It's World Children's Day

And I've decided to mark it by announcing my special children's surgery. All under 16s in Glasgow North East are invited to book into my surgery in December. Details on the pics but make sure you get your parent or guardian to contact me and to come with you to the surgery. I want to hear how you are and what you think I should be doing as your MP.

Today is Equal Pay Day

It's 50 years since the Equal Pay Act. Do we have equal pay? Nope. Not always. That needs to change. Thanks to the Fawcett Society for the mask named The Jemison after Carol Mae Jemison, a scientist, medic and the first black woman to travel to space. 

The Talisman in Springburn is on its way down

We have been fighting for this for so long. The community has been fighting for it for over 20 years. The Labour controlled council did NOTHING about it. They let it lie in ruins, a blight on the landscape for longer than one of my colleagues who fought for this, SNP councillor Christina Cannon, has been alive. It is disgraceful.

But now, the SNP council who have been supportive of our insistence that it is demolished have put the plans in place to make sure it happens. The day that comes down will be of huge significance to Springburn. It's the day that we say actually you DO matter, your environment matters and your wishes matter. 

Somehow Labour will still try to take the credit / pick holes / point the finger. I don't care. I just want it gone and Springburn to get the attention it deserves.

You can read about it here. 

SNP leader at Westminster fights for 'The Excluded'

Many of us in the SNP have been speaking up about The Excluded which is the term for the millions of people who didn't benefit from furlough or the Self Employed support available. Having Ian BLACKFORD raise it at Prime Minister's Questions puts more pressure on the UK Government to do something. If you're affected by this have a look at the website for The Excluded. 

£20 uplift MUST be added to ALL benefits, not just one

My constituents deserve justice

I PUT PRESSURE ON THE UK GOVERNMENT FOR PERMANENT TORY U-TURN ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT CUTS

Today I called AGAIN for the £20 UC uplift to stay and be extended to legacy benefits. You can read all about it here.

Why is the UK government body the DWP forcing staff to work from the office AGAINST UK and Scottish Government rules?

This is a speech I made on 22 October having spent three weeks trying to speak to someone at the DWP. It's not good enough but worse is the actual substance of what I'm talking about.

In summary both governments have been telling people since 23rd September 'if you can work from home, you must work from home' and yet, the UK government body, the Department of Work and Pensions is forcing people who DO work from home, to come into the office.

In the one office I'm referring to ten people have tested positive for COVID 19 in the last two weeks.

This clip was part of a longer speech about Covid 19 so this bit is just about the DWP. I followed it up with a letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. I will not let up on this.

What can you ask your MP to do for you?

This is a short blog post to try to answer the question 'what can you ask your MP to do for you?'.

I can't cover everything here, I'm just going to tell you some of the things people have come to me about in the hope that you'll realise that yes, I can help and yes, you should get in touch if you could do with a bit of support. 

But even if you don't see anything that sounds similar to your particular situation, my advice is get in touch anyway. The chances are I can help but if I can't, I will know who can. And if I don't already know, I've got a fantastic team of people who will find out for you.

So try me. Either I'll get a fantastic result for you or I'll tell you where to get the help you need - or somewhere in between. You'll be further forward than you were before you asked so what are you waiting for?

First things first. Am I your MP? You can check by clicking on this link and putting in your postcode. If I'm not your MP it will tell you who is and how to contact them. Parliamentary rules prevent me from representing you if you are someone else's constituent.

If you're mine you can email me on anne.mclaughlin.mp@parliament.uk or you can call 0207 219 6484 and leave a message. All of my team are working from home in Scotland, they pick up the messages and get back to you. I don't have a Glasgow number yet because … lockdown so just call the London number or email.

So, what do we help constituents with?

Welfare Rights.

                         Employment Rights.

                                                        Home Office.

                                                                            Housing. 

                                                                                        Environment.

                                                                                                        Education.

                                                                                                                        Much more.

Generally speaking, MPs deal with the issues that arise from decision of the UK Government, MSPs deal with issues arising from Scottish Government decisions and Councillors deal with matters relating to Council decisions.

I do not pass anyone onto any of my colleagues without asking. I am very fortunate in that in one part of the constituency I have Bob Doris MSP and in the other I have Ivan McKee MSP. We work very closely together. We are all fortunate to work with some great SNP councillors and if you want to know who your councillors are you can click here and put in your postcode.

So if you come to me about an issue with rubbish collection, I CAN and DO deal with it but I will normally ask if you're happy for me to ask the local councillor to look into it. This is because they are in more regular contact with that department and can probably get through more quickly. Also because the councillors will want to know if there are particular issues we are hearing about a lot. 

