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 or not. They are only able to deal with issues raised by people who live in their constituency, called constituents. It is against parliamentary protocol to act on behalf of people who are not from their own constituency. If you are unsure whether Eddie if your MP, please visit: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP.
How can my MP help?
An MP can try to help you with all matters for which Parliament or central government is responsible, such as:
- HM Revenue and Customs Department- tax or national insurance problems.
- Department for Work and Pensions- benefits and pension problems.
- Home Office- problems with immigration and passports.
- Department of Health- problems with hospitals and the National Health Service (NHS)
Eddie deals with a wide range of issues every day. This includes, but is not limited to, queries regarding housing, immigration, social security and pensions, and health. You can contact Eddie by email or telephone. If you are contacting Eddie on behalf of another constituent, the constituent will need to complete a permission form allowing you to act on their behalf, this form can be sent to you via email or post. If you contact me via email or post, please do include your full name and address.
MPs are not able to intervene in any legal proceedings or contract-related issues, such as private disputes with neighbours or employers, nor help to settle family arguments. Eddie can signpost individuals to specific support agencies, such as Citizen’s Advice and Welfare Rights Service.
Queries regarding Walsall Council
Problems with local authority services, such as waste collection, road maintenance, planning and school admissions fall under the remit of Walsall Council. Housing allocations fall under the remit of housing associations such as whg, WATMOS, GreenSquareAccord Longhurst, Clarion Housing, Bromford, Housing 21 and Midland Heart.
As a first port of call, you can raise your case with your local councillor, details for whom you can find here. Eddie is happy to make representations to the Council on behalf of individual constituents and ask them to investigate a case or reconsider an issue. While Eddie can provide general advice on local issues and request that your views are considered, he cannot instruct nor influence those who make these decision at Walsall Council. There are strict rules which govern how these processes take place so that they can be as independent as possible.
Cases involving Central Government
Where your case involves central government, Eddie can write a letter or email the relevant department or official or Eddie may decide to take matters to a further stage by writing to the relevant Minister.
Many constituents’ problems can be solved in this way, but not all problems have an easy solution. The Minister may not be able to give you an answer that you wanted to hear. If the decision has been made in the correct way, there might be limited options available. If there has been any unnecessary delay, or if some essential procedure has been missed out, you may be able to take your case to the relevant Ombudsman. Most Ombudsman services have a self-referral mechanism.
Report an Issue
You can now report an issue on my website here. Please include as many details as possible including your full name, address and any relevant application/reference numbers.
If you are unsure as to whether I can help, please call my office on 01922 477877 for advice.