Wansbeck MP

Ian Lavery column: Speaking up for Hardest Hit families

Posted by The Journal on Jul 27, 11 09:25 AM in Wansbeck MP

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery writes for the Ashington & Morpeth Extra

Last Thursday evening I spoke at a very well attended meeting organised by the Northern Public Services Alliance and the Hardest Hit Campaign.

The Northern Public Services Alliance is the trade union campaign to defend public services and campaign for fairer alternatives to savage spending cuts.

The Hardest Hit campaign is organised jointly by the Disability Benefits Consortium and the UK Disabled People's Council, and brings together disabled people, carers and the organisations and groups that represent them.

A number of people explained their circumstances and raised their genuine fears and concerns; there were some harrowing contributions from individuals. It is crystal clear that many people are living in fear of huge cuts to essential benefits, these will mean a considerable loss to families' incomes over the next four years, on top of cuts to many local care and support services.

This affects people and families across the UK living with conditions such as cancer, dementia, arthritis, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities, mental health conditions and physical disabilities.

Despite the coalition Government's claims "that we are all in this together" it is clear that it is the most vulnerable in our society that will suffer the most. I will continue to support and work with the Hardest Hit campaign and the Northern Public Services Alliance for the benefit of local people and our communities.

A report published by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said that 34,000 police jobs will be lost as part of the Government cuts.

In Northumbria, these cuts will result in the number of police officers falling by 627, cutting the number of civilian staff by almost 1,000 and the number of community support officers from 438 to 248.

These huge cuts will be devastating to the individuals and families directly affected by the job losses and will also threaten the safety of our communities throughout Wansbeck.

It is also heartbreaking to see the horrendous effects of the famine in Somalia, with a huge number of children being acutely malnourished and children and babies starving to death every day.

Children and women are the most vulnerable and the crisis is worsening daily. Governments across the world need to act to quickly and decisively to avoid a massive loss of life.

We'd like to hear from you.
Send your stories, pics and videos to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk