This morning I met with Junior Doctors at Kings College Hospital to talk about the Governments proposed changes to their contracts. 

My article following the visit:

“A paediatrician, an anaesthetist, a psychiatrist, a geriatrician, a medical registrar...these, and many others are the doctors that at any time we or our families need.  And we should be falling over ourselves in gratitude to the junior doctors who work at Kings. Recently some of the junior doctors at Kings broke away from their vital work to tell me how Jeremy Hunt's imposition of a new contract will mean their pay is cut.  We gathered in the board room, but unlike when I meet the local managers, their phones were ringing and their bleeps going constantly demanding their attention.  The doctors I met had studied for years, at our top universities, and then carried on training and studying so that they can give the very best care and contribute to research.   We are lucky to have them but Hunt risks us losing them.  Australian hospitals are luring many away - so are pharmaceutical companies. 

What will happen to research if to do it they face a pay cut? Why should they?  How many of them can rely on their partners income to make up for their fall in pay?  Where are we going to get the consultants for the future if the junior doctor’s morale continues to be crushed?  It’s not fair on the doctors who've studied so hard and care so much.  It risks serious doctor shortages in the future which will cost more in agency fees and incentives for overseas doctors, let alone in the cost to patient care.  And the way the contract discriminates against those who work fewer hours - usually women with children - is surely in breach of the Equality Act.  I'm calling on the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate this.  And I'm asking Jeremy Hunt to meet these doctors who spoke to me.  He should see for himself their anguish for their patients, their concern for the NHS and their dismay at how badly he is treating them.  I'm totally on their side, so are local people and he should be too.“

“I'm delighted to have been elected chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights today.

It’s an important time for the Committee.

Our first inquiry will be into government drone strikes.

The Government is "reviewing" the Human Rights Act. This is a major constitutional issue and we must make sure that there is proper consultation and vital rights are not watered down.

There's a great team of both MPs and peers on the committee - including former Lord Chief Justice Harry Woolf, former deputy chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Margaret Prosser, Doreen Lawrence, Fiona Bruce MP who this week led a debate on human rights in China.

I look forward to working with them and with all the organisations and individuals who care about human rights.

This will be familiar turf for me, having been 

*legal officer of Liberty which argued from the 1970s for a Human Rights Act, 

*having taken my own case to the European Court of Human Rights when I was prosecuted by the Home Office for contempt 

*and having been in the Cabinet of the 1997 Labour Government which introduced the Human Rights Act.”

Ends

For further information contact Rachel Smethers on 0207 219 2057 or email [email protected]

Notes to Editors

1. Full list of committee members

Lords                                                                          Commons

 Baroness Buscombe (Con)                                   Fiona Bruce MP (Con)

 Baroness Hamwee (LibDem)                                Karen Buck MP (Lab)

 Lord Henley (Con)                                               Harriet Harman MP (Lab)

 Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (Lab)                 Jeremy Lefroy MP (Con)

 Baroness Prosser (Lab)                                        Mark Pritchard MP (Con)

 Lord Woolf (Cross-bench)                                     Amanda Solloway MP (Con)

2. The Joint Committee on Human Rights was established in 2001. It’s an unusual select committee as it consists of Lords as well as MPs.

You can read my Parliamentary report for September & October here

The Worshipful Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle hosted a civic celebration to mark the Golden Jubilee of Southwark Council at Southwark Cathedral today.

Earlier in the House of Commons I asked the Foreign Secretary to do all he can to support my constituent British journalist Rebecca Prosser who has been detained in Indonesia since May 2015. Full text below: 

Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab):

May I draw the Foreign Secretary’s attention to the worrying situation of my constituent Rebecca Prosser? She was working in the Strait of Malacca on a documentary about piracy for Wall to Wall productions. She had the right visa for Singapore and Malaysia, but it had not yet been authorised for Indonesia. She was arrested in May and has been detained there ever since. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet the Minister and I have met the Indonesian ambassador, but my constituent is on trial right now. She is a hard-working, law-abiding young woman who has committed a visa breach. Will the Foreign Office do everything it can to support her, and at least have a consular presence in the courtroom where she is on trial?

