Members of Parliament are elected to the House of Commons to represent the interests and concerns of all the people who live in their constituency, whether they voted for them at the General Election, or not. They are only able to deal with issues raised by their own constituents. To find out if I represent you, enter your postcode here.
I receive a lot of correspondence from my constituents, on a variety of different topics, and in some cases the issues people write to me about, unfortunately do not fall within my remit as the local Member of Parliament; so I am unable to help in these situations. That’s why I have created a handy guide below to point you in the right direction for support.
What can I do as your MP?
· Consider and vote on legislation;
· Attend, scrutinise, speak and vote on debates in Parliament;
· Visit local organisations, businesses and community events in the constituency;
· Ask ministers questions in the House of Commons, and submit written questions to government departments, which are published in Hansard here.
· Take part in Adjournment and Westminster Hall debates where I may raise constituents’ issues or concerns;
· Present petitions to Parliament on your behalf. The wording and format need to be done in a certain way. For more information click here.
MPs can also write to government departments, officials or ministers on behalf of their constituents. Many problems are solved in this way, and I aim to respond within 10 working days. Please be advised with more complex cases this may take slightly longer.
You can also get in touch to ask me to support a particular campaign you feel strongly about; but general campaign emails will receive less of a priority, from my office, than specific local casework matters.
You can also tell me about a problem affecting people in the local area, and I may be able to help.
What an MP cannot do, however, is have any jurisdiction over local Council decisions (outlined below). However, I can write to the council and ask them to look into a problem or to reconsider an issue. In the first instance though, constituents should contact their local council or councillor directly.
Everyone in Mid Leicestershire is also represented by a local councillor on Leicestershire County Council, the authority responsible for managing many of the services you use every day.
To confirm that you fall under Leicestershire County Council, enter your postcode here.
What Leicestershire County Council is responsible for:
· Highways and road maintenance, including fixing potholes
· Street lighting
· Social services
· Adult social care
· Most libraries
· Fire and public safety
· Education, including school placements, including for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
· Trading standards
· Public transport in Leicestershire
Useful links:
To report a pothole, or general road issue, follow this link: www.leicestershire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/road-maintenance/report-a-road-problem
To report a flood follow this link: www.leicestershire.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/flooding-and-drainage/report-a-flood
To find out who the County Councillor that represents your area is, click here.
As a Leicestershire resident you will also be represented by a smaller District or Borough Council, which provide more localised services. You will fall within one of these three lower tier authorities: Charnwood Borough Council, Blaby District Council, or Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council.
The primary difference between a Borough and District Council is honorary as opposed to a significant difference in power or function.
To find out what district or borough council you fall under, enter your postcode here.
What District/Borough councils are responsible for:
· Bin collections and litter
· Council tax
· Benefits
· Planning decisions
· Housing
· Benefits and grants
· Environmental health
· Community safety
· Recycling
Useful links:
Charnwood Borough Council website: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk
Blaby District Council website: www.blaby.gov.uk
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council website: www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk
Parish Councils are the lowest level of government in the UK and are below district and borough councils. They are elected to focus on smaller, more ‘localised’ issues such as:
· Allotments
· Public clocks
· Bus shelters
· Community centres
· Play area and play equipment
· Parish owned parks, open spaces, sports grounds and recreation grounds
· Cemeteries
· Grants to help local organisations
· Consultation on neighbourhood planning
They also have the power to issue fixed penalty fines for things like:
· Litter
· Graffiti
· Fly posting
· Dog offences
To find out what parish council you fall under, enter your postcode here.