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Newsletter July 2014

Posted by Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, at 15:26, Tue 1 July 2014:

Dear Subscriber,

I hope you are enjoying the summer so far, the holiday season is not far off and the weather is not at all bad.

When I first came to Stourbridge eight years ago I received a steady stream of complaints about the town centre. For the next five years the complaints would continue. But they have abated now and with many good reasons. The latest cause for celebration is that building has begun on a brand new, state of the art, Skate Park on Mill Race Lane. This is the brainchild of Gavin Pardoe who, together with his team, are to be commended for their determination that young people in Stourbridge and for miles around are to finally get a great skate park. I have been lobbied by skate enthusiasts for years about this and I am really thrilled that the facility is just a few months away from opening.

Last Friday I visited the new Lion Health Centre down by the River Stour and the canal. The doctors and staff at the former GP practice on Worcester Street, have realised a ten year dream, to provide patients with the very best primary health care facility which includes dentistry, physiotherapy, pharmacy and a gym. The centre is in the beautifully renovated Foster Rastrick foundry where the Stourbridge Lion was built in the 19th century to become the first steam powered engine to run on the American railroads of the time.

The bus station at the top of the town, and the Crown Centre development at the bottom of the High Street, have also transformed the centre of Stourbridge very much for the better and we have many fewer empty shops. These projects take time, money, political will and most of all the vision and determination of so many of our citizens that it is impossible to mention them all by name. This month, with summer so much in the air now, I would like to thank everyone who has played their part in transforming Stourbridge in such a relatively short space of time.

I look forward to seeing the next wave of regeneration take root by the River Stour, between the Bonded Warehouse and the bridge at Wollaston. Our river has been a well-kept secret for decades, virtually hidden from view by a derelict undergrowth, but not for much longer I’m pleased to say.

---Parliamentary work---

I asked questions and spoke in debates about:

I wrote to Ministers about the following issues:

  • Shailesh Vara, Justice Minister, to raise the issue of long and complex court cases being heard by several different judges.

  • Steve Webb, Pensions Minister, to raise a constituent’s concerns about PPF Regulations.

  • Nicky Morgan, Treasury Minister, regarding the need to take action to stop Child Benefit being paid for children who do not live in the UK.

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

  • Sponsoring the Federation of Small Businesses Summer Reception in Parliament. It was great to hear about the successes of British business from the Business Secretary, Vince Cable. Read more (http://www.margotjames.com/content/mp-hosts-celebration-small-businesses)

  • Meeting the Chairman and CEO of Nestle to discuss their work and future plans.

  • An interesting breakfast with the Chief Economist of Santander Brazil, Maurício Molan, to discuss trade opportunities with Brazil.

  • Attending the Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, hosted by the Foreign Secretary and Angelina Jolie, who have both done such important work to help eradicate these terrible war crimes.

  • I hosted a visit to Parliament for constituents. We had a very interesting Q&A over lunch, and it was great to hear people’s views on a range of issues.

  • Sponsoring the Lloyds Scholars Programme reception to celebrate their continued success, and launch their Social Mobility Research. Read more (http://www.margotjames.com/content/mp-hosts-event-celebrate-social-mobility-programme)

  • A dinner at Number 11 Downing Street with the Chancellor, former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

  • Attending the Prostate Cancer summer reception with Roger Hughes from Stourbridge.

  • The Post Office Network’s reception in Parliament, to hear about their future plans for the service.

  • The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Oral Hormone Pregnancy Tests to hear about important work to help those affected so badly by these drugs in the 1960s and 70s.

  • Hosting the APPG for Trade and Investment summer reception in Parliament. It was a pleasure to hear from the Trade Minister Lord Livingston, and the CEO of Barclays Corporate Banking, John Winter.

  • The APPG on Respiratory Health reception. I was pleased to catch up with clinicians, campaigners and those at Asthma UK who supported my campaign to allow schools to keep a spare asthma inhalers for emergency use.

  • Speaking at a seminar on how we can support the creative industries sector.

  • Welcoming a group of pupils, members of their school councils in Stourbridge schools to Parliament for a tour and a Q&A.

---Out and About in Stourbridge---

  • I attended the annual meeting of Dudley Council, where Cllr. Margaret Aston became the new Mayor of Dudley. I wish her all the best in her new role.

  • Meeting Rachael Taylor from the Black Country YMCA Group to hear all about the work she does to support vulnerable young people. The YMCA run a very worthwhile scheme which places young people who have become homeless from the age of sixteen with volunteer families, similar to fostering but less formal.

  • Visiting the site of the former Longlands School in Stourbridge. I have organised a public meeting at 6pm on the 4th July at Greenfield Primary School for local interested parties and residents to discuss the future of the site.

  • I met Patrick Caines and his colleagues from BMet Art & Design Centre to discuss ideas that could bring together the creative sector with local industry.

  • Meeting with members of the Cradley Action Group to discuss their ongoing campaign to regenerate and improve parts of Cradley. I was pleased to hear that their latest meeting was well attended, and I will continue to work closely with them to help achieve positive results for the Colley Gate area. Read more (http://www.margotjames.com/content/mp-pledges-continued-support-redevelopment-cradley)

  • I also went to see the new Midland Heart extra care home being built on the site of former Cradley High School, it is a very impressive building but there are issues around access roads through Homer Hill Park.

  • I learned about the important work that the charity ‘Changing Our Lives’ does, which helps improve living and working conditions for people with disabilities, when I met with the charity’s CEO Jayne Leeson.

  • I held my third Universities Outreach event in partnership with King Edward VI College, part of my Raising Aspirations programme. Over 20 leading universities and higher education providers came to talk to local students and their parents.

  • Attending the annual prize giving ceremony at Old Swinford Hospital School to celebrate the students’ success. This year’s ceremony was particular important, as it was Headmaster Peter Jones’ last prize ceremony at the school.

  • Visiting the new Lion Health medical practice, formerly the Worcester Street Surgery. I was given a tour of this magnificent building and health centre by Dr Steve Mann and it was great to see the new facilities that are on offer for local patients.

  • I met Wendy Fryatt who established the Black Country Foodbank and does excellent work for the community to discuss usage of the Foodbank and what can be done to reduce the need for the service.

  • David Harcourt, assistant manager of Waitrose, briefed me on the survey he has carried out personally about parking issues facing retailers in the lower High Street.

---It wasn’t all work...---

I have watched more football in the last month than I have done in the last year. I love the World Cup and it is the only time I can get Jay interested in football. Along with the rest of the country we were terribly disappointed that England didn’t make it out of the group stages and didn’t even win a game. Having got over that there are plenty of other good games to watch and my favourite so far was the draw between Germany and Ghana. More to come although Wimbledon has definitely eclipsed the World Cup for Jay.

I went to two very good parties, one given by Sky News to celebrate Adam Boulton’s 25 years with the programme. Adam has been there from the start and had some very funny stories to tell about his interviews with Prime Ministers and other politicians over the years. The FT held a summer party in the Banking Hall which was very good and I caught up with my old boss Sir Martin Sorrell amongst other interesting guests.

It was good to catch up with friends over dinner at the Crabmill Pub in Oldswinford amongst other good venues.

My colleague Amber Rudd, and I hosted a very enjoyable summer party for women Conservative MPs and journalists, many journalists and colleagues came and we were particularly pleased that Theresa May fitted our event in to her extremely busy schedule.

Margot James

http://www.facebook.com/margotjamesmp

https://twitter.com/#!/margotjamesmp

www.margotjames.com

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