Press Releases
July - December 1998
Press Releases
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He said:
"At present, the byway is a wide, curving, visible highway used daily by hundreds of pupils from the Johnston School, as well as other members of the public, as it is the quickest route from Crossgate Moor to the bus station and town centre.
"The developer's suggested alternative is a narrow, stepped footpath (14 steps) next to the railway fence. The proposed footpath would turn along a double bend near the bottom of a slope, pass alongside two car parking spaces, cross between the parking spaces and a turning head, then onto a path running alongside a church boundary fence. This is simply not an acceptable alternative.
"The greenery on the railway embankment is seldom cut back and will inevitably overhang the path, further reducing its width, and the 14 steps would be totally impractical for pushchair users, elderly and disabled people, particularly when covered with wet, decaying vegetation.
"The double bend would give a shadowy, hidden area, which is a matter of concern when such a large number of young people regularly use the route. The proposed three-storey high buildings would also obscure most of the path from public view, again causing worries about the safety of the footpath users."
Mr Steinberg has written to the Government Office for the North East to register his concerns to the application for the stopping-up order.
17 December 1998
City of Durham MP, Gerry Steinberg, has been appointed as a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
The Public Accounts Committee is regarded as the most prestigious committee in the House of Commons. It is responsible for overseeing all public expenditure and has wide-ranging powers to question and interrogate government departments and senior civil servants as part of its work.
Following his election to Parliament eleven years ago, Mr Steinberg became a member of the Education and Employment Select Committee, on which he has served ever since. Following many years of commitment and contribution to the work of the Education Select Committee, he decided it was time for a fresh challenge.
He said:
"I am delighted to be able to contribute to the work of the Public Accounts Committee and to have the opportunity to participate in and influence its inquiries. Since being appointed to the Committee, it has already investigated the sale of British Energy and BSE - the cost of a crisis."It certainly is very interesting and stimulating, as the topics and issues considered are quite wide-ranging and diverse and one may have absolutely no background in the subject. Nevertheless, the important work of this Committee in considering the accounts of the bodies and topics considered is invaluable in ensuring accountability for public expenditure and value for money for the taxpayer."
1 December 1998
His approach follows the case of his constituent, Mr Youll of Ludworth, Durham, who was informed he would have to wait twenty-five weeks for an outpatient ophthalmology appointment. After making enquiries, Mr Steinberg discovered that Mr Youll could be seen much sooner - a matter of weeks rather than months - if he was referred to an alternative consultant.
Following Mr Steinberg's enquiries, Mr Youll was advised he could be referred to other consultants at a nearby hospital whose waiting lists were only seven weeks.
Mr Steinberg said:
"I am afraid this is by no means the first case I have dealt with where constituents were advised they would have to wait months, when it just was not necessary."I am concerned that some GPs do not give their patients enough information and I suspect waiting lists could be reduced considerably. Certainly, in the Northern Region there are consultants with waiting lists of well over six to seven months, whilst consultants in the same specialty, operating from either the same hospital or a neighbouring hospital, have waiting lists of only a few weeks.
"It is my experience that patients unfortunately do not know this and are not given this information. Constituents are therefore unaware of the opportunity to secure an earlier appointment with another consultant in the same hospital or in a neighbouring hospital."
26 November 1998
Across the country, almost 10 million pensioners in over seven million households are set to benefit. The poorest pensioners - those on Income Support - will get £50 by the end of November. Other pensioner couples and pensioners living alone will get £20 in January. Pensioners will receive their money without having to make a claim.
Gerry Steinberg MP said:
"With winter upon us, the Government believes it is important that pensioners should be able to keep warm in their homes and not be fearful of turning up their heating when it is very cold.Gerry Steinberg MP concluded by saying:"The winter fuel payments are lust one Of the measures this Government has taken to help pensioners with their fuel bills. We have cut VAT on fuel as we promised and we have abolished the levy on gas. With tougher regulation and our new winter fuel payments, pensioners are saving on average a total Of £108 a year on their fuel bills and the poorest pensioners are saving £140 a year."
"We want to make sure that help gets to all pensioners who are entitled to it. A special Winter Fuel Payments Helpline has been set up to advise people of their entitlement and how it will be paid."
The Winter Fuel Payments Helpline - on 0645 15 15 15 - is open from 8.30 8.m. to 4.30 p.m., Monday to Friday, until at least 1 March 1999.
