22 June 2009

Following last week’s invitation by Caroline Spelman MP to discuss her expenses under the headline, “If there’s an issue let’s talk about it”, Ed Williams has written to Tory Leader David Cameron asking him to put her claims before his scrutiny panel, that is investigating Tory MPs’ claims, so that she can refute any accusations of wrongful use of taxpayers’ money.

Last year the Parliamentary Standards Commisioner required her to return £9600 of taxpayers’ money for inadvertently misusing her expenses to pay for her children’s nanny.

Caroline Spelman's expenses have been revealed in the Coventry Evening Telegraph

Ed Williams said: "It's hard to see how these claims represent value for money and are not excessive. £6,000 for a years gas bill is clearly excessive. People in Meriden would be right to wonder why tax payer's money to heat a £2million mortgage free mansion.

She should call a public meeting to explain herself adn to discuss whether she should pay the money back.

Higher education

From 2003 to 2008 the number of applicants rose by over 110,000 click here for details

University top up fees are controversial but they have allowed more people to gain degrees who have would never had the opportunity to, yes it does come at a personal cost, but this is in the form of a zero interest loan only paid back once you start earning over £15,000. I personally want to see all young and adult learners have the opportunity to reach their potential and not go back to the old free system like in the sixties which was reserved for around 6% - most of whom didn’t need money.

1 May 2009

Ed Williams is celebrating the announcement made by Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Media and Sport, that free swimming is now available in Solihull’s two swimming pools. Solihull have benefited from the £140million nationwide scheme that will give free swimming to 16 year olds and under and 60 year olds and over.

The scheme is designed to get more people taking part in regular exercise by 2012, to coincide with the Olympic Games in London.

Ed Williams says: “I am delighted that the people of Meriden and Solihull will benefit from the Government’s scheme for free swimming. Swimming is an exercise you can take part in for most of your life and it is particularly useful to combating obesity in the young and helping g older people get regular exercise.”

Solihull and Meriden Labour's David Jamieson, a former Minister in the Labour Government has uncovered damning inequality in the way vital Safer Routes to School cash is spent. The following report was published in the Solihull Times and was written by Peter Kennedy

A CHILD in north Solihull is three times more likely to be killed on the roads than one in the south of the borough, accident figures show.

Yet Solihull council is now quizzed over why it is focusing most of its Safer Routes to School programme in the south.

1 April 2009

Meriden Constituency’s parliamentary spokesman for the Labour Party, Ed Williams, has welcomed three new health programmes which kick off this month.

From April 1st, Free NHS Health Checks for everyone in England, aged between 40-74 will be rolled out as part of a national programme to identify people’s risk to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes. The preventative checks programme will be fully implemented by 2012/13. It is up to Primary Care Trusts to decide how the checks will be delivered but it is likely to include GP surgeries, health centres and pharmacies to ensure as many people benefit from them as possible.

18 March 2009

Ed Williams has welcomed a decision to change benefit rules to allow blind people to access the same disability benefits as those who cannot walk. Blind people will now be able to claim the higher rate of disability living allowance worth an extra £1,500 a year.

The Government decision amends legislation from 1992 and will allow around 26,000 people in the UK with severe visual impairment to receive an extra £29 per week in the mobility component of DLA, allowing them to get out and about safely and independently.

Ed Williams said:

"This has long been a problem for blind people and I am glad the Government has taken action to right an obvious wrong.

"This decision will help blind people get around in a way which many sighted people take for granted.

Comment from Ed Williams about the parliamentary inquiry into Caroline Spelman MP. Click here for previous story.

“The finding by the parliamentary inquiry that Caroline Spelman was guilty of wrongly spending some of her parliamentary allowances on child care is deeply disappointing. People here in Solihull and Meriden deserve honesty and integrity from their elected representatives.

“It is made worse, in my view, by the fact that Caroline Spelman was using tax payers money to support the very service which her own party’s policies would put under threat - childcare. The Tories are proposing to cut £200 million from Sure Start centre budgets. This could close down 1 in 5 Children’s Centres in the area.

27 February 2009

What do you want? Local services survey reveals what you want Labour’s priorities to be.

Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Meriden, Ed Williams, has announced the results of a survey conducted two weeks ago in Chelmsey Wood, Smith’s Wood and Kingshurst and Fordbridge wards.

Ed Williams and the local Labour team asked residents to answer two questions:

(a) What are the three most urgent local issues you consider the Council or the Government should address?

(b) In five years time what new facilities/services would you like to see in your area?