More Fairtrade for Edmonton!

Fairtrade helps support 7 million people in the developing world.

Our shopping habits can make a real difference to the World’s poorest people. By buying food and presents from developing countries we will help grow their economies and reduce poverty.

So I'm calling on people in Edmonton to buy Fairtrade products during this Fairtrade Fortnight (25th February to 9th March).

I welcome the Government’s announcement of further support to the Fair Trade movement and I would urge you to match this commitment and buy more Fairtrade products.

Already the UK’s demand for African fruit and vegetables benefits a million farmers and their families.

By consumers and retailers acting together to promote and buy goods from developing countries we can make a real difference to the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

Key facts on fair trade……

ü Fair trade sales in the UK have been doubling every 2 years for the last eight year

ü The total value of fair trade labelled products sold in the UK in 2006 was £284 million, up from £196 million in 2005, a growth of over 1,000 per cent since 1998.

ü This growth is not restricted to the UK: the market for fair trade labelled products has been growing worldwide at 30-40% a year.

Below: A photo of me promoting Fairtrade Fortnight with Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary

Heroes of the Second World War to get new award

Were you in the Land Army during the Second World War? Or do you know someone who was? If you do, you'll be delighted to hear that the Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps veterans are now to receive a badge of recognition for their work.

During the dark days of the Second World War, thousands of women worked hard to provide food and timber for the nation. So I was delighted to hear an announcement from Labour's Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, that the nation will formally acknowledge their efforts by awarding a badge of recognition

These women were members of the Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps. We should honour the determination, courage and spirit they showed in extraordinary circumstances. Felling trees, ploughing fields, harvesting crops and looking after animals are some of the tasks these women carried out to support our country. They worked tirelessly from dawn until dusk, without the benefits of the modern technologies we have today. For a lot of them, this was the first time they had ever been on a farm, let alone worked on one. It is absolutely right that we recognise their efforts and the debt that the country owes to them.

Do you know someone who was in the Land Army? You can nominate someone you know for a badge or apply for one yourself.

If you want to know more get in touch with my office on 020 7219 6377 or email me on andylovemp@aol.com.

Child Trust Fund: Make Sure Your Child Doesn't Miss Out

According to figures out recently, 4,148 parents in Edmonton are already topping up the Government investment and contributing to their child's Child Trust Fund. Every contribution helps build real savings for children to invest in their aspirations when they reach 18 and I hope that all parents, grandparents, friends and family in the area will contribute if they possibly can.

The CTF was introduced by the Labour Government for all children born in the UK on or after 1 September 2002, with a £250 voucher from the Government to start off each child's account, and a further £250 paid into the account at age 7. Children from lower-income households receive an extra £250 top-up at birth and at age 7. HMRC are targeting marketing at areas that have shown low take-up and are furthering their work with voluntary and community organisations to reach parents who are less financially confident. The Government is helping children save for their future through the Child Trust Fund - £250 for children at birth, and an additional £250 at age 7.

Despite the success of Child Trust Funds in Edmonton, and throuhgout the UK, just over a quarter of those eligible for a Trust Fund for their children do not open the accounts or contribute. I'd like to encourage those that currently don't contribute to consider getting involved with the Child Trust Fund to help build a nest egg for their child’s future. Not only does it give kids access to a financial asset as they start their adult lives, but it can help to kick-start a saving habit that will hopefully last a lifetime.

You can find out more information about Child Trust Funds here.

Below: Photo of Andy Love MP with Ed Balls, then Economic Secretary, now Children, Schools and Families Secretary, publicising Child Trust Fund accounts

Valentine’s Call for Action on Hep C

Today I joined up with Gordon Roddick - the late Dame Anita Roddick's husband - in issuing a Valentine's Day call for more action to tackle hepatitis C - exactly a year after Anita revealed she had the potentially fatal disease.

Their plea comes as a new report into hepatitis C services across the country revealed that my local PCT - Enfield - is amongst the worst performing Primary Care Trusts in the league table for hepatitis C services.

The report, by a group of concerned MPs and Peers, shows that only a third of PCTs are effectively implementing the Government’s own Action Plan for Hepatitis C, over three years after the Action Plan was published.

Hepatitis C is often known as the ‘silent killer’ as people can live with it undiagnosed and without symptoms for many years. There are estimated to be 230,000-466,000 people with hepatitis C in England, but only 63,000 have been diagnosed. The report shows that PCTs need to go further to diagnose and treat people with hepatitis C in order to save lives.

I am deeply disappointed that our local health services have not stepped up to the challenge of trying to beat hepatitis C, the ‘silent killer’. They scored only 3 out of 10 in a recent audit of hepatitis C services whilst other local health services managed to score 10 out of 10.

