Dear Constituent,

Hello and welcome to the Denton and Reddish Weekly News! 

It's been a busy week this week, with lots to update you on. With Parliament returning, there was also plenty to discuss and debate in the Commons. Take a look at what I've been up to in this week's 60 second recap below.

A reminder too that this Sunday there's St Anne's Haughton Big Parish Festival, as well as the return of Denton Artisan Markets. Scroll down to the community board for more information. Have a lovely weekend and stay cool in the sun! ☀️

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has been promoted in the Labour reshuffle to Shadow Minister of State for Social Care.

Gwynne, who has served as Labour’s Shadow Public Health Minister since December 2021, has said he is “delighted” to be appointed to the position.

A Minister of State is the most senior rank of Junior Minister, and means that Gwynne will effectively serve as number 2 to the Secretary of State within the Shadow Health and Social Care Team.

Gwynne succeeds Liz Kendall, who has left the Health and Social Care Team after being promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions.

Andrew Gwynne said:

“I’m absolutely delighted to have been asked to serve as Shadow Minister of State for Social Care under the Shadow Secretary of State Wes Streeting.

“I’m proud to have held the Government to account on health inequalities, tobacco control, obesity and issues affecting clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable patients. I have no doubt that Preet Kaur Gill will do an exceptional job in her new role. I’m very much looking forward to taking on the Social Care brief after Liz Kendall’s excellent work.

Under the Tories, we’ve seen 13 years of broken promises and failure to reform Social Care. The next Labour Government will be mission driven in building a care system fit for the future, one that meets the needs of older and disabled people and their families.”

Last week, we were told the astonishing news that more than 100 schools in England have been ordered to fully or partly close because they are fitted with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete that could suddenly collapse. The Government has known about this issue for years but has failed to take action.

These school closures reinforce a general feeling here in England that nothing is really working. Public services are at breaking point, buildings are crumbling, and trains are being cancelled. To make matters worse, there seems to be a lack of urgency from the Government.

I’ve campaigned for better schools for our students for some time now, particularly here in Tameside. As many of you will know, Russell Scott Primary School in Denton was the subject of a botched rebuild from the construction giant Carillion and was left with a number of serious structural defects. After many years of campaigning alongside the exceptional headteacher of Russell Scott, Steve Marsland, the school was finally added to the Government’s list for additional emergency funding. The rebuilding work hasn’t officially begun yet, but we are finally seeing some long-overdue progress.

I have found this process arduous and incredibly frustrating. I can only imagine how it must feel for Russell Scott staff and pupils. I want students in Tameside to be given the very best opportunities in life, and that means safe, secure, and enriching learning environments.

I’m sure you’ve seen or heard Labour’s commitment to ‘Build A Better Britain’. What that means is not just fixing the problems we currently face, but actively working to improve lives. Take the NHS as a prime example. Yes, the immediate problems need to be fixed; huge backlogs in elective care, staff shortages and more. But alongside this work, we also need to be future-proofing the NHS itself, making sure that it is totally prepared to meet the challenges of the time. That means better-utilising technology, embedding care in the community and giving the NHS the staff it needs to thrive. This proactive approach should be replicated across all our public services.

This week has demonstrated what happens when a Government fails to look to the future. People in Tameside are fed up with sticking-plaster solutions. We need a Government that is committed to long-term, positive change.

 

The sun shone, the band played, the crowds turned up, and lots of ice cream was consumed…

A big well done to the brilliant Team Audenshaw for organising another of their “Band in the Park” events in conjunction with Ryecroft Hall Community Association and Droylsden St John's Brass Band on Sunday.

I love community events like these, but it was bittersweet as it’s likely to be one of the last ones I’ll be able to attend in Audenshaw, as I will now be focusing on getting around communities in my new constituency ahead of the next General Election.

Thanks to Councillor Teresa Smith for allowing me to say a few goodbyes. I’m still Audenshaw’s MP until the next election, and will be able to take up cases right up until the end, but much of my free-time focus now will be getting around my new boundaries to familiarise myself with community groups across Gorton and Denton. It’s quite an emotional wrench after almost 20 years.

WATCH: We have a statement on the concrete crisis which has seen 150 schools close buildings.

I ask the Secretary of State when we can expect more information from the Government, and for reassurances that outstanding rebuilding projects (like the one at Russell Scott Primary School in Denton) will receive already-pledged support.

WATCH: In Cabinet Office Questions, I ask the Minister about Welfare services for veterans.
A recent report found concerning issues with the system, including “a lack of cohesion, of strategic direction and single oversight” – something that is negatively impacting veterans.
I ask what steps the Government is taking to address these problems.

 WATCH: We have a statement in the House on the escape of terror suspect Daniel Khalife from Wandsworth prison.

There have been reports that it took an hour for prison staff to notice that an escape had occurred.
I ask the Minister for assurances that processes will be tightened as a result of this really concerning incident.

 WATCH: We’re one year on from the start of the Truss premiership. I ask the Leader of the House if she still stands by her “Hope Candidate”.

The Minister tells me that she “delivered a lot for this country”.

I must make sure to tell those who’ve seen their mortgages skyrocket…

 WATCH: The Government has announced an overhaul of the Prevent programme, an important scheme to prevent radicalisation.

I ask the Home Secretary how she plans on ensuring communities are not unfairly marginalised moving forward.

WATCH: To bookend a busy day yesterday I close on behalf of the Shadow Health and Social Care team on a really important debate about hormone pregnancy tests.

In the 50s, 60s and 70s, more than 1.5 million women took the HPT Primodos. This test was withdrawn from the market in the late 1970s, but women have come forward since with accounts of devastating congenital abnormalities, stillbirths and miscarriages.

These women and their families have been ignored and belittled for decades. It's time for this historic injustice to be comprehensively addressed.

 WATCH: On Sunday, I was invited onto Talk TV to discuss the postcode lottery in cancer care, the Government's failure to address crumbling school buildings, and Labour's plan for Government.
After 13 years or Tory Government, there's a feeling that nothing really works. Change is long overdue.

 READ: Thanks to the Tameside Reporter for covering the brilliant Band in the Park event last weekend, and my thoughts on this event likely being one of my last in Audenshaw. 

Read the full story here.