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- Reforming the UK's immigration system
Damian Green has outlined plans to look at the routes into our country and set new rules. - Governing in the national interest
David Cameron and Nick Clegg set out how the Coalition Government is doing politics differently. - Blair memoirs back Coalition Government on deficit reduction
Sayeeda Warsi says the Coalition Government's argument on cutting the deficit has been backed by Tony Blair. - Academy status already planned for 142 schools
142 schools are already set to convert to Academy status within weeks of the Academy Act being passed. - 3500 pubs closed under Labour
Grant Shapps says too many community pubs closed because of Labour's policies. - Osborne slams Labour for economic policy failure
The Chancellor has criticised the previous Government for failing to have a plan to deal with the record budget deficit. - Labour ignored crucial warnings over pensions raid
Sayeeda Warsi criticises Ed Balls and others for wrecking our pensions system. - Labour hopefuls should forfeit severance pay
Baroness Warsi calls on the leadership candidates to forego their "£20,000 reward for failure" - Supporting the flood victims in Pakistan
Baroness Warsi, Conservative Party Co-Chairman, urges people to give whatever they can. - Pickles announces plans to stop 'lobbying on the rates'
Eric Pickles has proposed tougher rules to stop public funds being used to subsidise political campaigning.
Monday 26th July 2010
Job club goes from strength to strength
The jobs club set up by David Mowat and Warrington South Conservatives has celebrated its latest successes. Of the 20 people who took part in the programme, 13 have already found a job and a further three decided to start their own businesses: an outstanding 80% success rate.
The jobs club was set up by David Mowat in April 2010 to help people who had lost their jobs during the recession. Participants are taught valuable job search skills, including CV preparation, interview techniques and networking skills to help them stand out from the crowd. Many of the people who have benefitted from the club had found themselves unemployed for the first time in their lives and had never had to search for a job before. To date, 80 people have taken part with 60 going on to find work.
Mr Mowat said:
"When you're made unemployed you have two choices: you either just give up or you can keep on trying. Sometimes it can be very hard to stay motivated and confident when you get rejection after rejection: that's where the jobs club comes in. The participants will tell you that one of the most important things we do here is to rebuild their confidence so that when the job they want comes along, they will seize it with both hands.
"We've heard a lot of carping recently about the Big Society. This is an excellent examples of a Big Society programme making a real difference to people's lives."
Tuesday 20th July 2010
Government commitment to the NHS not in question says Mowat
David Mowat today hit back at Labour scare stories about the NHS, noting that under the current Government, health spending was pledged to rise every year until 2015.
Recent comments from senior Labour figures have suggested that the NHS would suffer under the Conservatives, with the 2 week Cancer guarantee and the 18-week treatment guarantee allegedly being scrapped. However the Senior Cabinet minister Francis Maude made clear last week that target would stay saying that ""We are not getting rid of the two week cancer guarantee. We will keep [it] because that's a target with clear clinical validity."
Mr Mowat said:
"Rather than behaving like a responsible opposition, Labour are simply scaremongering and attempting to frighten some of the most vulnerable people in society. The Government has pledged to increase the budget of the NHS in real terms every year over the course of this Parliament. Labour have refused to support our plans so far.
"Labour's targets are meaningless unless the funding is there to achieve them. They seem ideologically committed to wasting money on vast swathes of costly bureaucracy rather than spending it on the front line services where it is most needed"
Monday 19th July 2010
Mowat taken on cancer patient journey
David Mowat showed his support last week for efforts to beat cancer at a major Cancer Research UK event on cancer treatment in Parliament.
During the 14th July briefing, the Warrington South MP heard about the different approaches used to treat cancer patients in the UK and was taken through a range of treatment pathways that a patient may follow after being diagnosed with the disease.
He heard about the importance of diagnosing and treating cancer early and the need for patients to have timely access to world-class treatment.
David Mowat also learnt about how people affected by cancer can find reliable, easy to understand information from Cancer Research UK on their patient information website, CancerHelp UK (www.cancerhelp.org.uk). If people in Warrington have concerns about cancer they can call the Cancer Research UK's information nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040 9am until 5pm Monday to Friday. They can also visit Cancer Research UK's patient forum, Cancer Chat (www.cancerchat.org.uk) where they can share information and experiences with other people affected by cancer.
David Mowat said: "Detecting cancers early is absolutely vital.If people know more about the signs and symptoms of cancers and talk about this with friends and family, we could improve early diagnosis.
When cancer is diagnosed early, it is much easier to treat successfully. We must ensure that there is access to existing and new ways of diagnosing cancer as soon as possible so that patients are given the best and most effective treatment."
The importance of giving patients access to innovative cancer treatments was also highlighted during the briefing.
Aisling Burnand, Executive Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Cancer Research UK, said:
"People with the same cancer, at the same stage of development, often do not receive the same type of treatment. It is of the upmost importance that patients have timely access to treatments. Although the UK invests far more in cancer research than any other country in Europe, it is often much slower to take up the fruits of this research.
"Cancer Research UK believes the Government should be doing more to encourage the uptake of new technologies into the NHS. It is important to remember that this applies not only to new cancer medicines but also surgical and radiotherapy techniques. We mustmaintain investment in cancer services, recognising the scale of the cancer burden in the UK and our poor survival rates compared to a number of other countries."