If you come to me about an NHS matter, I CAN and DO deal with it but I will normally ask if you're happy for me to ask the local MSP to look into it, just for the same reasons I've given above. 

If you say to me 'no, I want YOU to look into it' I will always do that.

I have a fantastic team of caseworkers and the areas they specialise in and the things we're most often asked about at the moment are:

Welfare Rights

Social security payments not coming through on time, suddenly stopping, help with appeals, advice on your rights. All of these things we're becoming very good at getting results for. I also have a very experienced professional welfare rights advisor starting as soon as this pandemic allows him to. But even with the existing team, we've managed to get thousands upon thousands of pounds for people who were wrongly told they were not entitled. 

Employment Rights

One of the biggest issues since lockdown has been people being forced to work against government guidance on CV19. I've fought many individual cases on this and I've raised it in parliament multiple times. If your employer is doing anything that makes you uncomfortable or that you think puts you in danger, get in touch. And remember, everything is confidential, I am not allowed to use your name without your permission and I know how fearful people are of losing their jobs. I'll work WITH you on this one.

Home Office Matters - Immigration

Whether you've been given a VISA but are still waiting months later to receive it, or you're finding your mum isn't allowed to come even for a visit to meet her grandchildren, we can support you. Perhaps you've married someone from overseas and don't know how to navigate the complex system to allow them to come and live with you. Or maybe you've waited years without a decision on your asylum claim and you've been living life in limbo. I can't guarantee anything but I WILL do my best to help - and that fantastic team I told you about, they've been getting great results for people.

Coronavirus - Self Employed and Business Support

We've helped hundreds of people and businesses who were not sure what they were entitled to, had trouble applying, were turned down initially or were simply forgotten about. My mail box is heaving with questions about support for businesses and people who are self employed during the pandemic and we've built up quite a knowledge - so don't hesitate to ask if you need to.

Coronavirus - individual help

Again, I've had hundreds, possibly thousands of people emailing or phoning because they have found themselves needing advice as a result of Coronavirus.

In addition I'm picking up many more 'cases' by being out and about. I've been out helping food hubs deliver food in Possilpark, Milton, Springburn, Royston, Carntyne, Dennistoun, Germiston, Barmulloch, Balornock, Blackhill and many more places.

I put the bags of shopping on the doorstep, ring the well, step well back and when they open I let them know I'm their MP and ask if they need help with anything else. 

Sometimes it's that they've lost their jobs and are not sure how to claim Universal Credit, others are without food, some could afford the food but were self isolating and couldn't get home deliveries plus they needed medicines or the dog walked. I've had people with addictions who can't attend their usual support services. I have been able to help them all because I know which local organisations are available and what services they provide.

I want to share a story about that so you know that it's always best to ask. I delivered food to someone who I had a wee chat with and he told me he was a recovering alcoholic. He hadn't had a drink for more than 10 years but his AA meetings used to keep him going. He said he was feeling determined but of course lockdown was making it hard. I asked if the AA meetings were online and he said yes but he wasn't a computer man and besides, he didn't have one and even his phone was the kind of phone I had in 1995 (much preferred it tbh) - in other words, it could make and receive calls and texts and that was it.

I knew an organisation that gave tablets (the IPAD kind of tablet) to people in need and got in touch with them. They gave him a tablet, paid for his wifi and showed him how to use it and he now attends his AA meetings virtually. 

This is not me saying I can get everyone an IPAD, this is me saying that I and my team think holistically when we listen to your story and if there's a way of helping, we will do it. So even if you don't think there's anything we can do, even if you think there's no real answer to your predicament, why not get in touch and try. I can't guarantee to get the right outcome for everyone but I can tell you everyone in the team goes above and beyond the call of duty trying to. 

Call us - you won't regret it 😊

0207 219 6484

anne.mclaughlin.mp@parliament.uk

Black History Month - the WHAT, the WHY and the WHO

As the SNP's Westminster Spokesperson on Women and Equalities and simply as me, someone who really cares about this stuff, I was so happy to be able to speak in this debate.

The debate was 'that this House has considered Black History Month' (BHM) and it was a backbench business debate in the name of Abena OPPONG-ASARE, the MP for Erith and Thamesmead.

I was surprised that it was a DEBATE. I assumed there would be lots of consensus but instead there was quite a bit of rancour coming from the Tory benches including an unnecessarily snide intervention on myself which you'll see if you take a look at section 3 of my speech.

