Summer Adjournment

David Amess Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

Before the House adjourns for the summer recess, there are a number of points that I wish to raise. Mrs and Mrs Tweed came to see me at my last surgery. Mr Tweed is 52, and he has terminal cancer of the bowel, liver and lymph nodes. He had disability living allowance turned down. It went to appeal, and that was turned down, and in October he was told, “Wait another year”. He has not got a year, so let the Department for Work and Pensions act now.

My constituent Jean Judge’s daughter suffers from severe dyslexia and Asperger’s. She gained a place at University college London as a mature student. I thought that people with special difficulties would be given extra help, but she has not been. I hope the relevant Department will see what it can do to help.

Brian West is one of the 10,000 people who took out an Equitable Life policy before the September 1992 cut-off date. I hope that the Government will look again at trying to help people in that situation.

Southend West, having the most centenarians in the country, depends on its bus services. Again, I ask the Government to see what they can do with subsidies. I have organised a public meeting for 5 August at 11 o’clock at Iveagh Hall, at which elderly people can tell us how urgently they need support for bus services.

Recently I went with the town clerk of Southend to see local businesses in the town. A number of business premises are empty, and we need to reconsider rate relief for empty business properties.

There was an increase of 3% in the number of animals used in experiments last year compared with 2009, and it is particularly worrying that there has been an increase of 10% in speculative research. As I served on the original Bill Committee on the matter, I am very disappointed with those figures. Perhaps the Deputy Leader of the House will pass that on to the appropriate Department.

There are between 250,000 and 466,000 people in the UK infected with hepatitis C. We could do far better in treating them, and I hope the Department of Health will consider that issue.

The Royal College of Midwives has said that there were 687,000 live births in England in 2010, a rise of 123,000 since 2001. I hope that we will do all we can to recruit more midwives.

Mrs Karen Glassborrow is looking to set up a free school in Southend, and I hope that the appropriate Department will help her.

On Parliament square, it is terribly sad about Brian Haw having died. He was the only person who was given permission to stay there, and I do not understand why on earth we have all those tents in a dangerous roundabout. Let us get on with it and do something about it instead of having the weasel words.

I end with phone hacking. I get on the tube at night listening to endless telephone conversations, which I find very boring indeed. Unfortunately no one has hacked my phone, so I am not entitled to any money. The Labour party raised this issue, but we had a rotten Labour Government from May 1997 until last year. When we have the inquiry, let us start by having the former Prime Minister Tony Blair give evidence. Secondly we should have the noble Lord who was his deputy for 10 years, and then we should have the last Prime Minister.

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer recess.