Recess not holiday

In case people hadn't realised I am still very much here and working, despite what you may hear about MPs having an 82 day holiday. In fact on Monday I was at an event with three other local MPs - Doug, Roger and Stephen Williams - and on Tuesday I was with Dawn P, and Jim Knight and Liam Byrne - so that makes at least seven of us who aren't on holiday at this precise moment. And Andrew Gwynne who is busy fighting - and winning - by-elections in his constituency. I'm sure there are many more of us.

There are two questionnaires doing the rounds at the moment about MPs' holiday plans, one from the 38 degrees campaign, to which I have yet to respond, and one from the Telegraph which asks in rather brusque fashion a series of questions along the lines of: are you going to party conference this year? are you staying the whole week? (Because if you confess you're only going for a couple of days they will be able to add a couple more days to your 'skiving off' total).

Here's the Telegraph's full set of questions, the results of which were meant to appear in last Sunday's paper but didn't, I suspect because the vast majority of MPs told them where they could shove their survey, and they don't have enough material yet. They are apparently running it this coming weekend, with all MPs listed, including the 'No comments'. Anyway, here it is.

The Daily Telegraph is conducting an investigation into MPs’ plans for the summer recess. As part of this investigation, we would be very grateful if you could answer these short questions about your own plans.

1. Have you made plans to take any overseas vacations during the Parliamentary recess?

2. If so, where will you be travelling to, and for how many days?

3. If you have not yet made plans to take any overseas vacations during the Parliamentary recess, do you consider that it is likely that you will make such plans later in the summer?

4. If so, where do you anticipate travelling to, and for how many days? Please provide a broad estimate (ie “roughly two weeks / somewhere in Europe) if you are unsure.

5. Have you made plans to take any vacations within the British Isles during the Parliamentary recess?

6. If so, where will you be travelling to, and for how many days?

7. If you have not yet made plans to take any vacations within the British Isles during the Parliamentary recess, do you consider that it is likely that you will make such plans later in the summer?

8. If so, where do you anticipate travelling to, and for how many days? Please provide a broad estimate (ie “roughly two weeks / somewhere in Scotland) if you are unsure.

9. How many days or part-days do you anticipate spending in your constituency during the Parliamentary recess?

10. How many days or part-days do you anticipate spending in London or elsewhere on Parliamentary, party or ministerial / shadow ministerial duties during the Parliamentary recess?

11. How many days or part-days do you anticipate spending in London or elsewhere on non-Parliamentary, party or ministerial business during the Parliamentary recess? Please elaborate on your activities. (ie work as a director / spending time in London second home working on book)

12. Will you attend some or all of your party conference? If so, how long will you attend for?

13. Do you consider that your plans this year are broadly similar to those of previous years?

14. If not, what are the reasons for the change?

And here's the email from 38 Degrees:

Dear MP,

Thankyou for representing me in parlement , to help do this effectively i ask the following: Please be transparent about how you're planning to spend your time away from parliament this summer by filling in this survey from 38 Degrees: [http://confirm.38degrees.org.uk/MPSummerWorkSurvey]

I hope you'll be using the break from parliament to focus on other parts of your job as an MP, taking the chance to spend time in our local area working hard for our local community. I am concerned though that some MPs may use the time to take excessively long holidays and work on extremely well paid second jobs.

Please fill in this survey

http://confirm.38degrees.org.uk/MPSummerWorkSurvey
to reassure me and other voters that you are working for the people that elected you this summer, and let me know when you have done so. I'll be checking back on the 38 Degrees web site in a few weeks to see what you've said.

I'm asking you to complete the survey because I think we have a right to know what our elected representatives are working on. Please let me know if you disagree and explain your reasons why.

Thank you...

I confess, both these emails made me a little angry. They are predicated on the notion that MPs are lazy, unmotivated, and couldn't care less about their constituencies or - if you insist on being cynical - given where we are in the electoral cycle, getting out and meeting the voters.

I think the Telegraph has a cheek to ask such questions. It's up to my constituents surely to decide whether they think I'm doing a good job and putting in the hours, and seeing as I have a blog and a website and am fairly often in the local media I think they're in a pretty good position to judge whether I am actually working during recess or sunning myself on a beach somewhere from July 22nd to October 12th. And of course people soon realise whether you're turning up to events or not. But -what next? Publishing our time sheets online at the end of every week? Clocking in at the beginning and end of every day? Electronic tagging?

OK, the 38 degrees email was purportedly from a constituent (although I don't think they've confirmed that yet by providing an address), and I will of course be helpful and point them in the direction of where they can keep tabs on me should they wish to do so. Or even meet them if they want to. But I'm not signing up to a website which encourages people to submit photos of their MPs working or not working over the summer. (What is working, anyway - if I go to St Marks Road street party and am pictured with Paul Smith and his son eating icecream, is that work or me having a good time? Answer: it's both. But that's why it's so difficult to quantify how many hours a week an MP works. I've spent the entire evening looking at emails, blogging and on Twitter. Soon I'll be going to bed with a copy of today's Guardian I haven't read yet. So am I working? Skiving? Or something in-between?

