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