New Putney Pensioner out now

You can read the new edition here.

Cold weather payments

With Britain in the grip of one of the coldest winters for nearly 30 years, it's important that anyone who is worried that they may not be able to pay fuel bills makes sure they are in receipt of all the cold weather help they're entitled to.

Labour government cold weather payments of £25 are issued for every seven day period when temperatures are at or below zero degrees centigrade in a given area; and in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields that's been this week and almost certainly next week too.

Most people who are entitled to the payments will get them automatically as part of their tax credit or pension payments, but it's not just pensioners who are entitled to claim them.

You may also be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment for each qualifying week if you are getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker?s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance in the assessment phase and have one of the following:

• pensioner premium, higher pensioner premium or enhanced pensioner premium
• a disability premium, enhanced disability premium or severe disability premium
• a disabled child premium
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• a child who is under five in the family

If you want to check whether you're eligible, or whether they've been issued, visit the DirectGov website. That site also now has a postcode search facility to check whether cold weather payments are triggered, which can be found here.

Pensioners also get winter fuel payments each year, and they've been dramatically increased by Labour over the last decade. If you have a query about these payments, you can call 0845 915 1515: lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Breathtaking arrogance

I wrote a few days ago about the plight of Putney constituent Christine Walker's mum, who more than qualifies for a disabled blue badge but who is being denied one by the Conservative council.

Yesterday we got this latest reply from them:

"senior council management staff have previously written in response to many contacts received from your constituent's MP, various borough councillors, the Local Government Ombudsman, General Practitioners and Mrs Self's own family members...I have also more recently replied separately to the Director of the 'Transport for All' organisation...

"...I am afraid that we will not acknowledge or respond to further communications in this matter and any such documentation received from [Mrs Walker's mum] or her representatives will be filed for information only"

It takes a special kind of arrogance to claim that MPs, councillors, the Ombudsman, GPs and transport and disability action groups are wrong and that the Conservatives - alone - are right. And it stems from having absolute power without break for over 30 years. Power may corrupt but it also makes those who have it contemptuous of all other opinion.

A democracy thrives because of checks and balances - one party vigorously held to account by its opponents. In Wandsworth those checks and balances are failing. There are currently 51 Tory councillors in Wandsworth and just 9 Labour; no other party has any seats or a chance of winning any.

And before you say it doesn't affect or concern you, then until they needed help from the Conservatives it didn't directly affect Mrs Walker's family either. My point is this: ignore our democratic deficit only if you are 100% certain that you'll never, ever need to turn to these out-of-touch, power-gone-to-their-head Conservatives for help.

The Conservatives have forgotten that they are the servants, not the masters. I can provide the evidence but only you, by voting Labour - the only alternative to the Conservatives locally - can change it.

Poverty and the Conservatives

The Conservatives have recently been trying to present themselves as the champions of the poor. You may be someone who's been a bit surprised by this Damascean interest in poverty by the Conservatives, but in case you're thinking "That David Cameron bloke seems sincere on this issue, so let's give him a whirl", here's what he's also on the record as saying on the subject...


"Labour?s plans for minimum wages, the Social Chapter and large increases in spending and taxes would send unemployment straight back up."

David Cameron, The Chronicle (Stafford), 21 February 1996

"I long for a chancellor who stands up and introduces a Budget which abolishes all of Brown's endless reliefs and credits - and uses the money to cut tax rates at the same time. 'My Budget has no title', the peroration would go, 'it's your money, spend it as you choose.' Am I alone?"

David Cameron, GuardianUnlimited, 18 April 2002

"Unravelling Labour?s tax credit system will be a complex and long-term task."

David Cameron, Speech in Devon, 1 September 2005. He now wants to scrap the Child Trust Fund for those earning over £16,000 and tax credits for couples who each earn over £25,000.

"The Government should stop new spending on Child Trust Funds for better off families? [Tax credits would be kept for families] in receipt of Child Tax Credit and have a household income in 2009/10 (as calculated for CTC purposes of £16,040 or less)"

Conservative Party Press Release, 6 October 2009

"The Government should stop paying tax credits to households with incomes over £50,000 by starting to means-test the Family Element of Child Tax Credit at a lower threshold." Conservative Party Press Release, 6 October 2009

You see, it's really easy to say "poverty is bad and I'm against it" - but it's action that counts. And David Cameron - and his Conservatives - have a track record of voting against Labour action that has helped the least affluent the most: the minimum wage; tax credits; child trust funds; initiatives like SureStart that provide the support that enable parents to return to work.

Labour's record stands - proudly - in stark contrast:

• 900,000 pensioners lifted out of relative poverty since 1998 - pensioners now less likely to be living in poverty than the population as a whole.
• Since 1997 we have spent around £100 billion more in total on pensioners (in current price terms) than if we had maintained the policies of the last Tory Government.
• On average the poorest third of pensioner households are around £2,100 a year (or £41 a week) better off on average as a result of our tax and benefit changes they would have been if the Tory system had continued.
• In 1997 the poorest pensioners lived on what would be the equivalent of £98 a week (in today's prices). Today Pension Credit means no-one aged 60 or over has to live on less than £130 a week.
• We have lifted 500, 000 children out of relative poverty since 1997
• We have enshrined in law a duty to eradicate child poverty by 2020

I still come across people who say that the political parties are just the same. Even today, when the Conservatives would wreck the economy by taking us down a path no other major international power has chosen. And even today, when the Conservatives claim to care about the poor but vote against their interests every chance they get.