It's in 3 sections so you can watch the bits that are of most interest to you. 

Section 1 is the WHAT of Black History Month where I talk about what it means to me and this part includes my thoughts on what decolonising the education curriculum actually means.

Section 2 is the WHY of Black History Month - WHY is it important that we acknowledge and celebrate black history? What difference does it make? Take a look to find out why and hear how I think racism would be on its way out if we did this.

Section 3 is the WHO of Black History Month - who am I talking about? Who are these figures in black history who've been 'whitewashed' out of existence? (If you're a Scotland football fan, you might want to watch this as I go down 'memory' lane to the heady days of defeating other teams.)

I want to make a final point. I AM not, I COULD not and I WANT not to lead any of the campaigns on black history or racism. I am white. I have never and will never experience racism. I hope to be the strongest possible ally to my black friends, family and colleagues in the campaigns that they lead.

PS The picture shows me and my wonderful God Daughter Toniann who features in section 3 of the speech. 

Black History Month - WHAT does it mean to me?

Black History Month - Why is it so important?

Black History Month - WHO am I talking about?

GDPR Statement from Anne McLaughlin MP

Anne McLaughlin MP Privacy Policy

 

Notification:

I am registered as a data controller with the UK Information Commissioner and the reference number is A1097236.

 

How I use your personal data:

I process any personal data under the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (the DPA).

What is personal data?

Personal data is any information from which a living individual can be identified.

I will hold all personal data securely, I will only use it for the purposes it was collected or acquired for and I will only pass it on to third parties with your consent or according to a legal obligation.

Further information about the data protection legislation and your rights is available here:

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/is-my-information-being-handled-correctly/

Purposes and categories of processing personal data:

I collect and use personal data to fulfil the following functions and associated activities of my office;

§  to carry out casework on behalf of my constituents;

§  to tend to issues and campaigns I am involved in;

§  to maintain supplier relationships;

§  to process expenses, accounts and associated records.

§  to send newsletters and other information connected with my work as an MP

 

If you contact me with an inquiry or a complaint, I will normally need to store your contact details to deal with your inquiry or complaint.  This is considered to be “normal category data” under the GDPR.

Other personal data you may provide to me may include details about your personal and family life, social circumstances and business activities, your employment and education details, financial information or information about your housing situation etc.. Depending on what views, issues or experiences you wish to discuss with me, you may be sharing “special category” data with me. For example, this could include details about race or ethnic origin, political or religious views, sex life or sexual orientation, trade union membership, physical or mental health, genetic or biometric data or any criminal offences.

If you are a supplier, I will normally need to store your name, contact and payment details for the purposes of the contract between us.

The legal basis for processing personal data:

Data protection law states that I must have a legal basis for handling your personal data. The permitted legal bases can be found in the GDPR and the DPA.

Casework

Where it is necessary for me to process data for the purpose of taking reasonable action on behalf of a constituent, I do not require the constituent’s consent for that processing.  The legal basis for the processing is that it is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest or, as regards special category data, the substantial public interest. In particular:

§  In relation to ‘normal’ category data, the legal basis is that the processing is necessary for an activity supporting or promoting democratic engagement (article 6(1)(e) GDPR and section 8(e) DPA). Democratic engagement covers a wide range of political activities inside and outside election periods, including but not limited to: democratic representation, communicating with electors and interested parties, surveying and opinion gathering, campaigning activities, activities to increase voter turnout, supporting the work of elected representatives, prospective candidates and official candidates and fundraising to support any of these activities;

§  In relation to ‘special category data’, the legal basis is that the processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, which includes any processing carried out by an MP, or a person acting with their authority, for the purpose of reasonable actions taken by the MP in response to a request by an individual to take action on their behalf (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR and paragraph 23 of Schedule 1 of the DPA).

 

Other processing activities

For other activities and functions which involve the processing of personal data, the legal basis for processing may, depending on the circumstances, be:

§  Processing necessary for a task carried out in the public interest (which includes processing necessary for an activity supporting or promoting democratic engagement (article 6(1)(e) GDPR and section 8(e) DPA). Democratic engagement covers a wide range of political activities inside and outside election periods, including but not limited to: democratic representation, communicating with electors and interested parties, surveying and opinion gathering, campaigning activities, activities to increase voter turnout, supporting the work of elected representatives, prospective candidates and official candidates and fundraising to support any of these activities

§  Processing necessary for the pursuit of legitimate interests. Consent of the data subject (the person who the personal data relates to.)

