was asked by Alex to be a teller for the vote; tellers are the Members who count the votes in the House of Commons during a division (vote). There are four tellers, two from each side of the House and once the division (voting) is over the tellers announce the results to the House, and I was privileged to be the one to announce that this Bill had passed. The Bill will be now read a second time on 25th November 2011.

UNVEILING OF WARDLEY GALA BANNER

On 18th June 2011, I attended the unveiling of the Follonsby (Wardley) Lodge Durham Miners Association Banner.

I was privileged to be asked on the day of the unveiling to give a rallying speech to the audience and to thank local councillors and union members who had facilitated the creation of this banner. Furthermore, it was great to see a number of young faces at the event, in particular a young union member, who gave a heartened speech about the impact of this Governments cuts on our youth.

DURHAM MINERS GALA

I was delighted to take my place on the platform at the Durham Miners Gala, which was a huge discuss. It was attended by many Labour MPs from the region and further afield. A large crowd stayed to hear speeches by Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite; Bob Crow General Secretary of RMT; and one of the Chilean Miners, Carlos Bugueno Alfara, whose short speech was greatly welcomed. The final speech was given by my friend and colleague Dennis Skinner, which was warmly greeted by the large crowd, who stayed despite torrential rain.

Sadly though the leader of the party, Ed Miliband decided that he was unable to make the trip to Durham.

72 ENGINEER REGIMENT – HONORARY FREEDOM OF THE BOROUGH

I was delighted to attend the service at St Georges Church on Durham Road, prior to the confirmation of the Freedom of the Borough onto the 72nd Engineer Regiment, whose Headquarters are based at Alexandra Road barracks.

I was also very grateful for their invitation to a celebratory dinner on the Saturday evening, which was a full military attire evening and was a fantastic opportunity to meet members of the Regiment. The evening was complemented by entertainment from the Regimental band and Scottish bag pipers.

VISIT TO ASDA – OLD FOLD

As I am sure members are already aware, a new ASDA has opened and replaced the Netto store on the Old Fold estate.

After meeting with the Head of Property, Communications & Policy in Westminster, it was then arranged for me to visit the new store. It was great to see that the store stocks over 10,000 lines, which is a great facility for residents around the Gateshead area.

UCU REGIONAL RALLY

On Saturday 25th June I attended the Universities and College Union (UCU) rally held at Gateshead Civic Centre. The rally was organised on the Saturday immediately prior to the Public Services day of action on the 30th June and particularly highlighted the savage attacks on teachers, lecturers and public service workers’ pensions. I gave the rally a full parliamentary report of the Government’s education “reforms” over the past 12 months and was able to be briefed on numerous issues affecting college workers across the region, including attacks on the terms and conditions of staff at Newcastle College.

DUNSTON FAIR – 2ND JULY 2011

On Saturday 2nd July 2011, I attended the annual Dunston Fair at Dunston Park, where I was able to meet many of my constituents, local businesses and organisations on a lovely sunny Saturday.

If members know of any other fairs or events in Gateshead I would be grateful if they could keep me let me know, and if my diary permits it I will do my best to attend.

VISITS TO PARLIAMENT

I was pleased to host a couple of parliamentary visits this month in Westminster. The outgoing Colonel of the 72 Engineer Regiment, Colonel Graham Finch, visited Parliament and I was happy to give him a personal tour of Westminster.

Additionally, pupils from Cardinal Hume School visited Westminster and I was able to have a question and answer time with them, where I was probed on many different aspects of being an MP , including how I became an MP and what issues I take a keen interest in. It was great to host both the pupils and Colonel Finch and if any members would like to visit Parliament, please let me know and I will facilitate tours and activities. Furthermore, I have had an extensive list of meetings with lobby organisations, special interest groups and charitable organisations.

As we come into the summer recess after 14 months in my new role, can I wish everyone within the constituency a decent summer break in particular my hard-working staff.