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Message from Doug Naysmith, Bristol North West

Posted by Doug Naysmith, MP for Bristol North West, at 13:03, Fri 16 March 2007:

Hear From Your MP

Thank you to everyone who said they would like to hear from me. Following are just a few of the things I have done and issues that I have taken up in 2007.

Commentators say that the public is not interested in discussions about the future of the House of Lords which may be true but I believe reform is decades overdue. I voted for complete abolition but, when that fell, voted for the highest percentage of elected members possible. I do not believe we need a second chamber but thought this was very much a minority position so I was pleasantly surprised that over a hundred of my colleagues agreed with me. There were not enough of us, though, and that suggestion fell. We did succeed, however, in passing the proposal for 80% and 100% of the second chamber to be made up of elected members but when or whether this will come about I do not know. Reform has been on our agenda for over 100 years now and it is time we finished the job.

I have received many complaints about public transport in the constituency and so, when I came high in the ballot to ask Tony Blair a question in January, I decided it should be on this subject. Some large towns have much more influence over their trains and buses than we have and these are towns with a ‘Passenger Transport Executive’ (PTE) to co-ordinate transport over the area. I asked the Prime Minister if he thought introducing a PTE for the Bristol area would improve First Group’s disastrous commuter trains and buses. Tony’s reply was that the Road Transport Bill due later this year should help which I took to be favourable. I will monitor the Bill that with interest to make sure there is something in it to help us improve our public transport as we cannot go on as we are. I have also taken the matter up with First Great Western. Alison Forster, the Managing Director, has acknowledged the failures and made some changes to the timetable which means that my constituents commuting into Bristol from Patchway are now less likely to get left behind on the platform. I have also been working with Kerry McCarthy, the MP for Bristol East, and, late last year, we went to see Tom Harris, the Minister in charge of rail transport. He has asked for an update on the state of public transport in Bristol and has promised to liaise with us in an attempt to improve things.

In February the Speaker agreed to let me chip in to ask the Prime Minister a question on the future of Airbus, as that is very relevant to many people in Bristol North West and there had just been an announcement about its future. I asked for assurances that the government was doing all it could to ensure that high-value, high-tech engineering and manufacturing skills are retained in the UK. In his reply, Tony said Filton was set to secure the manufacture of key wing components on the A350, paid tribute to the work force and described the plane as “an extraordinary piece of design, engineering and skilled work”. Despite Airbus’s problems, we should be able to secure the future of the Filton site both in the medium and longer term.- a better outcome than some anticipated. There will be a small number of redundancies over four years, mostly amongst contract staff, and these should be able to be managed by early retirement and voluntary severances. The MP for Broughton (where Airbus also has a factory) and I had been lobbying Alistair Darling, the Industry Minister and he worked hard to limit the damage to Britain.

There is, of course a lot more to Parliament than voting or debating in the Chamber. I value the time I spend in committees discussing policy in more detail and, with a long-standing interest in health, I was particularly pleased to be given a place on the Health Select Committee. We hold inquiries, taking evidence from Government Ministers and external experts, and then produce reports to which the government must respond. Last year, our report on ‘Smoking in Public Places’ recommended a total ban on smoking in all pubs and clubs and not just in those serving food. In the end, this is what was passed and I believe our report helped persuade MPs and Ministers that it was the right way to go. You can read the reports and see those of previous years if you click on http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/health_committee/health_committee_reports_and_publications.cfm

I find it very difficult to interest people in my other select committee – the Regulatory Reform Committee. We scrutinise Government legislation, look for unnecessary burdens on industry and public bodies and suggest orders for their removal. Yes, there are more exciting ways of spending a morning, but if you think there are too many unnecessary regulations in our lives, then you might agree that this committee does a useful job. Again, you can find out more by going to our website: http://mirror.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/regulatory_reform_committee.cfm

Last month I was pleased to welcome the Minister for Overseas Development, Hilary Benn, to Bristol North West. After a morning at the Empire and Commonwealth Museum, we went to Glenfrome Primary School to find out about their international links and to admire the work they had done in their outdoor classroom or garden. The children had prepared questions for the Minister which were at least as searching as those from adults. We then went on for a tour of the West of England Institute for Sporting Excellence (WISE) next door to Filton High School followed by more Q & A sessions at Filton College and UWE.

Earlier this week I voted against the Government on the matter of updating Trident. I do not enjoy rebelling against my Government – after all, most of the people who voted for me did so because they wanted a Labour Government, so I do not think it is my job to try to bring it down all the time. On this, however, I am convinced. We signed up to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty saying we would negotiate in good faith on effective measures to stop the nuclear arms race and move towards nuclear disarmament. I don’t see how we can renew Trident without breaking our treaty obligations and, if we do that, how can we expect non-nuclear states to keep theirs?

Locally, I have been delighted that the building of the new acute hospital at Southmead has been given the go-ahead. I have had many meetings about this and, despite the pro-Frenchay lobby’s attempts to hold things up, all investigations about the best site have come up with the same answer – Southmead. I look forward to seeing work begin so that we can have the new high-tech facilities we need.

Doug Naysmith

16.3.2007