Frank’s Westminster Blog

Hundreds of children returning to school this week will find a treat has been added to the beginning of their school day. The Feeding Birkenhead campaign, which I chair, is equipping our town’s primary schools with the supplies they need to set up or maintain free breakfast clubs for the new term. Having received more than 4,000 boxes of cereal from the charity, His Church, at a special distribution event at Tranmere Rovers, Feeding Birkenhead is already delivering the supplies…

Two important victories were registered for Birkenhead residents last week. First, Merseytravel has indicated that the longer term future of the Woodside Ferry Terminal is safe. Since it was made aware of the strength of residents’ opposition to the closure of Woodside – following Councillor Jean Stapleton’s terrific campaign – Merseytravel’s response has been first class. That it is fully committed to maintaining the Terminal in the longer term, and…

We now know that almost half a million workers cannot afford to feed themselves and their families from week to week. Based on what working households in Birkenhead have reported to me, there are four key areas that need to be addressed. First, we need a review of the regulations on zero-hours contracts. I’ve written to the business minister asking him to consider encouraging or, if necessary, requiring employers to offer their workers fixed-hours contracts. As things stand,

Council Tax emerged from last week’s Feeding Birkenhead meeting as a most pressing issue. It was reported at the meeting that some residents on low incomes are struggling either to keep up with their monthly payments, or to access sources of help that might prevent arrears spiralling out of control. Although rent and utilities often take priority over food, food itself tends to be prioritised over Council Tax bills. The end result, all too typically, is a visit from the…

I recently visited the BHS in Liverpool to speak with the shop workers whose jobs have been put at risk by the company’s collapse. They were a model of courtesy and professionalism. So upbeat and helpful, even though they knew their days at BHS were numbered. Across the country, 11,000 mainly low-paid BHS workers are in the same boat. Their pensions are, as things stand, heading into a lifeboat of their own. If the 22,000 current and future members of the BHS Pension Fund do enter this…