Frank’s Blog

Our schools return from their summer holidays next week, and from now on, all children aged between 4 and 7 will receive a free school meal at lunch time – regardless of their family income.  At a time when lots of parents in Wirral are struggling to put food on the table, schools can be, and often are, a highly effective line of defence against hunger. But I am asking for your help to ensure this new policy doesn’t result in your local school losing out on important…

The banks are closing as many branches as they can get away with, in an attempt to save themselves money.The latest branch on their list looks set to be the NatWest in Higher Tranmere. I have written to NatWest asking them to reconsider this decision. Even if they were to open up only on certain days of the week, it would help people who have difficulty getting around, or who have no access to the internet, to do their banking. The closure of local bank branches makes it more likely…

People looking for work through the Government’s job search website remain at risk of being ripped off. The National Audit Office (NAO) recently agreed to my request for an investigation into fraud within the Universal Jobmatch website, after 11 local residents were ripped off by a fake employer who posted bogus jobs and demanded £65 from each of them for non-existent background checks. The NAO shared the conclusions of their investigation with me last week. Their findings are

The consensus for the past 150 years has held that generating economic growth brings with it economic prosperity for all. Indeed, this is the logic which runs through the current Government’s economic strategy. However, an examination of the living standards of low-paid workers over the past decade shows that growth does not necessarily lead to a decent floor for everybody. For example, there are currently more people in this country who are living in poverty whilst working…