17 November 1998
Mr Steinberg said:
"I have written to the Minister for the Armed Forces to urge that any proposal to axe the 7th (Durham) Battalion The Light Infantry and The Burma Band and Bugles of the Light Infantry (Volunteers) be reconsidered. The very thought of such plans being implemented fills me with disgust and dismay.13 November 1998"The 7th (Durham) Battalion The Light Infantry has a proud reputation, gained over many years, and has served this country well. In fact, it is one of the most famous regiments in the country, and for good reason. I believe it would be nothing short of outrageous if proposals to axe it were implemented.
"Equally, the Burma Band and Bugles of the Light Infantry (Volunteers) is one of the best Territorial Army bands in the country. It would be a terrible loss to Durham County if such a magnificent group of musicians was disbanded.
"I very much hope therefore that, even at this late hour, any recommendation to axe this fine, highly respected Battalion and Band will be reconsidered."
Gerry Steinberg MP said:
"The Labour Government is putting more money into the NHS than at any time in the Health Service's entire history - £21 billion over the next three years. Now we know how much that means for next year for our local Health Authority, County Durham.11 November 1998"County Durham Health Authority will get £411,001,000 from next April. That's a cash increase of £27,212,000 - 4.48% in real terms.
"And the money will be spent on the things that really matter to people here in City of Durham, modernising the NHS, improving local services and cutting waiting lists.
"This week, we've also heard that the number of people on NHS waiting lists are coming crashing down - by 30,000 in the last month alone. So we have more money going into the NHS than ever before and waiting lists coming down faster than ever before. That's double proof that the pledges we made on health to local people at the General Election are being delivered by the Government.
"That's what I want to see. That's what local people want to see. But it isn't what the Tories want to see. They've said that we're wrong to concentrate on getting waiting lists down and they say we're putting too much money into the NHS. They're the only people who believe it. People here in City of Durham won't let the Tories forget it."
At the present time the Durham and Teesside Valuation Tribunals office is located in Darlington and the Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Valuation Tribunals office is in North Shields. Accommodation serving both areas is required, with the closure of the North Shields and Darlington offices. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has drawn up a list of properties in Newcastle and Durham for consideration by both Tribunal Clerks.
Mr Steinberg said:
9 November 1998"I understand that representatives from the North Shields office have described Durham as being "off the beaten track".
"I would suggest that, far from being off the beaten track, Durham is on the Main Line East Coast Railway and on the A1M. It is exactly 21 miles from North Shields and 21 miles from Darlington and therefore bang in the middle of the areas it will serve. It would also be the most convenient location for staff from both of the present offices and would not unfairly favour either office.
"It would seem therefore that Durham would offer the most convenient place to be located. Consequently, I have urged that Durham should be seriously considered as the ideal location for the new Headquarters."
Gerry Steinberg MP said:
"Patients in City of Durham will benefit from the extra £250 million which Chancellor Gordon Brown announced for the NHS in the Pre-Budget Report today."In addition, the Chancellor confirmed that the Government would invest £40 billion extra in health and education over the next three years. This is, on average, an additional £31.5 million for health and £27 million for education for every constituency in Britain, including City of Durham.
"In the year ahead the Government will strengthen the essential foundations of long-term economic success - through stability, measures to improve productivity and encourage work, and by investing in public services.
"Today's Pre-Budget Report shows that the public finances will remain under control over the years ahead with the Government meeting its rules On borrowing, and that inflation is set to remain on target at 2.5% so Britain can steer a stable course in an uncertain and unstable world.
"The Chancellor set out measures to extend the New Deal and encourage work. Employment is up by over 400,000 since the election, and here in City of Durham, unemployment has already fallen by 196 since the election - that's a 9.5% fall.
"The Pre-Budget Report outlines a set of proposals to encourage innovation and enterprise, investment, competition and skills to raise the productivity of all sectors of the economy. This includes extending employee share ownership, encouraging research and development by firms and a proposal for up to 8 new institutes of enterprise to turn British ideas into successful British products.
"The Pre-Budget Report also continues to take steps to build a fairer society. The Government announced today that as a result of the measures Labour has taken, following up the cut in VAT on fuel with rougher regulations and the new winter fuel payments, pensioners in City of Durham are saving £108 on their fuel bills and the poorest pensioners are saving £140, every year."
