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DEBBIE CREW: Cross Party support continues to go from strength to strength - 27 June 2008

'Fear of eviction is one reason why tenants do not complain,' says Lembit Opik. 'It happens all the time because it is cheaper to threaten a tenant than improve a house.'

I read the interview with Lembit Opik (Shadow Minister Liberal democrat) with interest in the EHN last week. Although he was mainly supportive of measures to address retaliatory eviction he was sceptical the problem can be legislated away as it is difficult to establish if an eviction is made in retaliation or not. However, he does support our proposals to give the right of appeal against evictions they feel have been made in retaliation which of course, needs to be changed by legislation.
I also received a very encouraging email form Grant Shapps (Shadow Housing Minister conservatives) to say he is looking closely at ways to resolve this issue.
Retaliatory eviction was also discussed in an adjournment debate this week tabled by Andrew Smith MP.

During this debate, I was pleased to hear Ian Wright's (Junior Housing Minister) views on retaliatory eviction - below is an extract:
"I am very aware of the possibility of landlords evicting tenants who seek to enforce their rights, and also that some tenants may be reluctant to complain about poor conditions for fear that their landlord may then seek to end the tenancy. That situation seems to be an unintended consequence of section 21 of the 1988 Act. I have such a situation in my own constituency, with constituents coming to me in my surgeries and telling me about such problems.
However, I think that all hon. Members will also be aware of the fine balance between landlord and tenant rights. I am very keen to see an end to the practice of retaliatory eviction. Equally, however, I want to ensure that landlords do not face problems with tenants failing to pay the rent and committing antisocial behaviour. We are currently in the process of setting up some more Parliamentary opportunities." Watch this space!

The first month in my new job has been exciting and also quite depressing as I study the issues that are still faced by children. However, I have begun to work on a number of ideas to try and make a positive difference. Liverpool as you probably know is celebrating being Capital of Culture, which has brought lots of opportunities to the area. At the end of August the city will be hosting the World Fire-fighting games where 5000+ Fire Fighters will travel from all over the world to Liverpool to compete in an Olympics style event. I am hoping to use this event as a platform to reach out to young boys who find it difficult to seek help when they are worried about something. Hopefully we will encourage them to talk about or write down their 'burning issues' (excuse the pun), whilst challenging the myth - it is macho, to suffer in silence.

DEBBIE CREW: A major break through! - 11 June 2008

At last we have a chance to provide some real data on the extent of retaliatory evictions, or just as important, 'the fear' of retaliatory evictions in the UK.
Liverpool PCT have lead the way by granting £9.3m to the City Council's public protection private sector housing team - this should pay for additional inspection and enforcement activity.

As part of this approach, the team of enforcement officers have agreed to gather information to why tenants have not complained about disrepair in the past. I welcome this proactive project as it will mean the officers go to the tenant's door offering help and don't rely on the tenant coming to them. The information collected will prove invaluable to the current review on the Private Rented Sector.

The EDM has reached 100!!

Andy Love MP has agreed to table adjournment debate to discuss the issue of retaliatory eviction in more details. I just hope we can get it in before the summer recess. Watch this space...

New job.
I'm settling into my new role with the NSPCC. There's so much to learn I find I'm simply exhausted when I get home in the evening. While wasting no time, I have begun work researching for some new potential campaigns. I am particularly interested in the number of girls who seek help through Childline and the There4me website, in comparison to boys who represent a significantly smaller number. I am keen to redress this balance. When you add this to the shocking fact that suicides are more likely to be committed by males than females, it begs the question is there a link? One thing's for sure, I think we as a society need to get the message through; that it's okay to seek help whether you're male or female, and everybody needs help and advice at some time in their life. When we think there is no one to turn to...there always is but we don't always realise it.

DEBBIE CREW: Being inspired... - 30 May 2008

I had a wonderful time at the inspiring women awards and I know some won't believe me when I say I was sincerely happy to lose out to the winner of my category - Anne Parry. She is a truly an inspirational woman who co- founded PAPYRUS, a charity which is committed to the prevention of young suicides after her son at the tender age of 21 committed suicide. Anyone who can turn a sad and senseless tragedy into a positive mission to help others always gets my vote. Another person who got my vote was Claire Moore who won her category in the Arts for her work on issue based plays. She uses theatre as a power tool for positive social change, tackling issues such as domestic violence in a thought provoking way. Truly inspirational!
At the event I was deeply moved by a young girl named Lisa who stood up and told her story of how she battled through a traumatic childhood which left her depressed and low on self-esteem. A programme run by the Prince's Trust turned her life around.
My new job at the NSPPC is going very well. My last few days have been spent meeting teams that have been working on many different projects to help make cruelty to children a thing of the past. What some people may not know, I know I didn't, is how much preventative work is carried out. Early feelings are that I am going to enjoy my new role immensely.
I attended Citizens Advice annual reception in the House of Commons, which was also my last day. It was very cool having a 'leaving do' in such an iconic setting. I managed to do some lobbying to get the EDM to closer to the 100 mark, it now stands at 97. I'm hoping that this will rise after the current recess, fingers crossed!

