GERAINT DAVIES MP
WELSH LABOUR & CO-OPERATIVE MP MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR SWANSEA WEST O Abertawe ac yn gweithio dros Abertawe
IN SWANSEA & PARLIAMENT O Abertawe dros Abertawe
OCT 2021 REPORT Report Inside
HEALTH SHOULD BE AT THE CEN THE ENVIRONMENT BILL
After a year of lockdowns to tackle the pandemic, it would seem odd to accuse prioritising our health, but that’s the case when it comes to air quality and the E The flagship environmental legislation is ambling slowly through the house, and the second half of it returned to the House of Commons in late May, almost two years after a version of it was first published in October 2019. While later versions of the Bill refer directly to human health, the lack of urgency and the lack of ambition within the Bill to tackle deaths caused by air pollution, for example, shows health is still not central to the legislation. Yet more and more of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ policies are shown to be at the helm of health outcomes in the country. Covid-19 is just one example, with its origin linked to food contamination and its health impacts and spread made worse by air pollution. Continued below
Reducing the strain on our #NHS by making @WHO air quality legally enforceable in the #EnvironmentBill ahead of #COP26 wo thousands of lives & billions of pounds @GeraintD
SWANSEA CLIMATE CHANGE & COP26 EVENT
This month I hosted a Swansea Climate Change & COP26 Zoom event ahead of the UN Conference on Climate Change at the end of the month. I was also joined by Laura Warren, Swansea rep on Climate Assembly, Council Leader Rob Stewart & Extinction Rebellion.
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PEOPLE VOTED FOR MORE MONEY & JOBS Speaking in the House of Commons, Geraint Davies MP took part in the debate on ‘Working People’s Finances’ stating “Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the people in my constituency of Swansea West and elsewhere who voted in good faith for Brexit—for more money, more control and more jobs—have seen a sort of Brexit dividend, which is basically rising food prices, because of food barriers and a falling currency, and national insurance going up and universal credit going down? Does he think that the poorest should get an injection of money to make up for that, rather than being hammered?”
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As of this month, the Conservative Government are cutting £20 to universal credit. That means over 22,000 families will lose £1040 per year in #swansea. Social Security Secretary, Therese Coffey doesn’t even understand her own benefit taper system means the £20 cut in Universal Credit can need 9 not 2 hours of extra work at minimum wage after tax, pension, childcare & travel costs.
SWANSEA CLIMATE CHANGE & COP26 EVENT We had a full meeting of the Swansea Climate Chnage & COP26 meeting, where we heard what the Council were doing in terms of low carbon house production, increased recycling and new plans for the Swansea Bay lagoon; and also on a Wales-level the investment plans for Swansea Metro - light rail and electricifed bus services. Obviously, the Welsh Goernment does need more money to electrify our transport system and encourage green manufactuering. On a UK-level, we need a border carbon tax, so we don’t have carbon-intensive steel imports substituting cleaner, low-carbon steel produced in Wales and the UK Government should introduce World Health Organisation air quality standards to sacve thousands and as a way of reducing fossil fuel use with clean energy and clean transport. We should reduce fossil fuels subsidies which currently costs 6% of global GDP. Instead, we need to invest in a green future and tax fossil fuels. It was a great evening, with a lot of people attending and a lot of demands for action from the UK Government,
HEALTH SHOULD BE AT THE CENTRE OF THE ENVIRONMENT BILL Many studies into air pollution have shown that a small increase in long-term exposure to the pollutant PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) leads to a large increase in the Covid-19 death rate, which is no surprise as the lungs and other organs have already been weakened. Others suggest that short-term exposure to pollution increases the risk of developing Covid-19. As the primary transmission of the virus is airbourne it’s not surprising that alongside advice to wash hands, the government has prescribed ventilation to help people protect themselves from catching or spreading the virus. However, at this point, it’s not the Secretary of State for the Environment responding, but the Health Secretary, and in so many health issues this is the case, and the government’s health response comes too late. It’s why we need a joined-up government approach to tackle air pollution, with early preventative measures that include ambitious targets, government campaigns and giving people information to call for local action and to make the right decisions. In his Prevention of Future Deaths Report following the inquest into the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, Coroner Philip Barlow called for maximum levels of particulate air pollution to be lowered in the UK to be in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO’s) guideline annual mean concentration of 10 g/m3. He also called for air pollution monitors and for steps to be taken to ensure medical professionals are well trained and give the right advice. We can’t afford to delay any longer, and with COP26 on the horizon and air pollution costing seven million lives globally each year, the government must take action, set an example and put enforceable WHO limits at heart of the Bill. The Environment Bill is the UK’s opportunity to show itself as a world leader in environment policy which links human and planetary health. The stakes are high so we must be bold to build back better, greener and healthier.
SARAH EVERARD INQUIRY MUST BE JUDGE-LED In the aftermath of the tragic deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa it’s important for us to remember them alongside so many victims of violence against women and to work in solidarity to reclaim the streets for women, so all can have freedom to walk, gather or protest without fear but in the security we should all rightly expect in any civilised democracy. The police service is here to support and protect all our communities so it is important that their founding principle from Robert Peel that “the police are the public and the public are the police” is reaffirmed. The case of Sarah Everard cannot be simply dismissed by the Met Commissioner as the police murderer was “a bad un”. It is important that there is a Stephen Lawrence type inquiry that looks at the case and any symptoms of misogyny or indifference to violence against women that may exist in the police, as it does elsewhere in society, so it may be tackled and that the police ensure zero tolerance against intolerance in their ranks. The behaviour of the police in dispersing Sarah’s vigil illustrates that a new Police Code is needed in the Police Crime Courts and Sentencing Bill which, as currently drafted, gives the police new powers to close down peaceful democratic protest. The law must reaffirm the police’s duty to facilitate peaceful protests and pickets and not the opposite. Priti Patel knows 43 of 83 Met police officers found guilty of sexual misconduct have kept their jobs, yet her Everard won’t even compel witnesses to testify or disclose documents. CONTACT ME / CYSYLLTU A MI 32 Walter Road, Swansea, SA1 5NW (01792) 4759432
info@geraintdavies.org.uk @GeraintDaviesMP