Three months have flown by since I was elected in May. I still can’t quite believe how lucky I am to be your Member of Parliament andI  am really enjoying my new job.

I arrived at the House of Commons on the Monday after the election and it was a bit like coming back to school after the holidays as I saw so many of my friends who had won seats. After trying for ten years to become MP for Redditch I have got to know many different people and the first few days were amazing.

Getting an office was the next big challenge and after five weeks of working on my laptop in the coffee shop I was successful. It is a lovely office in the Old Scotland Yard, quite a way from the chamber but large and airy. When the division  bell goes you can see lots of us running for the lifts as we are on the 5^th floor!

My other big challenge this term was making my maiden speech. As there are so many new MPs there was quite a queue to speak in every debate. I decided to wait a while and finally spoke in the Defence Review debate. I sat for nearly six hours waiting for the Speaker to call me and finally got to stand at 8.30pm. It was an amazing feeling and great to be able to talk about Redditch and how nice it is to live here.

I have also visited so many different people over these first three months and hopefully have been able to help some people too. I intend to spend some time with my family over the summer and lots of time in Redditch too.

All in all I have had a great first term and looking forward to returning in September.

Thank You!

Karen Lumley MP for Redditch County attended an event organised by Volunteering England to say thank you to all the volunteers in her patch.

50 MPs from around the country gathered in London to say ‘Thank You’ to the thousands of volunteers in their constituencies as part of the national Volunteers’ Week celebration.

Karen said:
“I’d like to say thank you to everyone who gives their time for the benefit of our community. Volunteers’ Week is an ideal time to recognise the amazing contribution volunteers make and I’d like to encourage more people to get involved where they can. With volunteering there’s something for everyone – whether it’s mentoring young people, supporting the elderly or campaigning on local issues. It’s a great way to meet people and make a real difference to other peoples’ lives.”

The event was organised by Volunteering England, the volunteer development charity, to mark the end of national Volunteers’ Week, which runs from the 1 to 7 June each year. Volunteers from a number of organisations were on hand to share their stories with MPs, including the Cadets, the National Trust, Timebank, Youthnet and BTCV.

Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said:
“I am pleased to see that so many MPs recognise the importance of volunteering and have taken the time to come here and thank the volunteers in their local communities. The country faces many challenges in the current economic climate and volunteering will have a central role to play in ensuring that we emerge stronger and more resilient”

Volunteers’ Week has also received ministerial support from the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, and the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd MP.

Volunteering England co-ordinates Volunteers Week in England; the Week celebrates the millions of volunteers who regularly contribute to society, whilst inspiring others to get involved too. More information about the Week can be found at www.volunteersweek.org.uk.

Karen supports Carers' Week

Local MP Karen Lumley has teamed up with ITV’s This Morning celebrity GP, Dr Chris Steele MBE, to support this year’s Carers Week (14 – 20 June) and celebrate the contribution made by people in Redditch County and throughout the UK, who provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled.

The theme of Carers Week is ‘A Life of My Own’ with calls for greater understanding and support for the army of carers who provide vital care for their families, friends and communities. In doing so, many sacrifice much in their own lives, unable to do the little things that most of us take for granted. All too often, these unsung heroes also suffer ill health.

Karen met up with Dr Chris at the House of Commons to pay tribute to carers, and to urge that they receive more support in their caring roles.

Karen said:
“A trip to the cinema, or even a full night’s sleep – these are luxuries for many of the thousands of carers in Redditch County. I’m supporting Carers Week and all those helping to raise awareness of carers, and their priceless contribution they make to our local community. I hope that as a result of Carers Week, many more carers will find out about services and support that exist to help them.

Dr Chris, who has long been a champion for the health and wellbeing of the country’s millions of carers, said:
“I am delighted to give my continuing support for Carers Week and its focus on a carer’s right to ‘A life of my own’. Many non-carers take their free-time for granted, whether it’s going to the cinema or meeting with family and friends. As a GP I have met many carers who have never received any help or respite.

I know how carers’ own health and well-being has suffered as a consequence and just how isolated they can feel. Who is caring for the carers? Change is needed at grassroots level and Carers Week is vital in raising awareness and promoting carers’ issues.”

Other celebrities supporting Carers Week, all of whom have had experience of caring, include:  Lynda Bellingham, Cilla Black, Jonathan Dimbleby, Gloria Hunniford, Sir David Jason, Claire King, Phyllida Law, Miriam Margolyes, Esther Rantzen, Angela Rippon and Tony Robinson.

Carers Week is organised by a partnership of 7 national charities: Carers UK, Counsel and Care, Crossroads Care, Help the Hospices, Macmillan Cancer Support, Parkinson’s UK and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

For information about Carers Week, including local events and activities, and where carers can find information and assistance, visit www.carersweek.org or call 0845 241 2582.

Play Safe

Karen Lumley, MP for Redditch County, urged constituents travelling to South Africa for the World Cup not to expose themselves to HIV, whatever the score.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world, with roughly one in five adults infected.
HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex and there are concerns that fans, high on beer and atmosphere, may take risks they could regret.

Speaking at an event in Parliament to highlight the importance of staying safe, Karen Lumley MP said: “I wish anyone from Redditch County who is travelling to South Africa a fantastic time. It’s an amazing country and it will be the trip of a lifetime. But I urge them not to take risks with their health, because there is no cure for HIV.”

HIV is not spread through casual contact, such as shaking hands or sharing food, so most visitors will have no cause for concern.

Today’s event marked the launch of a website www.keepacleansheet.co.uk  designed especially to inform fans about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections during the World Cup. The initiative was the brain-child of a cross party group of MPs, HIVsport and Durex, and has the support of the Foreign Office and the Terrence Higgins Trust.

New Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham said: “We are working closely with South Africa to ensure that all our travelling fans can enjoy their time in the country and stay as safe as possible. Our message is enjoy yourself but don’t put yourself at risk.”

Fans at home could also be at risk. Recent research for the sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust found that nearly one in ten 18-34 year-olds in the UK drink so much while watching sporting events, in person or on TV, that they can’t remember what they did afterwards.

Director of HIVsport, Stephen Bitti advises fans at home and abroad to “have fun, stay safe, and make sure STIs are not part of your World Cup experience.”

Karen with Inkberrow Design Centre Director, Brenda Killigrew

Karen Lumley the Tories Parliamentary Spokesman for Redditch County yesterday visited the Inkberrow Design Centre to see for herself the amazing work they are doing there and met staff and students to see the great work they are producing. The centre runs many creative courses including fashion, textiles, pattern cutting and soft furnishings.

The students had just returned from a show at the NEC where they were exhibiting at the weekend.

The centre receives a large proportion of its funding from NEW College and under current proposals to raise fees, as Government cuts adult funding by up to 25%, there is great concern that courses at Inkberrow may have to be cut.

“I met many students and staff who were doing a great job” said Karen and had a very productive meeting with Brenda Killigrew the Design Centre Director to discuss the future.

One of the main concerns raised with me was that once again we in Redditch do not seem to be operating on a level playing field. If students want to do the same course in Warwickshire then they can do for over £100 less than here in Inkberrow which seems to me to be wrong.

This centre is doing a fantastic job and I hope very much that they can find a way to stay open and provide the services they are doing now for the students who really need them.” said Karen

Worcestershire’s Conservative candidates have repeated their call for a delay to huge changes to the running of the local NHS in the run up to the general election and welcomed NHS Worcestershire’s announcement that public consultation will take place after the election.

Last month Conservative candidates met county hospital chiefs to discuss the planned changes, hearing from hospital managers their view of the plans and expressing the concerns felt by local communities and staff about the way they are being rushed through. In a joint statement after the meeting, they expressed their concern that profound changes were being rushed through in the run up to an election.

This week NHS Worcesterhire confirmed that its board had met and agreed proposals paving the way forward for the details to be submitted to the Department of Health and for formal public consultation on the proposal to take place after the General Election.

NHS Worcestershire is proposing:

To transfer some specialist nursing services (eg diabetes and COPD) to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust.

To more closely integrate GP services with community nursing and therapy services, based around strengthening Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) in Worcestershire.

That an entirely new Community and Mental Health NHS Trust is established to manage all of the other Provider Arm services (including community hospitals) and the services that are currently provided by the Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

Today the candidates restated their intention to engage with a proper consultation in due course, but their opposition to any rushed decisions or any attempt to force through changes before the election.

Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire), Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Peter Luff MP (Mid Worcestershire), Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Robin Walker (Worcester) issued a joint statement saying:
“The NHS has been re-organised too often in recent years. We are profoundly concerned about the ridiculously short timescale that was imposed on the Worcestershire NHS for such important decisions. We know there are a wide range of opinions about this within the local healthcare community and think it is vitally important that patients have their say. We therefore call on the government to delay the process it has imposed on Worcestershire and give a full year to allow possible changes to be worked through carefully.”

“We welcome NHS Worcestershire’s announcement that they agree there should be a full consultation on this after the election and reiterate that any consultation must pay real attention to the views of all our constituents who use or work in the NHS. We are particularly concerned that changes to the mental health trust should be carefully thought through for their impact on vulnerable people. The NHS, patients and staff are too important to be treated with contempt by the government and reorganizations imposed by Whitehall are not the answer to improving service.”

Cllr Brandon Clayton, Karen and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling meet police in Redditch

Karen Lumley the Conservative Parlimentry Spokesman for Redditch County welcomed Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling to the town last week.

They visited the police station to listen to some of the initiatives the police are implementing.

“It was great to welcome Chris to Redditch again” said Karen, ” we had a good meeting with the police and Chris learnt about some of the things they are doing to make Redditch a safer place.”

Karen signs up for the volunteering pledge

Volunteering England, the volunteering development charity, drew up the pledge as a way for MPs and candidates across the country to demonstrate their commitment to volunteering and their support for the efforts of voluntary workers in their constituencies.