Mr Swire:

The right hon. and learned Lady came to see me about this matter, and quite rightly so. I personally raised their case with the Indonesian Foreign Minister at the UN General Assembly in September. She knows that immigration offences are taken very seriously in Indonesia. The trial is progressing at the moment. As I said to her at the time, their lawyers judge that a low media profile is the best way of bringing this immigration case to a conclusion, so it is probably better not to say more than that at the moment.

Many children across Southwark have just started secondary school and I wish them all the best for their future.

It is impossible to overstate how important it is that when it comes to secondary school, a child is safe, happy and learning.  They need to be able to develop all their talents and abilities and get the qualifications they need to take them on to their next stage.

And schools is one of the biggest issues parents raise with me when I meet them out and about in my constituency.  Many parents are more than happy with the school their child goes to.  But all too often I meet parents who say, while they were perfectly happy with the local primary school, they are not happy with the local secondary school, they’ve applied to schools further away but did not get in.

So we should all be concerned about what it’s telling us about the local school if the local parents don’t want to send their children there.  There are a number schools for children living in Camberwell and Peckham which are popular with local parents and which are over-subscribed – meaning they have more applications than they have places including Kingsdale, Sacred Heart and the Charter School.  But 6 schools have fewer first choice applications than they have places.  That’s not because there aren’t any children in the area, it’s because the parents are choosing not to send their children there.

It’s no good the school and Ofsted saying it’s a great school and the parents have just “got it wrong”.  If there’s something about the school that is worrying the parents then the school should address that.  The local school needs to command the confidence of the local community. If there are fewer children applying than there are places, they should take that seriously, understand the concerns of parents and put it right.  Filling up your places with children who have made it their second or third choice doesn’t solve the problem.

In some areas the overwhelming majority of parents get their first choice of school.  I Central Bedfordshire for example 99.7% of parents got their first choice of school.

Whereas in Southwark just 59.6% of parents got their child into their first choice of school. This in not just a problem for parents in Southwark but in London as a whole, and particularly inner London.

When Labour was in government we set up the London challenge which did so much to improve schools.  The Government should do something like that again, not wash their hands of parents’ concerns.  And while the education of London’s children is crucial, Mayor Boris Johnson has done nothing about it.  I hope the next Labour mayor will.  And I want Ofsted to take this issue on board when they inspect a school, looking not just at exam results but also at parental preferences.   I’m calling on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education to conduct an inquiry into why so many children across London don’t get their first choice of school.

Today is polling day in the South Camberwell by-election. Earlier I joined the great Southwark Labour team to get out the vote for local candidate Octavia Lamb.

Polls are open until 10pm.

Octavia Lamb said: “I am standing to be a councillor in South Camberwell because I want to represent my local community and bring improvements to the local area. I will work to improve local housing, work with local businesses and get transport improvements to make roads safer. I will also work to ensure that the new secondary school on the Dulwich hospital site is delivered on time."

Rye Hill Tenants and Residents Association Hall was the venue for the Rye Hill Estate Surgery today and many thanks to Miriam Facey, Vice Chair of the Tenants and Residents who helped with arrangements and refreshments.

35 tenants and residents attended to seek advice and discuss with the team issues ranging from housing, immigration, employment, benefits to anti social behaviour.

Councillor Renata Hamvas, Monika Gonzalez Tabar - Southwark Council Resident Officer, Paul Thomas from the Council's major works investment team and Lola Lakoja from the Southwark Council Anti Social Behaviour Unit also joined us to listen to tenants and residents concerns.

Miriam took us on a walkabout of the Estate to show us the recent improvements that have been made under the major redevelopment works but also raised concerns about matters that still need to be addressed.

“Almost a third of parents in London did not get their first choice of secondary school for their child this year. This means 25,931 children across London missed out on their first-choice of school.  London, and in particular Inner London, is right down the bottom of the league table for parental choice (4).

