Happy Birthday to a Much-Loved National Institution!

This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of the NHS, which is one of our country's greatest achievements - a service that is available to all based on need - not ability to pay. On 5 July we should take time to say thank you to the wonderful staff that look after us when we need care and attention.

Looking round the new facilities at Evergreen Health Centre this week, it reminded me of how much we have to be proud of in the NHS, and how local healthcare has gone from strength to strength over the past few years.

But 60 years since we founded it, the NHS is constantly changing and having to adapt to new challenges. That is why Health Secretary Alan Johnson has asked me to find out what local residents think about the NHS and how we can improve it for them. If you would like to take part in our local NHS survey please contact my office on 020 72196377 or andylovemp@aol.com. You can read more about the NHS's 60th anniversary and pledge your support at http://www.labour.org.uk/proud/home

Get Your "Wrong Trousers" On!

This week I met the popular stars of the silver screen, and fans of cheese, Wallace and Gromit, to help promote Wrong Trousers Day (WTD) 2008. This involved having to model a pair of “wrong” trousers (very nice, as you can see!) and posing with the pair of stars to help encourage as many people as possible to get involved with this year’s Wrong Trousers Day, which is tomorrow (June 27th. )

This year's Wrong Trousers Day, which raises money to improve the lives of children in hospices and hospitals throughout the UK, is music themed. Participants are encouraged to wear a ‘rocking’ pair of trousers and donate £1 to Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation – who are spearheading the event. The Children’s Foundation are also encouraging schools to get involved with the day. Children can submit footage of themselves rocking out in the Wrong Trousers. A panel of experts will select the most 'rocking' entry and the winner will win tickets for them and their classmates to see hit London West End musical "We Will Rock You" and meet the cast backstage.

I am always delighted to lend my support to Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, whose initiatives in hospices and hospitals throughout the UK help some of Britain’s most poorly children. Wrong Trousers Day 2008 is a great opportunity to have some fun at the same time as helping to raise money for a really worthwhile charity. Now I have made myself look a little bit silly I hope that other people here in Edmonton will also get involved!

I would encourage people here in Edmonton to log on to the Wrong Trousers Day website –www.wrongtrousersday.org– and be part of the fun!

Pulling Together for a Good Cause

This week saw the annual Macmillan Cancer’s House of Commons Versus House of Lords’ Tug of War Event. The aim of the event, which took place on Tuesday 10th June at Westminster College Garden, was to raise money for the charity Macmillan Cancer Support.

In an impressive show of strength, our team of MPs (captained by Mike Penning, Conservative MP) put party political differences aside and saw off some strong opposition from the House of Lords.

Last year’s event raised £137,000 for Macmillan and it is hoped that the final totals for this year will come in even higher.

The tug of war was much more competitive and hard work than I had been expecting and I ended up with rope burns! It was great fun though, and most importantly, in aid of a fantastic cause.

Huge Rise in Local Apprenticeships is to be Welcomed

No, not that Apprentice, just in case you were wondering! This has nothing to do with Sir Alan!

I'm delighted to bring you some good news for local jobs this week. The number of people completing apprenticeships rose by 197% in Enfield between 2002/03 and 2005/06, according to statistics recently released by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills. They're often overlooked by the media unfortunately, but apprenticeships have been one of the real success stories of the last decade, with the number of young people and adults successfully completing apprenticeships having doubled over the last four years. By 2020, it is hoped that the number successfully completing will rise further to around 190,000 per year.

Apprenticeships are great opportunities for people to get on in work and in life. And I know that businesses locally in Enfield will be reaping the rewards of training apprentices. Today, one in 15 young people take an apprenticeship.

However, it's not just about quantity, we care about quality too - completion rates have risen from 24% in 2001/02 to 63% in 06/07. It's great to see so many people taking full advantage of these opportunities!

It's Time to Extend the Oyster Card!

I recently called on the Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, to do everything in her power to make sure that the Oyster Card system was extended to the London overground network around Edmonton as soon as possible.



At the moment, I think the situation is very confusing for passengers, who often have to buy two different sorts of tickets. Once they can use an Oyster Card on the entire network, it will make journeys much easier and quicker, and make sure that people pay the right fare for their journey.

You can see the text of my question here, together with the Secretary of State's response. She promised to “do whatever she could to broker an agreement.”

I am delighted that Ruth Kelly has promised to follow this important issue up. The Oyster Card has been a huge success in London on the Tube, but it’s high time it was extended to trains in outer London too. However, the train operating companies seem to be dragging their feet on saying when it will be introduced, so I hope that Ruth Kelly will now be able to help make sure that there is an announcement of a date for its introduction as soon as possible.

Tough New Measures on Knife Crime are to be Welcomed

In response to the recent tragic murders in Edmonton and across the country, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, and Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, this week announced a package of significant new measures to help tackle knife crime. This comes in the wake of the Home Secretary’s recent visit to Edmonton (right) and my adjournment debate on teenage knife crime. You can read the text of this debate here.

From Thursday, anyone over the age of 16 caught in possession of a knife can now expect to be prosecuted on the first offence, instead of receiving a caution. Those under 16 found with a weapon will still receive a caution, but will also be referred to a knife education scheme and their parents will be notified and may receive parenting orders. The Government also announced a £5 million package of direct support for Police in areas that are particularly affected by knife crime.

People prosecuted for carrying a knife are now almost three times as likely to go to prison as ten years ago – from 6% in 1996 to 17% in 2006 but these new measures will crucially mean that prosecution is now the expectation for all knife offences.

In the same week, the Government held an urgent topical debate on knife crime in the House of Commons. I spoke at the debate, calling for the programme of research on knife crime to be extended, so that every local authority can have some idea of the level of gang culture that is leading to knife crime. You can see this debate here.

I am serious about getting knives off our streets so I fully support the action the Government has taken this week. Those who carry a knife need to know that they will be caught and should expect to end up in court and face tough consequences. Young people should understand that carrying a knife doesn’t protect you; it actually increases the danger for everyone, destroys young lives and ruins families.

I wholeheartedly welcome this package of new measures to tackle knife crime. The Government has taken significant steps recently to try and address the problem– 100 new knife arches and 350 search wands have been introduced in the past three months alone for example – but we need to continue to send an even clearer message that carrying a knife will not be tolerated.

Show Your Support for Carers on Carers' Week

This week is Carers' Week (9-15 June). The theme of this year's Carers' Week is "Carers can’t afford to be ill.”

I went along to help at the launch and show support for carers in Enfield who are amongst the six million people in the UK who tirelessly devote their time, efforts and energy to looking after a loved one.

Pam is best known for her roles as Ma Larkin from the TV series “The Darling Buds of May” and more recently Aunt Marge in the Harry Potter films. She launched Carers Week and paid tribute to the huge contribution that carers make, every day of the year, to those they look after and to their communities. The week – now in its 14th year – tackles the issue of carers’ health with a hard-hitting campaign headlining the sobering fact that "Carers can't afford to be ill."

There are six million carers in the UK, including many in Enfield and I’m pleased to be able to offer my support to them. It’s a nationwide issue that affects so many people at a local level and it’s vital we can get the message out to our wonderful carers that help and support is available. I hope that by drawing attention to Carers Week with Pam, many more of my constituents who spend their lives looking after others will realise they are not alone and that there are people who want to care about them, too.

Lots of other well-known faces are supporting Carers Week, including Paul O’Grady, Tony Robinson and media health experts, Dr Miriam Stoppard and Dr Chris Steele. Do get involved with this excellent campaign if you can. You can find out details here.