27 May, 2011
Local MP calls for greater recognition for the UK’s six million carers
Jim Hood MP for Lanark & Hamilton East, has teamed up with TV presenter Angela Rippon to support this year’s Carers Week (13-19 June) and recognise the contribution made by those people in Lanark & Hamilton East and throughout the UK who provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled.
The theme for Carers Week 2011 is ‘The True Face of Carers’. It calls for greater recognition for the diverse range of people who have caring responsibilities. The work they carry out is vital for …
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26 May, 2011
JIM HOOD MP BACKS CAMPAIGN AGAINST UNFAIR CHANGES TO WOMEN’S STATE PENSION AGE
Jim Hood MP is backing Age UK’s campaign against Government plans which will see thousands of women waiting up to two years longer for their state pension than promised under the Coalition agreement.
Jim Hood has joined hundreds of MPs who have signed an Early Day Motion to reverse the changes which break the Coalition Agreement’s pledge to hold off speeding up the equalisation of the State Pension Age.
In its current form the Pensions Bill intends to bring forward equalisation of the State Pension Age to …
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18 March, 2011
JIM HOOD MP CALLS FOR VAT RISE ON FUEL TO BE REVERSED
Jim Hood, Labour MP for Lanark & Hamilton East is calling on the Chancellor George Osborne to reverse the government’s VAT rise on fuel.
The hike in VAT to 20 per cent in January has added nearly 3p to the price of a litre of petrol and will raise £700m for the Treasury, according to figures from the independent House of Commons Library.
The Labour Party says the VAT rise should be reversed immediately on petrol using the £800m extra the government is now getting from the bank levy, …
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4 March, 2011
Families in Lanark & Hamilton East lose out from childcare cuts
Around 2,500 families in South Lanarkshire are set to lose £447 per year as a result of the Government’s cuts to childcare support, bringing a devastating blow to local families.
The cut stems from George Osborne’s 2010 Spending Review, when he reduced the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, which is claimed by around 41,000 working households across Scotland.
Under the current system, working parents can claim support for up to 80% of the costs of childcare, but from April that figure will fall to 70%.
Labour MP Jim Hood …
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2 February, 2011.
LANARK AND HAMILTON MP CALLS FOR SAFER MEDICINES
Patient safety group Safer Medicines Campaign thanks Lanark and Hamilton East MP Jim Hood for signing Early Day Motion 475 “Safety of Medicines” to improve the safety testing of new drugs. Although many medicines are essential and save many lives, their side effects hospitalise a million Britons and kill more than 10,000 every year, making them one of our leading causes of death.
Better methods to test the safety of new drugs could have a major impact. Current methods rely on animal tests, which often create a false sense of security, as with Avandia and Vioxx, …
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