§  Processing necessary to comply with legal obligations

§  Processing necessary to protect vital interests of individuals

§  Processing necessary for the performance of a contract

 

As for any sensitive (or ‘special category’) data, the legal basis relied upon may, depending on the circumstances, be:

§  Processing necessary to comply with legal obligations

§  Explicit consent

§  Processing necessary to protect vital interests of individuals

§  The data has been manifestly made public by the data subject

§  Processing necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims

 

Categories of processing activities and corresponding legal basis:

Processing of personal data means anything from collecting, storing, using to sharing and deleting (see link above for more information).

I process personal data in the following ways:

For further information on the legal basis for processing here:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/lawful-basis-for-processing/

Processing activity	The legal basis	How long I retain the data	How the data may be shared
Receiving, storing and responding to general enquiries by letter, email or in person	The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or for the purpose of a legitimate interest (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR).  The task is the engagement of constituents with their elected parliamentary representative. The accessibility of elected representatives is in the public interest.	For the duration of Anne’s mandate as an MP plus 2 months after (unless the data subject instructs otherwise). Personal data will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is not retained longer than necessary.	With relevant persons within the office of Anne McLauhlin MP and any additional relevant individuals or agencies with your consent.
Receiving, storing and responding to complaints by letter, email or in person	The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR). The task is the engagement of constituents with their elected parliamentary representative. The accessibility of elected representatives is in the public interest.	For the duration of Anne’s mandate as an MP plus 2 months after (unless the data subject instructs otherwise). Personal data will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is not retained longer than necessary.	With relevant persons within the office of Anne McLaughlin MP and any additional relevant individuals or agencies with your consent.
Receiving and storing data in relation to a personal issue or problem raised by a constituent (casework)	The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR). The task is the engagement of constituents with their elected parliamentary representative. The accessibility of elected representatives is in the public interest. For special category data: The processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Art 9(2)(g) GDPR and DPA Sch 1, para 23; (this covers any processing carried out by an MP, or a person acting with their authority, for the purpose of reasonable actions taken by an MP in response to a request by an individual to take action on their behalf).	For the duration of Anne’s mandate as an MP plus 2 months after (unless the data subject instructs otherwise). Personal data will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is not retained longer than necessary.	With relevant persons within the office of Anne McLaughlin MP and any additional relevant individuals or agencies with your consent.
Collect and use data for the purpose of sending out newsletters with information about surgeries, office contact details and upcoming events and campaigns	The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR).	For the duration of Anne’s mandate as an MP (unless the data subject instructs otherwise). Personal data will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is not retained longer than necessary.	With relevant persons within the office of Anne McLaughlin MP.
Take, store and use photos and videos in connection with my engagements and events I attend in my capacity as a MP.	The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR) or for the purpose of a legitimate interest (Art 6(1)(f) GDPR) or the data subject has provided consent (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR).	For the duration of Anne’s mandate as an MP plus 2 months after (unless the data subject instructs otherwise). Personal data will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is not retained longer than necessary.	On Anne McLaughlin MP’s website, social media, press releases and newsletters only with your consent.
Receiving and storing data in relation to a survey on a constituency issue.	The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR) or for the purpose of a legitimate interest (Art 6(1)(f) GDPR) or the data subject has provided consent (Art 6(1)(e) GDPR).	For the duration of Anne’s mandate as an MP plus 2 months after (unless the data subject instructs otherwise). Personal data will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is not retained longer than necessary.	With relevant persons within the office of Anne McLaughlin MP and any additional relevant individuals or agencies with your consent.

 

Sharing of personal data:

I sometimes may be required to share the personal information I hold with other individuals or organisations including for example:

§  healthcare, social and welfare organisations

§  local and central government bodies

§  educators and examining bodies

§  statutory law enforcement agencies

§  investigating bodies

§  elected representatives and other holders of public office

§  financial organisations

§  crime prevention agencies and the police

§  Transport agencies and infastructure bodies

§  Energy, utility and telecoms providers

Depending on the circumstances, the legal basis for sharing data with these organisations may be that:

§  the sharing is necessary for complying with a legal obligation to which I am subject (Art 6(1)(c) GDPR);

§  the sharing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another person (Art 6(1)(d)); or

§  the sharing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or substantial public interest (Art 6(1)(e) or Art 9(2)(g) GDPR).

