A Week Is A Long Time In Politics
One of the most interesting things about being an MP is that every day is different and there is no chance of getting stuck in a rut. As this session nears the end, the pace hots up as bills are ‘finished off’, but the committees and meetings carry on as usual.
Mental health is one of my particular interests, as I feel it is a neglected area of health care. I was pleased to be appointed to the committee that is scrutinising the proposed Mental Health bill before it comes before Parliament. Time spent listening to experts in the field getting the bill right is most important, and if we could do more of it we might get fewer Acts with unintended consequences. Our committee has heard fascinating and useful evidence from carers and users. As possibly one in four of us will suffer from mental health problems at some time, this is a bill which will have widespread effects. We must get it right.
When I tell people I am on the Regulatory Reform Committee their eyes tend to glaze over, but discussions at our last meeting about registering births and deaths highlighted potential dangers for amateur historians who want to trace their family trees. The proposals – to bring 19th century laws into the 21st century – may make it harder for people to consult records, and this is something we will try to avoid.
The Children Bill reached its final stages recently. A fair number of people had written to tell me their views on smacking children – mostly against it – and, as this was my view too, I voted for an amendment banning smacking. Unfortunately, this was not passed, but I supported the rest of the bill which will still protect children against abuse.
I was also involved with grilling the Health Minister about the massively expensive new NHS IT project; meeting representatives of the Almshouse Association, Headway, the charity for people with brain injuries; and lobbyists on behalf of Care Home owners. Tonight we will see the end of the bill to ban hunting and then, next Tuesday, we start all over again. A week certainly is a long time in politics.
