Pinch, punch, first of the month - free stuff available tomorrow

Yes, I know it's April Fools Day tomorrow but these are very genuine Government measures which will come into force from 1st April ... and they're FREE!

Firstly, you may remember me announcing back in December that Enfield Council had been given a sum of money by the Government so it could offer FREE! swimming for those 60 and over and those 16 and under. Well, that comes into force tomorrow, so if you're young or old(er!) you can get yourself down to your local pool courtesy of the Government.

Secondly, the Health Secretary Alan Johnson has today been announcing some improvements to the NHS which will all be rolled out from tomorrow as well, including:

• the abolition of prescription charges for cancer patients so that they will be FREE! for those who are undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment;
• FREE! NHS health checks for everyone between the ages of 40 - 74, assessing people's risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes, and supporting them to reduce or manage that risk through an individually tailored service; and
• the introduction of MRSA screening to all relevant elective patients, reducing the risk of patients getting an MRSA infection or passing MRSA onto another patient (which is FREE! too, but then you could hardly be expected to pay for the privilege of someone sticking a cotton bud up your nose to test for contamination!).

Now that can't be a bad start to April.

From one blogger to another

It's been brought to my attention that I was mentioned on a fellow MP's blog last week - that of Kerry McCarthy, Bristol East MP. Kerry's renowned for her blogging and does it a lot better than me so if you want to see how it's done then click here.

Searching for solutions for Sri Lanka ... still

As you'll know from previous blog posts of mine, working to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Sri Lanka, and urging our Government to work with the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to reach a lasting ceasefire in the country, is something that I've been trying to help achieve for a while now. Levels of violence have escalated significantly over the past few months and I am keen for this increase to be reversed, as are many of my Sri Lankan constituents.

Yesterday, in a Westminster Hall debate with Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State Bill Rammell, I got the opportunity to speak on Sri Lanka. Here's some of what I said:

"We have reached a critical point in Sri Lanka. Reference was made earlier to
the importance of India and the influence that it can bring to bear on the
Government of Sri Lanka. Will my hon. Friend take up with the Indian Government
the possibility of a joint initiative to bear down on the Sri Lankan Government
so that they recognise the coming humanitarian disaster?"

Bill Rammell replied that the Government would continue to talk and work with the Indian Government on the issue, adding that the fact the Indian Foreign Minister had already visited Sri Lanka to discuss the humanitarian situation with the President was something to highlight.

I hope that India will be the catalyst Sri Lanka needs to move forward from here.

Also ...

... last night I was on BBC Radio 4's "The World Tonight" being quizzed on the economic situation again. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to listen to it here, or by using the Listen Again function.

Making my voice heard

Over the past week I've been doing quite a lot of speaking in debates in the House of Commons. Yesterday it was on the economy, the day before it was on electoral registration, the day before that it was on citizens' pensions, and last week I was asking about investing in the Government's Skills for Life programmes.

If you'd like to be alerted when I speak in parliament you can always sign up here and hopefully some of it might be of interest!

Calling all mums-to-be

Are you a mum-to-be?
Are you at least 25 weeks pregnant?
Is your due date on or after 6 April 2009?

If you answered "yes" to all three of those questions then I've got some very good news for you! We want to give you £190 in a one-off tax-free payment which won't affect tax credits or any other benefits! Interested?

All you have to do is get a claim form from your midwife or doctor and follow the simple steps to claim your cash. It's all part of the Government's efforts to offer real help for families during these tough financial times. It's call a "Health in Pregnancy Grant" and it's designed simply to help prepare for the birth of your baby, whether that be buying a pushchair or stockpiling nappies - it's your choice.

So go on, it's not often you get offered free money ... get claiming!

Topping out - a hard hat opportunity!

Friday marked an important day both for the North Middlesex University Hospital redevelopment and for the future health of residents in the Edmonton area. It was the day of the "topping out" ceremony where I added a bit of concrete to the future hospital and we celebrated the highest beam of the new structure being put in place. Now the rest just has to be filled in!

