MP newsletter - youth services, crime in Kings Norton, and transport investment - 03 February 2025
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Good afternoon and thank you as always for subscribing to this newsletter.
Update
Since this newsletter was sent by email, two important local pieces of news were announced.
Council tax
On Monday, the Goverment announced local government funding details for April - including council tax.
Council tax in Birmingham will rise by 7.5% - which is high but lower than expected. This is because Ministers rejected another 10% rise, which the previous Conservative Government allowed and planned to repeat this year.
I know that this is still a significant increase. If you are think you may be eligible then please look at applying for a reduction or exemption.
One thing people tell me again and again is that they need better services at a time when the rates are going up. They are right to do so. The improvements to youth services are a start, but there is a long way to go.
The Labour Government also confirmed that Birmingham is set to receive one of the biggest funding increases in the country - after fourteen years of some the biggest funding cuts under the Tories.
Progress has been made since July and we no longer have a Government that is set on punishing the city - people now need to start seeing the difference.
Bins - industrial action
Unite (the union which represents most refuse workers) announced a trebling of strike days.
The strike was already having a disruptive effect on collections, which is now likely to increase. If you have missed collections then I may be able to help - please see details below.
The Council has confirmed that it is still talking to Unite, and provided the following updates:
During the extended period of industrial action, contingency measures include:
suspension of recycling collections every day during this period of industrial action
we aim for every resident to receive one collection of their bin per week
we will continue to collect neatly bundled side waste, this could include cardboard and newspaper. Make sure you place any excess waste in black bags and position neatly next to your household waste wheelie bin. Bin lids need to be closed, to reduce the risk of damage to bins and vehicles, and an increase in waste spillage
resources will be stretched and will be focused on our housing blocks and houses of multiple occupation. Assisted collections will continue.
I think it is known that I am a former GMB union official, and I have always worked to promote constructive industrial relations in the city (including over equal pay). In my experience, the only parties at this point that can resolve a strike are those round the negotiating table. It is important that the dispute is resolved as soon as possible.
If your collection has been missed then please feel free to contact me on: laurence.turner.mp@parliament.uk or by calling the office on 0121 516 5770. I will need details of your address for escalation with the Council.
Birmingham news
Birmingham budget
Birmingham City Council’s budget proposals are expected latre today. The details are expected to reflect both the scale of the city’s remaining financial challenge, and the better-than-expected funding settlement in December.
I spoke to ITV on Friday about the need to protect as many services as possible so that reductions can be reversed at a later date, and the need for funding that reflects Birmingham’s level of need.
Funding rules – the formulas – are very complex and take time to change, but the Government is consulting on a new formula to better reflect deprivation. This change is urgently needed after Birmingham lost more than 40p in pound for each person in the city, accounting for inflation.
I will give an update on the budget proposals and their implications for communities in the Northfield constituency as soon as possible.
Good news on youth services
Credit where it is due – there has been some very good news for Birmingham’s youth services and the threat of closure has been lifted.
The Council has announced that ‘all youth centres will remain open and will either be retained by Birmingham City Council or partner organisations,’ including the Factory and the 3 Estates project.
There will be ‘an increased number of full time and part time permanent posts with no planned youth centre closures.’ New specialist SEND posts are being created. The Council has been able to increase front-line service by sharing administrative support with other departments and securing new NHS funding.
This is exactly the kind of imaginative thinking we need. And in light of youth crime challenges (recorded youth crime is the only category that is growing), the outcome is incredibly important for the community. I have written to the Council to ask for more details on the future of the 3 Estates Youth Project and The Factory at Longbridge, and I will share any response that I receive.
Investment in Kings Norton railway station
As readers of the last newsletter will know, I am working with local councillors and the neighbouring MP, Al Carns, to try to get investment into Kings Norton Station.
After a number of delays, it looks like the reopened Camp Hill Line is on track for the end of this year. Services will run to Kings Norton, restoring 6 trains an hour. This is good news for Kings Norton - but without investment in the middle platform and a turnaround facility, the rest of the Cross-City Line can’t be restored to its previous frequency.
In other words, we need this investment for Northfield and Longbridge stations too.
Only design works have been funded up to this point. A decision on the capital funding is now due. Regional press coverage and our joint letter to the Government can be found here (and the ITV coverage is below).
Northfield Beach
Northfield Community Partnership are fundraising to try to bring the Northfield Beach back for 2025.
If you are in a position to make a donation then please consider doing so. The fundraising link is here and more details can be found here.
School improvements
Congratulations to King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy in Frankley and Turves Green Boys’ School on being named as the most and the tenth most improved schools in the West Midlands.
On schools, I recently met the Schools Minister, Stephen Morgan, to push for investment in local schools. It was also really good to meet staff and pupils from St Columba’s Catholic Primary School, and answer questions.
Parliament belongs to the whole nations and all pupils should have the opportunity to visit. If there are any local schools that don’t have trips to Parliament planned then please feel free to get in touch.
Cleaning up Prices Square and Longbridge flats
Earlier this month, I joined Labour volunteers and local councillor Esther Rai to clear up the land next to Prices Square, off Nothfield high street.
