News Andy Burnham MP for Leigh

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03/02/2009 - Government Green Light for new Leigh Infirmary

MP says news is vital to town's future and will set up Leigh's NHS for future but pledges to raise residents' concerns over parking and access

Leigh MP Andy Burnham has today expressed his delight as Phase I of a £multi-million investment in new health care facilities gets underway to replace Leigh Infirmary.

The new facility will house GP surgeries and a range of on-site health services and will play a major role in improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities.

Andy Burnham MP has been campaigning since his election in 2001 for new health facilities on the Leigh Infirmary site. Just before Christmas, he met Health Minister Ben Bradshaw MP to press the case for new investment in Leigh's NHS.

The £11million new build is in addition to the successful £40million Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) scheme which has delivered new health centres at Kid Glove House, Golborne (Jan 2006) and Ormerod House, Atherton (Jan 2005) and four other sites across the borough. It is part of a plan to provide state-of-the-art primary care facilities, replacing buildings which are no longer adequate for the provision of 21st century health and social care facilities. The new Leigh Primary Care Centre will address this key issue.

Andy Burnham MP said,"Two years ago, we celebrated the 100 year anniversary of our hospital. Getting the green light to rebuild it for this century fulfils one of the key objectives I set when I became Leigh's MP. I am delighted and would like to thank our PCT and NHS trust for their commitment to the future of Leigh Infirmary."

"This is great news for Leigh and opens a new chapter for NHS provision in Leigh. This new centre will help transform healthcare facilities for local people as well as providing staff with 21st century surroundings to work in. It is great to see a community facility that I and many other people have worked hard for finally coming to fruition."

"The NHS in the Leigh constiuency has never witnessed such a sustained investment in its history and the new Leigh Primary Care Centre will join the Bridgewater Medical Centre, Ormerod House and Kid Glove House in its regeneration."

"In the current economic climate, the start of the construction work is a boost for jobs and the local economy and is the first stage in the complete redevelopment of the Leigh Infirmary site. It is an important step in the wider regeneration of our town.”

However, Andy Burnham MP has taken up the concerns of local residents (Orchard Lane and The Avenue) who have contacted him concerning access arrangements for contractors’ wagons during the year-long construction period and long-term parking arrangements after the facility is opened. Andy met with a delegation of local residents in December 2008.

Andy said, "I am concerned that Orchard Lane residents do not appear to have information about plans for the construction period nor have they been adequately consulted. I am raising this as a matter of urgency."

"However, I do believe that the rebuild of the Infirmary provides an opportunity to find a long-term solution to the parking problems around the Infirmary site, particularly on the Avenue. I met with the Avenue Residents Association before Christmas to discuss this and will work at this until we have a solution satisfactory for all. I am disappointed that these issues were not properly aired at the planning stage but I have convened a further meeting with NHS and Council officials. The streets around the Infirmary have been chaotic and unsafe for too long and we now need a solution."

02/02/2009 - Andy Burnham MP is going 'Red for Heart' for the British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) launches its new Red for Heart campaign as part of National Heart Month this February and Andy Burnham is wearing red to help fight the UK’s biggest killer - heart and circulatory disease¹.

Andy said, “February is National Heart Month. Every year, heart and circulatory disease claims around 200,000 lives across the UK."

“The British Heart Foundation is a charity dedicated to heart health so I am calling on local people to support National Heart Month by wearing red to work and encouraging colleagues or friends to take part and help the BHF make a real difference.”

By wearing red to work on Friday 13 February, for a suggested donation of £1, you will help the BHF save lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information.

For a free Fundraising Kit and lots of other red fundraising ideas throughout February, visit www.bhf.org.uk/red.

¹ British Heart Foundation coronary heart disease statistics 2008

29/01/2009 - A Digital Britain

Andy Burnham's statement to the House of Commons.

"With permission, Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on the publication today of the interim Digital Britain Report.

Last October, together with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, I announced that my Noble Friend, the Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting, would undertake a comprehensive review of Britain’s digital, communication and creative sectors and make recommendations to place the country in a position to prosper in the digital age.

Today, the Government is publishing Lord Carter’s interim findings. His report starts from the recognition that these sectors are both important in their own right - worth over £52 billion a year, with 2-3 million people directly employed – but fundamental to the way all businesses operate and how we all live our lives.

Capable communications systems can help all British businesses become more efficient and productive, offering the potential to reduce travel. High-quality information and entertainment enhance our democracy, improve our quality of life and define our culture.

