Daniel GreenhoughOffice of Catherine McKinnell MP

Newcastle CVS

20 February 2012

Newcastle MPs

• Nick Brown – Newcastle East

Former Chief Whip, Minister for North East

• Catherine McKinnell – Newcastle NorthShadow Minister for Children and Young Families

• Chi Onwurah – Newcastle CentralShadow Minister for Business, Innovation & Skills

MP’s role

MPs represent constituents by :Contributing in Parliament Taking up individual casesSpeaking in the mediaCampaigning on specific issues

Parliament

• Questions to Ministers (written and oral) – including the Prime Minister

• Debates – initiating debates, speeches, interventions.

• Early Day Motions

• All Party Parliamentary Groups eg APPG on multiple sclerosis, international anti-corruption

Working together through Parliament

• MPs can use parliamentary questions to raise issues and obtain information useful to voluntary organisations

• MPs can raise the cases of individual organisations (or service users) in debates

• APPGs work with many voluntary organisations

• Tours and visits to Parliament

Individual casework

• Make contact with agencies on behalf of individuals

• Strict protocol that MPs can only take up the cases of constituents

• Data protection of paramount concern

Working together on casework

• Collaborating on individual cases

• Sharing briefing information about cases or trends

• Potential for joint surgeries on particular issues

Media

• Commenting on constituency, city or regional issues

• Events : meeting service users

• What’s the story?

• What’s the image?

• Real life examples

Working together through media

• Building profile eg supporting campaign / launching report

• Highlighting issues / experience of individuals

• Ongoing campaigns

Ongoing campaigns

• Apprenticeships

• Economic development

• Front bench policy – including adoption and looked-after children

Communications

• Email/post but follow-up by phone

• MPs normally in constituency on Fridays / recesses

• Briefing : who, what, when, where, why?

• Constituency-level information