MP newsletter - rights at work, Birmingham services, and telegraph poles debate - 24 October 2024
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Good afternoon. Thank you as always for subscribing to this regular newsletter.
Birmingham news
Birmingham City Council
I have to start a newsletter, once again, by talking about Birmingham City Council.
It is true that Birmingham lost enormous, and disproportionate, amounts of funding over recent years. It is also true that basic services need to be better, and that there needs to be an accounting for programmes that have gone wrong: chief among them, the Oracle human resources and payments IT system.
This is the backdrop to a report, published today, which was submitted by the Commissioners to Michael Gove back in April. The report is challenging (and parts of it are open to dispute). But that is not to under-state the scale of the challenges that the local authority faces.
Some things have moved since April. In particular, serious negotiations are underway over a settlement of the equal pay liability, and the implementation of a job evaluation process that should prevent future liabilities from occurring. The local government Minister (Jim McMahon) has written to me to say that:
‘These are positive signs but there remains more to be done, and I am keen that the intervention moves as quickly as possible to a model based around a more equal partnership with the Council so that it is increasingly able to lead its own recovery.’
A new report is expected in January and I anticipate that there will be a government statement then.
Day centres
As I write, the news has come through that the Commissioners have blocked an attempt to ‘call-in’ the decision to close four adult day centres – including the Fairway, and Harborne in the neighbouring constituency of Edgbaston. A ‘call-in’ is essentially a request from councillors for more scrutiny.
The rejection raises some very uncomfortable questions. Where is the local accountability? Some people have been using the day centres for decades, and the future of services for vulnerable adults needs more scrutiny, not less. I disagree, sharply, with the Commissioners’ claim that there has been ‘comprehensive pre-decision scrutiny.’
I know that this news will come as a heavy blow to the centre users and their families. I am due to meet the Commissioners (along with other Birmingham MPs) on Monday.
Telegraph poles
As mentioned in previous newsletters, I secured my first debate in Parliament last week. This was on the subject of ‘planning permission and telegraph poles.’
This isn’t a problem in every area, but in some parts of the constituency there has been a sudden appearance of inappropriately sited poles that can block pavements and restrict property access. Judging by the number of MPs who wanted to speak, this is a problem in many other areas too.
The Minister said that ‘a few [companies] are behaving like cowboys,’ and that:
‘The industry has committed to revising the code of practice, which I think will be much tougher, and the guidance should be published in the new year. However, I am absolutely clear that if voluntary adherence does not work, we reserve the right to change the law.’
Personally, I would like the government to go further. As long as community consultation and complaints processes are voluntary then there will always be bad practice. However, the threat of legislation will focus minds, and I will keep on taking up casework with the individual companies.
There’s a short clip from the debate (focusing on the constituency) below. The full debate can be watched here and a transcript can be read here.
Libraries
Birmingham City Council has published its updated proposals for the future of local library services.
In a nutshell, the Council is now proposing an increase in the opening hours at Kings Norton and Weoley Castle, but a reduction in hours at Northfield. It must be stressed that these changes are compared to the previous proposals, not to current (and unreliable) opening hours.
| Library | Changes (compared to previous proposal) |
| Frankley Community Library | ‘Partner-led’ (no change) |
| Kings Norton | 21 hours per week (+7 hours) |
| Northfield | 28 hours per week (-7 hours) |
| Weoley Castle | 21 hours per week (+7 hours) |
Throughout this process, I have tried to avoid the trap of playing off some of our local libraries against others. Our aim must be to keep all of our libraries open, for as long as possible.
The situation at Frankley Community Library continues to be a major concern. It was apparent at the in-person consultation last month that substantial work needed to be done to identify a suitable partner organisation (the situation is complicated by the site-share with the King Edward VI Balaam Wood school).
Out and about
I was glad to join the Friends of Weoley Hill Park group, which is in the process of forming, along with Councillor Miranda Perks at the village hall on Friday. We agreed a number of next steps, including on the importance of public meetings on the Environment Agency’s proposals.
On Saturday I spent time knocking on doors in Shenley, along with local volunteers and Councillor Jamie Tennant. These sessions are a really useful way of staying in touch, and we picked up a number of casework issues that are being progressed.
I have also been working to get a substantial update on the future of the King George V pub site. I share residents’ concerns about the lack of news and the deteriorating condition of the listed building. I hope to be in a position to provide that update soon.
In Parliament
Rights at work
Parliament made big progress this week on the delivery of a manifesto commitment to ‘Make Work Pay’ by debating the Employment Rights Bill.
The measures in the Bill include:
Giving people on zero-hours the right to a regular-hours contract (when employers like JD Wetherspoons have trialled this approach, almost 100% of people chose a regular-hours contract).
Making Statutory Sick Pay a day-one right and removing the Lower Earnings Limit.
Making parental, paternity, and bereavement leave available from day one.
Better protections for public service workers who are outsourced.
Creating new negotiating bodies to raise pay and standards for school support staff and care workers.
These measures will make a real difference in south Birmingham. There are almost three thousand care workers and school support staff in the Northfield constituency. They are some of the lowest-paid workers in public services, and the lack of sick pay protection lead directly to more infections and more deaths in care homes during the pandemic.
People in the West Midlands are also more likely to be employed on zero hours contracts than anywhere else in the country.
As a trade unionist, I worked on this agenda for years and it was a special moment to see this law go through its first stages. As part of my speech, I paid tribute to the former Birmingham MP, Jack Dromey, who did so much to advance this cause.
There was opposition to the Bill – both the Conservatives and Reform voted against. A lot of work lies ahead, but for me this the kind of change that people voted for in July: real, tangible, improvements, which will be felt most keenly in working class communities that have been neglected for too long.
A clip from my speech can be watched below and the transcript is here.
APPG on SEND
Late last week, I was glad to join MPs from different parties to re-launch the All-Party Parliamentary Group on SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
As you might know, this is an issue that is very important to me. I look forward to working with colleagues from Labour and other parties to make the case for reforming the system.
Making the case for libraries
I was also really glad to host a reception for CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) earlier this week, and to see a constituent – John Dolan, MBE, who is involved in the Birmingham libraries campaign – there.
I spoke about the importance of Birmingham’s library services – their history and the essential services that they provide – and the need to libraries to be included in the Government’s strategy for education and skills. There was further news this week about Birmingham’s libraries, which is discussed above.
Transport Select Committee
I am delighted to be joining the Transport Select Committee. Better public transport services is a cause that should unite us all, and I am looking forward to scrutinising the Government’s work. In preparation, I’ve been busy asking questions about falling cycling rates, support for bus schemes, and disability access on our rail network. Answers will be published here as they come through.
What do you think?
Employment rights have hit the front pages this week. There has been some public concern about cost to businesses – put at around £4.5 billion, most of which is transferred to people at work.
Personally I think those costs can be compensated by reducing other business costs, such at the £7.5 billion additional cost of customs checks, but what do you think? Are there particular measures that you want to see, or that you are concerned about?
I’m particularly keen to hear from people on insecure or low-paid contracts, and local businesses. I’ve been reaching out to various private sector organisations locally, and I’m always keen to visit workplaces.
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.