Tuesday 13th July 2010
Penketh High School discussed on floor of Commons
David Mowat used Departmental Questions to the Department of Education yesterday, to highlight the importance of Penketh High School, which he had recently visited and which is urgently in need of repair. Penketh High School was one of over 700 schools which had applied for funding under the BSF scheme, but had not been able to complete the process before last week's announcement and was thus not funded. He also asked about the criteria which would be used in the Government's forthcoming review of Capital Spending to prioritise those schools most in need of repair.
The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education, yesterday praised David Mowat, Member of Parliament for Warrington South, for his efforts in lobbying for BSF funds. In exchanges on the floor of the House of Commons, Mr Gove noted that David Mowat had been "articulate and powerful on behalf of his constituents."
Mr Mowat asked:
"Given that last week's announcement on BSF has had an impact on several schools in Warrington—including Penketh high school, where the need is great—will the Secretary of State tell us when his capital review is likely to report, and what criteria will be used in the review to prioritise schools? Is he willing to meet me and Warrington educationalists to discuss their needs?"
The Secretary of State for Education responded:
"My hon. Friend was good enough to lobby me several weeks ago about the fate of the school that he mentioned, and schools in Warrington overall. He was, as ever, articulate and powerful on behalf of his constituents. I recognise that his constituents have been let down by the fact that Building Schools for the Future spent so much money on bureaucracy, and not enough on bricks and mortar. The purpose of our capital review is to ensure that money reaches the front line more quickly, and that the dysfunctional system that was established under the last Government—which they took no steps to reform or abolish—is transformed. I believe that there will be an interim report in a few months' time and a final report by the end of the calendar year, both of which will transform school buildings for the future."
Monday 12th July 2010
Mowat highlights £4M health funding shortfall
Warrington's NHS is being underfunded to the tune of £4 million per year according to answers obtained from the Department of Health by David Mowat, MP for Warrington South.
Mr Mowat obtained the figures in answers to a string of written Parliamentary Questions to the Department of Health. The figures show that by applying the Department's own formula to Warrington's Primary Care Trust (PCT), Warrington should be due an additional £4 million a year in funding. This extra funding is currently being held back as a result of another Government formula known as the "Direction of Travel Formula" which attempts to "smooth" funding allocations to guard against either steep rises or steep falls in funding for an individual PCT.
The problem is particularly acute in Warrington, whose population has been rising rapidly in previous years. The Direction of Travel Formula is slow to recognise any rise in population.
Mr Mowat said:
"These figures show that the Government's own formula is saying that Warrington's NHS is being underfunded by £4 million a year and that the shortfall is increasing. Funding for the NHS in Warrington is failing to keep pace with the rapid increase in population and that is putting increasing strain on our NHS.
"I've been raising this matter for months now, but I am amazed at just how much money Warrington is owed: the extra £4 million a year could pay for 400 extra nurses for Warrington Hospital. I intend to keep pressing the Government for that extra £4 million and I hope that the Coalition Government's commitment to increasing the NHS budget every year in real terms will help us get our money back."
Thursday 8th July 2010
Tribute to Private
David Mowat has paid tribute to Private Thomas Sephton who died in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, on Monday, after being airlifted from Afghanistan, having been caught in an explosioin in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on Sunday.
Private Sephton was a former pupil of Great Sankey High School and lived in Penketh with his parents and brother.
Mr Mowat said:
"Thomas is the second brave young serviceman to have been lost to the town in the last fortnight. I send my condolences to his parents for their tragic loss. Warrington is extremely proud of Thomas and saddened by our loss."
Wednesday 7th July 2010
Warrington South relies on rail says Mowat
David Mowat has today added his support to a parliamentary motion highlighting the extent to which British businesses and the economy rely on rail.
The motion, which has been laid in Parliament as the Government begins to make decisions about spending cuts, calls on the Government to recognise that more people are now travelling by rail than ever before and that major rail improvement projects boost the economy.
Every year 1 billion of the 1.3 billion passenger journeys made by rail are people commuting or travelling for business. Rail freight also transports 100 million tonnes of goods every year worth £30 billion.
In 25 years time there are expected to be 80% more people commuting by rail and freight demand is forecast to go up by 70%.
Mr Mowat said:
"People in Warrington South rely on rail. It gets them to and from work and allows leisure journeys too. Even those who are not regular passengers reap the benefit of less road congestion and the vital role rail freight plays in transporting everyday goods and fuelling the economy.
"We all know there are tough spending decisions to be made in the coming weeks and months but it is vital that the government does not make cuts to rail investment that could damage the local and national economy by not enabling future growth. This is why I am pleased to have been able to add my name to this parliamentary motion."
Tuesday 6th July 2010
Statement on the building schools for the future(BSF) programme
David Mowat said:
"It is disappointing that the Government have had to suspend the school building programme. Over 700 schools which had not been signed off by the previous Government have been stopped and this includes 6 in Warrington.
"The issues are that:
a)Labour cynically promised funding without identifying where the cash was to come from, they were relying on huge underspends from other departments which never materialised.
b)The whole programme was overly bureaucratic and involved huge fees being paid to consultants, inflating the cost of each school to double the amount paid historically or in comparison to other countries such as Ireland.
"Going forward, each school will now be reviewed on a case by case basis and it is important that over the next few months we make an excellent case to the Government to ensure that Warrington gets the schools we deserve, delivered on a cost effective basis. I have today spoken to some of the affected head teachers and will be working with them and the Council to ensure this happens."
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