Update from Michael Wills MP
Posted by Michael Wills, MP for North Swindon, at 14:29, Tue 25 March 2008:
Dear Resident
I am writing to update you on my work in Swindon and Westminster over the last few weeks.
I am pleased that following my intense pressure on Swindon Borough Council on behalf of parents, the Council have announced that they will work to make PS7 in North Swindon operational as soon as possible to tackle the shortage of school places in the area. Unfortunately, it is still uncertain whether a 26 place temporary class on the PS7 site will operational for autumn 2008 ahead of the permanent 420 place school on a site off Pioneer Road in Oakhurst as the Council originally announced. While the announcement that PS7 will be built is very good news for parents in Oakhurst who have been concerned about this for a long time, I remain deeply concerned about the way the Council have approached this issue and I will continue to work with Swindon Borough Council and parents to press for the school to be made operational for autumn 2008.
In Swindon, among other things, I visited Swindon Academy. I was pleased to see how well the students and faculty have adapted to their new school atmosphere. They should all be proud of their hard work and I know they are very much looking forward to the completion of their new school buildings.
As many of you will already know, Anne Snelgrove, MP for South Swindon and I held a public meeting on the EU Treaty. We invited the parliamentary candidates from the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP, although the Liberal Democrat representative was not able to attend. I organised the meeting to give Swindon residents a chance to discuss this important issue. Members of the panel were asked to address the question: ‘Should we have a referendum on the EU Treaty?’ I found the discussion lively and engaging and gave me much to think about and I hope those who attended found it a useful and informative occasion.
I visited Haydon Wick School to meet students and speak at their school assembly about traffic and transportation in Swindon and to encourage students to consider walking to school, and how to do so safely, rather than being driven. I also spoke to the head teacher, Simon Cowley, about the traffic calming measures the school would need in order to make it safer for students to walk. He has since sent me a ‘wish list’ including a traffic warden, reduced speed limit around the school and traffic signs, and I have contacted Swindon Borough Council on the school’s behalf to pressure the Council to make these improvements. I am waiting for their reply.
I also visited St Catherine’s School in Stratton to talk to students there about my work as Member of Parliament for North Swindon. I brought along a slideshow of pictures of some of my recent visits in Swindon, including pictures of my visit the Swindon Fire Station last year where I went through training exercises with the Fire Service, and I hope the students found it of interest.
I also visited Citifaith youth group at one of their Friday night meetings as part of my campaign for more youth facilities in Swindon. Until recently Swindon Borough council have not shown much interest in investing in such facilities. But there is now even more Government funding available, and I want Swindon to benefit from the Government’s new strategy for new and improved youth facilities in every community in England. To achieve this, I have been talking to young people and local community organisations about what facilities they would like to see available in the future. I found the ideas of the young people at Citifaith youth group to be imaginative and constructive. I will continue talking to young people in other areas and groups across Swindon so I can continue to press Swindon Borough Council to invest in the type of facilities the young people want and need.
I recently met Brian Moore, the new Chief Constable of Wiltshire Constabulary to discuss how we can work together for a safer Swindon. We both agree that it is important to have an open dialogue with each other and the public to help tackle problems such as anti-social behaviour, drugs and fly-tipping which all depend on information from the community about problem areas. In order to engage with the community and foster an open dialogue with residents, the Chief Constable and I have planned a series of open meetings across Swindon to discuss any concerns residents have about policing or crime in their area. The meetings will take place in the spring and summer and I will write to residents and publish the details on time and place when they are confirmed.
Increasing numbers of people have come to me with debt problems and asking for help to stop bailiffs taking enforcement action. While not condoning late payment of debts, I am concerned to help people pay their debts with the minimum of distress. At a late stage in the process, it is not easy to get bailiff action stopped, but my staff have established good working relationships with those working in enforcement in Swindon Borough Council. As a result my staff have been able to help several constituents come to an agreement with the council to pay off their arrears, and this has meant that the debts have been recalled from the bailiffs, and the extra costs and worry that bailiffs entail have been avoided. For those whose debt problems are more serious, I continue to work closely with the Citizens Advice Bureau to get them the debt advice and information on the law relating to bailiffs that they need.
The anti social behaviour and problem neighbours continues to blight the lives of many constituents, and is an issue I regularly take up on behalf of individual constituents. I hope that some of the recent action taken by Swindon Borough Council in Penhill and Pinehurst to evict families who persist in causing problems will send a clear message that this anti-social behaviour is not acceptable. However there is more to be done to improve the support offered to the victims of anti social behaviour and in my recent discussions with the new Chief Constable over a particular case I have been encouraged that the police have recognised this and are committed to working hard to improve the service they offer. It is an issue of great concern to me and is one on which I shall continue to press for improvements from all agencies.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has set out a new deal for citizenship, proposing major changes to the way newcomers are able to earn their stay in Britain. The changes include: a three stage route to citizenship including a new probationary period of citizenship, requiring new migrants to demonstrate their contribution to the UK at every stage or leave the country; full access to benefits being delayed until migrants have completed the probationary period; migrants having to improve their command of English to pass probation; anyone committing an offence resulting in prison being barred from becoming a citizen; those committing minor offences being required to spend longer on probation; migrants from outside the EEA contributing to a new Transitional Impact of Migration Fund, providing extra financial help to communities experiencing change from migration; migrants getting involved in their communities through volunteering being able to graduate to British citizenship more quickly.
The Government recently published a report ‘Women Not For Sale,’ which researched small ads in local and regional newspapers advertising sexual services. Ads in local papers are the most common method of men making contact with women to buy for sexual purposes and given that many of these ads refer to women as being from abroad, there is mounting concern that some of the women advertised could be the victims of international sex trade. Government Ministers raised this issue with the Newspaper Society and they are together drawing up tougher guidance for local papers on advertising which will include suggestions on what type of ads to refuse, training for staff, consulting with police and local authorities and only taking payment by cheque or credit card so accounts can be traced. I hope that the papers will give these issues serious thought and take on this guidance and refuse ads which seek to exploit women in this most vile way.
Fair Trade Fortnight is 25 February to 9 March this year. Every two years for the last eight, UK shoppers have doubled the amount of Fair trade goods they buy. Fair trade is an integral step towards reducing poverty, which is why the Government has led international efforts to secure fairer trade rules. As part of this the Government has committed £12 million on Fair Trade promotion since 1997 and $750 million every year from 2010 on Aid for Trade, which helps promote developing countries ability to trade by investing in relevant infrastructure, among other things. But there is more we can do as consumers. Buying products from developing countries, asking retailers for more information on product sourcing and asking about the working conditions of those who produced the goods will all go a long way to bringing real benefits to developing countries. I hope that residents will feel able to support Fair Trade Fortnight by contemplating their own buying habits. This has been an overview of my work on your behalf. More information can be found on my website, www.michaeldwills.co.uk. I hope you will not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss any of this.
Best wishes
Michael
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