Chris Huhne
Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh
Archive for 'News'
Local MP joins campaign to highlight bowel cancer
Bowel cancer is a common disease which kills almost half the people who develop it. It is shrouded in social taboo and few people talk about it – yet it is preventable and curable. Most people who develop bowel cancer should survive, yet patients in the UK are among the slowest in Europe at being diagnosed with bowel cancer*.
Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne is backing Lynn’s Bowel Cancer Campaign – starting with Bowel Cancer Faster Diagnosis Week starting June 28 2010 – which encourages everyone to get to know the key symptoms and to get involved in the NHS screening programme for bowel cancer.
Commenting, Chris Huhne MP said:
“It is shocking that while bowel cancer is extremely treatable, the UK are so slow at getting it diagnosed and treated – often due to embarrassment and worry.
“The Cut-Out-And-Keep Guide to the symptoms and poster showing how easy it is to take the NHS screening test have been created by Lynn’s Campaign are excellent tools in dispelling the myths surrounding this terrible illness, and I am pleased to add my support by displaying them in my constituency.
“If you are aged 60-69 and receive a letter from the NHS about screening, I urge you to make an appointment immediately – it could save your life.”
Ends
Note to Eds
The Campaign is run by Lynn Faulds Wood, the former BBC Watchdog presenter who survived advance bowel cancer after a year’s medical delay.
For more information, contact:
Lynn’s Bowel Cancer Campaign
Email: lynn@bowelcancer.tv
Local MP demands better support for carers in Eastleigh
Local MP, Chris Huhne, has teamed up with renowned actor, Sir David Jason OBE, to support this year’s Caeres Week (14-20 June) and celebrate the contribution made by those people in Eastleigh and throughout the UK who provide unpaid car for someone who is ill, frail or disabled.
The theme for Carers Week 2010 is ‘A life of my own’ and calls for carers to receive greater recognition for the work they carry out, so vital for their families and friends, and for their communities.
Chris Huhne and Sir David Jason have joined together to pay tribute to carers, and to urge that they receive more support in their caring roles. Chris Huhne said:
“Carers in Eastleigh and throughout the UK deserve to be recognised for the priceless contribution they make to their loved ones, to our local community and to society at large.
“The Coalition Government have already outlined plans to make the system fairer to carers, with plans to use direct payments and community programmes to provide better access to respite care for their loved ones.
“I am supporting Carers Week and want to express my respect and gratitude to all our carers and to ensure that those who feel isolated or lonely because of caring learn about the services and support out there to help them.”
Sir David Jason, who has personal experience of being a carer, said:
“A lot of people, including myself, have had to look after someone at a time of illness or infirmity. However, the people who really deserve our support and encouragement are those carers, young and old, who are in this situation day in day out, caring for someone who truly depends on them. With little respite, this must surely be a very demanding lifestyle and I acknowledge the sacrifices they make and the limitations which are placed upon them. Thanks goodness they care.”
Notes to Eds:
1. Other Celebrities supporting Carers Week, all of whom have experience of caring, include Lynda Bellingham, Cilla Black, Jonathan Dimbleby, Gloria Hunniford, Claire King, Phyllida Law, Miriam Margoyles, Esther Rantzen, Angela Rippon, Tony Robinson, John Stapleton and Chris Steele.
Compensation for Eastleigh’s Equitable Life victims is long overdue – Huhne
Victims of the Equitable Life collapse can finally expect compensation as Liberal Democrat MPs push forward new legislation.
Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, Chris Huhne, described the announcement as a “massive relief” for the millions of people who lost up to half their pensions in the collapse.
The Equitable Life Bill, which was outlined to the House of Commons on the 26th May 2010, will give the Treasury the authority to make payments to policyholders or dependents who have been fighting the Labour Government for compensation since 2000.
A previous Liberal Democrat motion to get compensation for the millions of people involved was defeated in October 2009.
Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh said:
“The previous Government continually ignored the millions of people who lost their savings.
“People in Eastleigh lost up to half their pensions in the fiasco yet Labour failed to act, ignoring Liberal Democrat advice, ignoring the High Court and ignoring an Ombudsman report.