We cleared 21 sacks of waste which were all properly secured and reported to the Council, which collected them. Representations have been made about long-term improvements to the site.
My office often respond to flytipping reports, and I’m glad to be able to report that - after some confusion about land ownership had prevented action for some time - the extensive flytipping outside the flats at the bottom of Bristol Road has now been removed.
If there are unresolved flytipping problems in your area then please get in touch: laurence.turner.mp@parliament.uk or 0121 516 5770.
Out and about
Recently, I’ve be out talking to businesses on Northfield high street about shoplifting, and meeting with local healthcare professionals who are concerned about the Assisted Dying Bill, Local Trust (about potential funding for community projects in the constituency), West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, Jaguar Land Rover about employment prospects in the West Midlands, and Birmingham City Council about local SEND issues and youth services.
I also held a busy and well-attended surgery with my casework team. I spend each Saturday talking to residents about any issues that they want to raise. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been knocking on doors and letting people know how to get in touch in Kings Norton (North and South wards), Weoley Castle, Northfield, and Allens Cross.
In Parliament
Rights at work
For the last two months, I have been busy in the Employment Rights Bill scrutiny committee. This important part of the Parliamentary process normally doesn’t get much publicity, but it is a very important part of the work of MPs. I ended up making the most contributions of any Labour backbencher in December, largely as a result of work on this committee.
I’m glad to be able to say that the Bill has been improved (and a number of technical issues addressed). It has taken a lot of time. It was well-spent, but now that it is over, there will be more time for activity like bringing debates (and writing newsletters). I intend to write up a fuller report on that work so you can know how your MP’s hours are being spent.
Children’s Wellbeing Bill vote
Some recent debates have shown Parliament at its best. I am afraid that the recent vote on safeguarding measures for children was not one of them.
As so much ink has been spilled on the subject, I will just say this: because of the way the Conservative amendment was worded, a vote for it would have meant that protections for children (such as mandatory reporting) would have been dropped. It was deliberate, and to use direct language, it was dangerous, gutter politics.
If anyone wants to know more about my position, you can read more about it here.
SEND
SEND was debated again in Parliament. There were so many MPs that wanted to speak that we had 75 seconds each! On one level, this can only be a good thing to have so many MPs now who want to take up the issue.
My contribution can be watched or read here or below. It was impossible to say everything that needed to be said, but there will be much more to say on this most important subject during this Parliament. I hope that at some point we can have a dedicated debate on SEND in Birmingham or the West Midlands.
Cycling and walking
I know that there’s a lot of interest locally in projects to make it more convenient and safer for people to cycle and walk for work and leisure. I try to draw on that local experience when I ask questions on the Transport Select Committee.
Previous newsletters have talked about the hoped-for extension of the A38 cycleway extension from Selly Oak to Longbridge, which is currently being designed and which I want to see succeed (for the avoidance of doubt, there would be consultation on those plans).
Chris Boardman – who now heads the Government transport body, Active Travel England – gave evidence on Wednesday.
A couple of years ago, the then Conservative Government cut funding for road improvements by £800 million, or two-thirds. This was mainly to local authority grants.
When I asked him about the effect of those cuts, Chris Boardman accepted that the reduction meant that (a) fewer people are now cycling and (b) walking and cycling targets are ’extremely hard to hit.
A new strategy is due soon and I hope that it will set out secure, long-term funding so that more improvements like the Bristol Road cycleway extension can go ahead.
You can watch or read the exchange here or below.
International
Freedom of Religion and Belief
Thank you to all the constituents who contacted me in support of Open Doors’ campaigns.
Back in September, and on the strength of those representations, I raised the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief post with Ministers. I am really glad that its future has been confirmed. I attended the launch of the World Watch List 2025 report and spoke to the new Special Envoy, David Smith, about the persecution of Christians and other people of faith around the world.
Palestine
A fragile peace now holds in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people are returning to the fragments of their homes amid scenes of almost unimaginable devastation. Hostages are also being released after being held – it seems mostly underground – for more than a year. Aid is starting to arrive now, including through the Rafah crossing (I understand that UK Ministers played a role in the crossing’s reopening) although for thousands of people, it is arriving too late.
I am appalled that this fragile peace in the Gaza strip has been matched by violence and calls for annexation in the West Bank. These issues affect our communities here, in Northfield. I recently raised one such case in Parliament, with the permission of the constituent affected. I have raised humanitarian causes in Palestine since being elected and I will continue to do so.
What do you think?
Youth violence is the only category of recorded crime that is going up. The word ‘recorded’ is important, because the figures never tell the whole story.
It is good news that youth services staying open. The police are also starting to visit primary as well as secondary schools. But what other steps do you think should be taken? I am sympathetic also to calls to change new kitchen knives (or ‘rounding’), but do you think this is practical?
As always, please feel free to share your thoughts in confidence.
Best wishes
Laurence Turner
MP for Birmingham Northfield
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These newsletters are mostly written at the weekend alongside domestic duties so please excuse any typos.