Send me to Parliament and I'll be a genuine voice who not only speaks up for but acts to help the least affluent in our community.

Castlecombe Drive paving

This photo of a cave-in pavement in Castlecombe Drive was taken on Saturday. Castlecombe Drive has a number of sheltered homes for pensioners - there are a set of bungalows just to the left of this picture; and across the road is Ronald Ross primary school. In other words, such poor quality pavements are especially dangerous given the number of pensioners and young children who use this road.

Remarkably, a Conservative Councillor lives less than fifty metres from this potholed pavement: yet it's clearly either beyond or beneath her to bother to get this fixed. I have to wonder what it is that the Conservatives do for their £10,000 a year allowances - because clearly looking after the area - even one they live in - isn't it.

I've reported this and will let you know when it's fixed.

Labour: giving you a world class health service

Local NHS shelves plans to redevelop Putney Hospital site

Last night I attended a meeting at which a senior director from Wandsworth Primary Care Trust announced that the board would be asked to shelve plans to redevelop the Putney Hospital site next Wednesday.

Putney Hospital closed in 1999 and, as a result of complex legal issues relating to the development of common land, it has taken the best part of ten years for a development proposal to come to the table.

However, in June this year NHS London effectively vetoed the proposal - which was to relocate some central Putney GP services and the work of the Eileen Lecky clinic onto the hospital site. NHS London acted out of a concern that the proposal did not reflect value for money, was not environmentally sustainable and - critically in my view - was too difficult to get to for many of the patients who would transfer to it.

The main issue here is the need to find new premises for a number of local GP practices where the lead GP is intending to retire soon. The PCT has decided to recommend that new GP services are relocated to other non-NHS-owned properties in Putney. Five commercial sites in central Putney have been identified, although the locations have not been made public while the PCT negotiates with the owners.

I would like to see the detail of the report that is going to the PCT Board next week before making any detailed pronouncements but I believe that the PCT has a moral obligation to residents to deal once and for all with the derelict site on Putney Common which has already absorbed over a million pounds of taxpayers money in planning and costs thousands every year to secure.

Yesterday's meeting - which was attended by around 60 residents - was organised by the Putney Society, of which I am a member. The Putney Society continues to be a welcome and strong voice on this issue and, given that I was a local council I look forward to working alongside them - and others, including my political opponents - to secure an outcome that meets the needs of local patients and residents.

Free swimming success continues

I highlighted at the end of July the remarkable fact that 40,000 sessions had taken place in the first three months since the Labour Government introduced free swimming for under 16s and over 60s.

Well, make that number over 50,000 now because the July figures are in and a total of 53,217 free sessions have now taken place in Wandsworth pools!

This is quite evidently a spectacularly successful Labour scheme: in fact the problem I can see emerging is whether we have sufficient capacity to ensure that all swimmers have can actually swim in comfortable, uncrowded conditions. In a way, that's a good problem to have, though.

In last month's post I also noted the big drop in numbers participating in the free swimming after the April launch, and I've now had the following response from the Council providing more information:

"I can advise that there are two clear reasons for the particularly excellent start to this initiative that occurred in Wandsworth, the first is that the Easter school holidays occurred during the month of April which enabled a significant amount of young people a lot more time to visit the Borough's swimming pools.

"The second reason is that with additional funding from the Wandsworth Primary Care Trust the leisure centres ran a promotion through the month of April to get as many people as possible who are eligible for the scheme to sign up to the programme by offering all young people 16 and under and adults 60 years and over free entrance during the month of April whilst they signed up for the scheme and the centres also offered free adult swimming for those who were bringing children and young people with them, again to encourage increase take up in the programme.

"Wandsworth?s combined total attendances for the first 3 months was the highest of any London Borough with a total of 40,146 visits compared with the likes of Islington 33,466, Barking & Dagenham 32,299 and Enfield 27,968 with the next highest totals.

"We obviously have the advantage of knowing another month?s data now and I have added July's data which shows that generally we are on an upward trend if the first month?s data is removed. May?s slightly higher under-16 figure can be again partially explained by the half term holiday falling within this month but without any additional free promotions."

Roehampton Festival's Kings & Queens lunch

On Sunday it was my pleasure to be involved as one of the volunteer helpers at the annual pensioners lunch (Kings & Queens) organised by the amazing and terrific people at Regenerate RISE. The lunch was held in a marque on the green in Danebury Avenue opposite Minstead Gardens - the same location as Saturday's Roehampton Festival.

Over 350 local pensioners from Roehampton (and further afield) were treated as "Kings and Queens" for the day - enjoying a fantastic lunch, cream tea and generous servings of both soft and slightly stronger liquid refreshment! Music was provided - including a jazz band, classical duo and live singer who belted out a number of music hall favourites (although in my view his most popular number was his rendition of Tom Jones' Delilah!).

Everyone seemed to have a really great time - helped in some small part by the fantastic weather we enjoyed. The real key to the success of the day though was twofold: the fantastic effort made during the day by the volunteers from Regenerate RISE to seat, feed and water 350 people, as well as the fantastic display of community spirit - transcending the generations - that was displayed in the marquee. It was a pleasure and privilege to have been able to be a part of that.