4 November 1998
One of the recommendations is to split the present Croxdale ward, comprising the villages of Croxdale, Hett, Sunderland Bridge and Brancepeth. Brancepeth would be included in the Meadowfield ward and Croxdale, Hett and Sunderland Bridge would be incorporated within Cassop-cum-Quarrington, a recommendation he feels is totally inappropriate.
He said:
"I have written to John Prescott to state my profound disappointment that the comments I submitted to the Local Government Commission, along with those of the City Council, the Parish Council and residents of the area, regarding these villages have been ignored. "It is my firm belief that the proposals deprive the residents of these villages of reasonably easy access to a local councillor.
"The very geography and access available from these areas to the Cassop-cum-Quarrington ward would be a nightmare for any constituent wishing to travel to see a Councillor in the Bowburn and Cassop areas.
"It is highly likely, bearing in mind the number of electors in the Bowburn area, that electors in Croxdale, Hett and Sunderland Bridge would fail to get a councillor elected in their locality. It could then pose huge problems for residents in these areas who wished to see their Councillor personally, particularly if they did not have transport.
"I also feel there is no affinity between Croxdale, Hett and Sunderland Bridge with the villages in Cassop-cum-Quarrington.
"If the recommendations had included these villages in the Meadowfield ward - as has been suggested for Brancepeth - I feel the residents would have fairly easy access to the Meadowfield and Langley Moor areas, where there are well established retail and service facilities.
"In contrast, for electors without a car, it would take at least two bus rides - a journey into Durham City to get a bus back out of the City to Bowburn - to reach Cassop-cum-Quarrington, an area with which they have absolutely nothing in common and which offers no obvious facilities.
"Having consulted with many constituents in the areas affected, I have found no support for the Commission's recommendations and this seems to have been reflected in the representations to the Commission on its draft proposals.
"Bearing in mind the present lack of support for local government, I believe that to implement the recommendations would mean that electors in the villages of Croxdale, Hett and Sunderland Bridge would be unlikely to participate in local elections, as there would be little point.
"The most obvious solution has been totally ignored on the basis that it could increase the size of the Council. I am sure this will be little comfort to the people affected."
3 November 1998
Mr Steinberg is concerned that the President of the Independent Tribunal Service has instructed the ITS to dispense with the requirement for two lay members to sit on SSATs dealing with the All Work Test. At present, a full tribunal, consisting of a legally qualified chairman and two lay wing members, hears appeals against this decision. He said:
"This proposal will adversely affect constituents whose claim for Incapacity Benefit has been turned down because they have scored insufficient points in the "All Work Test". It is an attack on the most vulnerable people in society who deserve the opportunity of justice. The presence of lay wing members provides the correct balance at these tribunals.
"The very role of a tribunal, apart from administering the law in line with regulations, is one of an inquisitory nature. Tribunals often involve complex cases and the broad base of knowledge provided by lay wing members has been invaluable in ensuring claimants receive a fair hearing.
"Whilst reviewing the current system, assurances were given that tribunals would require the necessary range of expertise. This simply cannot be achieved under the new proposals.
"I find the decision to initiate such changes, without consultation with the Regional Chairman, lay wing members and representatives of the appellants at these tribunals, quite staggering and believe it to be totally against the spirit of the Social Security Act 1988.
"I have written to the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Social Security to express my dismay and to request that circular no 16 (which dispenses with the requirement for two lay members) be rescinded. I have also urged that the substantive regulations on the composition of SSATs, expected in the new year, provide that appeals involving All Work Tests will continue to be heard by a full tribunal of Chairman plus two wing members."
28 October 1998
Following a recent visit to Zimbabwe on a parliamentary delegation, Gerry Steinberg, MP for the City of Durham, has made a plea for books on behalf of a school for displaced children in Zimbabwe.
Mr Steinberg said:
"As part of the itinerary, the delegation visited a camp for displaced persons. The poor, unfortunate inhabitants of the camp - about 2,000 in number - lived in the most dreadful squalor. Only recently, after 8 years, the British High Commission has provided the camp with communal lavatories and running water. It has also built a "school".
"There were approximately 200 children in the school, with ages ranging from 3 to 13+ years, who were being taught by 4 "teachers". One in four of the people who live on this camp is HIV positive, and many of the children are being raised by their grandparents, as their parents have died from Aids. The people in the camp live in abject poverty in the most appalling conditions.