I know most MPs were pretty cross about the Telegraph email, but I have a particular reason for regarding it as an intrusion. Those who have read my posts from a month or two ago will know that some people close to me have had/ have serious health problems at the moment. My holiday this year, if you can call it that, will consist of going to Ireland to see one of them, with the timing, length and even the number of my trip(s) dependent on how he responds to treatment and his operation and, to be frank, whether he makes it through the next few months. I told the Telegraph this and said I had no wish for it to be put in the public domain, and they ought to respect my privacy on this (and yes, I know I am blogging about it now, but I am trying to be as opaque as possible whilst still getting across to you what the issue is and why I feel so strongly about it). The response came back, saying we're sorry to hear of your circumstances but we're going to record an entry for every MP so do you want to be a 'No comment' or a 'Dealing with personal family issues' or some variation on that? Well no, I didn't want to be included in their damn survey at all. I want them to leave me alone. In the end I said to put me down as 'I have no holiday plans, but I will be attending Labour conference and visiting family'. I now feel this was an error on my part. But they really have you over a barrel, don't they? "No comment" could easily be interpreted as four weeks in the Caribbean followed by a cruise in the Greek islands on a Russian oligarch's yacht. "Dealing with personal issues" sounds like you're being packed off to the Priory. So you end up co-operating... or at least I did.

What would be great would be if instead of recording people as 'No comment' the Telegraph recorded MPs actual responses - which I suspect would in many cases be along the lines of "Mind your own ******* business!"

I should add that virtually every MP I've spoken to is having a very modest holiday this year, with the most common destinations being Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, France, maybe Tuscany at a push. Some are even going camping or caravanning. So it's not that they've got anything to hide - and none of them have lucrative second jobs either.

So - if you've managed to read this far, what do you think? Are people entitled to have a blow-by-blow account of what their MPs are up to this summer? Are MPs wrong to feel hounded and harrassed on this issue? Is the Telegraph performing a valuable public service, or can we trust constituents to hold their MPs to account? Your thoughts please.

MPs to be banned from schools?

As a supplementary to today's Indy story about authors visiting schools, these new rules will also apply to politicians, I'm told. From September any MP visiting a school in his or her constituency will need a CRB check. No problem with that, you might think, but to get a check carried out you need a sponsoring organisation, which would usually be your employer. I've just bumped into a Labour MP who tells me that the House of Commons authorities are refusing to act as sponsor. This resurrects the whole problem of who exactly is your employer as an MP? The House of Commons authorities? The people who voted for you? The Prime Minister/ leader of your party?

Try renting a flat as an MP and being asked for an employer's reference, which was the situation I was in when I was first elected. I can't remember how I resolved that condundrum in the end. I certainly didn't manage to persuade Tony Blair to write one!

I've already had a CRB check, which was required when I went out to India with two fifteen year olds from a Bristol school. The trip and the CRB check was arranged by WorldVision as part of the Global Campaign for Education. Not sure if it's still in force though, as it was spring 2008. The MP tells me he's on the case, but we need to get it sorted before September, which is always the best time for MPs to visit schools as they're back and we're back at work but not in Parliament. (This will of course be disputed by those who are convinced we're all about to disappear on a 12 week cruise around the Caribbean.)

OK - yet another postscript. I now have it on very good authority that MPs will not be required to have CRB or ISA clearance before visiting schools. Nor will authors unless they are regular visitors. This statement is now on the DCSF website:

16 July 2009
In response to various stories about authors having to be vetted before being allowed to go into schools to read to children, the DCSF has issued the following statement: “These checks have been misunderstood. Authors, MPs or anyone else will not have to register with the Vetting and Barring Scheme if they work with children once or infrequently. People working in schools will only be required to register if they work with children on a regular basis. “These rules do not apply to visitors to a school, but only to people working in schools on a regular basis. The rules apply even if the person working is supervised by a teacher at all times, as they are being placed in a unique position of trust where they can easily become deeply liked and trusted by pupils. We therefore need to be sure that this trust is well placed, in case pupils bump into them out of school where a teacher is not present. “While we fully accept that the vast majority of workers or volunteers would never abuse their position of trust, parents would not want adults working regularly with young children, even on a voluntary basis, without any sort of background check at all. That would be irresponsible. This applies as much to famous authors as it does to cleaners, admin staff or fire-fighters giving safety talks. We are very grateful to authors who give up their time to read to children, young people really benefit from it.”

So, it seems that MPs won't need checks on the basis that there is no danger of them becoming 'deeply liked and trusted' by the pupils!

Read it in books

One of the journalists whose calls I have been returning (actually, the only one) is Holly from the BEP who wants to know what I'll be reading over the summer hols. We haven't managed to get hold of each other yet, which gives me plenty of time to log onto Amazon and try to find a selection which makes me look like (a) an intellectual heavyweight, but (b) not completely obsessed with politics, and (c) with a breadth and range of interests which would put Melvin Bragg to shame.

