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Stephen McPartland MP said, "I will vote against military action in Syria.

"The last Parliament saw a terrible day for democracy when the Labour Party tried to create political capital out of the suffering of innocent children, women and men in Syria.

"I voted against the Labour motion, which set out a road map to war with the Syrian Government and I voted against the Coalition Government's motion also.

"No one is winning and millions of innocent civilians in Syria are suffering, our efforts should be focused on reconciliation rather than firing a few missiles to salve international consciences. In fact, the Dual-mode Brimstone missile our allies want us to deploy, was developed in Stevenage and is manufactured near Bolton. It is very very accurate, but the resulting explosion and debris are not and it is implausible to suggest it will guarantee no civilian casualties. 

"I voted against military intervention in Syria, because I believed it would just prolong an already dreadful civil war. I continue to believe this is the case and will not support such military interventions. "

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Delighted Chancellor has listened and abolished the changes to Tax Credits. The victory is his and I can now return to the fold!!!!!!

— Stephen McPartland (@SMcPartlandMP) November 25, 2015

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Stevenage-based firm, 1decision, has launched its latest programme aimed at safeguarding children in Hertfordshire, developed thanks to the support of local MP Stephen McPartland and Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, and the involvement of the Herts Fire and Rescue Service.

Hayley Sherwood, CEO and founder of 1decision, said, "We wanted to work with the fire service to try and reduce incidents across Hertfordshire."The fire service were fantastic to work with, their clear passion for keeping people safe cannot be understated. This resource will save lives."

Stephen McPartland MP said, "I have been involved with the 1decision concept since it first began and Hayley Sherwood is an inspirational leader.

"More importantly, she is a local mum who wants to help children understand the power of choice when encountering life's challenges for the first time."

1decision was awarded £21,185 from the Commissioner's Community Fund towards creating a dynamic and interactive education resource about fire safety and crime reduction for primary schools across the county. The education materials, which are designed by 1decision, will help children understand the consequences of hoax calling and petty arson, and teaches them how to stay safe within their homes and the community. This material will be provided free to schools in Hertfordshire.

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, has thanked carers for their vital contribution as part of this year's Carers Rights Day.

Stephen McPartland MP said, "I would like to use the opportunity of Carers Rights Day to thank all the carers, who make such a vital contribution here in Stevenage.

"I was proud to have voted for the Care Act, which represents the most significant reform for carers for 60 years, putting people and their carers in control. A major change in the Act is that it gives carers new rights which put them on the same footing as the people they care for. Simply put, all carers will be entitled to an assessment. If a carer is eligible for support for particular needs, they will have a legal right to receive support for those needs, just like the people they care for. The Care Act also instructs local authorities to provide comprehensive information and advice about care and support services in their local area.

"I am pleased carers are central to the Government's proposals for the future of care, as they are the unsung heroes of our local community."

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, presented badges to members of the new School Council for Giles Nursery and Infants School at a special assembly.

Stephen McPartland MP said, ."It is always a privilege to speak with each member of the School Council and present them with their School Council badges. I enjoy working with the children and it is really nice that so many parents turned up to support the children."

Each class elects two of their classmates to sit on the council and take a lead on improving the school, working with Mrs Mendel, the head teacher, who added, "Stephen's attendance shows a real commitment to local education and helped to bring alive for the children the real meaning of a school council."

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, said, "I am disappointed that Treasury Minister David Gauke, is coming to Stevenage today to talk about R&D Tax Credits. I am boycotting the meeting and the media are not invited, as he does not want to talk about the cuts to Child Tax Credits I have uncovered.

"I voted against and have consistently spoken out about the proposed changes to Tax Credits. I have urged the Treasury to listen and introduce some form of mitigation. I am about to share on my website, House of Commons Library figures that prove Child Tax Credits will be cut for many families. This is completely unacceptable and destroys the Government's final defence that planned cuts do not apply to Child Tax Credits.

"Full details are available here, but putting it very simply, a family receives a Maximum Tax Credit Award. This is comprised of Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits, but importantly the proposed cut in the Threshold (income level at which you start losing tax credits) and increase to the Taper rate (amount taken away in every pound) applies to the Maximum Tax Credit Award. Consequently, once a family has lost all their Working Tax Credits, then they will begin losing their Child Tax Credits. The example I released today shows a massive cut in the family's maximum Child Tax Credit Award from 87% down to 51%, when the changes take effect in April next year.

"It is very clear that the Treasury has to come forward with measures to mitigate the effects of their changes to Tax Credits and protect families Child Tax Credits."

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, said, "I am grateful to the House of Commons Library for providing me with these statistics, which sadly prove that many working families will see their Child Tax Credits cut. In fact, the example below clearly demonstrates that the family will currently receive 87% of their maximum Child Tax Credit award. However, this will be cut to 51% in April, when the planned changes take effect, which is unacceptable."

This table shows the final tax credit award, Child Benefit receipt and net income of a lone parent (with two children) working 35 hrs a week and earnings £20,000 a year (gross income).The spreadsheet shows two scenarios:

• Scenario 1 assumes measures announced in the Summer Budget (including changes to the Personal Allowance and to tax credits, together with the four year freeze in working-age benefits) are implemented in full
• Scenario 2 shows a scenario in which policy inherited from the Coalition Government is continued to 2020-21 unchanged

See the footnotes to the attached table for full details. Both scenarios assume no wage change across the period in question (i.e., this earner’s gross income remains constant in cash terms at £20,000 a year).

Note that this in-work family is eligible for both Working Tax Credits (WTC) and Child Tax Credits (CTC). Specifically, this family is eligible for the:

• WTC Basic Element as they work more than 16 hours a week
• WTC Lone Parent Element as they are a lone parent with dependent children
• WTC 30 Hour Element as they work over 30 hours a week
• CTC Family Element as they are a family with dependent children
• 2 x CTC Child Element as this family includes two children

These elements equate to a maximum tax credit award of £10,885 in 2015-16, comprising of a £4,780 Working Tax Credit maximum award and a £6,105 Child Tax Credit maximum award.

Once the income threshold and taper rate have been applied, the family will receive a final tax credit award of £5,317 in 2015-16. Note that the taper rate is applied to the combined maximum tax credit award of £10,885, as opposed to each of the individual WTC and CTC components of which it is comprised.

Convention dictates that, when the taper is applied, a family’s WTC award is withdrawn before their CTC award. In the attached example this family’s WTC award has been tapered away entirely. Therefore, this family is an in-work, CTC only family.

In 2015-16 this family will receive, after the taper has been applied, 0% of their maximum WTC award and 87% of their maximum CTC award (this is the case in both scenarios 1 and 2). The family’s final tax credit award in 2015-16 is £5,317.

In 2016-17 this family will receive, once the Government’s new taper rate of 48% has been applied (scenario 1), 0% of their maximum WTC award and 51% of their maximum CTC award. The family’s final tax credit award in 2016-17 is £3,133 (under scenario 1).

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, has pledged his support for people living with incurable secondary breast cancer and is calling for more data collection to improve the care available.

Stephen McPartland MP said, “Data collection is crucial to ensure care services are planned effectively so that patients living with secondary breast cancer get the care and support they need.

“With more accurate data about those people diagnosed or living with the disease we can provide better help to sufferers and their families."

Currently data for primary breast cancer is recorded, yet no accurate figures exist around the number of people diagnosed or living with incurable secondary breast cancer. Breast Cancer Care believes this leads to  poorer care for those people with the incurable disease.

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