Yesterday’s budget proved that Tory cuts are damaging the economic recovery. Growth was down last year, is down this year and will be down next year. Unemployment is rising meaning the welfare bill is growing and borrowing is up.

Tony said, ‘This budget has failed hardworking families who are £450 worse off a year because of the January VAT rise. It has failed the almost 1 million young people looking for work. Labour would have taxed the bankers bonuses to pay for 90,000 new 6 month jobs for 18-24 year olds. Instead the Tories will send 40,000 on a two month course to build their CV that the DWP has said will benefit ‘a very small proportion of young claimants aged 18-21′. It has failed to address the rising cost of fuel which is having a real impact on ordinary people and on business. People across Manchester are struggling because of the cuts the Government has rushed through but now we know that they are suffering for nothing with both the deficit and unemployment growing.’

To read Tony’s views on the Alternative Vote please click here.

On Saturday 19 March Tony Lloyd MP attended the opening of Manchester’s very own Dyslexia Awareness Week. Some of the key statistics that were discussed at the opening include:

* 40% of addicts are dyslexic.

* Dyslexic children are 3 times more likely to consider suicide.

* Of all young offenders 70% are dyslexic.

Manchester’s Dyslexia Awareness Week is running from 19th – 27th March. You can visit the Dyslexia Foundation’s website for information and support.

On Saturday 19 March Manchester volunteers began an epic 300 mile relay walk with prams to campaign against mothers’ deaths around the world in order to highlight the fact that every day around the world 1000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. Tony Lloyd MP joined the walkers for the Manchester leg.

The walk will roll through Knutsford, Chester, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Coventry, and Oxford and will finally arrive in London just in time for Mother’s Day. Walkers will tackle an average of 10 miles at a time pushing prams and collecting messages in support of mums healthcare and celebrating mums along the way.

www.lgf.org.uk

As part of the Marie Curie Cancer Care appeal, Tony Lloyd has been wearing a daffodil pin this March. The daffodil is the emblem of the charity and throughout March they will be turning a number of iconic landmarks yellow to promote the appeal, such as the Piccadilly Circus advertising screens. The aim is to help raise awareness of Marie Curie Nurses, who provide free nuring care to terminally ill people, so that they can spend their final days at home or in a Marie Curie Hospice, surrounded by their loved ones.

For more information please visit mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil.

Tony yesterday asked Health Ministers to confirm that planned NHS reforms will not result in a two tier system for treating those with cancer.

Tony demanded ‘an absolute guarantee that we will not have twin-track cancer treatment at Christie’s and that there will not be a fast track for the private patient and a slow track for those on the national health.’

Health Minister Simon Burns responded, ‘I can categorically give that assurance … because there is no two-track system. Where the private sector may provide care, it is to help to raise standards. ‘

Tony said, ‘I am pleased that the Government has put this on the record for the people of the north-west and millions of us will monitor this to make sure that this guarantee is honoured. The reality is though – many of us do believe that this Government’s obsession with markets in health is a big risk and that the introduction of private providers can only lead to different treatments being available for different people. Health need will no longer be, as it ought to be, the only determinate in deciding treatment.’

You can read more about the Green Flag award here.

On the morning of Friday 4 March, Tony Lloyd, Labour MP for Manchester Central, joined forces with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Action for Blind People to call for improved support services to help those people diagnosed with a sight threatening condition.

At the office of the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations, Mr Lloyd spoke in support of RNIB’s “Lost and Found” campaign, to an audience of representatives from the health, social care and voluntary sectors.

RNIB’s “Lost and Found” campaign is calling for high quality information, advice and emotional support to be routinely available to individuals who are told that they are losing their sight. Research has shown that:

• Nearly a quarter of blind and partially sighted people leave the eye clinic not knowing, or unsure of, the name of the eye condition that caused them to lose their sight
• 70% of blind and partially sighted people said they wanted someone to talk to about their fears and concerns after being told they were losing their sight. Only 19% were offered this opportunity in the eye clinic
• A survey of registered individuals reveals that after diagnosis only 8% of blind and partially sighted people were offered formal counselling by the eye clinic, either at the time, or later
• The number of people with sight loss is set to double to nearly 4 million by 2050.

Being told that you are losing your sight can be emotionally traumatic, with patients likening the experience to bereavement. Yet emotional and practical support in the eye clinic to help people adjust to this enormous change when they first receive the news that they are losing their sight can sometimes be limited.

A better approach – patient support services
Patient support services play an increasingly important role in eye clinics. A professional Eye Clinic Liaison Officer service (or comparable service) assists people with a visual impairment, relatives and carers to get the full range of support they need when sight loss first becomes a concern. They provide initial emotional support to help patients deal with the consequences of sight loss and can also refer to formal counselling services.

Despite their effectiveness in supporting rehabilitation and adjustment to sight loss, thereby preventing long-term dependence on health and social care services, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Local Authorities have funded few posts to date.

Mr Lloyd said, “This is about real people with very human stories. Support services in eye clinics play a vital role in assisting patients to come to terms with sight loss and can provide the help patients need to continue to live as independently as possible.”

The launch event, which took place on Saturday 26 February, unveiled the stylish interior design treatments on the new show homes at the innovative Moss Side project which marks the start of the housing led regeneration of the Bowes Street area, off Princess Road. The project is funded by the Homes and Communities Agency.