What it will really be is (a) one intellectual book which I have bought with the best of intentions but then never quite fancy reading because it is recess after all; (b) three books I buy at the airport under their 'buy two get one' free policy, which I read without much enthusiasm and can't remember a word of two minutes later; (c) something of the 'chick-lit' variety that comes free with a magazine and can be read in 32 minutes; and (d) whatever is left in the hotel room by the previous incumbent. Which is usually Jeffrey Archer.

This year's candidate for the heavyweight slot is 'Stuffed and Starved' by Raj Patel, which looks like a fascinating analysis of the politics of food. And I like the sound of 'Child 44', the thriller that's been listed for this year's Booker prize, because I like thrillers and I like books about Russia (and because all the literary snobs are annoyed it's been shortlisted). But that's about all I can drum up enthusiasm for at the moment...

The name of the game

"LAST day of term, so the Chief Whip is letting us all bring in games. I’ve brought a train set (obviously), Alistair Darling’s brought in Monopoly, Alan Johnson’s got Operation, David Miliband has Risk, Des Browne’s brought in an Action Man, etc, etc…"

That's from Tom Harris' blog - which I discovered just after I'd started to post something along similar lines yesterday, only I was going to say I'd brought in my Kerplunk! game. So if Tom has a train set, Alan's in the operating theatre, Des is playing action man, what does my choice say about my work in Parliament? That I'm scared of losing my marbles?

Right now and not later

So what do MPs do during recess? Well I can't speak for anyone else but here are some of the things I've got lined up:

• finishing off things in Westminster, GOTV on the phones for Glasgow East, then Labour National Policy Forum in Warwick (that's this week taken care of);
• touring the Severn Estuary with the Environment Agency to see the areas which environmentalists are concerned would be affected by the building of the Severn Barrage;
• spending a day with an RSPCA inspector;
• visiting Yarlswood Detention Centre in Bedfordshire to see the conditions in which people (especially children) facing deportation are held;
• going out on patrol with the Vice Squad;
• finalising this year's Parliamentary report, and no doubt hand-delivering rather a lot of them;
• organising a survey of constituents on asylum/ immigration issues (tricky to get this right, but we're getting there) and responding to those who completed my recent survey on anti-social behaviour;
• attending the Balloon fiesta, St Marks Road street party, Amnesty's garden party, the Harbour festival, open day at the Felix Rd Adventure Playground, the opening ceremony of the School Olympics, and no doubt other events that haven't appeared in the diary yet;
• meeting the Soil Association in Bristol to discuss organic food and farming (they don't know this yet, but I hope they agree);
• cycling to the office at least some of the time, and finally doing the Bristol-Bath cycle path trip (also hoping to do a 'Bikeability' cycling proficiency course - I think I need it!);
• getting to grips with technology - sorting out wireless connection in office, getting PDA working again (it's only been six months), downloading videos and pics from camera and onto website; finding out what else my mobile phone can do, etc, etc;
• trading my car in for a greener model (although I suppose you can't get much greener than the current one, seeing as it doesn't go anywhere at all at the moment);
• generally harrassing constituency office staff who usually only have to put up with me for fleeting moments between engagements on a Friday - after a week or two they will start suggesting that I should 'take a day or two off to enjoy myself";
• attending a Somali community event on knife crime;
• doing another walkabout in Stockwood;
• paying another visit to the Refugee Drop-In Centre;
• attending a citizenship ceremony;
• watching women play football at the Netham on a Sunday morning - I don't think I'm expected to join in;
• visiting Remploy's new job centre in Bristol, which helps people with disabilities find work;
• launching a local consultation on the Welfare Reform Green Paper (e.g. with drug treatment agencies, Job Centre Plus, disability organisations, the mental health trust);
• organising ministerial visits: Tom Harris is coming in the autumn to talk trains, and we've got some others at the planning stage, including, I hope, the Immigration Minister;
• doing the groundwork for debates in the autumn: report stage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Children and Young Persons Bill, Climate Change Bill; adjournment debate on children with parents in custody (long overdue); reading latest stuff on child poverty in prep for Queen's Speech debates and/ or Pre-Budget Report; and possibly a Defra debate on food production to mark World Vegan Day (only toying with this idea at the moment);
• finishing off remaining sections on website - e.g. Local Heroes, online schools surgery - and maybe even blogging a bit;
• holding some surgeries, sending out letters, and all the usual stuff;
• taking two or three nephews to the Street Art exhibition at Tate Modern;
• taking two nieces and one or two nephews (different ones - younger, equally adorable) to Kew Gardens to do the Treetop Walk;
• trying to make sushi with the stuff I bought in December (the mat, the seaweed, the rice, the vinegar, everything - I'm almost definitely not going to be very good at it);
• at least making a start on the West Wing set (series 1-7) which was purchased a year ago and is still in its cellophane;
• Labour Conference in Manchester (five days in late September);
• finally finishing the Ph.D. thesis I started in 1974 or thereabouts ...(who am I kidding?);
• white-water rafting down the Zambezi and over Victoria Falls. Possibly.