Katy Clark MP

Welcome to my website. I hope you find it useful.

Katy wishes all her constituents a Happy Christmas and best wishes for the coming year. Her constituency office will be closed from 25 December until 2 January inclusive.

The 2008/9 Parliamentary session commenced on 3rd December 2008 with the Queen’s speech to Parliament. The speech outlines the Government Bills which will be debated in Parliament till next July. The Banking Bill and Political Parties and Elections Bill have been carried over from the previous Parliamentary session and are added to by twelve new Bills outlined in the Queen’s speech. These are the Boarders and Immigration and Citizenship Bill, Business Rates Supplements Bill, Child Poverty Bill, Children, Skills and Learning Bill, Coroners and Justice Bill, Equality Bill, Health Bill, Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill, Marine and Costal Access Bill, Policing and Crime Bill, Savings Gateway Accounts Bill and Welfare Reform Bill. Eleven of these Bills contain aspects which will apply to Scotland Bill directly (those which do not are the Business Rates Supplements Bill, Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill and the Marine and Costal Access Bill).

The Bills outlined in the Queen’s speech contain numerous proposals on wide a range of different issues.

The Banking Bill will give the Financial Services Authority greater powers to gain information from banks and give the Government powers to intervene if banks get into difficulty helping ensures that people’s savings remain safe. People on low incomes will be given assistance by the Savings Gateway Bill. This Bill aims to introduce a Savings Gateway Account, which will provide assistance to people on low incomes looking to save money by providing them with up to £300 of financial assistance over a two year period.

The Equalities Bill will look to end discrimination by making public bodies more transparent and improving enforcement against companies and which are found to be discriminating against people on the basis of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief and the Child Poverty Bill will introduce a legally binding commitment for the Government to eradicate child poverty by 2020. The Marine Bill will look to strengthen the protection of Britain’s coastline by introducing Marine Conservation Zones which will protect rare marine species and a Marine Management Organisation to provide better management of the marine environment. More controversial proposals include the Welfare Bill which aims to introduce a range of measures to get people off benefits and into work.

I hold regular surgeries throughout the constituency if you need to get
in touch or you can make an appointment for a meeting outside these
hours or for a home visit by phoning my constituency office. You can
also email about any issue at clarkk@parliament.uk.

Best wishes

Katy