“David Cameron said parental choice was one of his priorities but the Tories’ education reforms are failing to deliver this in London, and are letting children and parents down." said Ms Harman.  "It’s one of the biggest concerns for parents in my constituency of Camberwell and Peckham that they don't have confidence in their local school and either their children have to travel miles to go to a school they do want, or end up in a school which they didn't choose."

Ms Harman is today calling for action from the House of Commons Education Committee, The Secretary of State for Education and the London Mayor. She has

- written to the chair of the House of Commons Education Committee Chair Neil Carmichael MP to ask him to conduct an inquiry into the issue of parents not getting their first choice of secondary schools.

- written to the Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan MP repeating her demand that Ofsted’s terms of reference should be widened to include the issue of parental preference in their inspections.  

Currently when inspecting a school, Ofsted talk to staff, pupils and to parents who do send their child to a school but not to those parents who live locally but don't want their children to go to that school. "The views of parents who want to avoid the school are every bit as important as those of parents who do send their children to a particular school," said Ms Harman.  “Ofsted should survey and report on the views of parents who don’t want their children to attend that school”.  

And Ms Harman is calling on the candidates for the new Mayor of London who'll be elected next May to commit to making this issue a top priority.  "This is a London-wide problem which Boris Johnson, the current Mayor, has shown no interest in and on which he has taken no action."

Ms Harman has published a report on parental choice in her constituency showing the oversubscribed and undersubscribed schools. (1)   For Harris Academy in Peckham, there are only 41 first choice applications for 180 places.  “It's no good Ofsted and the school saying what a great job they do.  They must understand and address the reasons so many parents don't want to send their children there."

ENDS

For further information contact Rachel Smethers on 0207 219 2057 or email [email protected]

Notes to Editors:     

1.         Harriet Harman MP today publishes her annual school choice report ‘Are parents in Camberwell & Peckham getting the choice of secondary school they want for their child?’ A copy of the report can be found here

2.         In 2015 only 59.6% of parents in Southwark got their first preference secondary school, compared to the national average of 84.2%. That is the fourth lowest of all the local authorities in the country and means 1,049 children in Southwark were left without their first choice school. 99.7% of parents in Central Bedfordshire got their first preference.

3.         The lowest 10 local authorities across the country are all London boroughs. In London as a whole only 68.9% of parents got their child into their first-choice secondary school this year. In inner London boroughs the situation is even worse – just 65.8% of parents got a place for their child in their first choice of secondary school.

4.         Offers for entry to secondary schools in England in academic year 2015-16

Top and lowest 10 local authorities by % of highest preference offers made

Rank out of 151 local authorities:

 1. Central Bedfordshire      99.7%

 2. Northumberland            98.5%

3. Cornwall                         97.3%

4. East Riding of Yorkshire  97.1%

5. Wakefield                       96.2%

6. North East Linconshire  96.1%

7. North Tyneside             96.0%

8. Devon                          96.0%

9. Derbyshire                    95.8%

10. Somerset                   95.8%

142. Hackney                   65.0%

143. Brent                        64.3%

144. Merton                     62.8%

145. City of London          61.9%

146. Lambeth                  61.8%

147. Lewisham                61.5%

148. Southwark               59.6%

149. Wandsworth            57.8%

150. Westminster            57.0%

151. Hammersmith and Fulham 55.3%

Source: Secondary school applications and offers in England: June 2015, DfE. Data collected from local authorities on Secondary National Offer Day on 2^nd March 2015

This afternoon I joined Justice for their Annual Human Rights Conference.

An audience of 160 people registered for the event and I was delighted to join the panel for the plenary debate entitled 'What next for human rights?'

Chairing the panel discussion was Andrea Coomber, Director of Justice and other panellists were, Lord Lester QC, Joanna Cherry QC MP, Anthony Speaight QC, Carl Gardner, Head of Legal Blog and Alison Gerry, Human Rights Lawyers Association (Chair)

*Justice is an all-party law reform and human rights organisation working to strengthen the justice system - administrative, civil and criminal - in the United Kingdom.

