November 2007 (part 2)

Parliament has started a new session with a raft of new legislation. However it has not felt particularly new for me since I am involved in what is called a “carry over” Bill. The committee stage of the latest Criminal Justice Bill is carrying on where it left off at the end of the last session of parliament. You may think that means more time to scrutinise legislation but the reality is that the Government timetable has squeezed 110 clauses, 20 schedules 200 amendments and 50 new clauses into 4 days of deliberation. My 12 years past experience of working in our local courts, police stations and prisons tells me that too many laws have been passed with too little consideration of their impact.

On Wednesday I am hosting a meeting at Parliament of the Enfield United Nations Association on Human Trafficking. I am pleased that Enfield Council is the first Local Authority that has set up a working group investigating the extent of Human Trafficking within the Borough. It is both timely and appropriate to have the meeting in Parliament where 200 years ago William Wilberforce secured the vote to abolish the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. We will be discussing how we can achieve a lasting and living commemoration by tackling the modern slavery in the form of trafficking. It is also timely because the Bill I am scrutinising will consider the issue of prostitution and it is estimated that over 4000 women in the UK, including Enfield, have been trafficked here to work in the sex trade.

Finally, a new Parliamentary session still gives the opportunity to raise existing important questions and none more so than the future of Chase Farm Hospital’s maternity services. Last week I challenged the Health Minister that the planned removal of consultant led maternity services was not based upon clinical evidence of safe delivery for mother and child. I look forward to taking the issue up further with the Minister at a meeting this week.