Philip Davies MP for Shipley

Your Interests, Not Self-Interest

JOINT PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF PHILIP DAVIES MP AND THE OFFICE OF GERRY SUTCLIFFE MP

Date: 11 June, 2013

MPS SECURE SPECIAL INQUIRY INTO THE NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM CLOSURE THREAT

Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South, and Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley have united to secure a Select Committee inquiry into the Science Museum's threat to the National Media Museum.

Both Mr Sutcliffe and Mr Davies are members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and jointly requested an urgent special inquiry into the Science Museum's proposal to close one of its three museums in the North of England.

The Committee agreed to their request and it is now likely that the Select Committee will press the Science Museum and the Minister before Parliament's Summer Recess in July.

Gerry Sutcliffe said: "The National Media Museum is crucial to Bradford and I am delighted that the Select Committee has agreed to our request to hold an inquiry into this issue. I very much hope that we can use this opportunity to block any plans to close the Museum".

Philip Davies said "Gerry and I made the case that this was a vitally important issue for the Bradford district and for the North of England more widely and it is great our colleagues on the Select Committee have agreed that we can press the Science Museum and the Minister about these proposals and hopefully see them reversed. Gerry and I will continue to work together - along with other local MPs - to protect the best interests of the Bradford district".

The Chairman of the Select Committee John Whittingdale, Conservative MP for Maldon, said "Both Gerry and Philip were very persuasive about both the importance of the National Media Museum to Bradford and of the need for an inquiry into this to be held as soon as possible, and the Committee therefore agreed with the request to look into this as soon as time allows".

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Disabled charity’s roving reporter puts MP on the spot!

Shipley MP, Philip Davies was put on the spot at Party Conference when aspiring journalist and young Ambassador for the charity Whizz-Kidz, Jacqui, turned interviewer.

Whizz-Kidz – a national charity which provides disabled youngsters with life-changing mobility equipment, as well as opportunities to learn valuable life skills and become more independent, arranged for Jacqui to act as a roving reporter at the Conference.

She put her questions to MPs at the Conference, asking them about how to get into politics, and what advice they would give to young people with an interest in politics.

Local MP Philip Davies said:

‘It was fantastic to meet Jacqui at Conservative Party Conference – and to answer some questions for her live-blog. It was great to hear how much she’s benefitted from the work that Whizz-Kidz do and I’ve no doubt that we’ll be seeing her name in print before too long!

‘Whizz-Kidz do great work locally providing disabled children and young people with wheelchairs and with life skills through their work placements programme and wheelchair skills training.

‘I’m very proud to be one of the charity’s Parliamentary Champions and to support their work in Shipley and across the UK ’

Jacqui, 20, from London said:

‘Being the Whizz-Kidz live-blogger at Conservative Party Conference was a brilliant experience.

Not only did was it an opportunity for me to further hone my writing, interviewing and reporting skills, but I really enjoyed meeting supportive MPs like Philip  who do so much to support Whizz-Kidz.’

Whizz-Kidz provides disabled children and young people across the UK with life-changing mobility equipment and also provides opportunities for disabled youngsters to learn valuable life skills, make friends and become more independent, through their youth clubs, residential camps, wheelchair skills training and work placements programme.

Last year, the charity transformed the lives of 2025 disabled children and youngsters in the UK by providing life-changing mobility equipment such as powered and lightweight wheelchairs, specialist sports wheelchairs and specially adapted bikes and trikes.

 

4 disabled kids in Shipley  have received mobility equipment from the charity in the last five years, costing in the region of £14,840.

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Press release – Office of Philip Davies MP

Philip Davies MP behind campaign to introduce Meningitis B vaccine in the UK.

Following recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Immunisations and Vaccinations’ meningococcal sub-committee, Shipley MP Philip Davies reiterates his support for the Meningitis Trust’s “Beat it Now” campaign, which advocates for a meningitis B vaccine. In addition, Mr Davies requests that the JCVI reconsider its decision so that the UK may continue to preserve its proud tradition of leadership in the immunisation sphere.

The public’s finances have always been of paramount concern to Mr Davies, and the JCVI’s concerns about the cost effectiveness of the vaccine are appreciated. However, the JCVI’s estimates must be considered against those of the Meningitis Research Foundation, which has estimated the lifelong cost to the UK of someone severely disabled by meningococcal disease totaling is least £3m. As the NHS strives to face the fiscal pressures of the 21st century, it is important that the nation does not become so process-bound that we lose sight of the forest for the trees.