Ahead of the South Camberwell by-election on Thursday 15th October I joined Labour candidate Octavia Lamb and a great team of local members and councillors to campaign on the doorstep. We talked about a range of issues affecting residents from, housing, transport, schools to road safety.

In Brighton 1000 women gathered for this year's Labour Party Annual Women's Conference.

This great event is an integral part of the Conference calendar and the packed agenda included guest speakers, debates, workshops and the opportunity for women from across the country to meet.

You can read my speech from this year's conference here:

 Harriet Harman MP, in a speech to Labour’s National Women’s Conference, said:

***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

It’s great to see you all here today.

There’s always a terrific atmosphere when Labour women get together.  We’ll have a tremendous discussion today - as we always do.

So here are my 10 future points to throw in to the debate.

We’re deeply disappointed not to be in government.  We know that it is only Labour - Labour in government - which will make the changes that women need to go forward in their lives.

The Conservatives never have, and never will, fight for equality:

The cause of women’s equality needs more rights at work. The Tories always chop back rights at work - look what they’ve done on tribunals, imposing massive fees so the number of maternity discrimination cases has plummeted.

The cause of women’s equality needs strong public services - at national and local government level - for childcare, for the elderly - for the women who work in those services - and that is the opposite of what happens under the Tories.  

The cause of equality means using the power of government to bring about progressive change.  The Tories brought in Clause 28 which Labour abolished and brought in civil partnerships. Both of the last Tory minsters for equality voted against equal marriage. They turn back the clock on equality

So my first 2 future points are:

1. We can’t go along with the line that the Tory party now share our fight for equality.  They don’t.  And women Tories are in a party which is the opposite of equality.  If they want to fight for equality - it’s simple - they need to get out of the Tory party.

2. Let’s never lose sight of the massive, ground-breaking progress the Labour government made for women - on maternity pay, on maternity leave, on childcare, on domestic violence, for women pensioners, on the Equality Act. Let’s totally reject the argument that the last Labour government was no different to the Tories.

We’re all sad and disappointed for our women candidates who we needed in Parliament but who didn’t win in May.

We needed Sophy as MP for Gloucester, Clair for Dover, Sarah for Hastings, Polly for Thurrock, Anne for Swindon, Suzie for Harlow, Lucy for Lincoln, Lee for Carlisle all our brilliant women candidates.

You put your finances, your work, your families on hold for the sake of the party. We are proud of you and what you did - and have great hopes for you for the future.  And I want to pay tribute to them.

But we are so pleased to welcome our new women MPs - not least those who won their seats from the Tories and the Lib Dems.  And many congratulations to Kate Green and Cat Smith, who Jeremy has appointed to be our new ministerial team on women and equality.

We don’t have a majority in parliament. But Labour women are still the majority of women MPs. We have more Labour women MPs than all the other parties put together. Irrespective of us not being in government, women in this country are counting on Labour women to speak up for them to challenge discrimination and sexism.

So my next future point is:

3. Let’s never forget that women in this country are looking to us, to Labour women to continue to speak up as the voice of women in our democracy and we must do that with courage and determination.

And when I say Labour women - I mean Labour WOMEN, not Labour MEN. Though we’ve made great strides, evidently we still have further to go to reach equality in our party.

Now, we have a male Leader, male Deputy Leader, male London Mayoral Candidate and male General Secretary. These were all separate elections so it’s not any of their fault - but we can’t leave it as a clean sweep of men.  We’ve got to sort it out so that we have women’s leadership at the top of the party - and that must include women who are chosen by and accountable to us women in the party. Women who are strong enough to fight for women because they are elected - as well as those who are appointed by the male leadership. 

So my next future point is:

4. Let’s review and renew the party rules and organisation so that we have women at every level in the party including in the leadership and that we give this women’s conference power by putting it on a proper constitutional footing. 

For the most part Labour men will support our demands for change and our quest for equality. But they won’t always and sometimes we’ll have to fight for it.   So my next point is - don’t worry if you seem to be having a massive row.  That is inevitable in any fight for change. None of the huge leaps of progress we’ve made, like all women’s shortlists, were done without massive controversy. 

