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News from Your Local MP

Posted by Dawn Primarolo, MP for Bristol South, at 16:35, Fri 2 March 2012:

CELEBRATING SUCCESS AT GREENFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL

I’m always pleased to visit our local primary schools, especially when they’ve got good news to share. This morning was a particularly special visit, as I met with the children and teachers at Greenfield Primary School in Knowle West. The school was named as the most improved school in the whole country in national tests for eleven year olds, with 95 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard. This is a fantastic achievement and the school’s Headteacher Stephen Luke and all the teachers and governors deserve real recognition for the results. Most of all, of course, the hard work of the children should be recognised. They are a real credit to their community and our city and, throughout the school, the children are happy, healthy and enjoying their learning.

NEW LEISURE CENTRE OPENS AT HENGROVE PARK

The centre-piece of the brand new leisure centre at Hengrove Park which opened on Wednesday is a competition-ready Olympic sized swimming pool, which will host the Kenyan swimming team in their preparations for London 2012. There is also a learning pool, four-court sports hall, a climbing wall, café, fitness studio and dedicated spinning studio. When the South Bristol Hospital opens in late March, patients will be able to take part in various rehabilitation programmes. The leisure centre is a shining example of the importance of investing in our communities. This fantastic new facility has something for everyone and is going to make this part of south Bristol a real destination. We need to ensure we make the most of the Olympics to get people active. After a long wait we can now boast world-class facilities in the heart of our communities. These are as a direct result of investment from the previous Labour Government, well worth remembering the next time you hear a politician complaining about Labour ‘over-spending.’

KEEPING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OLDER PEOPLE

I’m delighted to say that the Southville Community Development Association (SCDA) has successfully retained its popular older people’s Monday Club at the Southville Centre. Thanks to support from the community, other charitable organisations and charitable Trusts, even when they have experienced severe funding cuts for that service, the SCDA have been able to work closely with the older people and their families and carers to ensure continuation of this much needed, loved and highly valued provision. They are currently welcoming new members - you can discuss what is available within the new-look Monday Club and the availability of places, or arrange a visit to the Club, by calling 0117 923 1039. More information is also available on the following page of SCDA website: http://www.southvillecentre.org.uk/older-people-s-services/the-monday-club.html

VOTES AT 16 ACTION WEEK

Next week (5 - 11 March) is Votes at 16 Action Week which aims to raise awareness of the campaign to lower the voting age, giving 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote. Over many years as the MP for Bristol South I have met a large number of school and college students aged 16 and 17 who are very interested in political issues and would like the opportunity to have their say on national and local matters by voting in elections. I would be very happy to see the vote extended to young people aged 16 in line with other rights they have at that age. More information about the Votes at 16 campaign is available on the following website: http://www.votesat16.org/

"THE BIG PEDAL" LAUNCH AT SOUTHVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

I joined pupils, parents and teachers at Southville Primary School this afternoon to launch Sustrans’ “The Big Pedal” competition which will see schools across the country competing over the next three weeks in a “virtual bike race”. Lots of children will be cycling or ‘scooting’ to school with every extra journey helping their chances of winning. The aim of The Big Pedal is to increase the numbers of pupils travelling to school by bike instead of car and hopefully this switch will last beyond the end of the competition. Southville Primary has a great reputation for encouraging its pupils to cycle to school and I’m pleased that a number of other schools in Bristol South have also registered to take part in The Big Pedal. More information is available at: http://thebigpedal.org.uk/

CHANGES TO WORKING TAX CREDITS

I have written to the Chancellor calling on him to halt changes to tax credits which could see over 300 working families in Bristol South lose nearly £4,000 a year. Working Tax Credit, introduced by the previous Labour Government, helps working people on modest incomes to make ends meet. It is currently paid to people who work at least 16 hours a week, but for couples, this is set to be increased to at least 24 hours a week. People who are unable to increase their hours will lose their whole entitlement to Working Tax Credit and research suggests that 78 per cent of workers will not be able to increase their hours by the amount needed. Given the state of the economy and the pressure on businesses at this time, it seems unlikely that many firms will be able to offer an increase in hours to the hundreds of people in Bristol South who will be affected by the changes. Working Tax Credit was designed to make sure that work always pays, but this short-sighted decision by the Government will penalise couples who have done the right thing.

BEATING BOWEL CANCER

I was very interested to be invited to a meeting with local healthcare professionals and representatives of the national charity, Beating Bowel Cancer, to find out more about their work in Bristol to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms and also about their new Survivorship Programme regarding the long term support provided to cancer patients. Unfortunately, here in Bristol South more people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and more people die from the disease than the national average, so it’s important for everyone to be aware of the symptoms and get treatment as early as possible to stand the best chance of beating the disease. Information and support about this issue is available on the following website: http://www.beatingbowelcancer.org

AIRBUS AWARDS

Airbus is a hugely important business in our area, now continuing the proud history of aviation in Bristol. Last week, they held an event to celebrate the importance of learning and I was very happy to be asked along to meet some of the staff. Airbus runs a successful apprenticeship scheme which is helping young people to learn valuable trades. Interestingly, there’s no upper age limit on their apprenticeships, so they are also open to people seeking to retrain. Apprenticeships play a vital role in helping to address unemployment and I hope other firms will follow the excellent example set by Airbus. ANY QUESTIONS? If you have any queries about these issues, or have a question you would like to ask about anything else, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Just email me at dawn.primarolo.mp@parliament.uk, phone 0117 909 0063 or write to me at PO Box 1002, Bristol, BS99 1WH.