According to Health Protection Agency data, 1871 have been diagnosed with invasive meningococcal infections in Yorkshire and the Humber since 2000 – and this past year, over 60 percent of them were under the age of five.

Mr Davies said “It is appalling that Britain’s overseas aid budget continues to balloon, while other G8 nations have rightly chosen to put their citizens first. Charity begins at home, and redirecting some of the funds earmarked for foreign aid to vaccines at home is a worthwhile endeavour.”

Without a doubt, the government faces tremendous financial pressures – but it is imperative that Britain prioritize its children’s health and safety over efforts to influence foreign governments and buy friends abroad. A good place to start would be for the JCVI continue to invest in innovative vaccines domestically, in order to keep the country’s children safe. The meningitis C vaccine is already a part of the nation’s routine vaccination programme, and addressing meningitis B is the next logical step in this process.

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Press releases

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF PHILIP DAVIES

 

OPEN PRISONS

December 16, 2014

 

A government minister last night appeared to signal a shift in policy saying victims should be consulted before a prisoner moves to an open prison – after months of lobbying from a district MP.

Shipley MP Philip Davies has long campaigned that victims of crime should be consulted on whether a move from a higher category prison was appropriate.

And speaking in Commons Justice Questions Justice Minister Mike Penning appeared to agree with him.

Mr Penning said: “It is important that victims are informed at each stage of the pathway, from when they report the crime to when the offender is released from prison. They should not have a veto, but they should be consulted.”

Mr Davies said he was “delighted” with the minister’s response.

“I think victims are spoken to in some cases but certainly not all,” he said.

“I will now be asking Parliamentary questions to find out how many victims have been contacted about their offender being downgraded. Mr Penning was quite clear what he said in the Commons and he is a minister in the department and therefore we expect to see this happen.

“At the moment victims are not getting enough say and we are allowing serious offenders to live a cushy life in open prisons. Most people assume open prisons would be for the most minor of offences but this is not the case.”

Previous parliamentary questions by Mr Davies showed more than 300 murderers were in open prisons last year.

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SPENDING ON INTERNATIONAL AID

Date:  December 5, 2014

An attempt by an MP to give the public a referendum on whether they want spending on International Aid to be set in stone and protected from future cuts has failed.

The International Aid Bill will make it law that at least 0.7 per cent of national income is spent on aid.

But Shipley MP Philip Davies argued at a time when all other departments were seeing their spending reduced, it was not acceptable to ring fence international aid but not health or education. 

He told MPs the Office of Budget Responsibility published figures this week which showed spending as a proportion of GDP will go down, health, defence and schools and education.

Mr Davies said: “It is quite extraordinary that today I suspect that the majority of my constituents would want to protect the health budget, but we are here rubber stamping in effect that every other government department spending will go down as a proportion of GDP but the only one we should make sure stays the same is overseas aid. I cannot accept that this is the will of the British public.

“Let’s have some democratic legitimacy for this policy and have a referendum and let’s see what they want their taxes spent on.”

Instead he wanted Britain to spent 0.35 per cent in line with other rich countries, increasing to the 0.7 per cent level if the public wanted it.

And he said an independent body was needed to scrutinise where the money was going as many of feared overseas aid was “taking of money from poor people in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries”

Mr Davies added: “What they see is millions of pounds being siphoned off by dictators around the world for a new fleet of Mercedes or whatever it may be and think the Government may as well include a Mercedes catalogue with the aid they are giving these countries. These are the legitimate concerns that many of my constituents have.”

“Those will only be enhanced when they realise that the two main parties have removed from the Bill any provision to make sure the money is spent effectively, wisely and for the good of the people it is meant to help.”

Mr Davies said: “This Bill has very little public support. Overseas does not work, we have been pouring billions and billions of pounds into countries in Africa that are no further on than when we started pouring money in, which would demonstrate it is not very effective.

“International aid is also entrenching welfare dependency on a grand scale. We will have to always find billions of pounds to hit an arbitrary target of 0.7 which we are putting into law. This is one way street. It is a minimum amount.”

If aid was bring spent correctly the legislation could expire after five years as the money would no longer be needed.

 

Money spent on benefits of foreigners or UK citizens living abroad should also be included in the 0.7 per cent spend. He raised concerns about countries currently in receipt of overseas aid joining the EU as the UK would then need to spend on raising the standards in the particular country, and then would also spend the international aid on another country “in effect spending the money twice.”