Karen made the following pledge:
“I will work hard to support volunteers and organisations that involve volunteers, both in my constituency and across the country. I will do this by:

·        Recognising the value of volunteering in building a strong society
·        Promoting positive messages about volunteering
·        Encouraging more people to give their time by helping free volunteers from red-tape
·        Supporting the organisations who support volunteers”

Karen said:
“Volunteering has rarely played a more important role in society. Right now, in Redditch County, many people are giving their time to help others: Delivering meals to elderly residents, mentoring young people to help them secure a brighter future, providing much needed support in hospices and hospitals, and campaigning on local issues. Volunteers contribute in many ways; and being a volunteer contributes to people’s skills, confidence and employability.”

Sajid Javid, Karen Lumley, Robin Walker and Peter Luff outside Worcestershire Royal Hospital

Worcestershire’s Conservative candidates have met county hospital chiefs to discuss plans to change the way in which community health services are delivered in the county.

At the meeting held on Friday at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital , managers explained why they felt the best interests of patients and staff would be served by merging the community hospitals and a range of other services into the Acute Hospital Trust.

The Conservative candidates who attended the meeting – Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire), Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Peter Luff MP (Mid Worcestershire), Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Robin Walker (Worcester) – expressed the concerns felt by local communities and staff about the proposed changes.

In a joint statement after the meeting, together with Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), who had been briefed previously, the six candidates said,

“The NHS has been reorganised too often in recent years. Any further reorganisation of the local NHS will inevitably distract managers and clinical staff from their real priority – the wellbeing of the patients they serve. At a time when NHS budgets are under great pressure, this is the height of irresponsibility. It also risks undermining the motivation of all the staff affected by the proposed changes.

“We are profoundly concerned about the ridiculously short timescale being imposed on the Worcestershire NHS for such important decisions. Over 2,700 staff are being forced to change their employer and scores of important services, ranging from sexual health to end-of-life care are affected and will be disrupted.

“To be given a few weeks to decide such important issues will inevitably mean that mistakes are made – and the result will either be that patient care suffers or that another reorganisation is needed, causing further disruption. We are also very concerned about the care of patients in the Mental Health Trust if there is a major reorganization involving their services too.

“We therefore call on the government to delay the process it has imposed on Worcestershire and give a full year to allow possible changes to be worked through carefully.

“We are particularly concerned that it is now being suggested that there will be no local consultation on the changes. Peter Luff will therefore be seeking categorical assurances from Health ministers that a full period of consultation will be provided.

“We are not saying that there can be no benefits from changing some of the current arrangements – the Acute Hospital Trust clearly believes there can be. But we cannot endorse any new pattern of service delivery that is put forward by the local primary care trust and agreed by the strategic health authority in such a great hurry.

“The NHS and its staff are too important to be treated with such contempt by the government.”

Karen and Cllr Juliet Brunner work together to ensure fairer school funding

Conservative Parliamentary Candidates from across Worcestershire have expressed their concern at reports that the Government could be planning to shelve an important review into fairer funding in order to win votes in Labour’s heartlands.

Conservatives have been campaigning for many years for fairer funding for Worcestershire’s schools, which are among the worst funded in the whole country. Worcestershire is currently tenth from the bottom of the league of 151 local authorities for per pupil funding and the average school in the authority receives £739 per pupil less than schools in neighbouring Birmingham. Conservatives have announced plans to shift spending to a national per pupil funding formula. Per-pupil funding would include an extra amount for poorer children so that schools will work particularly hard to attract them.

Karen has spent the last few weeks visiting schools in Redditch and listening to their concerns of which funding is often at the top of the agenda.

This week the group campaigning for fairer funding F40 wrote, urging people to keep up the pressure for a review and pointing to a number of issues affecting underfunded schools, saying “There had been an expectation that a consultation document regarding the funding formula review would have been issued in January. We are still waiting for its appearance, but keep getting the message that it will be announced “shortly”. We certainly hope that will be the case.”

The Times Education Supplement last week reported that the consultation into fairer funding might not be published until after the election. Ivan Ould, chair of the F40 group was quoted saying “There could be something unpleasant in this review: some areas might gain while others lose out. There could be things which are an electoral liability. It’s going to be a really tight election with possibly a hung Parliament. The current government is going to want to hold in abeyance any bad news. They are not going to want to put out anything which will upset people.

Malcolm Trobe, policy director of the Association of School and College Leaders, was also quoted saying “Our initial understanding was that it would be released in early January or at least by February… We are very disappointed we have not seen the proposals yet.”

Today the candidates released a joint statement saying:

“Labour claim to be fighting an election campaign based on “a future fair for all” but if they fail to deliver progress on fairer funding, then that promise will have fallen at the first hurdle. It is an outrage that after thirteen years of a government that promised to reduce the inequalities in the funding formula, the gaps are wider than ever and it would be appalling if this government, which is supposed to be looking after the interests of the whole country, put their need to hold onto votes in the labour heartlands before fairness and justice in funding. People in Worcestershire who have suffered a shortfall in funding for too long will know exactly how highly Labour values them if they fail to deliver this review. Our party will create a fairer system based on per pupil funding but in the meantime it would be totally unacceptable for Labour to break their promise of a review.”