This week in Denton & Reddish
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Dear Constituent,

Welcome to Denton and Reddish weekly news. I hope that you've had a lovely week and are looking forward to the weekend!

I was lucky enough to get out and about last night and visit the new Rice n' Spice restaurant in Dukinfield. Scroll down to the 'Andrew in the constituency' section to find out more. 
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APPG submits report to PHSO investigation


📰 READ: The APPG on State Pension Inequality for Women - made up from MPs’ across the House of Commons (Conservative, Labour, SNP, LibDem, Plaid Cymru, DUP, SDLP, Green) - has submitted a response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, as part of their further investigation into DWP Maladministration.

The APPG will continue to support all Groups fighting for justice, and pursue all avenues available to us. The PHSO is the most immediate right now, and whilst we have no say over the Ombudsman’s report (they are truly independent of Parliament and Government), it is only right we send the findings of our inquiry and the Group’s collective view on to them.

You can read the full response here. 

The Government has no plan to solve the energy crisis - My monthly article for the Stockport Express

At the moment, working people are facing a brutal cost-of-living squeeze. Energy prices are soaring, inflation is rising, and recent research found that UK households have the smallest amount of disposable income in almost eight years.

This is really concerning. We already know that before the pandemic, Greater Manchester was well below the National Average in terms of disposable income, and the failure to address the cost-of-living crisis will only be making this problem much worse for families across the region. With energy prices set to rise again in April, it seems like a never-ending slog for many millions of families across the country.

So how did this crisis happen, and what should we do about it? There’s no doubt that Covid, plus global gas problems have contributed to where we are now. But there’s also something more at play. For the last 12 years, the Conservatives have failed to sufficiently invest in jobs, failed to outline a plan to boost skills, and failed to tackle industrial labour shortages. What’s worse, after the economic shock of Covid they actually decided to increase taxes for working people, with National Insurance and Council tax rising in the next few months.

They are now failing to act on soaring energy bills and – despite repeated calls – to slash VAT on energy bills.

This winter will be exceptionally hard for people, and the Government should be stepping in and helping, instead of sticking its head in the sand and forcing unfair tax rises on working people.

That’s why I’ve backed Labour’s recent plan to provide proper, targeted support to those who need it most. With a on-off windfall tax on big Oil and Gas producers, we would be able to bring in fully-funded measures immediately to reduce the expected price rise in April – and in doing so save most households around £200. We’d then set about reducing our reliance on imported gas, boosting home-grown renewables, and regulating our energy market so that nothing like this is allowed to happen again.

Here in Stockport, we’ve already started developing cutting-edge renewable energy solutions.

Cllr Sheila Bailey, Cabinet Member for  Sustainable Stockport at Stockport Council, is working with residents to build a greener future, with the goal of becoming a carbon neutral borough by 2038. These steps are not only good for the environment, but also for the consumer too.

The people of this country deserve to be supported, and not left in the lurch after such a tough couple of years. It’s decision time for the Government. Either step up, or step out of the way and let someone with a proper plan sort out your mess.

Read More of This Week's Stories
Andrew in the constituency

Rice n' Spice in Dukinfield

🎉 A BIG welcome to Dukinfield to Rice n' Spice restaurant, and thank you for asking me to perform the opening ceremony. It was lovely to be joined by Dukinfield Councillor Naila Sharif and my colleague Afzal Khan MP from Manchester Gorton.

They offer a fantastic range of Asian Bengali cuisine of very high quality, in an amazing contemporary venue. Well worth a visit.

Best of luck for the future guys!
  
 
         

Create Connect Centre 🎭 🎨

A huge thank you to all at Tameside Arts Ltd for inviting Councillor Allison Gwynne and I to celebrate the work of the staff and volunteers at the Create Connect Centre in Denton.

I was proud to be at the centre’s opening a few years back - they had massive plans and then COVID occurred. They provide art-related experiences for children and adults and specialise in inclusion and targeted-delivery - mainstream, disabilities, mental health.

Over lockdown they’ve kept activities going online. They’ve also secured funding from a variety of sources including The National Lottery Community Fund. We’ve come together today to celebrate activity starting up again, and to see some of the improvements they’ve made to the building.

Thanks for the invitation and for letting me say a few words!

Andrew in Parliament
📺 WATCH: Anti-social behaviour is growing and it’s sadly now a problem across large parts of England. After years of continuous cuts to both police numbers and youth services, I ask whether he appreciates the damage that has been done.

 
📺 WATCH: £200m wasted on deals with France with Channel crossings increased. Now an MOD announcement of putting the Navy on the task - except they can’t enter French waters, can’t push-back and will merely do the same as UK Border Force and accompany people back to Britain. We need to smash the illegal people trafficking gangs.

 
đź“ş WATCH: It was right to get support to business out quickly in the pandemic, but now Government is writing off ÂŁ4.3 billion of fraudulently claimed COVID business grant support. What a scandal. Government needs to be chasing this fraud with vigour and have the public purse reimbursed.

 
đź“ş WATCH: At Health Questions I ask the Health Secretary why his department is buying millions of Lateral Flow Tests from China rather than supporting the very British businesses who can - and want to make - the tests here.

 
 📺 WATCH: At Business Questions I ask when the Commons can scrutinise the allocation of Levelling-Up funding. Stockport submitted a superb bid to restore the Reddish Baths, fire station and library buildings. Not a Penny granted.

 
📺 WATCH: We’ve had an Urgent Question about British Council employees still in hiding in Afghanistan. I ask what we can do to get funding to them, bypassing the Taliban. The problem is international banks fear sanctions from the USA. The answer was woeful.

 
📺 WATCH: Last week I urged the Leader of the House to get the Environment Secretary to lift the CAZ legal direction on Greater Manchester. He told the mayor to get on with it. This week he sang a different tune to a Tory MP. I point out the inconsistency and the brutal fact that only the Secretary of State can vary, alter or withdraw the scheme. It’s in the Ministerial Direction on GM.

 
📺 WATCH: It’s good that Britain is finally securing new trade deals, but when it comes to agriculture the UK-Australia deal is incredibly one sided. I ask what conversations have been had with the NFU. It seems they’re merely “consulted”.

 
Andrew in the media

 
📰 READ: Thanks to the Tameside Reporter for letting me lay out my thoughts on what 'learning to live with COVID-19' means, and the next steps the Government should be taking. 

You can read the full article here. 

 
📺 WATCH: Thanks to BBC Politics North West for inviting me on to their Sunday morning show. Yes I was angry. I listened to Tory MP James Grundy defend Johnson’s lawbreaking and lying, and then compare a non-story about a lunch in an MP’s office during a visit to 17 illegal boozy Downing Street parties. Stop defending the indefensible, get that letter in, and get him out, James!

Watch the full episode here. 
Community Board
🎩 To find out more about the fantastic 'Hats Off To Denton' trail click here.
Local author Leanne Brown has started writing a fantastic series of books to promote, help and raise awareness for mental health in children. Leanne wants to bring these books to schools, parents and organisations to help promote mental health in children.

You can find out more, including how to buy the books, on her website.
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Andrew Gwynne · 139 St Annes Road · Denton · Manchester, Greater Manchester M34 3DY · United Kingdom

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