Margaret Moran MP
Labour MP for Luton South

Margaret Moran the MP for Luton South is giving her full support for a new law which protects the victims of domestic violence.

From the end of September, people may be given restraining orders if they are suspected of domestic violence or harassment. Courts will have greater freedom to grant these orders whereas currently courts can only issue restraining orders following conviction for harassment or putting someone in fear of violence. This used to mean that victims of domestic violence were forced to launch a civil court action to stop their partners coming near them.

With the new guidance, even when a defendant is cleared, an order can be made within the same criminal court. Breaking the terms of a restraining order is a criminal offence carrying a five year imprisonment term.

Labour Deputy Leader and Minister for Women Harriet Harman said: ‘Domestic violence is totally unacceptable.
‘Since 1997 we have strengthened the law, increased sentences, and improved the way police, courts and the criminal justice system support victims of domestic violence, which has led to a 64 per cent drop in incidents of domestic violence.

‘But we are committed to doing more. These new restraining orders will mean that a woman does not have to go from pillar to post, immediately giving her protection from harassment.’
Margaret Moran said: ‘I attended several reviews of domestic violence cases in Luton and was astonished that repeat offenders were not having immediate action taken against them to protect women and children. I saw some awful cases of women serially terrorised and the law offering insufficient protection. I will be urging Harriet Harman to bring this in right away so no more women in Luton have to suffer in this way.’

Luton South MP Margaret Moran has greatly welcomed news that the Home Secretary Alan Johnson has agreed to issue banning notices against unofficial marches through Luton.

It is rumoured that the BNP or the extreme right wing English Defence League (EDL) have plans to demonstrate in Luton South soon, possibly over the coming bank holiday weekend.

In response to a campaign initiated by the Hope not Hate anti-fascist group, 14000 concerned people contacted the Home Secretary and the Chief Constable of Bedfordshire, Gillian Parker to ask for a ban on this march.

Margaret Moran has raised concerns with the Home Secretary over the policing of marches through Luton in recent months. At a meeting of the Home Affairs Select Committee looking into the way the G20 protests were policed Ms Moran was very critical of the way Bedfordshire Police dealt with the Armed Forces march through Luton in March this year.

“I am very pleased that the ban against unofficial marches is in place particularly after the way the official Armed Forces march was handled. I expect the police to be vigilant and to enforce this ban so that no repeat of what happened in March occurs.”

The ban will be in force for three months.

It is due to become law that traffickers bringing small children and vulnerable adults into the country for the purpose of receiving benefits will face criminal prosecution.

In May this year, Margaret Moran submitted a parliamentary question to the Home Secretary asking for a response to action being taken on the trafficking of babies into the UK. The minister’s response from the Home Office was very positive and an amendment has been made to the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill: “The amendment will allow for the prosecution, under trafficking legislation, of those who bring small children or vulnerable adults into the country for the purpose of obtaining benefits, and where the role of the child or vulnerable adult is entirely passive.”

Margaret who is very pleased with this response has a good record of pressing hard for action to be taken on this issue for several years. In 2004 she introduced a 10 minute bill to Parliament to tackle what she called “the terrible trade in child trafficking”.

This year Margaret has lobbied and has helped implement the Home Affairs Select Committee report into child trafficking which was published in May this year.

Margaret says: “The committee called for more to be done to improve the chance of successfully prosecuting for trafficking. I’m glad that the government has heard us and has taken this important step forward to prosecute.”

Luton South MP Margaret Moran has signed a statement calling on the government to tackle top earners’ wages.

She wants the Government to set up a high pay commission to regulate how much directors and chief executives can get paid. The campaign was initiated by the centre-left think-tank Compass and has the support of the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber and many Labour MPs.

In 1997, the low pay commission was set up to help implement a minimum national wage, a policy that has implemented greater fairness and economic stability. Now over 100 leading figures have signed the statement calling for a high pay commission to be set up. They include politicians, academics, writers, economists who have put their names to a statement calling on the Government to take action on excessive pay.

The Compass statement declares “The crisis we find ourselves in is one principally caused by greed. The salaries of those at the top raced away while the average wage stagnated. Inequality grew, and an economic crisis ensued.”

Furthermore, Compass wants the Government to take a “moral lead” by setting “reasonable pay structures” in public bodies including banks part-owned by the taxpayer.

Margaret Moran says: “I support the idea of setting up of a high pay commission. It’s obvious the high wage bonus culture has not been curtailed. I find it deplorable that an employee working a 40 hour week earning the minimum wage would have to work for around 226 years to receive the same remuneration as a FTSE 100 CEO does in just one year”.

After a review of energy supplier price tariffs, Ofgem is going to introduce ‘cost reflective pricing’ in order to prevent energy suppliers from charging certain customers more for their energy. The practice of doorstep selling is putting some customers at a disadvantage, especially those that are off gas and cannot access better offers. Ofgem’s remedy is to prevent suppliers from offering different prices to consumers in different areas unless these variations can be justified by cost differences. Gas Prepayment meter customers may suffer from this if suppliers decide to charge them for an additional cost for their meters.

Margaret Moran says: “Whilst I understand the reason for there to be equal treatment of all customers, with the issue of prepayment customers I believe that energy companies should absorb this extra meter cost. A recent poll indicates that the majority of people agree with this and I shall write to the government asking the minister to put an end this unfair treatment.”

Visit the Ofgem website for more information.

Margaret Moran is supporting a new initiative to help raise awareness of Loan Shark activity in the constituency. A new agreement has been agreed between Luton Borough Council and East of England Trading Standards Illegal Money Lending Team (ILMT) to identify, investigate and prosecute loan sharks.

Some of the measures that will be taken include raising awareness and highlighting the dangers of borrowing from a loan shark as well as promoting access to legal and affordable credit options. Foremost amongst these options are organisations such as credit unions and the benefits advice service. To help raise awareness of these options special community finance days will be held and promotional literature will be distributed with rent payment statements.

Margaret Moran is giving this project her full support: “These illegal money lenders have been particularly active since the beginning of the economic downturn and have been busy preying on vulnerable residents. I would like to encourage those that have suffered from this trade to come forward and report loan shark activity in order to put a stop to this exploitation.”