DEBBIE CREW: The best laid plans... - 16 May 2008

I've taken this week off as annual leave, which will give me some time to get ready for my new job with the NSPCC, and then the sun came out pushing all the boring tasks I had planned to do to the backburner.

As I lounged in the garden doing a great impression of my cat, I received a call requesting an interview on radio Manchester about being nominated for the 'Inspiring Woman of the Year'. As I travelled to Manchester by train for the interview, I thought I was going to get testosterone poisoning as the train was crammed full with intoxicated football fans heading to the City to watch the UEFA Cup Final. There was a lot of friendly banter and the staff handled the fans really well. I was saddened to hear of the riots that happened later that evening, thankfully by then I was safely home.

I will be in London quite a lot next week. On Monday I'll be speaking at the Association Tenancy Relations Officers (ATRO) AGM. They have been extremely supportive of the campaign to end retaliatory evictions, so it's a pleasure to be invited to share news on the latest progress. I think tenancy relations officers (TRO) are unsung heroes and do an amazing job preventing homelessness. It is a travesty that the service doesn't attract more resources. In my experience, some Local Authorities only have one TRO with some not having any at all! What's great about ATRO is the powerful way that it provides a national platform in which to share good practice, while working with others to improve the private rented sector. ATRO have just launched their new website if you would like to find out more about their inspirational work. http://www.atro-online.com/

The EDM now stands at 96 - only 4 away!

Next time I'll tell you about the Awards lunch for 'inspiring women'.

DEBBIE CREW: Flying the nest - but is it safe? - 1 May 2008

I'm sure all parents can relate to this, when your children leave home it's a time of mixed emotions. In recent years with the onset of teenage rebellion, I thought when the time would come I would be punching the air shouting YIPPEE!

But now, I have the added anxiety of worrying about what her living conditions will be like in the private rented sector and if she tries to exercise her right could she lose her home? Sadly, when you deal with an issue like retaliatory eviction in your day to day working life I suppose it's not surprising it makes me more sensitive about what can and does often go wrong.

I think someone is looking after me as my friend has recently offered to rent my daughter her flat in the city centre. My daughter is thrilled, it's in a great location and is an almost new conversion, so no disrepair problems. Best of all I have the piece of mind knowing that she will be safe and treated fairly. I am extremely lucky, but what about the parents who have to trust that their children end up in safe and decent homes in the Private Rented Sector when they go away to University?

Pssst...
I have assurances that political pressure from some very influential politicians is happening behind the scenes to make the issue of Retaliatory eviction an urgent priority. Watch this space...

The Early Day Motion currently stands at 90!

If you want to add to the tenant voice and be part of this success story check on the link below to se if your MP has signed up? If you believe tenants should have the right to exercise their rights without the fear of eviction, then why don't you take a few minutes to complete this model letter and send it to your MP http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=34884&SESSION=891

Surprising news...
I've just been told that I've been shortlisted for 'Inspiring woman of the year', leaving me speechless. For those of you who know me, this is very rare! I'm in the final three and will find out at a VIP lunch on the 16th May. Gosh, who would have thought...

DEBBIE CREW: I'm still determined to push for legal change to protect people from unscrupulous landlords! - 16 April 2008

For those of you who tuned in for Radio 4 documentary 'Policing the landlords' I am sure you will agree it was heartbreaking listening to tenants being interviewed about the dreadful living conditions they have to endure. The programme highlighted a particular growing area of concern, of rogue landlords taking advantage of migrant workers who often face living in dangerous and cramped conditions, and don't complain because they don't know their rights or they fear losing their home. One migrant family were reassured by a tenancy relations officer that they do have rights, the landlord has to, by law, give you two months notice. I somehow doubt this gave much comfort to the pregnant woman.

There was a young girl aged 17 taking on her first home who was harassed for complaining about having no electricity due to the electrics being condemned and a young boy with learning difficulties who had to sleep in his clothes due to the freezing conditions. Their landlord is the largest landlord in Kirklees, in his own words he is worth over £5 million and was interviewed from his sunny hoilday home in Florida. He laughed when asked about the conditions his tenant's are living in. He even claimed that he was the victim. "They just take the p***," he said of his tenants. "Scumbags, that's all they are, I'm dealing with vermin."

When I hear of cases like this it renews my determination to push for the change in leglislation to give these people the right to defend themselves against unscrupulous landlords without the risk of losing their home.

On a lighter note being mentioned by name in a House of Lords debate has got to be one of my highlights of campaign work, it even impressed my teenange children! Here's a link to hansard for anyone who wants to read the text.