“This Bill is a massive relief to thousands of pensioners and is long overdue.
“I am delighted that something the Liberal Democrats have been calling for can now finally happen. We are using our position in Government to give policyholders the money they deserve.”
Notes to Editors
1. The full text of the written statement to the Commons is available here:
Labour mismanagement has shattered confidence in immigration system – Huhne
Commenting on Gordon Brown’s immigration speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:
“Labour’s shambolic mismanagement has shattered public confidence in the immigration system and undermined this country’s historically liberal attitude towards immigration.
“We can only persuade people of the enormous benefits of immigration if we have a system that is firm but fair.
“This means securing our borders by reintroducing exit checks, planning properly for new migrants and making sure they move to where they are most needed.”
Eastleigh MP praised for role in cutting energy prices for local residents
Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne has been praised for his part in stopping the big six energy suppliers from over-charging thousands of local residents for their energy.
Two of the two biggest energy suppliers in Hampshire – British Gas and Scottish and Southern Energy – have become the last big suppliers to remove the extra fee known as the prepay meter premium. Some customers paid more than £100 a year extra.
“This is a great victory for local residents who have been particularly hard-pressed to pay their energy bills over the winter” said Chris Huhne MP. “Stopping this unfair over-charging is equivalent to getting an extra week’s state pension every year and it will benefit thousands of people across Hampshire”.
The energy giants’ decision to axe their unfair prepay meter fees follows a long-running campaign by the National Housing Federation backed by local housing associations First Wessex and Swaythling.
The campaign victory now means all of the big six firms charge prepay customers no more than the tariff paid by those who pay via quarterly bills. The move will save the UK’s six million prepay customers £150m a year in total.
Before the campaign was launched three years ago, all the big energy firms, with the exception of Scottish Power, charged prepay meter customers the highest tariffs in the market for their gas and electricity – despite the fact many were on the very lowest incomes.
According to research for the National Housing Federation, the average income for a household with a prepayment meter is £16,000 a year and poorer customers will save over £100 annually from the removal of the prepay meter premium.
Federation chief executive David Orr said: “We are grateful to Chris Huhne MP who has been calling for an end to this injustice. His campaigning has helped ensure that prepay energy customers don’t pay a penny more than those who pay via a quarterly bill. This success will save some of his constituents over £100 a year.”
“We’re delighted that all of the big six energy suppliers have equalised permanently the tariffs they charge to prepayment meter users with those charged to customers on quarterly bills.”
Chris Huhne MP added: “We’ve campaigned for this day for a long time and British Gas, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power, E.ON, Npower and EDF should be congratulated for finally doing the right thing.”
Chris Huhne comments on the Eastleigh 10K race
Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne ran in his third Eastleigh 10 kilometre road race to raise money for one of the Eastleigh Mayor’s charities.
Chris Huhne was running for the Rainbow Centre, which provides special education for children throughout southern England who have cerebral palsy.
Chris’s chip time this year was 52.06 minutes, which was worse than last year by 1 minute.
Chris commented: “I think it is fair to say that the Olympic squad will not feel threatened by my performance. If everyone who beat me in the Eastleigh 10k votes for me in the general election, I will be home and dry.
“This was a fun morning and it helped raise some money for the Mayor’s charities. The Eastleigh 10k is a great example of civic activities that have taken on a life of their own.
“The best bit of the race for me is the fruitcake afterwards!”
Notes to editors:
More details about the Rainbow Centre are available here:
http://www.rainbowcentre.org/index.asp
Chris Huhne’s chip time in 2009 was 51 minutes and 26 seconds; and he came in 937th out of 1580 finishers. Chris’s chip time in 2008 was 55 minutes and 51 seconds and he came in 1015th out of 1372 finishers.
Eastleigh MP seeks assurances for VT staff
Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne has written to the head of Babcock, the company set to take over VT, to ask for assurances that jobs at the Botley HQ will be safe.
Mr Huhne said: “I hope that Babcock remembers why VT is such an attractive and successful company, and keeps on the key people at headquarters who have helped shape the modern VT.