"The school had virtually no books or equipment for the children. As a result, I have written to all the schools in my constituency to request that they donate any surplus books for me to forward to the school in Zimbabwe. Such a generous gesture from Durham's schools would be gratefully received and I know the children would benefit from such a kind contribution."
19 October 1998
Since the introduction of parking charges at the Hospital, he has been inundated with complaints from residents living in the surrounding area who are encountering problems as a result of visitors and employees seeking alternative free places to park.
He said:
"Personally, I am against the introduction of car parking fees in hospitals and have argued against it on a number of occasions. It was first mooted about ten years ago and I argued with the then Health Authority not to proceed."
"I am afraid it was inevitable that it would happen eventually and is in line with virtually every other hospital trust throughout the country, which have already introduced car parking fees. I am informed that Dryburn Hospital is, in fact, one of the last to do so."
"Nevertheless, I am extremely concerned about the effect on patients visiting the hospital. I know of many cases where constituents have had to wait up to 6 hours to be seen in the Accident and Emergency Department. How could they possibly know how much money to put in the car parking meter? I would also suggest that car parking fees are usually the last thing on people's minds when attending the hospital in an emergency. Even when attending an outpatient appointment, it is impossible for patients to determine how long they may have to wait.
"I am also convinced that many people will not use the car parks and pay the parking fees and will park in the adjoining streets. This is already happening and causing many problems for the residents in the area."
"I have requested a meeting with the Chief Executive and the Chairman of the Trust to discuss the implications of the car parking charges."
14 October 1998
After a number of years with relatively few complaints about the plant, the summer saw a vast increase in the number of protests about foul smells emanating from Barkers Haugh. Mr Steinberg approached Northumbrian Water on behalf of residents and has now been assured that a major programme of works is to commence to tackle the problem.
Mr Steinberg said:
"It is great news for residents in the area. Following problems a number of years ago, complaints abated in recent years. However, over the past few months the appalling odour problem again arose causing objections about the offensive smells.
"The water company has acknowledged that since April there has been an increase in the number of complaints about odours from the works and attempts have been made to maintain the inevitable odours from the plant to an acceptable level which does not affect neighbouring houses.
"A significant source of the odours this summer has been from the sludge system. I understand that a A32.5m scheme was conceived to resolve the sludge tank problems, which included A30.25m for odour control throughout the works. Unfortunately, before the design contract was awarded, new regulations covering the disposal of sludge to land were introduced affecting Barkers Haugh.
"It is now expected to commence a revised scheme, including the original odour control proposals, by the end of the year. Northumbrian Water have confirmed that construction and commissioning are likely by the end of next year, although it will be looking to complete the odour control elements of the scheme earlier where possible.
"I am delighted that Northumbrian Water has taken the complaints so seriously and endeavoured to find a real solution. Obviously residents in the area will benefit enormously and I very much hope that the odour control measures will allow them to enjoy living in such a lovely City without having to worry about which way the wind is blowing."
14 October 1998
Mr Steinberg has written to the Magistrates and the City Council to urge that the application to convert the Half Moon Inn, Elvet, Durham City, into an "2It's a Scream"2 pub be rejected.
In his approach to the Court he said:
"The very thought of such an establishment in this particular part of Durham fills me with dismay. I believe it is a recipe for absolute disaster.
"The location of the pub - on the main road next to traffic lights and a busy junction - is of great concern. The thought of six hundred young people being encouraged to drink until they are ill, and then spill onto the main street is horrifying.
"I understand the intention of Bass Taverns is to create another facility for University students. If that is their true intention, then it is extremely naive. If students are attracted to the facility, then so too will non-students.
"I am very concerned about the number of applications for such developments, but this proposal is of particular concern. The local authority and business community have been attempting to create a thriving tourist industry in Durham over the years. The very idea of such an establishment, located adjacent to two of the major tourist hotels in the City, is extremely disturbing.
"The very nature of this sort of development - cheap, uncontrolled alcohol aimed at a young market of basically teenagers - would have the most appalling detrimental effect on the area and the efforts which have been made in the past.
"This application by Bass is purely for commercial gain without any thought for the consequences on the City of Durham. I firmly believe that the approval of a licence for this establishment would be a retrograde step for Durham and will do absolutely nothing whatsoever to enhance the City and its facilities.
"It is about time that the interests of the City, its residents and visitors were placed before company profits and I will continue to press for this application to be turned down."
9 October 1998