40,000 have swum for free so far

40,000 - that's the number of over 60s and under 16s who have taken up Labour's free swimming offer in Wandsworth pools since it was launched with a splash (pardon the pun!) in April. Nationwide, the figure is 4.4 million.

I'm a little concerned though - and have asked the council to explain why it is - that after the initial interest in the new scheme in month one, numbers have dropped off substantially. You may assume this is to be expected but it's not what has happened in all the boroughs that surround Wandsworth, admittedly from a much lower number of users.

The big fall in users between April and June was among under-16s, so this could be linked to the end of the Easter holidays. If this is the case we should see big increases again in July and August.

However, whatever the reasons for these fluctuating numbers, the big news is that 40,000 local people have benefitted from free swimming thanks to Labour - 40,000 people who'd either have had to pay or simply wouldn't have bothered without this scheme. As I've said before, I think free swimming will become acknowledged as one of Labour's big legacies.

What do you have to do to get a disabled Blue Badge around here?

The case reported yesterday in the Wandsworth Guardian, above, is one I've been asked to get involved in.

I'm not going to say too much about it at this stage simply because I want to see what the council has to say for itself in response to my enquiry before I do. But I hope it is better than the quote they issued above because, frankly, it beggers belief.

"In order to qualify for a blue badge, an applicant must have a degree of disability and find it difficult to walk. Happily, Mrs Self does not have any such problems" they say.

This 81 year old lady has coronary heart disease, angina (including an attack she had immediately following her interview with the Council as part of her application for the Blue Badge), is blind in one eye and, most clear-cut of all, suffers from Meniere's Disease. So there's the "degree of disability" box ticked.

Meniere's Disease is a defect within the ear that seriously disrupts balance. Those suffering from it cannot walk straight: they either fall over or walk into walls. She can only walk (or more accurately: shuffle) with the support of her 82 year old husband. So there's the "difficult to walk box" ticked.

The Council's press office really should have checked the facts of this case a little more thoroughly before rushing out with such an unconvincing comment - it makes the council look callous, thoughtless and wrongheaded - which some of us recognise as the reality of Wandsworth's Conservative Council - but which isn't the appearance press officers get paid to present.

When is free swimming not free? When it costs £2

At the end of March, the Labour Government introduced free swimming for under 16s and over 60s.

Right from the outset, the Conservative Council tried to shirk the scheme: the only reason under-16s swim free in Wandsworth is because the local health service stumped up the funding because the Conservatives wouldn't. They also cranked up leisure centre charges for everyone else at the same time as they agreed to opt-into the Labour free swimming scheme.

But it gets worse. Yesterday, I discovered that free swimming in Wandsworth isn't free at all. Because the Conservatives have levied a "membership fee" of £2 for any pensioner wanting to take it up.

I asked the Council to confirm this - and their response was that they had been allowed to. Well, just because someone's allowed to do something doesn't mean they have to do it. Neighbouring Lambeth doesn't, for instance. I've asked the Tory Council to explain, as a matter of urgency:

1) Why does Wandsworth Council feel the need to levy this charge?

2) Which other local authorities in London are levying a similar charge?

3) Does the charge apply to under-16s "free" swimming as well?

4) Why does there need to be a "membership" scheme as eligibility for the scheme is clear and can be verified using other existing means of identification?

5) Is this a one-off membership fee or will those being charged be asked to re-register each year?

6) What are the actual costs of administering this "membership" scheme, and what is the expected income this will generate?

Wandsworth is among the highest-charging councils in the country for almost everything except council tax. Free swimming should mean free swimming.

David Cameron's "Age of Austerity"

The Budget in summary

22 million people £440 better off - from today

Today, 6th April, is the day most of the tax changes introduced in last year's Labour Budget and Autumn Statement kick in.

The headline figure is the increase in personal tax allowance which benefits every single basic-rate Income Tax payer (22 million of us), which instantly has put £440 back in our pockets.

But there are other major increases too: pensions go up £4.55 and the minimum income guarantee for pensioners rises to more than £124 a week.

For families the changes are significant too. As well as introducing a new grant of £190 for expectant mothers to help them eat more healthily during their pregnancy, Child Benefit has already risen to £20 a week for the first child. Child Benefit has almost doubled since Labour was elected. And Child Tax Credits now benefit families by £2,235 a year.

The table above - which if you click on it enlarges - shows just how many of us benefit from these changes.

The Conservatives derided these changes - along with the £5 a week VAT cut - as not providing the slightest bit of help for our country. I don't see how anyone can begin to argue that £440 back in people's pockets means nothing; but then I don't really understand how the Conservatives opposed giving basic rate taxpayers £440 back while calling for Inheritance Tax cuts for just the richest 8% of families.

If you don't think there's a difference between Labour and Conservative politicians, then do look again at the stark contrast between what Labour is delivering and what the Tories would take away.

Free swimming from 1st April

From Wednesday swimming will be free in Putney Leisure Centre for over 60s and under 16s thanks to Labour.

Free swimming is available everyday, at all times, to over 60s. Those aged 16 and under can also swim for free daily, outside school hours.

