Tony Lloyd MP for Manchester Central joined other Members of Parliament at the launch of the Silver Star Health Challenge on diabetes at the Houses of Commons on Wednesday 27 October 2010. At the special MPs testing event Tony Lloyd took the quick and simple Type 2 diabetes test to help raise awareness of the need for public testing for the condition.
Tony Lloyd was also issued with a Silver Star Pedometer to measure the amount of steps taken during a Parliamentary Week as part of the 50 day challenge. The public can keep track of their MP on the Silver Star website and the winner of the 50 day challenge will be announced in February 2011.
The NHS spends £1 million an hour on diabetes related illnesses and it is estimated that more than one million people in the UK may have diabetes without knowing it. Tony Lloyd said ‘The diabetes test only takes two minutes and can save lives. I hope my constituents will also take the test and I am looking forward to finding out the results of the pedometer challenge in February 2011.’
Silver Star launched in January 2007 is a registered charity campaigning to provide diabetes awareness. The Charity runs Mobile Diabetes Units (MDU) that carry out important diabetes testing. They seek to promote culturally sensitive healthcare, with particular regard to the high prevalence of diabetes in the major towns and cities of Britain. The Units travel to local community centres, schools, work places and other organisations.
Tony Lloyd MP joined forces with Breast Cancer Campaign to raise awareness of its award winning fundraising event, wear it pink day, supported by Vanish. On Friday 29 October 2010 supporters in schools, colleges and businesses throughout the country were encouraged to don an item of pink in support of Campaign and each donate £2 to fund innovative world-class breast cancer research. Last year over one million people took part in wear it pink to help improve survival rates for the one in nine women who experience breast cancer during their lifetime.
Tony Lloyd MP says “Every year in the UK, over 45,500 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women. Although it is rare, men can also suffer from breast cancer, with around 300 men diagnosed each year. I know people who have lost friends and family members to the disease and I would like to encourage everyone to support wear it pink , which is raising valuable funds for breast cancer research.”
Tony Lloyd attended a live demonstration of Joule’s Law organised by Carisma, the University of Salford and Greater Manchester Police on Saturday 23 October. The workshop demonstrated what happens to various objects when an electric current is passed through them and how they can be transformed into new products. New objects were created from melted down guns to highlight issues around gang related crimes.
Despite the abolition of the slave trade in 1834, a modern-day slave trade is happening on our doorstep. Every year an estimated 1.2 million children and young people are trafficked, becoming victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. The sad truth is that children from over 50 countries are trafficked to the UK every year.
To mark the first UK Anti-Slavery Day (18th October), Manchester MP Tony Lloyd raised his hand to put an end to the sex trafficking of children and young people and to call for greater safeguards for child victims identified in the UK. He gave his signature to the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Petition, a global campaign spearheaded by The Body Shop and charity ECPAT, calling on governments to put the safety and well-being of young victims of trafficking at the heart of their plans.
The UK petition is specifically calling on the Government to offer greater care and protection to child victims of trafficking by ensuring every child is provided with a guardian to look after them.
- A system of guardianship would mean that every child victim of trafficking would have someone with parental responsibility to care for and support them.
- A guardian would protect each child and prevent them from facing further exploitation and harm from their traffickers.
- A guardian would ensure that every child victim of trafficking would receive the educational, medical, practical and legal support they need to help rebuild their lives.
Tony Lloyd MP said, “I was pleased to hear about the excellent work that ECPAT UK and The Body Shop are doing to tackle the trafficking of children and young people for sexual exploitation. This appalling form of modern-day slavery must be stamped out and I am very happy to support such efforts by putting my name to the petition. I also call on people in my constituency to sign the petition, too.”
Clare Atkins, The Body Shop Store Manager said, “The first UK Anti-Slavery Day provides a great opportunity to further increase awareness of the dangers of slavery, draw attention to modern-day forms and highlight the urgent need for procedures to be put in place to safeguard the well-being of adults and children at risk of exploitation.
“The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Petition allows everybody to play their part in helping to stop these vulnerable children from suffering any more. We are asking for the community of Manchester to raise their hands to stop this injustice and sign our petition, either in our stores or by visiting our website www.thebodyshop.com/stop.”
Christine Beddoe, Director of ECPAT UK said, “Children who have been trafficked will often have faced appalling situations of exploitation and abuse. They desperately need the support of a designated adult who, in the absence of a parent, can take decisions on the their behalf and ensure they have access to safe accommodation, education and the medical, practical and legal support they need to help rebuild their lives. We are delighted that The Body Shop is joining with ECPAT UK to call for a system of guardianship to be introduced in the UK, and we are most grateful to Mr Lloyd for his support.”
