Every week constituents write to me or visit my fortnightly advice surgeries, looking for help with difficulties they are facing. I am pleased to say that by making representations on their behalf I have been able to help many constituents achieve the outcome they were hoping for. ( Summary of the most common cases can be found by clicking on the pie chart below. ) Here are just a few of the cases where I have achieved a positive result:
- A constituent visited one of my regular surgeries regarding her son’s purchase of a one-way Aer Lingus ticket (over £1,000). Her son has severe mental health problems and purchased the ticket in acute distress with no final destination planned. His mother had tried more than thirty times to contact Aer Lingus by telephone to discuss this situation but she had been unable to speak to a representative of the company. I contacted the Chief Executive at Aer Lingus. Within a few days following my enquiry, a full refund of the fare including fees was agreed. Thanking me, my constituent wrote: “I am just writing on behalf of myself and my son to thank you so much for managing to get him a refund of his Aer Lingus ticket from Newcastle to Boston. I know after weeks of trying myself to contact Aer Lingus we would have been unsuccessful without your help. Thank you so much”.
- I was contacted by a constituent regarding his Student Finance England (SFE) Dependant’s Grant for the 2012/13 academic year. He was advised that his several concerns would take up to six weeks to be examined due to a heavy backlog of applications. I wrote to the Chief Executive at the Student Loans Company on his behalf. His entitlement to Grants for Dependants has now been reinstated and they have paid his entitlement for the second term of the current academic year.
- My constituent had problems meeting the costs of his brother’s funeral. He was unable to receive any State aid as both he and his mother work. I contacted the Government highlighting concerns regarding the availability of the Social Fund Scheme. The response from the Government was not helpful to my constituent’s own situation but he thanked me for my support in the matter. He wrote, “I know you have been pursuing and chasing for a response .. and keeping me updated every step of the way, for this I am very grateful, as you have gone above and beyond what you needed to do. Thank you.”