Over £600 million has been made available by the Government to fund this scheme: Wandsworth Tories decided that they wouldn't let it happen unless they didn't have to put in a penny, and the Conservatives nationally have failed to commit to free swimming if they're ever elected.

I learnt to swim in Putney Swimming Pool when I was growing up and it's great that from the start of the month every Wandsworth family will be able to enjoy free swimming thanks to Labour.

Real help for pensioners

Click on the image for a larger version.

Wandsworth Guardian covers wardens story

I am delighted to see the Wandsworth Guardian reporting on this story in today's edition.

What annoys me about the way Wandsworth Conservatives behave is their attitude that they know best and everyone else is wrong.

It's this appalling arrogance that has led to this unpopular reorganisation of the sheltered housing scheme. There is no reason why they could not have consulted properly - as they're supposed (and I would argue required) to do.

As Arabella Drive resident Rita Maxwell highlights in the Guardian article there is no reason to adequately explain the way they buried two petitions opposing their plans - why hasn't the council sent these petitions to its housing committee as it should have?

And there is no reason why, once residents' concerns were known, that they could not have agreed to my request to suspend the plans while they investigated the widespread concern that had been generated.

I suspect they think that admitting errors makes them look weak; answering to local residents a distraction; and agreeing to a request from someone from a different political party hands me some sort of victory.

What a sad way to approach really important concerns that have caused terrible distress among senior citizens in our sheltered housing. And what a dreadful indictment of the arrogance of Conservatives in Putney.

The Tories must suspend their warden reorganisation

During the week since I first exposed the Tory plans to shift around Putney & Roehampton's sheltered housing wardens, I've been unearthing more and more troubling issues about the manner in which this reorganisation has been managed.

Aside from causing huge upset among many of the senior citizens who could be about to lose their cherished warden, the Conservatives have behaved extraordinarily in both a failure to consult and in trying to keep these plans out of the public, democractic spotlight.

Way back in October last year, residents of the Lennox estate sheltered housing scheme in Roehampton sent a petition into the Tory cabinet member for Housing, Councillor Martin Johnson.

Normally when petitions are sent to the council they are reported to the appropriate scrutiny committee and council officers then have to explain, in public, how they think the concerns raised should be tackled.

In this case, Cllr Johnson wrote to one of petitioners saying that he was taking the "unusual step" of sending it straight to the Director of Housing, thus avoiding the democratic scrutiny afforded all other petitions. As a result the residents of the Lennox - some four months on - have still not had an adequate response to the concerns raised in their petition.

The residents of another Roehampton sheltered housing scheme, Minstead Gardens, submitted a similar petition at the start of this year. This too has never seen the light of day; nor has it received an adequate response either.

This is bad enough but at least it might be excusable had the Conservative reorganisation plans themselves been approved by councillors. But this entire plan was never put before any public council committee either: there has been no open accountable scrutiny of these plans.

And even that lack of accountability might be tolerated had those affected by the changes - the elderly residents of the sheltered housing schemes themselves, been given a say. After all, the reorganisation was first mooted back in August 2008: six months ago. That means there has been plenty of time when the council could have talked through their ideas with residents and so avoided a lot of the anxiety and fear that has been created by their secrecy.

The Council talks about this reorganisation being an example of "best practice". But failing to ask residents about what is an essential service for them could never be best practice. Burying petitions is not best practice. And keeping even elected councillors in the dark about a policy that has significant consequences for their constituents is not best practice.

A US Supreme Court Justice once said that "sunlight is the best disinfectant". I pledge to shine as much light on these Conservative plans until they do the right thing by our senior citizens.

I've called on the council to suspend the reorganisation until proper consultation and democratic scrutiny has been carried out. It is the very least they can do to correct this botched plan.

Sheltered housing stupidity

Over the past week, I've been working with sheltered housing residents in Roehampton over crazy plans by the Conservatives to play musical chairs with the wardens who look after the schemes and their residents.

Sheltered housing offers independent living for senior citizens, but with the support of a "warden", someone employed to check on residents, to make sure they're ok and to offer help and support when asked.

The best wardens build great trust and friendship with the residents and become much loved - in fact the strong personal connection is the whole point of such schemes.

The Conservatives are now planning on destroying this link - and with it the trust and security that goes with it - by forcibly rotating wardens around all the borough's sheltered schemes every two years. Worse still, they've done this without consultation with residents and without any council overview and scrutiny. This is not just bad practice and gross arrogance - it has caused real trauma among residents.

The bizarre logic behind this upsetting plan is that senior sheltered housing officers are apparently overworked. How rotating wardens will ease workload is something understood only by the Tories. Wouldn't the rest of us take the view that if a service is overstretched then either workload needs to be reduced or more wardens need to be employed?

There seems to be some belated admission from the Conservatives that they may have failed to consult properly, but that has not prompted them to halt their plans - which come in on 02 March. This is not good enough and I'm doing all I can to help our senior citizens - who deserve so much better - from losing their wardens.

Cold Weather Payments

With weather this week set to fall several degrees below zero, Labour Government Cold Weather Payments have been triggered.

Labour increased the Cold Weather Payment last year from £8.50 to £25 a week. You should be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment for each week of this cold spell if you receive Pension Credits or if you are getting Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and have a child under five. There are other possible eligibility criteria, which you can check here.