"There are up to 500,000 people living with hepatitis C in the UK, but only 1 in 8 of these people has been diagnosed. I want Enfield PCT to lead the way in tackling this deadly disease.

Funding for Educational Visits to Auschwitz

The Holocaust was one of the most horrific events in world history and it’s important that every young person has an understanding of it. Teaching of the Holocaust is compulsory in all secondary schools, but sometimes getting out of the classroom and actually visiting the places where historic events happened can be the best way to truly grasp the enormity of what occurred.

That’s why I’m pleased that from now on, students from every school in Edmonton will be able to go on educational visits to Auschwitz to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust, thanks to Government funding announced this week. The £4.65 million funding, will allow the Holocaust Educational Trust to continue its visits for the next three years. I visited Auschwitz in 2006, with pupils from Edmonton County School. The pupils told me that they found the experience deeply affecting, and they returned to school determined to let others know about what they had seen.


Each visit takes up to 200 students from across the country to Auschwitz in Poland, where expert guides and educators from the UK show pupils around the site and let them see first hand where the horrendous atrocities occurred. will continue to fund the Holocaust Educational Trust’s visits to Auschwitz and every school in Edmonton will take part. Not only do young people visit the site of one of history’s greatest atrocities, but they come back inspired to make a difference today and teach others about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. On returning to their schools and local communities, students are required to disseminate what they have learned to their peers through a wide variety of activities and programmes.

Edmonton Green Is Right on Track!

I was delighted at the announcement last week from the Department of Transport that Edmonton Green had been chosen as one of 140 stations in England and Wales to receive Access for All funding.

One, the applicant organisation, will receive £9,250 to install anti-slip tread covering at Edmonton Green. The funding is designed to meet the measures set out in the Disability Discrimination Act, and will go towards the construction of obstacle-free, accessible routes to ensure that the stations are more accessible to all. It aims to improve the whole journey approach, as well as the station itself, making train travel easier for disabled people, mums and dads with buggies, elderly people and those with heavy luggage.


More and more of us than ever are using the local trains, but for some the journey can feel like an obstacle course. That’s why I’m delighted to hear that this money will be invested to make sure that catching a train from Edmonton Green will be much easier from now on. This new tread covering should make access much safer for many people’s journeys.

Tougher powers to tackle teenage drinking

I know that anti-social behaviour can be a real problem for some people in Edmonton and this is often caused by teenage drinking. It's easy to feel powerless when trying to deal with it. As your MP I will always do what I can to help people feel safe in their homes and communities.

So I was really pleased to hear this week that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith MP outlined tougher police powers and called for parents and the drinks industry to play their part in preventing young people drinking in public. The Police should be given all the powers they need to make groups of young people drinking in public a thing of the past. A new campaign to confiscate alcohol from underage drinkers begins this month . At the same time we will continue to punish those few irresponsible retailers that flout the law by persistently selling to children.

Of course, as adults, many of us enjoy a drink. The vast majority of us do so without hurting ourselves or others and without disrupting the people and communities around us. I believe the Government must now lead the way in tacking drink-related anti-social behaviour in our society. But in order to do this they also need the support of industry, enforcement authorities and communities. Everyone needs to meet their responsibilities to make a difference. And parents must play their part too. We will give parents whose children are drinking the support they need to change their damaging behaviour.

There is a lot of good work being done to tackle the damage that alcohol misuse can do to individuals, to the people around them, and to the communities they live in. But I want to us go further, so I fully support what the Home Secretary has announced.

Time for Urgent Review of Sight Saving Treatment in Enfield

After meeting representatives from the RNIB last week to discuss the issue of Wet AMD, I'm calling for the restrictions being placed by Enfield Primary Care Trust (PCT) on vital sight saving treatments to be removed. Enfield PCT is currently restricting treatment to patients with the sight-threatening condition wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), despite licensed new drugs being available which could halt the disease.

Wet AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and can lead to blindness in as little as three months if it is not treated. Each year 26,000 people across the UK are diagnosed with the condition.

I was surprised to hear that Enfield PCT is putting patients with wet AMD at risk of going blind by placing unfair restrictions on who can get sight saving treatments. This means that patients can be forced to meet unacceptably stringent criteria and somehow prove that they are "exceptional cases" more deserving of sight saving treatment than anyone else, in order to stand any chance of having their sight saved. This is leaving patients with a dreadful choice - paying for their treatment privately or losing their sight! All patients in Enfield who can benefit from sight saving treatment should have it - immediately and without question.

I will be taking this issue up with Enfield PCT and urging them to change their policy immediately so that nobody in the local area will have to needlessly lose their sight to wet AMD.