“We need high value-added companies like VT, and my experience over the years since I have represented this area is that this is a company of which we should be very proud. I just hope that Babcock will look after their legacy and the people who made it happen”.
Huhne Congratulates Pioneering Local Street Pastors
Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne has congratulated the pioneering Fair Oak and Horton Heath Street Pastors on their second anniversary and has welcomed the news that a third street pastors group is forming in Hedge End.
The Fair Oak faith group, coordinated by residents Peter Broom and Sheena Graham, was the first in the borough and patrols the streets on Friday and Saturday evenings to make the local area safer.
Since 2008 the 24 volunteers have completed 104 tours of duty in their local areas. The scheme has been a huge success, helping along with neighbourhood policing and new youth facilities to cut crime by 37 per cent over the same period.
Chief Inspector Diana Boyles says: “I have no doubt that this success is down to the joint working of all parties in the area, but I remain convinced that the Street Pastors have played a key role in this reduction. I am thankful for their continued commitment and support they show to the community.”
Chris Huhne MP, who has experienced first hand the excellent work done by the Street Pastors both in Fair Oak and with the second group in Eastleigh itself, said that he was very impressed by the calm dedication and effectiveness of the volunteers.
“Two years ago, many constituents complained about anti-social behaviour in Fair Oak, but the situation is now much improved thanks in part to the work of the Street Pastors in conjunction with local police and improved youth facilities”, said Mr Huhne.
“Public-spirited projects such as these have a huge benefit on the local community, and the Street Pastors must be congratulated for their good work and generosity. Long may it continue.”
The success of the Street Pastors programme is now spreading to the surrounding villages of West End, Hedge End, Botley, Chandler’s Ford and Bishopstoke, who will soon have teams of their own on the streets.
ENDS
For more information email Sheena and Pete at fairoak@streetpastors.org.uk or phone 07970 543098 or visit http://www.streetpastors.co.uk.
7 out of 10 hospitals failing to help police tackle knife crime – Huhne
70% of NHS hospitals in England are still failing to provide police forces with information that has been proven to significantly cut knife crime, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. This is a marginal improvement on last year, when 80% of hospitals were not sharing this information.
In the ‘Cardiff Model’, A&E wards in the city have collected information about the precise locations and times of violent incidents and shared it anonymously with the police since 2002. This led to a 40% fall in violent assaults in the first five years.
The research, collected through Freedom of Information requests, shows:
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- Only 44 of the 143 hospital trusts (31%) in England that have replied to the request are following the Cardiff Model
- The situation is no better in the nine areas in England taking part in the Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP), where only 18 out of 55 trusts (32%) are following the Cardiff Model. Essex had no trusts using the model
- Violence actually increased during the first year of the TKAP. Hospital admissions for violence increased by 3% in TKAP areas and by 3.1% in other areas between 2008 and 2009
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:
“It is shameful that a year after we first brought this issue to the Government’s attention, seven out of 10 hospital trusts are still not sharing this vital data with the police.
“It beggars belief why anyone would ignore best practice of this kind which drastically reduces woundings.
“There is no point Labour and the Tories posturing on penalties when they won’t even endorse a proven method of what works to cut knife crime.
“Labour is missing an open goal to reduce the damage caused by the Booze Britain they have created.
“Ministers claim to be tackling knife crime but they’re not even following the Cardiff Model in their flagship TKAP areas, where violence is actually on the increase.
“Heads at the Department of Health and the Home Office must be knocked together to ensure that the Cardiff Model is used in every emergency ward in the country.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. A spreadsheet is attached that has two sheets. The first gives the full details of the responses (or lack of them) from the 169 NHS trusts in England. NHS trusts in Scotland and Wales were not included. The second provides details of what is happening in the nine Tackling Knives Action Programme areas in England (South Wales is the tenth).
2. The responses were gained through Freedom of Information requests in which the trusts were asked the following question:
Do the Accident and Emergency Departments within your Trust pass the details of the times and locations of incidents from patients that present to you with injuries caused or suspected to be caused by violent criminal offences (including, but not limited to, gun shot wounds, stab wounds, and assaults with or without a weapon) to the relevant Police/Police Authority/Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership on a regular and anonymised basis?