Cold Weather Payments are triggered when the average temperature where you live is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days during the period from 1 November to 31 March.

You should recieve your CWP automatically but if you haven't received it or want to check whether you're eligible, contact either the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus on 0800 055 6688.

Labour Pre-Budget Help for Pensioners

A summary of Labour help for Pensioners from today's Pre-Budget statement:

• Cheaper shopping from Monday as VAT is reduced by 2.5%
• £6 a week increase in Pension Credits from £124 to £130 a year
• £5 a week increase in Basic State Pension from £90.70 to £95.25 a week
• A one-off payment of £60 on top of the £10 Christmas bonus
• The temporary personal allowance increase of £120 to help pensioners caught out by the abolition of the 10p tax rate made permanent and increased to £145 from April
• The new Savings Gateway to help Pensioners save: the Government will add 50p to every £1 saved
• Forcing Energy companies that have failed to put Pensioners on their lowest tariffs to do so
• £150 million more - on top of the already spent £50 million - to help pensioners insulate their homes

Live blogging the Pre Budget Report

4.35pm Same old Tories: Osborne believes he knows more than John Maynard Keynes about economic stimulus. Tories would send UK industry to the wall, make the recession deeper and longer lasting. And they've also announced their opposition to an increase in National Insurance for the very wealthiest. This speech could have been delivered by John Major or Norman Lamont during the last Tory recession of 1990-1994.

4.33pm Osborne is just absurd. He's now comparing the UK with Japan - which borrowed more than 100% of GDP in the last decade. Even with our increased short-term borrowing, our borrowing as a proportion of GDP is massively lower than neighbouring economies including France and Germany.

4.29pm Osborne is now attacking the VAT reduction which his own, far more experienced former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke supported on Newsnight a few days ago. As I wrote earlier today, watching a Conservative oppose tax cuts is a truly bizarre phenomenon.

4.28pm George Osborne is reading a script that doesn't fit with today's announcement. It suits the Tory Party to pretend that the global recession is only hitting the UK but it just isn't true and it just won't wash. If they don't understand this basic fact, they can't possibly have the ideas to fix the problems. It's why the Prime Minister is leading the world's major economies while the Tories want to re-run the failed Thatcherite policies of the 1980s and 1990s.

4.26pm OK, that's the Statement over, and while George Osborne is squeeking away in response, let's summarise what's happening: VAT will be cut from 17.5% to 15% from Monday; except for alcohol, petrol and tobacco. National Insurance rates will increase by 0.5% and a new 45% Income Tax rate for the top 1% if Labour is re-elected at the next election but not before.

And there will be much more help for pensioners, families, children, and small businesses.

4.24pm One-off payments for Pensioners and children with difficulties on top of the Christmas Bonus of £70 for individuals and £120 for couples.

4.22pm Announcements coming thick and fast: big increases in Child Tax Credit, Pension Credits, the Pension, Child Benefit - and the changes will come in from January, not the start of the next financial year in January.

4.20pm Help for savers: a new Savings Gateway where the Government will add 50p for every £1 saved - scheme will run with major banks and the Post Office.

4.19pm Vehicle Excise Duty bands will still be introduced. In 2009, rates will increase by a maximum of £5. In 2010, we will increase the duty by a maximum of £30, while less polluting cars will see NO INCREASE or a reduction of up to £30.

4.17pm Helping people back to work: careers advice in the workplace before people are made redundant will be expanded to every single worker - not just the largest employers. Extra help to prevent those experiencing a temporary job loss becoming long-term unemployed will be worth £1.2billion.

4.15pm More affordable homes: investment in new affordable homes to rent will be more than doubled, adding £775million to the existing £700million budget announced in the Spring. Absolutely critical announcement.

4.11pm Help for home owners. Last month we recapitalised the banks; this month we will guarantee - ie underwrite - certain new mortgages for a temporary period. New council to monitor lending and borrowing by major lenders. Repossession must be the last resort: there will be a three month period between the last repayment made and any repossession action is commenced. Much more free legal and debt advice announced.

4.10pm £100 million extra for extra home insulation. Labour tripled cold weather payments in the Budget this Spring. Government will force energy companies to put households on cheaper tariffs if the companies have not done so voluntarily by the end of the year.

4.09pm Economic slowdown should not jeopardise efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Reform of Air Passenger Duty: new 4- band APD system with those who travel further will pay more. Seems sensible to me.

4.06pm Total package for small business equates to £7billion

4.05pm Two more measures to help Businesses: increase in Corporation Tax deferred and change to accounting rules to allow business to offset losses of up to £50,000 against previous five years' profits.

4.02pm Help for small businesses: exemption from business rates for businesses with empty properties. Change to tax payment schedules on all taxes, not just Business Rates to enable businesses to spread their repayments as they can afford. Businesses also need help with loans as Banks have tightened their lending: £4bn deal with the European Investment Bank to pass onto businesses. £1bn small business credit scheme announced.

4.00pm With Labour, the UK Budget will be back in balance by 2015.

3.59pm Duty on Petrol, Alcohol and Tobacco will be increased to offset the VAT reduction.

3.58pm National Insurance will increase by 0.5%, but no-one earning less than £22,000 will pay any NI contributions. New 45% higher Income Tax rate will be introduced for those on £150,000 or more - 1% of all UK households.

