Thursday boasted another busy day of meetings, briefings and parliamentary duties. In contrast to Marion’s nationwide appearance on live television the previous day, Thursday resulted in the MP spending the majority of the day working hard within the confines of the House of Commons estate!
Friday (12th February 2016)
On Friday, Marion was back in the constituency working from her office in Motherwell. The day brought with it a number of meetings with local people and organisations.
Marion and Clare Adamson MSP were also delighted to meet with Chief Superintendent Roddy Irvine, the new Divisional Commander for Lanarkshire who will be based at the division’s headquarters at Motherwell Police Office.
Yesterday I was invited to speak on Politics Scotland on the new fiscal framework for Scotland.
During the referendum, Scotland was promised more financial control and powers. As well as falling short of the Vow, the new powers proposed by the Tory Government would leave Scotland worse off. This directly conflicts with the guidelines set out by the Smith Commission which was set up to determine which powers Scotland should receive.
The Scottish Government will not accept plans which would inflict further Tory cuts on Scotland and our public services.
Marion spent the early stages of Monday in London attending parliamentary briefings and meetings before being present in the Chamber for a debate on financial regulatory bodies.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department has made available to women born in the 1950s who are affected by recent changes in the age at which they become eligible for the state pension.
Mr Shailesh Vera MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions), provided a response which, although appreciated, failed to answer the question:
Working age benefits are available for those who have not yet reached State Pension age. A concession of £1.1bn was made, and 81% of those affected will see a delay of one year or less; and for the rest, the delay will be no more than 18 months. There are no plans for further transitional arrangements.
On Thursday, Marion was in attendance at the latest meeting of the Scottish Government’s Steel Task Force in order to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing battle to save Scotland’s steel industry.
Thursday was also World Cancer Day – Marion met with representatives from four of the UK’s leading cancer charities who are working together to unite the nation and help transform the lives of millions of people who are affected by cancer.
On Friday morning, Marion was delighted to meet with Wale Olabamiji of the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre. Wale was visiting the constituency to provide cultural awareness training for members of Marion’s team to ensure that the office is able to provide as efficient a service as possible to all residents of Motherwell and Wishaw, regardless of their cultural background.
Marion & Wale of the EMLC.
The Ethnic Minorities Law Centre provides legal advice and representation to individuals from Scotland’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, as well as providing training and second-tier advice to the Citizens Advice Bureau and other advice agencies across the country. In addition to casework for clients and training for advice agencies in their specialist areas of law, the EMLC also operates telephone advice lines, awareness-raising sessions and workshops for young people.
As it was the first Friday of the month, Marion spent the afternoon attending surgery appointments with local people in order to provide assistance in any issues they may have.
I was delighted to meet with Wale Olabamiji of the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre in my constituency office today.
Wale was visiting the constituency to provide cultural awareness training for members of my team to ensure that my office is able to provide as efficient a service as possible to all residents of Motherwell and Wishaw, regardless of their cultural background.
The Ethnic Minorities Law Centre provides legal advice and representation to individuals from Scotland’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, as well as providing training and second-tier advice to the Citizens Advice Bureau and other advice agencies across the country. In addition to casework for clients and training for advice agencies in their specialist areas of law, the EMLC also operates telephone advice lines, awareness-raising sessions and workshops for young people.
Motherwell Dementia Garden Session: 2015-16 Date tabled: 20.01.2016 Primary sponsor: Marion Fellows Sponsors: Deidre Brock, Drew Hendry, John McNally, Martin Docherty, Phil Boswell
That this House recognises the hard work of NHS Lanarkshire’s Motherwell Community Mental Health Team for Older People and the work of local people and businesses that have also contributed to the project with practical help, fundraising and donations, in completing Motherwell’s Dementia Garden which is designed to bring those in the local community affected by dementia and their loved ones together, providing a space for interaction; commends the creation of a safe and stimulating environment that promotes wellbeing, reduces stigma and increases social inclusion and that has placed Motherwell at the forefront of catering to dementia sufferers’ needs; and welcomes the work of those involved in tackling the challenges and stigma of dementia.
Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few are actually debated. EDMs allow MPs to draw attention to an event or cause. MPs register their support by signing individual motions.
Wishaw General Hospital Midwife Award Nomination Session: 2015-16 Date tabled: 02.02.2016 Primary sponsor: Marion Fellows Sponsors: Deidrie Brock, Drew Hendry, John McNally, Martin Docherty, Neil Gray
That this House welcomes the news that midwives of ward 23 in Wishaw General Hospital have been implementing a post-delivery debriefing project using the method of teach back which ensures that mothers’ personal needs are understood and fulfilled during the birthing process and that mothers understand their personal birthing process; congratulates the midwives on being shortlisted for the Better Births category of the Royal College of Midwives’ Annual Midwifery Awards for the work they have been doing in their field; and recognises the importance of their pioneering project in educating mothers about their labour ensuring that mothers have a clearer understanding of their and their baby’s health.
Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few are actually debated. EDMs allow MPs to draw attention to an event or cause. MPs register their support by signing individual motions.
Motherwell & Wishaw Police Excellence Award Session: 2015-16 Date tabled: 02.02.2016 Primary sponsor: Marion Fellows Sponsors: Drew Hendry, John McNally, Phil Boswell, Paul Monaghan, Neil Gray
That this House congratulates the Motherwell and Wishaw Police Scotland division on their success in winning the award for Greatest Contribution to Policing Priorities at the first-ever Scottish Policing Excellence Awards for their You’re Asking For It campaign to combat the illegal supply of alcohol to minors and underage drinking; recognises the important work that they undertake and commitment they show in keeping communities safe from violence and anti-social behaviour; and wishes them well in all their future tasks to keep the people of Motherwell and Wishaw safe.
Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few are actually debated. EDMs allow MPs to draw attention to an event or cause. MPs register their support by signing individual motions.
On Monday, Marion met with Ziggi Shipper, Susan Pollack and Janine Webber – Holocaust survivors and members of the Holocaust Educational Trust – during the Education Select Committee‘s report into Holocaust education.
Marion with members of the Holocaust Educational Trust.
The Holocaust Educational Trust aim to educate young people from every background about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today to prevent genocide and human rights abuses.
You can read Marion’s speech in its entirety and the response from Ms Baldwin online here.
Marion meets members of the Strathclyde Mining Group.
Tuesday (26th January 2016)
Tuesday was a busy day of parliamentary activity for Marion, including briefings, whip duties, and the meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Steel and Metal Related Industry Group. In the evening, Marion was present at the SNP Group’s weekly meeting.
Wednesday (27th January 2016)
Marion’s Wednesday began with the usual weekly meeting of the Education Select Committee in the morning, during which the committee discussed Sir Martin Narey‘s review of children’s residential care. This was followed by an afternoon of meetings and preparations for future parliamentary business.
Back home in the constituency, Marion’s team delivered donations on her behalf to the Lanarkshire Basics Foodbank at the Motherwell Baptist Church. The team also held a two hour surgery at the church, in order to help people with any issues they may have been having.
Conor sorts through the foodbank donations.
Staff at the foodbank said the most common reason for using their services was as a result of benefit sanctions which continue to leave people without enough to feed themselves and, in a number of cases, their children. Marion is keen to make surgeries at local foodbanks a common occurrence in order to help those who are forced to use such services in whatever way she can.
Thursday (28th January 2016)
On Thursday, Marion took the opportunity to table three questions over the course of the day, beginning with raising the subject of the recent Volkswagen scandal with Mr Patrick McLoughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport.
Marion asked Mr McLoughlin:
What discussions has the Secretary of State or the Vehicle Certification Agencyhad with Volkswagen to ensure that the UK taxpayer is not out of pocket for the re-testing of Volkswagen vehicles following the recent scandal?
The Secretary of State for Transport’s response was:
I refer the hon. Lady to the response I gave to Dr Cameron. Discussions on this particular matter are ongoing. I have taken the issue up in meetings with Volkswagen, which I believe appeared before the Transport Select Committee earlier this week.
The Motherwell and Wishaw MP was also keen to question Mr Robert Goodwill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Transport, about the high-speed rail network.
Marion posed the following to Mr Goodwill:
The Minister will recall that he was previously asked by my hon. Friend Alan Brown about the potential for increased journey times north of Crewe to Scotland under the current proposals for HS2. At the time, he suggested that upgrades on the line were already underway. Therefore, will he now commit to providing the Scottish Government with a definitive timetable for those upgrades?
Mr Goodwill replied:
I can tell the hon. Lady that HS2 will deliver increased benefits to Scotland. From day one, journey times from Glasgow will be reduced from four hours 31 minutes to three hours 56 minutes. Indeed, the full Y network will benefit Scotland to the tune of £3 billion. Interestingly, she does not mention Nicola Sturgeon’s own bullet train, the Glasgow-Edinburgh scheme, which she announced as infrastructure Minister in 2012. It appears that Scotland’s First Minister has now given her bullet train the bullet.
Marion’s contribution to the debate concluded with the following:
This debate has shown that, again, there are real issues that Opposition Members are very keen that the Government should change track on. Whether they will listen I doubt, but it is very important for our constituents that the Government understand the real damage that they are doing to families, especially children and women, with this move. To ask a family to lose £1,300 to £1,600 a year when they are already on minimum wage and have no hope of getting more money is nothing short of disgraceful. It is totally abhorrent, and I hope that the Government will think again about introducing the cuts that they are proposing in April this year.
