MP takes health centre fight to Westminster
Ms Kumar presented a petition containing over 1,600 names to the House of Commons, telling MPs the number of signatures shows the strength of feeling among people in Dudley.
Campaigners are calling on Dudley Council to finalise a deal to keep services at the Ladies Walk Health Centre and library by renewing a lease on the property, which is set to expire in March 2026.
Ms Kumar told MPs: 'This facility is a vital community hub and a treasured lifeline for local people accessing essential care.
'The petitioners request that the House of Commons urge the government to communicate urgently with the owners of the Ladies Walk centre property, Dudley Council and the NHS to secure the centre and stop its closure.'
Campaigners fear, if the lease is not renewed, services will be relocated. They are calling for the council to either renew the lease or buy the centre under a compulsory purchase order.
Dudley council's leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, says the situation has moved on substantially and negotiations are underway.
Clr Harley said: 'We are all around the table and things seem to be moving at pace. Talks are ongoing, and I am confident we will come to an agreement at some point and things will stay as they are.
'We need to let the people who know what they are doing negotiate a good deal.'
The centre was opened 25 years ago, it was constructed from 72 steel-framed modules which were craned into position.
The centre was the first Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project to be constructed off-site.
Under a PFI deal the private sector pays to construct public buildings and the public sector pays to use the building over a long-term contract.
A public meeting to discuss progress on the Ladies Walk centre will take place at the Parish Church of All Saints, Vicar Street, Sedgley, on May 21, starting at 6.30pm.
Anyone wishing to attend the meeting must pre-book at my.allevents.in/ladieswalkmeeting-may
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Equalities watchdog guidance delayed until later in year
Guidance from Britain's equalities watchdog including on trans peoples' use of certain spaces is likely to be delayed until later this year. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it received more than 50,000 responses to its code of practice consultation. The commission had been expected to present final guidance to women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson by the time Parliament broke up for summer next week. But in an update on Tuesday, the regulator said it was continuing to review the thousands of responses and would be amending its draft code over the summer. In an update on its website, the commission said: 'We received over 50,000 responses to our code of practice consultation. 'We are working at pace to review these and will use our findings to amend the draft code of practice over the summer. Keep checking this page for further updates.' The commission had earlier tripled the length of time for feedback, from an original proposal for a two-week consultation, following criticism from some that this was too short a timeframe. Following a Supreme Court ruling in April, which said the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex, the commission issued draft guidance on a range of topics, including trans peoples' participation in sport and use of toilets. According to the draft, a birth certificate could be requested by a sports club or hospital if there is 'genuine concern' about what biological sex a person is. Elsewhere, the draft code said trans people can be excluded from competitive sport 'when necessary for reasons of safety or fair competition', and gave an example of how some services might be able to adapt to 'offer toilets in individual lockable rooms to be used by both sexes'. The code stated that a service provided only to women and trans women or only to men and trans men 'is not a separate-sex or single-sex service' under the Equality Act and could amount to unlawful sex discrimination against those of the opposite sex who are not allowed to use it. Commission chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner previously said there was an 'obvious' demand since the court's ruling for 'authoritative guidance' for a range of providers from businesses to hospitals to sports clubs.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Authority over death belongs to God alone, Church of England leader warns
Authority over death belongs to God only, the Church of England's parliament has been told as its current highest-ranking bishop spoke out against assisted dying. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell praised a colleague and member of the House of Lords for her 'principled and persistent opposition' to proposed legislation being considered at Westminster. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill cleared the House of Commons last month in a historic vote, bringing assisted dying closer to becoming law in England and Wales. It has now moved to the House of Lords where it will undergo further debate and scrutiny. In the immediate aftermath of the June vote, Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, who sits in the House of Lords, said peers 'must oppose' the Bill when it reaches them due to the 'mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe'. She is among those opposed who have called for more work to improve funding and access to 'desperately needed' palliative care services instead. Addressing the Church of England General Synod – also known as the Church's parliament – on Friday, Mr Cottrell voiced his staunch opposition to the Bill. He said there was a 'compelling narrative of what it means to be human – and in all our glorious diversity, made in the image of God, and living Jesus-shaped lives – that will enable us to withstand, and even turn back, those utilitarian tides of opinion that risk making, for instance, assisted dying a reality in our national life, changing forever the contract between doctor and patient, pressurising the vulnerable, and assuming an authority over death that belongs to God alone'. Mr Cottrell – who is the temporary leading religious voice of the Church while the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury is awaited – thanked Dame Sarah and 'other Lords Spiritual for their principled and persistent opposition to the assisted dying Bill in Parliament'. It is expected Synod members will engage in a debate on assisted dying during this five-day session. Making the case for assisted dying ahead of last month's vote, a terminally ill Christian preacher criticised the 'nonsensical' religious argument against assisted dying that suffering must be part of life. Church of England lay preacher Pamela Fisher, who is terminally ill with cancer, made an impassioned speech against the religious arguments made by some who oppose assisted dying. Speaking to reporters in June, she said: 'I completely reject the assumption that the sanctity of life requires terminally ill people to undergo a distressing and painful death against their will. 'I disagree with those that say it is God alone who decides how and when we die. 'Yes, life is a gift from God to be honoured but it's nonsensical to say that assisted dying is wrong because suffering is part of God's plan for us.' The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Elsewhere in his opening address to Synod, Mr Cottrell acknowledged, in an apparent reference to controversy around the handling of abuse scandals over the years, that the Church of England had been 'humbled' of late. He said: 'God has humbled us in so many ways this year. 'It has not been easy, but if it has made us more penitent, more determined to put victims and survivors first, more resolved to sort out all sorts of things to do with clergy discipline and accountability, terms of service, independent safeguarding, and other things besides, then, Synod, God the Redeemer, who believes in his Church, is at work among us.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Bereavement leave to be extended to miscarriages before 24 weeks
Parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy will be entitled to bereavement leave under a planned law change. The government is set to amend the Employment Rights Bill to give parents the legal right to take time off work to grieve if they experience pregnancy loss at any stage. As it stands, bereavement leave is only available to parents who lose an unborn child after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the change will give "people time away from work to grieve". "No one who is going through the heartbreak of pregnancy loss should have to go back to work before they are ready," Rayner said. Parents are currently entitled to a fortnight's leave if they suffer pregnancy loss after 24 weeks, or if a child younger than 18 dies. The extended right to leave will be for "at least" one week, though the exact length is still being consulted on. The Employment Rights Bill, which includes further measures to protect in law the right of employees to have time off to grieve the loss of a loved one, is already making its way through Parliament. Labour MP Sarah Owen, who chairs the Women and Equalities Committee, has previously campaigned for the change. In 2021, she told MPs that after her own miscarriage she felt physically better in a few days but had "all the classic signs" of grieving. "I could not eat, I could not sleep. I really did not hold much hope that life would ever get brighter," she said. In March, business minister Justin Madders told MPs he accepted the principle of bereavement leave for pregnancy loss and promised to look at adding the right to the Employment Rights Bill. Vicki Robinson, chief executive of the Miscarriage Association, welcomed the announcement. She said it was "a hugely important step that acknowledges the often very significant impact of pre-24-week loss, not only for those experiencing the physical loss, but for their partners too". Government backs miscarriage bereavement leave Paid leave for bereaved parents is 'crucial' 'I went back after 3 days': Calls for miscarriage bereavement leave