3.57pm Temporary tax cut from May for basic rate taxpayers who were hurt by the abolition of the 10p tax rate will be made permanent - and increased to £145 per year.

3.56pm VAT to be cut to 15% for a year, coming into force next Monday. Retailers urged to pass this £12billion tax cut on immediately.

3.55pm £3billion of capital spending brought forward to improve motorways, affordable housing, energy efficiency and modernising primary and secondary schools. This is investment brought forward.

3.52pm Government will find £5billion of efficiency savings from public services, on top of over £30 billion in the past five years. We will increase spending on public services to £286 billion.

3.47pm Borrowing will increase this year to £78 billion and then £118 billion next year, but then fall to £105 billion in 2010, then £87b, £70b, and £54 billion in 2014. This represents a rise in debt to 57% next year, before rapidly falling back. Borrowing is backed by the CBI, IoD and the IMF, among others.

3.46pm Debt will be repaid by 2015/2016, which will enable us to continue investing in public services.

3.44pm Chancellor now setting out the framework how the borrowing is fully costed and will be repaid. Labour has cut borrowing down to 36%. The extra borrowing be proposed will amount to between 0.5% and 1% of Britain's GDP.

3.43pm Here's the choice between Labour and Conservative: the Tories will let families go to the wall; Labour will borrow to make this downturn as short and shallow as possible.

3.41pm IMF forecasts first slow down among all industrialised nations since 1945. Output will fall in the first two quarters of next year by between 0.75 and 1.25% but then begin growing again because of the action to be outlined today; Inflation will be just 0.5% by the end of next year.

3.38pm The UK has the highest employment leves ever. Benefit claimant counts are 2 million below the last Conservative Government's double-recession. Government Debt among the lowest of the industrialised world. And we have doubled investment in public services. The Chancellor says this shows Labour DID fix the roof while the sun was shining - we fixed the roofs of schools, hospitals and council homes.

3.37pm No British investor has lost any money from the banking crisis thanks to Labour government action. What would have happened had we followed the Conservative plan of not stepping in to rescue Northern Rock?

3.33pm Labour Government will continue to lead the global community next year when we chair the G20 group of leading industrial nations, building on Gordon Brown's international leadership. Highlights issue of Crown Territories, which offer lower tax rates but the Bank of England cannot be the lender of last resort for such territories.

3.32pm The Chanceller is setting out the global economic context - "an unprecedented global crisis". Conservative MPs don't seem to have realised that the whole global economic crisis was triggered by massive US Housing problems back in the Summer - where have they been?

3.30pm Here we go!

The Chancellor is going to move his Pre Budget Report - which always used to be called the Autumn Statement - at 3.30pm this afternoon.

I'll be live-blogging the speech, highlighting the key points and what they mean for Putney, London and the country.

By the way, the live blog will be added to this particular post, rather than lots of separate posts, so keep refreshing your browser to keep up to date.

Putney Pensioner

The new edition of my newsletter for local senior citizens, The Putney Pensioner, has just been published.

Because of the huge increases in fuel prices this year - especially for gas - this could be one of the most difficult for pensioners and everyone else who struggles to pay their energy bills.

The Labour Government has already announced increases in the Winter Fuel Allowance and a big rise from £8.50 to £25 per week in the emergency fund that gets paid out if we experience especially cold weather. But look out for further announcements in the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Statement later this month for more help.

It's really important that pensioners claim everything they're entitled to, which is why this edition of the Putney Pensioner leads with this important story.

The edition also talks about work finally set to start on Putney Hospital; on veterans badges, the RAF Bomber Command Memorial fund and the safety checks for electric blankets the Fire Brigade is organising.

You can read the new edition here in Adobe PDF format. It goes to all pensioners in sheltered housing around the constituency plus anyone who subscribes.

Keep warm this winter

Help the Aged has produced a handy guide of helpful tips and contacts to help pensioners keep warm and keep bills as low as possible this Winter.

It's been produced in association with British Gas and includes advice on insulating your home, claiming everything you're entitled to, and who to call for further information on all these issues.

You can download the guide here in Adobe pdf format.
















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Veterans' Badges: do you know someone who hasn't claimed theirs?

This is a photo of me with Alex and Queenie Green, who live in Glenthorpe in Putney Park Avenue. Alex and Queenie have been married for 61 years, although the reason I visited them recently was not to mark that considerable achievement but because both of them served in the armed forces during the Second World War and neither had yet claimed their Veterans' Badge.

Alex and Queenie are lifelong Wandsworth residents: they spent most of their lives in Battersea before moving to Skeena Hill in Southfields and then to Glenthorpe.

They contacted me after receiving the recent edition of my special newsletter for senior citizens, The Putney Pensioner, which mentioned my campaign to encourage everyone eligible to claim their Veterans' Badge to do so. I was more than happy to drop application forms round to them and hear some of their tales of service life.

If you or a relative served in the armed forces, including service on the home front, I hope you'll take the time to download a veterans' badge application form - it's pleasingly short and straightforward - or contact me and I'll happily send you one.

Putney Pensioner

This week I launched a new newsletter for senior citizens in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields: The Putney Pensioner. Included in this edition are stories on help with the cost of living, Veterans' Day (and the Veterans' Badge), free swimming, Laurie Green and much more.

You can read the current edition, which I will produce at regular intervals, here.

