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Newsletter March 2014

Posted by Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, at 11:54, Mon 3 March 2014:

Dear Subscriber,

My first event in March will be to host the Manufacturer of the Year Awards in Parliament, courtesy of ‘The Manufacturer’. As a West Midlands MP, with a family background in manufacturing and services to the industrial sector, I am very proud to be associated with a celebration of the brightest and the best of British manufacturing.

After years of being in the shadow of the service sector, manufacturing is enjoying a renaissance. Industrial production rose by 2.3% last year and business investment is up 8.5% on this time last year.

Large companies are working with small and medium sized suppliers to bring parts of the manufacturing process back to the UK. The government have invested £150 million in the ‘Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, a funding competition designed to improve the global competitiveness of UK supply chains.

The main challenge facing companies, large and small, is the skills shortage. The problem is particularly acute in the engineering and technical areas. The first week of March is also National Apprenticeship Week. I will end my week back in Stourbridge where I will host the fifth event in my Aspiration programme; the Apprenticeship and Skills fair for young people at Glasshouse College. We really must encourage young people to grasp the career opportunities offered by a resurgent manufacturing sector.

Click here to register for FE and Apprenticeships Fair. (http://signup.margotjames.com/)

Parliamentary Activity

I asked questions and spoke in debates about:

I wrote to Ministers about the following issues:

  • David Laws, Schools Minister, on behalf of the Dudley Association of Governing Bodies to ask for clarification on some elements of the Government plans to extend free school meals.

  • HMRC, on behalf of a constituent, about out of hours calls and the need for a robust identification process to guard against fraud.

  • Kris Hopkins, Housing Minister, to highlight the difficulties people can face when a buyer withdraws unexpectedly from a house sale.

I attended various events and had meetings in and around Parliament:

  • Speaking at the Enterprise Forum lunch about the Government’s policies on business, trade and the economy.

  • Meeting Frank Mugisha from Uganda’s main gay rights organisation, to discuss the terrible situation for gay people in Uganda, and the legislation passed last week that criminalises homosexuality with life imprisonment.

  • Speaking to the Publicis women’s leadership group about women in business and politics.

  • Meeting with the CEO of Chiltern Railways, Rob Brighouse, to raise concerns on behalf of people affected by ongoing engine noise at Stourbridge Junction.

  • I wrote and spoke to Patrick Crawford, CEO of the Charity Bank, about the loan application made by Unit3Sixty in support of their outstanding bid to found a world class skate and BMX park off the ring road in Stourbridge, it was a very positive discussion and I am hopeful that the application might in the end succeed.

  • Meeting the City of London Law Society to discuss trade issues.

  • Hosting a roundtable for MPs at Number Ten to discuss their ideas about trade and investment, and how this can benefit the UK.

  • Attending the re-launch of the UK Trade and Investment business network, Catalyst UK, in place of Lord Livingston.

  • A Stonewall Parliamentary reception to celebrate equal marriage in the speaker’s rooms.

  • A discussion over dinner with small business representatives hosted by the Taxpayers Alliance and MasterCard.

  • Listening to an address from the German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel in Parliament.

Out and about in Stourbridge

I took part in various visits and meetings:

  • Meeting with PC Simon Barratt from the West Midlands Police Crime Reduction Team. I was shown the Facewatch website and mobile app, which is an invaluable tool in helping to identify offenders and reduce crime in the local area. For more information you can click here (http://www.facewatch.co.uk/cms/) .

  • Collecting a petition from local residents calling for blood testing services to remain in Wollaston. I am delighted to have gathered nearly 500 signatures with the Three Villages Medical Practice to urge the CCG to keep a blood testing facility in Wollaston. Read more (http://www.margotjames.com/content/mp-presses-blood-testing-clinic-remain-wollaston)

  • I met Gavin Pardoe, Managing Director of Unit3Sixty, and Simon Petar, from Corporate Affairs at Tesco, to discuss how the two organisations can work together in the future to benefit the local community in Stourbridge.

  • I really enjoyed visiting Stourbridge Library to celebrate National Libraries Day. It is fantastic to see the library thriving, especially at weekends. Read more (http://www.margotjames.com/content/mp-celebrates-national-libraries-day)

  • I visited Age Concern to discuss services for our older people and the amazing work they do, open and providing a service 364 days pa.

  • I attended a briefing from Dudley Adult and Social Care officers and discussed issues relating to housing, care of older people and the integration of health and social care, talked about for decades and now becoming a reality.

  • I held my first ‘open’ surgery for which people do not need to make appointments outside Tesco, as well as two traditional surgeries at which people can come to discuss more confidential matters.

It wasn’t all work...

Jay and I went to dinner at the home of my old boss, ex trade minister Lord Stephen Green and his wife, also called Jay, which was most enjoyable.

Thanks to my friend Jenny McGregor who designed some ‘Margot’s Marmalade’ labels for me which she gave me with loads of jam jars for Christmas, I got around to making marmalade for the first time in two years.

I took my great niece Poppy out on her own for the first time, we went on the tube to the Tower of London and we had a great time there, Poppy loved the horses armour, the crown jewels and meeting a real knight. Afterwards we went back for a Chinese lunch with the rest of her family.

I saw my Auntie Paule twice last month, once for lunch near her home in Kenilworth, and then at the memorial service for my dear late Auntie Anne who passed away just before Christmas. The service was absolutely beautiful and was held in the abbey in Dorchester-on-Thames.

Margot James

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