The redevelopment is replacing approximately half of the existing buildings on the hospital site and providing state-of-the-art facilities for accident and emergency services, diagnostics, inpatients, operating theatres and endoscopy. It is due to be open for business in 2010 and, having seen it through so far, I can't wait until my constituents are able to benefit from the healthcare facilities they deserve.

Having worked hard to ensure the existing North Middlesex Hospital received the funding and backing it needed to be transformed, I was delighted to be able to attend Friday's ceremony and look forward to the next ceremony which will mark its completion.

Another chance to see me on telly ...

... if you have access to BBC Parliament and you're going to be up late!

This week I was invited to take part in BBC Parliament's "The Record Review" in my capacity as a member of the Treasury Select Committee. Our work is a hot topic with the media at the moment given recent sessions where we held top bankers to account over how their behaviour may have contributed to the current banking crisis. I was on to discuss the purpose of the recent regional visits we have made, including one to Edinburgh, Leeds and Halifax at the beginning of the week. Even as a London MP I can see the value of being able to get out and speak to people in different parts of the country about topical economic matters in their own environment, rather than them having to come to us.

I'm not quite sure but I think the programme is shown at about 11pm-ish tonight. There's always BBC iPlayer if you've got better things to be doing on a Friday night than sitting in front of BBC Parliament and want to watch it at a later date!

If you are a fan of the channel though, you may have caught me asking a topical question in the House of Commons yesterday about raising employers' awareness of the Government's Skills for Life programme, which is a great way for small businesses in particular to invest in training and increase their productivity - particularly useful in a downturn.

Let me know if you catch me!

More investment in tackling knife crime

I was pleased to hear the Government announce yesterday that an extra £5 million will be made available to continue to tackle knife crime. It is vital that the Government maintains its targeted approach to taking knives off our streets and preventing serious youth crime. This is something that I have campaigned hard to achieve, along with many of my constituents.

It is particularly good news that the Tackling Knives Action Programme - which the Metropolitan Police in Edmonton and across the whole of London is part of - will be extended for another year, thanks to the additional investment. It is only through tough, decisive action like this that we have a chance to get knives off our streets for good.

The Commonwealth comes to Edmonton

On Friday six fellow MPs from various countries in the Commonwealth came to Edmonton. Hailing from Sri Lanka, India, Somaliland, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kiribati, the visit was an opportunity for such a diverse group of parliamentarians to see what being an MP in Britain involves and what it means to represent an area such as Edmonton.

In order to give them a chance to see many aspects of Edmonton, I took the MPs to meet with people at Enfield Age Concern and Enfield Citizens Advice Bureau. We also went to Edmonton County School where we took part in a citizenship lesson. The pupils in the class had the chance to ask the MPs about the countries they were from and how the job of a politician varies in different countries.

I was proud to be able to show Edmonton to representatives from so many different countries. They all said that they were enjoying their visit to Britain and that the day in Edmonton would be a memorable part of their trip.

Tune in if you can

On Saturday at 11am, if you happen to be near a radio then you may want to tune in to Radio 4 for their Week in Westminster programme. This week they invited me on - largely in my capacity as a member of the Treasury Select Committee - to discuss a number of issues, including what can be done to avoid individuals like ex-Royal Bank of Scotland Chief Sir Fred Goodwin receiving such large pensions, and my views on how Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech to the United States Congress went down. If you miss it on Saturday then you can always go on to the website and use the "Listen Again" feature to do just that.

Getting the best deal on mobiles and landlines

Just a quick post to alert you to some new advice that Ofcom, the communications regulator, has published on their website. It's designed to get you the best deal on both mobile and landline phone services and offers advice on what to look for from various deals, including details of different tariffs and how they work. There's certainly no harm in looking at your bills to see if savings can be made.

Ofcom also has some tips to take on board during the recession including:
- Don't let the debts build up. If you're having problems, explain the situation to your supplier.
- Check whether they operate any lower cost tariffs.
- Consider switching to find a better deal or taking your services in 'bundles.' But take into consideration that there may be charges for leaving a service early.

All this and more can be found at:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/features/recessmain