October Update
My team and I continue to support as many individual casework requests from residents as we can. Please contact us and we will always try to help:
📧mark.sewards.mp@parliament.uk
📥Cases opened for residents: 745
📤Cases closed for residents: 931
Campaigning to increase parental rights and pay
I used Westminster Hall to call on the Government to increase Paternity and Maternity rights. Raising children will always be hard but, with the birth rate in the UK at a record low, it shouldn’t be this hard. We must make it easier for people to have children in this country. Paternity pay is paid for 2 weeks at less than half the minimum wage. Maternity pay is paid for longer, but after 6 weeks it is reduced to the same amount as paternity, less than half the minimum wage. This needs to change. It’s very welcome that the Government is conducting a review of these rights which will conclude next year. However, babies don’t stick to schedules and they certainly don’t wait for reviews to complete. I used Westminster Hall to call on the Government to look at the evidence for increasing the length of paternity leave to 6 weeks, and increasing both maternity and paternity pay.
Read my short (time limited) contribution here:
Supporting residents and community groups
I held surgeries with residents in East Ardsley, Gildersome, Morley and Farnley and will continue to rotate these weekly events around 11 different locations in the constituency. I was pleased to support lots of community events too, including the fantastic Diwali celebrations with Morley Indians; presenting medals to young divers at a Leeds Diving competition; opening the Hong Kong mural in Leeds Kirkgate market; supporting the Royal Society of St George at Morley Cricket Club; attending Cobden Primary School to speak with students and support staff with SEND concerns; showing support for the Ukrainian community during an exhibition at their community centre in Leeds; meeting with residents at the regular Friends Café in Tingley; joining Leeds Dads for their walk in Scatcherd Park; supporting Morley Knights at their semi-final in Rothwell; taking Oscar and Arthur to enjoy Morley Lantern Festival, to name a few!
Update on the break-ins in Morley, Drighlington and Gildersome
I am incredibly angry about the repeated burglaries that have plagued Morley town centre, including Queen Street and Morley Bottoms. Some of the same people have targeted places in Gildersome and Drighlington too. The best way to deter these people is to put them in prison and then place Criminal Behaviour Orders on each of them, banning them from our area for years. Following work with the police, including Inspector Mark Lund, two of those responsible have now been caught and charged but this is not over yet, there are several more to catch. The police have increased their patrols into the early morning hours, using a combination of plain clothes officers and uniformed officers. Forensic evidence has been collected from the RSPCA shop, which has been targeted more than any other, and I’m working with businesses to put more measures in place. Following a meeting I arranged between businesses and the police on Friday 31/10, we have several actions that we’ll report back to businesses on in our follow up meeting that will take place after business hours, date to be announced.
Update on our efforts to regulate the funeral industry
I have continued to lobby Government ministers for action to regulate the funeral industry on behalf of Cody & Liam Townend and Zoe Ward. In October, the Health Minister responsible for the Government’s upcoming response to the Fuller Inquiry (which called for regulation of the industry) responded positively to our public calls for regulation during a Parliamentary debate. However, this was not definitive so we must keep the pressure up. Cody, Liam and Zoe will join me in Parliament and at the Ministry of Justice in November to make the case for regulation.
Cody is also hosting a fundraiser for a cuddle cot in her daughter’s name on Friday the 14th November, please join us here:
Inquiry announced into maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals
I joined some of the families affected and Health Secretary Wes Streeting in Leeds as he announced an independent inquiry into failings in Leeds Teaching Hospitals maternity care over the last 15 years. The terms of reference are yet to be finalised and the appointment of the head of the inquiry should be made in collaboration with the families. They were very clear with me and with Wes about their priorities. It’s so important that everyone who might have been affected by these failings gets the justice they deserve.
Read about the inquiry announcement here:
Backing Rugby League
In Parliament, I re-joined the Rugby League All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) where we welcomed the men’s rugby league Ashes to Parliament. In the constituency, I met with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation at Farnley Falcons ground, joined by local councillors Kate Haigh and Adrian McCluskey. We spoke with Sam Horner, Dan Busfield and Jamie Jones-Buchanan from the Foundation, and Tom and Jonny from the Falcons, about how Rugby League can be better supported at community level. I want to help ensure local Rugby League clubs have the backing they deserve so over the coming year, I’ll work with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, regional authorities and local clubs, including the Falcons, to push for long-term investment in community sport. Much more to come in this area. Big thanks to Farnley Falcons for hosting us!
Running up that hill
I was proud to run the Morley 10K as a member of Morley Running Club, possibly the hilliest race in the UK. I commended their work raising money for good causes in Parliament. I also made a point of representing Morley Running Club in Downing Street with their official training top. I want to congratulate the firefighters who ran this punishing race in full kit too for the Fire Fighters Charity, please check them out.
Read my contribution here:
Welcoming constituents to Parliament!
I always prioritise welcoming constituents to Parliament, and October was no different. I was pleased to welcome New Farnley residents, Steve and Patricia, to Westminster. I secured PMQs tickets for them and my wonderful Parliamentary Assistant, Guy, helped me give them a tour of the palace. Please let me know if you plan to be in London and would like to come to Westminster.
Renters Rights Bill becomes law
Anyone who rents in Leeds South West & Morley will soon have additional protections in law.
These include:
No more bidding wars because landlords cannot accept offers above the listed rent
No more huge upfront payments as only one month’s rent can be requested in advance
End of fixed term tenancies with all contracts now moved onto a monthly rolling basis
No more section 21 notice and no fault evictions
Rent can only increase once per year and can be challenged by any tenant if it’s excessive
Fairer rules for pets with no more blanket bans permitted and any refusal must be justified
I voted for these changes to dramatically shift the power balance between landlords and tenants. The previous Government suggested that they wanted to get a version of this Bill through Parliament but they couldn’t agree on the terms so it didn’t happen. Our manifesto commitment was clear about this and so we have now written, voted for, and passed this Bill into law.
And finally…
I will be in Parliament every week from Monday to Thursday to fulfil my duties as your MP until the 18th December. I will then travel to Estonia to support our UK military personnel in the run up to Christmas, a key part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme. I’ve signed up to the Army wing of this scheme to learn more about our armed forces. As always, please email me if there is anything I can help you with: mark.sewards.mp@parliament.uk.