Information on Loughborough

Loughborough MP puts down Early Day Motion about Slum Dwellers

Posted on 02/07/08

Steeple Row in Loughborough in 1913. The buildings were described as Loughboroughs worst slum.

Andy Reed, MP for Loughborough, yesterday (1 July 2008) put down an Early Day Motion in Parliament about slums around the world and the people who live in them who face appalling conditions. The EDM is calling Parliaments attention to the facts about the slums that exist around the world. It raises the issue of more help being given to people in slums and ensuring such people are able to access basic necessities such as running water, sanitation, electricity, employment and schools which are rarely present in slums at the moment.

With 1 in 6 people of the worlds population living in slums the EDM seeks to raise awareness of life in these places. The EDM is calling on the government to ensure progress is made on improving these people lives.

The Early Day Motion which MP can sign is a way for MPs to raise an issue and this EDM proposed by Andy seeks to raise the profile of slum dwellers and calls for more action to be taken to help these people.

The Loughborough MP told in-Loughborough:

This issue is one that needs to be tackled more directly, with so many people living in slums, in terrible conditions all around the world. I want to raise this issue to try and ensure that money and resources are provided to help these people improve their living conditions and access a better life.

Background Information

The EDM is 1922:

That this House notes that over 900 million people in the world live in slums and that due to a number of factors, including climate change, this figure could rise to almost 2 billion by 2020; recognises that many slum dwellers lack access to basic services such as water and sanitation, live in hazardous conditions, and are under the permanent threat of eviction; commends Soul Survivor and Tearfund for their "Slum Survivor" initiative which raises awareness of global poverty amongst young people by simulating life in a slum and raises money for projects in developing countries; and calls on the Government to ensure thatfaster progress is made towards meeting the global target for improving the lives of slum dwellers, for example byworking to agree a new Global Action Plan for water and sanitation.