Burnley and Padiham MP Gordon Birtwistle has welcomed an assurance from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that there are no plans to close the Burnley Pension Centre in Simonstone.
Mr Birtwistle visited the centre last month to see the work they do first hand. He wrote to Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith setting out the case for preserving the centre.
Gordon said:“This centre is doing an excellent job in providing services to pension and pension credit claimants. The legacy of the Labour government to all of us was to double the national debt and we’ll be paying the price for that for years to come. However, itwould make little sense to close a centre that has recently opened and I’m glad to receive an assurance that this is not the case.”

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And their views have been passed on to Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley who has been urged to step in to halt the closure.

Under guidance issued by the new Secretary of State after the election, Hospital Trusts must have the support of the local Council and local GPs to make such changes.

“It speaks volumes that not a single GP has written back to me to say they support the closure of the Children’s ward”, said Gordon.

“If there isn’t the support of GPs or the local council then the Secretary of State for Health needs to step  in and ensure the proper procedures he has set out are followed.”

“I really can’t see what the local health trusts are playing at.  Why are they pushing through changes which have such strong opposition from those professionals at the cutting edge of providing health care for local people?”

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“I can confirm that Councils who take action now to give planning consent

and support the construction of new homes will receive direct and substantial

benefit from their actions”.

Burnley and Padiham MP Gordon Birtwistle has welcomed news that Council’s areto be rewarded for approving building of new homes announced today by CoalitionMinister for Housing Grant Shapps.
The Minister said:“I can confirm that Councils who take action now to give planning consentand support the construction of new homes will receive direct and substantialbenefit from their actions”.
“This could be excellent news for Burnley and Padiham” said Gordon. There arenumerous locations throughout our town where developers are looking to start workas the economy starts to improve. The Minister is talking about ‘substantial extrafunding’ for areas that look to expand and for that funding to be used for improvingfrontline services.”

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Drawing on his experience as an engineering apprentice 50 years ago, and as leader of Burnley Council in trying to attract high-skill jobs to Burnley, Gordon highlighted the need to invest in new developments and in the people to deliver them.

Following the debate he said, “The last Government had this idea that over 50% of young people should go to university, this has meant that there is now a dearth of well qualified young people who have been trained through apprenticeships for hands on jobs such as manufacturing. Quite often big jobs are sent abroad as we can’t supply enough skilled labourers, I want to see apprenticeships and vocational college courses become as highly regarded as the top university degrees and think that the young people of Burnley deserve the opportunity to have plenty of options to chose from when leaving school.’

Gordon Birtwistle has also been speaking to newly appointed Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable about the apprenticeships scheme and is due to meet the Apprenticeship Director of the Business & Skills Department at the end of the month to discuss how the apprenticeships will be delivered in Burnley.

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“Gordon Birtwistle MP is the newly elected Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley, a seat he won from Labour with a 12 per cent swing last month. In this week’s diary for Total Politics he writes about making his maiden speech and getting told off by the whips “like a naughty schoolboy”.

I am just beginning now, to find my feet in this strange place (and to find my way around). To say the first couple of weeks have been overwhelming has been an understatement! I did not think that when I was eventually successfully elected, it would be as part of a party in government.

Head on over to read the rest of the article.

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Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley, Gordon Birtwistle 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 yesterday [Wednesday], 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.

Gordon Birtwistle, Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley said:

“The previous Government continually ignored the millions of people who lost their savings.

“People in Burnley 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.”

The full text of the written statement to the Commons is available here:

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Before being elected as MP for Burnley, Gordon Birtwistle has been leading the campaign to save the Children’s ward at Burnley Hospital and for the return of the A&E unit to the hospital. Since the A&E at Burnley was closed in 2006, patients have had to travel 15 miles to Blackburn Hospital. With heavy congestion on the roads between the two hospitals it makes it extremely difficult for residents in Burnley to get to Blackburn A&E quickly.

Commenting on the matter, Gordon Birtwistle, Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley said: “It is my number one priority as an MP to secure the return of the A&E to Burnley, having to travel 15 miles for treatment is completely unacceptable and I will continue to put pressure on this new Government to follow through on their pre-election promises.”

“The lives of my constituents cannot continue to be put at risk in such a way, I am pleased that the Leader of the House encouraged me to apply for a debate on this important issue and I hope that my application is accepted, as it is only right that this is debated properly in the House with the new Health Minister”

“I will continue to fight for the return of A&E services on behalf of my constituents and hope that we will soon secure the result we have all campaigned so hard for.”

Notes

1. The full text of the question to the Leader of the House to the Commons will be available here:

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“I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech so early in the new Parliament. I pay tribute to those who made their maiden speeches before me—the hon. Members for Beckenham, for Bolton South East(Yasmin Qureshi), for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, for Stafford and for Stalybridge and Hyde. I know Stalybridge quite well because I am always delivering precision machine parts to a company based there. It was a great privilege in the early hours of 7 May to be elected as Member of Parliament for Burnley. Burnley now has a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament—the first time that Labour has not held the seat since 1935, a period of 75 years. Burnley is a special place at the heart of Pennine Lancashire, with lovely countryside and friendly people. We have an abundance of waterways, canals, rivers and reservoirs, all of which played their part in our industrial heritage, which has sadly declined over the years. The old industries of cotton, textiles, coal and heavy engineering have now all but disappeared. The industries may have declined, but the industrious spirit of the north remains as strong as ever.