3. There are 169 NHS trusts in England but 20 have no A&E department, leaving 149 relevant trusts. 44 said they were following the model; 80 said they were not; and 19 were discussing whether to implement it. Five trusts have not replied to the Freedom of Information request and 1 trust is still clarifying its answer. That is why the statistics refer to 143 trusts.
4. The Liberal Democrats undertook the same piece of research in March last year and discovered that eight out of 10 hospitals were failing to share data with the police:
5. Last year, the Government admitted that it did not keep a record of this information centrally, as the answer to this Parliamentary Question demonstrates:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm081126/text/81126w0134.htm#08120135004648
It now does. This answer says that there are 103 A&E departments sharing data:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm100312/text/100312w0029.htm#10031228009105
However, in 2007/08, there were 552 A&E in England:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080227/text/80227w0036.htm#08022816005400
According to these figures, 19% (103/552) of A&E departments are sharing the data.
6. The Cardiff Model was introduced in 2002 by Professor Jonathan Shepherd of Cardiff University, a face and jaw surgeon, who was dismayed at having to stitch together the faces of young victims of violent crime. The aim of the model is to improve police effectiveness and reduce Emergency Department Admissions for violent crime-related injuries. It works in Cardiff as follows:
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- 24-hour (preferably electronic) data is collected by clerical staff in Accident and Emergency Departments of the precise location and time of the violent incident when patients first attend.
- Anonymous data is shared monthly Hospital Trust IT Staff with the police, through a member of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP).
- The CDRP combines police and A&E data on a monthly basis and produces a summary of violence times, locations, and weapons, allowing the CDRP to produce maps of violent crime, including knife crime, for their area.
- This allows for the continuous implementation and updating of a prevention action plan by the CDRP violence task group. The result is a continuous tracking of violent crime trends.
7. The key statistics for the Cardiff Model:
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- Following the introduction of the model, Cardiff saw a 40 per cent reduction in A&E violence related attendances between 2002 and 2007.
- The city has moved from mid-table in 2002 to the safest city in May 2007 in its Home Office family of fifteen cities, and has remained at the top for three years.
8. Attached is the 2007 updated report produced by Professor Jonathan Shepherd for the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP in October 2007 entitled ‘Effective NHS Contributions to Violence Prevention: The Cardiff Model’. This contains the article by Professor Shepherd ‘Preventing Violence – Caring for Victims’ (The Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Ireland, 5:2, pp. 114-121).
9. The following ten areas are taking part in the Tackling Knives Action Programme, which was launched in June 2008 – Metropolitan Police, Essex, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Thames Valley, South Wales and Nottinghamshire: http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/tackling_knives.htm
10. Violent assaults actually increased by 3% in TKAP areas and 3.1% in non-TKAP areas between 2008 and 2009:
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/hospital-care/hospital-activity-hospital-episode-statistics–hes/provisional-monthly-hospital-episode-statistics-for-admitted-patient-care-and-outpatient-data-april-2009–november-2009
The figures show:
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- Between December 2008 and November 2009 there were 43,446 finished admission episodes for assault, of these 27,064 (62.3%) were from TKAP areas and 16,382 from non-TKAP areas.
- Between December 2007 and November 2008 there were 42,145 finished admission episodes for assault, of these 26,263 (62.3%) were from TKAP areas and 15,882 from non-TKAP areas.
- Between these periods admission episodes for assault increased by 3.1% in England with an increase of 3% in TKAP areas and an increase of 3.1% in Non-TKAP areas.
Mephedrone decision could have been made weeks ago – Huhne
Commenting on Alan Johnson’s announcement that mephedrone is to be made a Class B drug, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:
“The Home Secretary would have been able to take this decision weeks ago if he had not meddled in independent scientific advice because he did not like what it said.
“His intervention sparked a number of resignations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and left the Government scrabbling around for independent advice.
“This is a shambles that Alan Johnson could and should have avoided if he had respected the proper processes.”