Creating Apprenticeships in Haringey!

Posted on 23rd Sep 2013 by Lynne Featherstone

Here’s my latest Muswell Flyer article (originally written in August) on Apprenticeships in Haringey. Since the event – companies have been in touch to let me know that they have now taken on young people they met at the event!

I was so happy when I got my first job with a small design and advertising company in the West End – and my first pay packet. I remember feeling so grown up as I caught the tube to work along with the rest of the world. That sense of somewhere to be and something to do has always been incredibly important to me – as it is to everyone.

And that sums up why we work. It pays the bills, gives us purpose and fulfilment, and provides security for our long term futures.

That’s why it’s particularly important for young people leaving schools or universities to have options available to them. We have so many talented and ambitious young adults here in Haringey, and should be doing all we can to give them the best chance to succeed – which will benefit our economy too.

But – it’s not long since youth unemployment was rising fast under Labour, leaving so many young people without the opportunity to get on in life.

That’s why creating more jobs – particularly for young people – during these tough economic times is top of the Lib Dem’s list of priorities.

Our focus on this is working. Here in Hornsey and Wood Green, youth unemployment has fallen by a third – and 530 new apprenticeships have been created since 2010 too.

But we want to go even further. That’s why I decided to put words into action, and hosted an apprenticeship event at Haringey Civic Centre, in tandem with Wood Green Jobcentre plus. The aim was to match up employers looking for apprentices with young people looking for apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are a great way to kick start a career. They take between one and four years to complete and combine practical training in a job with study. That means you get paid to study and learn a trade, whilst also being able to make contacts in an industry.

It was a really fantastic afternoon. The event was attended by 18 organisations – including Barclays, Tottenham Hotspurs and the National Apprenticeship Company – and packed with over 130 of Haringey’s young people, who were keen to find out more about the hundreds of apprenticeship opportunities on offer.

Gordon Birtwistle MP – the Government Apprenticeship Ambassador – was also present to discuss the value of apprenticeships and to meet the young people and companies.

I will be keeping in touch with the people and organisations who attended so we can track how many apprenticeships have been created as a result. I’ll also certainly be hosting more of these events in the future.

In the meantime, if you or someone you know wants any further information about apprenticeships, just email me on lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org and ask!

A busy Lib Dem conference!

Posted on 23rd Sep 2013 by Lynne Featherstone

Here’s an article I wrote following Lib Dem conference in Glasgow last week. You can also read it in the Ham and High here.

It’s party conference season, and this year the Liberal Democrats met north of the border in Glasgow. Along with my colleagues from Haringey, I participated in the many debates and events that make conference what it is.

Unlike the other parties, the Lib Dems use our conference to give members a say in our policies. Local parties can bring forward ideas and motions, which are debated and voted on. It can be a very lively affair, with strong views on both sides!

But once passed, these ideas can go on to form our party policy. When I became a Home Office minister, I took a conference motion on equal marriage, and – with a huge amount of help from other MPs, activists and supporters – turned it into UK law.

This year I contributed to a motion on preventing domestic and sexual violence against women. It’s an area I have been working hard on since entering government – in the Home Office and now in the Department of International Development.

During the debate, I spoke about the government’s work on tackling female genital mutilation (FGM) at home and abroad. It’s so important that any party policy on tackling gender based violence recognises the devastating effects of FGM – and commits to preventing it and supporting the victims.

I also took part in fringe events with Amnesty and Oxfam. These events are based on specific issues, where ministers and organisations can discuss the way forward with party members.

At Amnesty, the focus was on how to change perceptions and attitudes to promote women’s rights in the future. We discussed ways to empower women economically, and also how to educate men and boys in women’s rights.

At Oxfam the focus was on food, and how to ensure that there is enough food for everyone in a changing climate which could cause more natural disasters.

Ministerial work was not the only thing on my agenda. Such a wide range of topics are discussed at conference, and I also took part in a fringe event looking into the housing crisis in London.

Along with the Lib Dem minister for communities and chair of the National Housing Federation, I discussed ways we could address the current problem of having too little social housing. In Haringey we have a chronic problem – nearly 20,000 individuals and families on the waiting list for properties which do not exist.

Building more is obviously necessary – but in the short term we also discussed bringing empty homes back into use and encouraging home swapping within local boroughs, to try and ease the problems of overcrowding.

Unfortunately, our local Labour-run Haringey Council is failing miserably to address the problem – having not built any new homes in 25 years, overseeing nearly 2,000 empty properties and not holding any home swap events. But I will certainly be taking some of the ideas from the fringe event and pushing them to act.

All in all it was a fantastic five days, full of what the Lib Dems do best – debate, democracy and action – and I am already looking forward to next year’s conference!

Lynne Featherstone MP meets local youth charity Catch22

Posted on 20th Jan 2011 by Lynne Featherstone

To hear of their amazing work helping young people in Haringey who find themselves in difficulties to get back on their feet again, Lynne Featherstone MP recently met the dedicated team at local charity Catch22.

The charity works with 50 local young people aged 10-19, who have got into trouble, often with the police, and are showing challenging behaviour. A team of key workers and volunteers work intensively with the young people and their families, for as long as it takes, to help them get back into school or work and to integrate back into society.

Apart from hearing of the successful work from the local Catch22 team led by manager Angela Francis, the Liberal Democrat MP also got the opportunity to speak to two young people who have made fantastic progress since joining the programme.

Catch22 also helps young people in Haringey who have been arrested, and who don’t have an adult who can help and guide them through the police process.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“Catch22 really does fantastic work here in Haringey, helping those young people who find themselves in difficulties, and who haven’t got the help and support they need from local services.

“Angela and her dedicated Catch22 team is there for the young person, at any hour of the day, and for as long as it takes to help them get back on their feet.

“It’s clear, from speaking to the young people involved that the programme really works. Hats off to the local Catch22 team for very impressive work.”

Lynne on special tour of super-green low carbon house in the heart of Hornsey

Posted on 18th Jan 2011 by Lynne Featherstone

To see the future of low carbon housing, Lynne Featherstone MP on Friday visited a super–green refurbished Victorian terrace in the heart of Hornsey.

The previously fire-damaged property on Hawthorn Road, owned by Metropolitan Housing Trust, has been done up according to the Passivhaus model. With high levels of insulation, air-tightness and triple-glazing, the house will drastically cut its carbon footprint by using 80% less energy than its neighbours.

The home will need almost no extra heating, using solar gain from windows, people themselves, and their electrical goods, to keep warm. The house also has a heat-recovery system for fresh air in the winter without opening windows, and solar panels to heat 60% of the hot water.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“This warm, comfortable house has been done up beautifully, and is a great example of what can be done to cut energy in Haringey’s many Victorian properties.

“Many local residents really want to be green and cut their carbon-footprint, but don’t know where to start. I’m delighted that the Hawthorn Road house will stand as a shining example of how it can be done.

“I’m sure that Angela, the new tenant, will be very happy here. Well done to Metropolitan Housing and Anne Thorne, the architect, for doing such an amazing job!”