I thought Dean Village residents might be interested in some of the measures which have been introduced by the UK government to help people through the current difficult economic circumstances. If you would like more details about any of these, do get in touch with my office and I will send you more information.

Help for families

• Child Benefit  - in January this rose to £20 a week for the first child and to £13.20 for other children.

• Child Tax Credit - from April this went up by £75 above inflation and it will also increase next year by £20 a week above the rate of inflation.

• Health in Pregnancy Grant - a new grant of £190 for mums-to-be was introduced in April to help with the extra costs that any new family faces. Contact your midwife or doctor for details.

• Help for families with disabled children - the Budget announced that they will receive a new payment of £100 a year and severely disabled children will receive £200 a year.

Help for pensioners

• State Pension - this will increase by at least 2.5 % next year whatever the rate of inflation.

• Pension Credit - from April, this was increased to give single people over 60 a guaranteed weekly income of at least £130 or £198.45 for couples.

• The amount of savings that are disregarded when pension credit is calculated will also go up from £6,000 to £10,000.

Support for Carers

• New recognition for carers - time spent caring for grandchildren will now count towards the calculation of the state pension. I was really pleased to see that the vital contribution made by carers is properly recognised.

• Flexible working – in January the Government introduced a new right to request flexible working for parents of children up to the age of 16, disabled children under 18 and carers.

Help for the unemployed

• Extra funding for Jobcentre Plus and the Flexible New Deal - to ensure that they are able to offer a personalised service to those looking for work.

• Future jobs fund – this will offer a guarantee of a job, training or work placement for all 18-24 year olds who are unemployed for 12 months.

Help for Homeowners

• Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme - this UK Government scheme helps families who are out of work with mortgage interest payments.

• Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme - this is another UK-wide scheme that helps people who have suffered a temporary loss of income from employment or self-employment to pay their mortgage.

Pedestrian safety in Belford Road

Turning to another issue, some of you have contacted me about pedestrian safety in Belford Road. The problem may have become worse due to extra traffic being diverted as a result of the tram works. I have raised the issue with the City Council and as a result, it is conducting a detailed investigation of road safety in Belford Road. I will continue to press your concerns and will keep you up to date with any developments.