So my next future point is:

5. Be worried if you are always massively popular - it probably means you aren’t demanding enough! And remember today’s unreasonable demands are tomorrows conventional wisdom - so don’t hold back.

And let’s keep up the momentum for change.  

Future point 6: let’s warn those in the party who want to drag their feet on women’s demands and who want to resist change. If we drop our mantle of being the champions of women in this country there will be others - the SNP, The Greens - who will be only too keen to pick it up.  

Labour women, like the women’s movement, have always been about solidarity and women working together.  All women, lesbian, straight, transgender, black and white, disabled and not, working class and middle class, younger women and older women.

So my next future point is:

7. Let’s not have a hierarchy of inequalities with a competition for which is worse.  All inequality is iniquitous and we should all challenge it wherever it rears its ugly head. 

And let’s have no ageism in the women’s movement. The women’s movement needs, and is for, all the generations - not just the “next” one.  Fiona MacTaggart MP set up the Older Women’s Commission to map out the policy demands of older women - who are balancing work, home, ageing parents, children and grandchildren.  She’s now setting up the campaign to make those changes happen.  She’s calling it the Older Women’s Lobby - OWL.  I for one plan to be an OWL.

So my next future point is:

8. Let’s have wise Owls roosting in every CLP in every region. 

After our leadership election we have doubled our membership and have over one hundred thousand registered and affiliated supporters. To our longstanding members we have added legions of new enthusiasts.

These new women are the opportunity for a great boost to our energy and strength. We must wholeheartedly and warmly welcome the new women members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters.  But it has to be a two-way street - the long-standing members welcoming the new ones and the new members and supporters respecting the work of the longstanding members who have fought to get woman candidates selected and elected - and who have fought for and stood as women councillors.

As we welcome the new members, we must remember that all of us stand on the shoulders of those Labour women members who have stood up for the party and for women, through thick and thin and year in and year out.

So point 9 is let’s have harmonious integration of the new members and supporters into our party.

And, 10, as we rebuild and re-organise as women in the party - lets never lose sight of the women out there in the public. Their hopes and dreams - their fears and concerns. Our party is for them, their prospects and their progress. We are the agents of change but the change is not for us – it’s for them. And without their votes we can’t get elected to make the progress that is needed.

Finally, it has been an incredible experience being a woman on the front bench of our great party for over 28 years - an incredible opportunity for me to play my part - along with so many magnificent women throughout the party. And I want to thank all of you who’ve given me so much strong and warm support throughout those years.  That generous encouragement has been there for me when I’ve messed things up as well when things have gone right and I deeply appreciate that.

So, a huge thank you and let Labour women continue the fight for a feminist future.  

Ends

Local Labour candidate Octavia Lamb has been selected to stand as the candidate for the South Camberwell ward by-election on October 15th.

This evening I went out campaigning on the doorstep with Octavia and a great team of local councillors and members to ensure that she gets elected on the 15th October.

Octavia Lamb said: “I am standing to be a councillor in South Camberwell because I want to represent my local community and bring improvements to the local area. I will work to improve local housing, work with local businesses and get transport improvements to make roads safer. I will also work to ensure that the new secondary school on the Dulwich hospital site is delivered on time.”

The 2015 Southwark Labour Annual Conference took place at the The Beormund Community Centre today.

Peter John, Leader of Southwark Council opened and welcomed everyone to this years event and I addressed conference during the morning session.

It was great to see such a fantastic turnout.

Also in attendance and taking part in in a panel discussion and Q&A were Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich & West Norwood and Neil Coyle, MP for Southwark & Old Bermondsey. We were also joined by our guest speaker Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's London Mayoral Candidate.

Tomorrow I'll be voting in the House of Commons in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill.  This is an emotional and particularly difficult issue to make a law on.   And it’s a very personal issue, so all of us MPs will vote according to our conscience on a "free vote" and there will be no party "whip".  I will be voting to change the law so that doctors will be allowed to prescribe a lethal drug dose to terminally ill patients in England and Wales who are deemed to have less than six months to live.

Many local people have written to me about this vote.  And shared many heartfelt concerns on both sides of the issue. One woman told me she had witnessed the unnecessary suffering of her family members in the final stages of their life and she wanted people to be allowed to die with dignity and not have to ask a loved one to risk prosecution to help them.

Everyone agrees that people should, as far as possible, be able to make choices as their life comes to an end.  Everyone agrees that no-one should have to suffer unbearable pain.  Everyone also supports the hospice movement and all those in the NHS who, whether in our hospitals or caring for people at home, do so much to care for the dying.  No-one wants to see people with disabilities or life-limiting illness feel that they are a burden and must end their life.  No-one wants to see someone suffering mental illness end their life.  But that is not what this Bill is about.

The Bill does not allow for assisted dying when the patient is not terminally ill, or euthanasia where a doctor administers a lethal medication to a patient.

This Bill is to enable competent adults, who are deemed to have less than six months to live, to choose medically supervised assistance to end their own life. A High Court judge and two independent doctors would all be required to agree that the patient had made an informed decision to die.

I've never had to watch a relative or friend suffer horribly at the end of their life.  But I know that if that were the case I'd want to support their choice even if that meant medication which, as well as alleviating their pain, brought forward the end of their life.

We've all seen the people who've gone to Dignitas in Switzerland to end their life.  But some have said they've had to go earlier than they might otherwise, for fear of getting to ill to travel.  Others have wanted to go, but could not afford to travel.  And most want to die at, or near, home rather than in a foreign clinic.

Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands now have different laws to deal with assisted dying.  This is not about forcing people who are terminally ill to end their life.  It’s about giving people a choice.  This is what I would want for my family.  This is what I would want for myself.  So this is what I will vote for on Friday.  

Today in the House of Commons I challenged David Cameron over his response to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. This is now the worst humanitarian crisis to reach European shores since the Second World War and its impact is being felt right across our country. 

11.40 am

Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab): I am pleased to follow the Prime Minister’s tribute to Her Majesty the Queen. As he did, I want to start with her words when she was 21 years old:

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.”

Those words, remarkable from such a young woman, were a solemn vow to this country that she has kept through the 63 years and 218 days of her reign. She had not expected to succeed to the throne, but even before she was crowned she was clear that her life would be dedicated to the service of her country.

There can be no doubt about the commitment that she has made and the public service she has given and continues to give. Even today, at the age of 89, she is undertaking a public engagement. Her life has been a great sweep of British history—the second world war, the cold war and the fall of the Berlin wall—and she has presided over the transition from empire to Commonwealth. Her reign spans profound changes in all respects: in work life, family life, our communities and technology. She has gone from sending telegrams to sending tweets. At a time of so much change, her reign is the reassurance of continuity, a defining feature of this country both at home and abroad. At home, she has done thousands of official engagements, including visits, walkabouts, meeting and greeting the public and welcoming thousands to Buckingham Palace every year. In the one year of her golden jubilee, she visited 70 cities and towns across the country. There is a great commitment to her in every part of this country.

Abroad, she has been tireless in her international engagements, and in her long reign she has made official visits to more than 116 countries. It is no exaggeration to say that she is admired by billions of people all around the world, particularly in the Commonwealth, including those who come to live here in the UK, like many in my constituency of Camberwell and Peckham. People respect the fact that she has stayed fastidiously neutral and above politics, yet at times she has played a significant role in key political moments, such as the extraordinary personal generosity she displayed during the peace process in Northern Ireland.

She is now on her 12th Prime Minister, although we on the Opposition Benches had hoped that she would now be on her 13th. She reigns over more than 140 million people, a huge number, nearly as large as the number of registered Labour party supporters. It is entirely characteristic of her that she has let it be known that she does not want a fuss to be made about today, but we are making a fuss, and deservedly so. We send her our warmest congratulations, our appreciation and, above all, our thanks.

Today, in the House of Commons, I delivered a response to the Prime Minister’s statement on the refugee crisis in Europe and recent counter-terrorism action.  This is now the worst humanitarian crisis to reach European shores since the Second World War and its impact is being felt right across our country. The full text of my response is available below: