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Queens Speech awaited

Parliament rose

last week ahead

of the Queens

Speech which

will take place

on Wednesday9th May. A

number of Parliamentary Questions which I

had tabled previously were answered just

before Parliament rose, including one on

changes to Personal allowances for

pensionersdubbed the Granny Tax.

This revealed that over 420,000 Scottish

pensioners will face average income tax hikes

of 83 a year by 2015-16, hitting 60,000 more

Scottish pensioners than the Chancellor

estimated in the documents released

alongside his Budget Statement on March 21.

I am concerned that pensioners who have

worked hard all their lives for modest second

pensions to top up their state pension will be

those hardest hit.

It is true that pensions are going up, but so too

is the cost of living. 83 a year might sound

like a small amount to the Chancellor, but for

pensioners on a fixed income, it is money that

could have helped with fuel bills.

Meanwhile, the Governments own Back

Benchers remain unconvinced about extra

VAT on Caravans, Churches and hot food,

and we wait to see if a U-Turn is on the menu!

Action needed on HMRC helplineHave you ever tried to contact the HMRC

Helpline about tax or tax credits? I have

had a number of constituents complain about

being kept on hold

for lengthy periods

when they are

trying to getthrough to have

queries dealt with. One pensioner told me he

had held on for 42 minutes a call he was

paying for before giving up. Others reported

similar issues, so I have written to the

Minister, asking what action he is taking to

sort this out.

Ex HMRC employees have suggested thatcuts in staffing levels have led to the problem,

so I will be looking closely at what the Minister

has to say.

USDAW Annual Delegate MeetingI travelled to Blackpool to take part in a

Question Time Panel, along with Stephen

Twigg MP, Gavin Shuker Mp and USDAW

General Secretary John Hannett. Lisa NandyMP chaired the

session and we

answered points

on a range of

policies,

including the Bill

on Sunday

Trading during

the Olympics,

which many members feared was the thin end

of the wedge for their terms and conditions.

Cathy Jamieson MPeBrief from

7th May 20125th December 2011

http://www.usdaw.org.uk/newsevents/events/april/usdawannualdelegatemeeting.aspxhttp://www.usdaw.org.uk/newsevents/events/april/usdawannualdelegatemeeting.aspxhttp://www.usdaw.org.uk/newsevents/events/april/usdawannualdelegatemeeting.aspx

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Cystic Fibrosis Week 2012

I had my lung function tested to see howthe result compared with someone with

Cystic Fibrosis to highlight the devastating

impact of the disease for Cystic Fibrosis

Week 2012.

The event was organised by theCystic

Fibrosis Trust,to show how Cystic Fibrosis

damages the lungs. The average lung

capacity for an adult with Cystic Fibrosis is just

65.1% compared to someone without Cystic

Fibrosis that would achieve results of 80% or

more. I achieved117% on my spirometry test,

and I was surprised to come first in the leader

board of female MPs.

Cystic Fibrosis is a progressive disease with

the average age of death for a person with CF

of around 29 years old. Despite this, because

of advances in treatment and access to

clinical expertise, many people with CF are

living longer than ever before.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is aware of worrying

trends that amount to real-time cuts to Cystic

Fibrosis services, and believe that Patient

care is being compromised because posts in

vital disciplines specialist nursing,

physiotherapy and dietetics - are being cut,

downgraded, left vacant or used to backfillgeneral vacancies.

Mahle Dispute Resolved

When the workforce at Mahle in Kilmarnock

first lodged their opposition to plans to remove

jobs from Kilmarnock, I raised the matter inParliament, seeking support from the

Government to help in any way they could.

Since then I have been in regular contact with

senior officials of Unite the Union, as local

shop stewards and the company worked hard

behind the scenes to come to anagreement.

I am pleased that

with involvement of

ACAS, productivetalks took place, and

further strike action

was called off. All

those involved in

arriving at this successful conclusion should

be congratulated, as these are vital jobs for

our area.

RNIB Campaign Under Way

A number of

constituents

have

contacted me

about the

campaign

being run by

the RNIB,

whichhighlights the

problems faced by blind and partially sighted

people who arehaving their benefits cut. I am

pursuing this issue, as I have done for

constituents who have other disabilities or

long term conditions. If you know of anyone

affected, please get in touch.

For information on local surgeries please

call 01563 522361 or check details on

www.cathyjamieson.com

http://www.cftrust.org.uk/http://www.cftrust.org.uk/http://www.cftrust.org.uk/http://www.cftrust.org.uk/http://www.unitescotland.org/2012/05/01/kilmarnock-engineers-agree-new-proposals-over-future-of-plant/http://www.unitescotland.org/2012/05/01/kilmarnock-engineers-agree-new-proposals-over-future-of-plant/http://www.unitescotland.org/2012/05/01/kilmarnock-engineers-agree-new-proposals-over-future-of-plant/http://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/yourmoney/personalindependence/Pages/PIP_films.aspxhttp://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/yourmoney/personalindependence/Pages/PIP_films.aspxhttp://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/yourmoney/personalindependence/Pages/PIP_films.aspxhttp://www.cathyjamieson.com/http://www.cathyjamieson.com/http://www.cathyjamieson.com/http://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/yourmoney/personalindependence/Pages/PIP_films.aspxhttp://www.unitescotland.org/2012/05/01/kilmarnock-engineers-agree-new-proposals-over-future-of-plant/http://www.cftrust.org.uk/http://www.cftrust.org.uk/