A foreign trip by a local MP helped improve conditions for workers building the 2022 Qatar World Cup sites.
The MPs Register of Interests shines the spotlight on our local MPs in and out of Parliament. They have to declare any matter “which others might reasonably consider to influence his or her actions or words as a Member of Parliament.”
Here’s what features on their Register of Financial Interests.
Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman:
£2,200 per month (donated to charity) from Policy Connect. Member of Environmental Scrutiny Board of Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc; a environmental waste management company; and chair of Optimised Waste Logistics Group (OWL), which is managed by CMS SupaTrak Ltd, one payment of £5,000. Fee donated to charity.
Mr Sheerman said of Policy Connect: “I don’t make any money out of it, I do it because it’s good for Parliament.
“Policy Connect employs young graduates, some of them have come from Huddersfield, one has gone on to work in the financial sector, another from Crosland Moor now works in the health sector.
“We believed that there should be the opportunity for outside organisations to have their voices heard by Parliament, but it should not be to the benefit of just one organisation, but the industry as a whole.”
Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney:
Five payments, total £675 donated to charity, from ComRes for completing opinion surveys. Eight payments (£50 each) donated to charity, from Populus for completing surveys.
Donation of £2,000 from Principle Group towards cost of Jason’s Jobs Fair which aims to help people find work. It covers the cost of venue hire, administration, advertising and marketing.
Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources: ITV plc, two tickets with hospitality for the Six Nations Rugby Championship, England v Wales at Twickenham, total value £2,109.60.
The Football Association, two tickets with hospitality for the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on May 21 2016, total value £450.
Mr McCartney said: “I do the surveys on the train back home, hundreds of MPs do them and all fees go to charity.
“The sponsorship for the jobs fair is to purely cover costs, it covers the venue hire, the administration and the advertising in the Examiner.
“The Cup Final was at the invite of the FA and ITV invited me to the rugby. Many people know I’m a big sports fan, I’m also on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and it’s a great opportunity to make contacts and try to encourage more focus on grassroot sport.”
Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff:
Three visits outside the UK, taken during recess of Parliament at no cost to the taxpayer.
One, to Qatar, was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, total value £6,550.
Ms Sherriff said: “The Qatar trip was looking at workers rights around the World Cup venues, quite significant concerns had been raised about how workers were being treated and we were able to make a difference. While we were there we got the Qatari leaders to agree to a meeting with the big trade unions and we have since seen improvements. We looked around the accommodation and saw there was inadequate water and we have made a difference.
“There will be British workers going out there so it’s an important subject to look at, but if we see human rights issues globally we have a duty to respond.”
Another trip, with the All-Party Parliamentary China Group was to “maintain and strengthen relations between the UK Parliament and the National People’s Congress of China and support British businesses operating in China.”
A third foreign trip was to Norfolk Island in the South Pacific Ocean to investigate the constitutional and governmental changes introduced by the Commonwealth of Australia.
Batley & Spen MP Tracy Brabin:
£10,000 from Unite the Union; £10,000 from the GMB union in Paisley and £5,000 from the GMB union in Wakefield.
One visit outside of the UK to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, total value £3,400 to meet senior political leaders including the Prime Minister ministers, the UK acting Consul-General, also the Iraqi Army and the Peshmerga, and to visit camps for internally displaced people.
Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker:
Has registered two houses in Wyke as having a value over £100,000 and/or giving rental income of over £10,000 a year. One has since been sold.
Also that he employs his daughter, Sophie Whittaker, as part-time junior secretary.