 

I may seek your prior express consent to share your personal data with any of the following:

§  employment and recruitment agencies

§  press and the media

§  family, associates and representatives of the person whose personal data I am processing

§  enquirers

§  subjects of complaints

§  political parties

§  charitable parties

 

The consequences of my not processing personal data are:

§  Where I am processing personal data for the performance of a contract, the consequence of not processing the personal data is that I may not be able to fulfil my obligations under that contract.

§  Where I am processing personal data in accordance with a statutory obligation, the consequence of not processing personal data may be that I am liable to regulatory fines for non-compliance with that statutory duty.

 

Automated data processing:

I do not use automated processing techniques to process your data.

Sharing or processing personal data outside the European Economic Area:

Please note that sending personal data outside the EEA includes using online services (email distribution, survey software etc.) that are based outside the EEA.

 

Retention of personal data:

I retain personal data for the period that is necessary to carry out casework on behalf of my constituents, work on issues and campaigns I am involved in and to maintain supplier information, expenses, accounts and associated records.

Using my website:

My website uses cookies to gather information about how visitors use my website to help me improve its performance, and secondly, to improve the visitor experience when using the website by delivering pages more quickly or remembering user settings.  Additionally, videos on the website may use cookies created by third-party providers such as Flash or YouTube.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small files saved to the user’s computers hard drive that track, save and store information about the user’s interactions and usage of the website. This allows the website to provide the users with a tailored experience and is necessary for some parts of the website to function properly.

Users are advised that if they wish to deny the use and saving of cookies from this website on to their computers hard drive they should take necessary steps within their web browsers security settings to block all cookies from this website and its external serving vendors.

 

Use of Cookies

This website uses cookies to better the users’ experience while visiting the website. Where applicable this website uses an ‘implied consent’ cookie system allowing the user on their visit to the website to continue or leave without placing cookies on their system. Users can also set their browser to allow or disallow the use of cookies on their computer / device. This complies with recent legislation requirements for websites to obtain consent from users before leaving behind or reading files such as cookies on a user’s computer / device.

This website uses tracking software to monitor its visitors to better understand how they use it. This software is provided by Google which uses cookies to track visitor usage. The software will save a cookie to your computer’s hard drive in order to track and monitor your engagement and usage of the website, but will not store, save or collect personal information. You can read Google’s privacy policy here for further information. 

Other cookies may be stored to your computer’s hard drive by external websites. Such cookies are used for conversion and referral tracking and typically expire after 30 days, though some may take longer. No personal information is stored, saved or collected.

 

Your rights:

The GDPR sets out the rights which individuals have in relation to personal information held about them by data controllers. These rights are listed below, although whether you will be able to exercise each of these rights in a particular case may depend on the purpose for which the data controller is processing the data and the legal basis upon which the processing takes place (see the individual privacy notices listed above for further details in relation to specific processing activities).

Access to your information – You have the right to request a copy of the personal information about you that I hold.

 

Correcting your information – I want to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date and you may me to correct any personal information about you that you believe does not meet these standards.

 

Deletion of your information – You have the right to ask me to delete personal information about you where:

§  You consider that I no longer require the information for the purposes for which it was obtained

§  I am using that information with your consent and you have withdrawn your consent.

§  You have validly objected to my use of your personal information –my use of your personal information is contrary to law or our other legal obligations.

 

Objecting to how we may use your information – You have the right at any time to require me to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes.  In addition, where I use your personal information to perform tasks carried out in the public interest or for a legitimate interest then, if you ask me to, I will stop using that personal information unless there are overriding legitimate grounds to continue.

 

Restricting how we may use your information – in some cases, you may ask me to restrict how I  use your personal information.  This right might apply, for example, where I am checking the accuracy of personal information about you that I hold or assessing the validity of any objection you have made to my use of your information.  The right might also apply where this is no longer a basis for using your personal information but you don’t want me to delete the data.  Where this right is validly exercised, I may only use the relevant personal information with your consent, for legal claims or where there are other public interest grounds to do so.

 

Withdrawing consent using your information – Where I use your personal information with your consent you may withdraw that consent at any time and we will stop using your personal information for the purpose(s) for which consent was given.

Please contact me using the contact details provided above.

Changes to my privacy statement

I keep this privacy statement under regular review and will place any updates on this website. 

This privacy statement was last updated on 7 October 2020.

Contact information and further advice

Anne McLaughlin MP

179 Ayr Street

Glasgow

G21 4BW

anne.mclaughlin.mp@parliament.uk

 

Complaints

I seek to resolve directly all complaints about how I handle personal information but you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Online: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/

By phone: 0303 123 1113

By post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF