On Tuesday 17 March, the Government agreed to an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill that would increase financial support for the blind. Earlier this year I signed a Parliamentary Motion along with 220 of my fellow MPs calling for such an increase. This is just one of the many steps we have taken over the last 12 years to help the disabled.

The new bill will give many of our blind citizens a new sense of freedom, thousands will see their disability living allowance increased by £29 a week. This isn't the only thing we have done to help those who need it. In the past few weeks we have won a series of votes on various welfare proposals that will help more people get off benefit and into the workforce as well as aid for mothers to prepare for future employment.

These are really only a few of the things that the Labour Party has done in the last 12 years to support those less fortunate. Their desire to help people, everyday people who work hard and keep high spirits, is what drew me to the Labour party. It is a goal of mine to make sure that the economic crisis doesn't crowd out the many other challenges that face our citizens.

I believe we have succeeded in maintaining our vigilance in helping pensioners, the disabled, single mothers, and low income families just to name a few. Since Labour took office in 1997 we have lifted over 1 million pensioners out of poverty- that is no small feat. We spend £12 billion more on pensioners than any Tory government has. And we have increased pensioners state income by 25 per cent in the last decade, more than the rise in earnings over the same period.

Our focus has not just been on the older members of society or the disabled; we have made strides to help all families. A new mother is now able to claim 9 months of paid maternity leave, and paternity leave for new dads is guaranteed for all. All parents can receive help to save for their children's education, and we have supplied more help for the poorest children and those in care than in any previous year in our history. And as a result of the tax credit system 40% of families pay no net tax. That's over 3 million families!

There is real help out there for everyone such as the 'Health in Pregnancy Grant' for all mums to be who are 25 weeks pregnant, or the Working Tax Credit to help pay for day care. We have done a lot. But there is always more to be done. We must never just sit back and pat our selves on the back, we must continually move forward to create a better life for those in need and a better standard of living for all.

If you have any questions about how to access the benefits listed here or to see if there are other benefits you and your family are eligible for please contact me at MP@1066.net or go to the Labour party's website at www.labour.org.uk/home there you can find all the tools you will need to claim all forms of benefits.

To keep up to date on what I'm doing stop by my website http://www.michaelfoster.org.uk/.

You can also receive a monthly update on my activities by sending an email to mp@1066.net with 'MPFree' in the subject line.