In short, building a Digital Britain is about securing a competitive, low-carbon, productive and creative economy in the next 5-10 years.

Mr Speaker, it is worth reminding the House of Britain’s traditional strength in these industries. The World Wide Web was invented by British ingenuity. It was here that GSM was created and established as the global standard for first generation digital mobile communications. But this strength is not just in distribution and communications systems. Our TV, music, film, games, advertising and software industries are world-leading. As Digital Britain points out, the OECD estimates that the UK cultural and creative sector (at just under 6 per cent of GDP) is relatively more important than its equivalent in the US, Canada, France and Australia; Unesco considers the UK to be the world’s biggest exporter of cultural goods, surpassing even the US.

However, we cannot be complacent. The online age is rewriting the rules, changing the way consumers access content and the old business models that have underpinned Britain’s creative industries.

The challenge now is this: how to build the networks and infrastructure that help businesses and consumers get the most from the digital age; and funding the quality content that enhances our culture and our economy.

The Government’s thinking in these areas has been shaped by a series of important reviews, including: the Caio review on next generation broadband access; the work of the Digital Radio Working Group; the Byron Review on children and new technology which led to the establishment of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety; the Convergence Think Tank; the Digital Inclusion Action Plan; and the Creative Britain Strategy.

Digital Britain brings these strands of work together into a clear and comprehensive framework with five public policy ambitions at its heart.

First, to upgrade and modernise our digital networks - wired, wireless and broadcast.

Second, to secure a dynamic investment climate for British digital content, applications and services.

Third, to secure a wide range of high quality UK-made public service content for UK citizens and consumers, underpinning a healthy democracy

Fourth, to ensure fair access for all and the ability for everyone to take part in the communications revolution.

Fifth, to develop the infrastructure, skills and take-up to enable widespread online delivery of public services.

Mr Speaker, the interim report makes 22 recommendations to achieve these objectives and I will set out some for the House today.

Britain must always be ready to benefit from the latest advances in technology. So we will establish a strategy group to assess measures to underpin existing market-led investment plans for Next Generation Access networks. An umbrella body will also be set up to provide technical advice and support to local and community networks. To facilitate the move to next generation mobile services, we are specifying a Wireless Radio Spectrum Modernisation Programme. In addition, the Government is also committing to enabling Digital Audio Broadcasting to be a primary distribution network for radio in the UK; and will create a digital migration plan for radio. We will consider how the Digital TV Switchover Help Scheme can contribute towards this agenda.

We will only maintain our creative strength if we find new ways of paying for and sustaining creative content in the online age. We will therefore explore the potential for a new Rights Agency to be established and, following a consultation on how to tackle unlawful file-sharing, we propose to legislate to require Internet Service Providers to notify alleged significant infringers that their conduct is unlawful.

Our third objective – high quality UK-made public service content –will be achieved by sustaining public service broadcasting provision from the BBC and beyond. The report identifies news at local, regional, and national level, and children’s programming as amongst the key priorities.

The BBC as an enabling force is central to this – strong and secure in its own future, working in partnership with others to deliver these objectives. We will also explore how we can establish a sustainable public service organisation which offers scale and reach alongside the BBC, building on the strength of Channel 4. We will consider options to ensure plurality of provision of news in the regions and the Nations, and we are asking the Office of Fair Trading, together with Ofcom, to look at the local and regional media sector in the context of the media merger regime. We will consider the evolving relationship between independent producers and commissioners to ensure we have the appropriate rights holding arrangements for a multi-platform future.

Our fourth objective of fairness and access is, of course, crucial to delivering the Government’s policy of an inclusive society where new opportunities are available to all and nobody is left behind. So we are developing plans to move towards a historic Universal Service Commitment for broadband and digital services to include options up to 2Mb/s, building on the approach to postal services and telephones in centuries past. We will also ensure that public services online are designed for ease of use by the widest range of citizens.

Lastly, to help people navigate this vast and changing world, the report makes recommendations to improve media literacy and, particularly, give parents the information and tools necessary to protect children from harmful or inappropriate content.

Mr Speaker, the Government has today set out an ambitious vision to make sure Britain reaps the full economic and social benefits of the digital age. An intensive period of discussions with industry partners and others must now begin to turn these emerging conclusions into firm solutions. A final report will be presented to Parliament by the summer and I wish to thank Lord Carter for his work to date.

In publishing this interim report today, and making this statement to the House, we seek to invite members from all sides of the House to engage in the debate around these fundamental questions that will shape our country’s economy and society in this century.

Mr Speaker, I commend this statement to the House."