After a summer of catching up with issues, people and groups in the constituency, it is good to be back at Westminster to fly the flag for Stoke-on-Trent North at the national level.

The last week has seen a number of important statements, a series of meetings and most importantly the Pre Budget Report. This is where public spending and tax plans were set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling.

He announced an extra investment in the NHS so waiting times can be reduced further to 18 weeks and we can have cleaner hospitals and better access to GP services. This was followed by a statement from Health Secretary Alan Johnson confirming £190 million for direct social services.

Having attended a large meeting of the North Staffordshire Carers, I know that this extra money will be welcomed.  As well though I want to see much more done to ensure we look after those with dementia.  Alan Johnson responded to my request by saying:

My hon. Friend is right to raise that important issue. In the spring, we will publish our new deal for carers. I recently attended a reception in Bournemouth, where all the charity organisations and voluntary groups were enormously excited about the level of consultation on the new strategy. We have a new approach to dementia, which we need to tackle more intensively. Along with many other mental health problems, it is an important issue, but it has not been at the top of the agenda—in some cases, it was not even considered important, although it is the single biggest cause of ill health in this country.

I look forward to working with the Health Secretary and all the local and national charities on this.

One issue that comes up time and time again is the availability of affordable housing.  I know it’s a big problem for so many people, especially those trying to get on the housing ladder. I have taken this message to the Housing Minister, and I am pleased to report back that the plans set out in the Pre-Budget Report include provision for affordable housing.  It is now down to local councils to draw up their options.

I’m also really pleased to see the extra help for families in the form of a rise in Child Tax Credits.  This will come into effect in April and will be well above inflation. At the same time, the commitment to raising the Pension Credit minimum guarantee to £124 for single pensioners and £189 for pensioner couples from next April will help them too.

One little publicised improvement which came in this month is the paid public holiday provision.  Several workers contacted me to say what a difference this will make.

If you live in Stoke-on-Trent North and have any comments on the Pre-Budget report, then please get in touch.