At present, the Putney Pensioner only goes to residents of sheltered housing accommodation in the constituency but I appreciate that there are many other senior citizens throughout the area who don't live in these schemes and so are missing out.

If you're a Putney Pensioner and would like to be added to the mailing list for this newsletter please email me: stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk.

Free swimming for all in Putney by 2012

I welcome the Government's announcement today to make swimming free at all local authority swimming pools - like Putney Leisure Centre in Dryburgh Road - by the 2012 Olympics.

Just as in 1997 when Labour abolished charges to national museums, this initiative - first making swimming free for pensioners and under-16s, but eventually free for all, is a recreational milestone. Free access to pensioners and under-16s will commence next year.

Britain's swimmers are really starting to compete internationally and great things are expected of our acquatic team at this Summer's Olympic Games. I hope that Olympic success will generate even more interest in swimming because not only is it a great way to keep fit, it's also great fun and it puts your body through far less wear and tear than most other sports.

Almost £250 million has been invested in swimming since 1997 to rebuild and renew our crumbling swimming pools that were starved of cash in the Tory years. We still don't have enough Olympic sized, 50metre pools in the country, but we've now got a network of smaller, well-maintained, safe and enjoyable swimming pools around the capital and the country.

And soon we'll have free entry to these pools as well -dur to Labour's commitment to sport, to equal access and to an Olympic legacy for 2012.

Abolishing the 10p tax rate

Labour stands for social justice or it stands for nothing. That is why the very real prospect of some of the least affluent families facing a virtual doubling in their tax bill under a LABOUR Government is indefensible.

Yet that is what will happen when the 10p income tax band is abolished - a move announced in the 2007 budget but which will come into law with the passing of this year's Finance Bill. Anyone earning over £18,000 will be unaffected or indeed better-off with the abolition of the 10p band, because the quid-pro-quo of that abolition was the reduction of the 22p tax band down to 20p.

But everyone who currently only pays income tax at the 10p rate will now find that they are paying 20% tax - and that means pensioners, part time workers and low income workers. In other words, three of the core groups Labour exists to serve.

I recently had a letter from a pensioner under 65 who lives in a West Hill council estate; someone who receives a basic state pension plus pension credit; but who also receives a small private pension that takes her income above the tax threshold. The extra amount of tax she'll now have to pay is not vast: but should she be paying any more when people earning over £35,000 are going to be paying less? Of course not. When other bills and food prices are rising? Of course not.

When you are in the wrong it is a virtue, not a vice, to admit it. The Government is in that situation right now. Unfortunately it does not appear to be willing to do so on this critical issue. The responsibility for holding the Labour Government to Labour ideals therefore falls to the backbenches: the MPs that give Labour its majority in the House of Commons.

I understand the difficulty normally loyal backbench Labour MPs are now in: I am not standing to be your Labour MP to go to Westminster and then habitually vote against a Labour Government. So in no way do I underestimate the dilemma loyal Labour backbenchers face - and the distaste voting down our own government leaves them with - it's the same for me.

But the government is wrong on this and if it refuses to back down or rectify its mistake - as they have said they will not, I can see no purpose, merit or honour in being a Labour MP if that role is to make life harder for the least affluent, the pensioners and the part-time workers of Putney.

Budget 2008

The media is portraying the Budget as dull as though that's a criticism. It's anything but: in a global economic climate that is stormy, we don't want flash and costly measures that could backfire. Stability was the watchword in this Budget: it's absolutely what's needed.

The one stand-out measure in the Budget was the one I called for back at the start of the New Year here: an increase in winter fuel payments for pensioners. Because of the huge rise in fuel prices, this measure was essential to ensure the well-being of our senior citizens this year. Over-60s will get £250 this Winter, up £50 and over-80s £400 - a £100 increase.

But let's be clear: it's not the government's job to meet these costs for the sake of it, and in the process help boost the bonuses our foreign-owned power companies reap. That's why this was a one-off Winter Fuel Payment increase. It gives the government and the Power Regulators a year to get to grips with some of the root causes of fuel poverty that I wrote about in January.

Marking the contribution women made in our World Wars

A couple of years ago, the Government launched a badge that all military veterans could wear with pride as a small way of marking their sacrifice for our country.

Now, the scheme has been expanded to include the Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps who worked on the Home Front providing food and wood during the First and Second World Wars while many of the men who had been the agricultural labour force were away fighting.

During World War I as many as 260,000 women were enlisted as farm labourers as part of the Women's Land Army - and in retrospect this was almost as significant an event in advancing the equal treatment and respect of women as the Suffrage Movement that gained ground in the 1910s and 1920s.

I fully share the views of Environment Secretary Hilary Benn who, when launching the scheme at the end of last month said: "It is absolutely right that we at last recognise the selfless efforts these women made to support the nation through the dark days of World War I and II. This badge is a fitting way to pay tribute to their determination, courage and spirit in the face of adversity. I hope that as many eligible women as possible will apply for one."

Application forms are now available for anyone who believes that they may be eligible for a badge. If you or a member of your family would like to apply, you can download an application form here, or by writing to:

Dermot McInerney
DEFRA
5E Millbank c/o 17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR

or by phoning the DEFRA helpline on 08459 33 55 77. You or your family member just need to provide date of birth, approximate dates of service and the location at which they were stationed.