One of my main interests in this Parliament is to promote sustained growth in the high-tech, high-value manufacturing sector, both locally and nationally, that will deliver pride and prosperity for this nation. The sector is already well established in Burnley, whose businesses include Aircelle,manufacturer of thrust reversing systems for theRolls-Royce Trent engines used by airlines around the world; MB Aerospace, which manufactures launch canisters for the American Harpoon missile; Futaba Tenneco, which manufactures major body parts for the current range of Toyota vehicles, which are sold around the world; and many other small high-tech manufacturing companies that serve the aerospace, nuclear and automotive sectors. We need to ensure that students are provided with the relevant education to prepare them to undertake these high-tech roles. By providing people with the skills that employers require, we will also be providing them with the ability to earn a good living wage. Burnley’s newsixth-formcollege and university campus,which is dedicated to advanced manufacturing, goes some way to delivering these opportunities in Burnley and must be replicated elsewhere across the country. I give my heartfelt thanks to the constituents of Burnley for having faith in me and the courage to vote for change—change that I believe can be delivered by this new type of coalition Administration, harnessing the best policies of two fresh parties both committed toraising our country out of the current difficulties, which should not be underestimated. At this point, it is customary to make reference to the contributions of predecessors. Kitty Ussher represented Burnley for five years, and in that time she gave birth to her two children, Lizzie and George. Kitty realised first hand the problems of combining being a mother and aMember of Parliament, and she began a campaign for family-friendly working hours. Kitty worked hard to help deliver the Building Schools for the Future programme in Burnley and she will be pleased to hear that the final two schools will be opened in time for the commencement of the new school year. Together with all the people of Burnley and Padiham, I wish Kitty success in her future career outside Westminster.The people of Burnley and Padiham are good, decent and hard working. They are outspoken and direct, and unafraid of speaking their minds. Serving them as a local councillor and council leader for the past 28 years has given me a thorough, in-depth apprenticeship in how best to serve their needs in Parliament. I will always put the needs of the people of Burnley and Padiham first in my parliamentary activities, as I will never forget that their faith in me has brought me heretoday.The most pressing current issue for the residents of Burnley and Padiham is the transfer of our accident and emergency unit, which was taken from us in 2008 and relocated 15 congested miles away at the Royal Blackburn hospital. Now, the threat of the transfer of our children’s ward to the same hospital, which for many people is accessible only with a great deal of difficulty, is considered to be a step too far. I am heartened to have received a statement from my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary outlining the new coalition Government’s vision for locally led NHS service changes. That vision gives me hope that the transfer of the children’s ward will not now take place. I will continue to press for the full return of the accident and emergency facilities that are so vital to the 250,000 residents of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.Once again, I thank the people of Burnley for their courage and faith in me. I assure them all that I will always represent them to the best of my ability.Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the House for listening to my speech this evening.“ Taken from Hansard ( http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/ ) © 2010 Parliamentary Copyright

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“Children’s ward closure must be stopped”

Gordon Birtwistle MP has welcomed todays announcement by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley that changes to NHS services must be led by local people and not driven from the top down.

“The new Secretary of State has given clear instructions to the trust”, he said.  “They have been told that plans for any changes must meet these new criteria which include considering patient choice and support from local GPs.”

“I’m arranging a rapid meeting with the Chief Executive of East Lancashire Health Trust to ensure that the planned closure of the Children’s ward is put on hold so that  it can be considered under these new criteria.  I will also be urging that the closure of emergency A&E services at Burnley be reconsidered in the light of these new criteria and the report from experts at the College of Emergency Medicine that the policy of A&E downgrading was based on flawed evidence.”

Just 15 days ago Gordon was elected as Burnley and Padiham’s new MP after a 3 year campaign against health service cuts in the town.  He led a march of hundreds of local people against the closure of the children’s ward earlier this year. One of his first actions as our new MP was to write to the new Secretary of State for Health saying he should honour election pledges to cancel the closure of the Children’s ward and reverse the closure of the Emergency A&E service at Burnley hospital.

“On May 6^th people in Burnley and Padiham voted for change”, said Gordon.  “Now, just 15 days later they can see how change is starting to be delivered.”

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Fri 14th May, 4-5pm at Burnley library

Fri 21st May, 4-5pm at Burnley library

Further surgeries TBA

You can also contact Gordon by writing to :

Gordon Birtwistle MP

18a Rosegrove Lane

Burnley

BB12 6HX

or email gordon@burnleylibdems.org.uk

These contact details will change soon, so please check back regularly.

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