Fuel poverty

Last week's double-digit fuel price rise by NPower - almost certain to be followed by similar increases by the other UK suppliers - is going to have a real impact on low-income households in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields.

Fuel poverty is when 10% or more of a household's income is devoted to paying fuel bills. There are, of course, other ways to measure fuel poverty - not least the pensioners whose homes go unheated because they can't make ends meet. So there are three measures I want to see our Labour Government take in response.

First, we need legislation to force all fuel providers to offer their very lowest fuel tariffs to everyone - not just those who pay by direct debit. The very poorest can't access such direct debit discounts because too often they don't have bank accounts. In fact, the poorest often end up paying the most because charges for electricity keys or coin-operated meters are usually the highest - and it isn't the billionaires of Chelsea who pay for their energy this way.

Second, I want the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) increased this year. Do you remember the arcane and pernicious way the Conservatives used to administer the WFP - when temperatures had to fall below a specified amount for so many days in succession before Pensioners were permitted to apply for a measly amount of financial help? The consequence of their cruelty was older people dying because they could not afford basic levels of heating for their homes.

I'm proud that Labour scrapped the Tories' miserly formula, made the WFP universal and significantly increased it so that today can be worth up to the equivalent of £6 a week on a pension. But in light of the extra costs of fuel it's again time to consider raising the Winter Fuel Payment. And we need to consider whether the WFP should be made to all households in fuel poverty, not just to pensioners.

And finally I think we need to start measuring how successfully our energy companies are developing Britain's fuel independence. Simply put, I don't want the UK relying on Russian gas or Middle-Eastern oil and more - and it's not good enough for our energy companies to wail that they are hostages to the whims of the magnates who control these supplies. We need to generate far more of our own energy.

If you are a pensioner and haven't yet received your Winter Fuel Payment for this year, or in the past call the Helpline on 08459 15 15 15. You can also use contact them online and download a claim form here.

Fancy becoming one of Santa's little helpers?

Wandsworth Community Transport - the local organisation that helps elderly and disabled get out and about to do their shopping and meet up with friends is especially busy at this time of year.

Every Christmas, WCT uses nearly its whole fleet of minibuses to bring in isolated and elderly people for Christmas lunch at Battersea Park. Run by the Rotary Club of Battersea Chrismas Day lunch has become an institution and it brings a huge amount of cheer to those who would otherwise spend Christmas alone.

"We already have 18 drivers who have volunteered" said WCT?s Manuel Button, "which is pretty impressive in its own right, but due to increased demand we still need a few more! Driving a minibus is not so difficult and we will give you full training. You are guaranteed a really fun and rewarding day out, so please give me a call on 020-8675 3812 to find out more."

Feet for purpose

One of the issues I was briefed on during my recent visit to Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton was the Pediatry service Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (PCT) offers to older and disabled residents.

Being able to cut our own toe nails is something most of us take for granted: it's such a straightforward, simple duty we take care of almost without thought. But just imagine what it must be like if you are physically no longer able to. So here in Wandsworth a chiropody and toe nail cutting service is provided - and importantly it's what's called "self-referring": anyone who needs the service just gets in touch themselves: they don't need to be referred by a GP.

Chiropody is a service that is affected by the postcode lottery: there are wide variations in the range and quality of services primary care trusts provide around the country. In Wandsworth, our PCT is committed to implementing the Pediatry proposals set out by Age Concern - you can read more about them here - to standardise services and make sure those who need them can get them within the same shorter waiting times that we're now achieving across huge areas of NHS provision.

Wandsworth Community Transport visit to Terracotta Army

Wandsworth Community Transport is running a special outing to see the Terracotta Army at the British Museum, and invites anyone interested to call 020 8675 7460 to reserve a place.

Manuel Button, WCT's Managing Director says: "This incredibly popular exhibition is now virtually sold out, and we were very lucky to get some tickets.

"Anyone who lives in Wandsworth and who finds it difficult to use public transport can go on our outings, but call soon as we anticipate heavy demand. We also do lots of other trips throughout the year, for both active pensioners as well as those who need picking up at home, so there should be something for everyone!"

I'm a big fan of WCT - I visited them last month and wrote about the services they provide in this month's parliamentary report - click here to read it. This trip is an example of the "going the extra mile" attitude of so many of our area's community services.

Community lunch clubs

Last week I had the great pleasure of meeting with members of the St Paul's Community Centre luncheon club for the elderly in Inner Park Road, West Hill.

After lunch I was invited to address the 25 or so members present, setting out how I would lead the constituency and how I believe the issues we face can be tackled. I got grilled on a range of questions: the European treaty, tax, fair trade, race and education among them.

I also visited residents of Wickham House, the sheltered accommodation in Kersfield Drive off Putney Hill - the picture is of me and resident Theresa Thompson. And to commence the day I popped into the coffee club on the Lennox estate where again I enjoyed the opportunity to discuss local and topical issues of the day with long term Putney residents.

I very much enjoy getting out and about in the constituency, meeting genuine local people and at attending local events: the bread and butter of what a good MP should be up to. If you're involved in a local group: be it a residents' association, a school, a faith group, amenity society or something else, please get in touch - I'd love to hear from you. You can email me or give me a ring on 020 8788 8961.