December 2011

Christmas wishes and Office reopens 03.01.12

Submitted by Heather on 21 December 2011 - 6:05pm

Dear all of South Derbyshire

I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

I hope that in the New Year; news from businesses such as Nestlé and Toyota are the first of many promising developments for South Derbyshire. New jobs and new investment are still the key issues that I am focusing on.

Please note that the office will be closed until Tuesday 3^rd of January.

I joined fellow MPs to discuss the impact closing the Margaret Stanhope Centre in Burton would have on South Derbyshire

Submitted by Heather on 21 December 2011 - 5:36pm

On the 20^th of December, I joined my neighbouring MP Andrew Griffiths for Burton to discuss the Margret Stanhope Centre in Burton, a very important mental health facility which is much needed and used by the people of Burton East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire, which has come under threat of closure.

Mr Griffiths called the debate as a means to discuss in more detail the impact closing the Margaret Stanhope Centre in Burton would have on the local community. For me I was keen to highlight the fact that my constituents have to travel either to Derby or to Burton, and my southern villages are covered by the South Staffordshire PCT, which is why I feel the continued existence of the Margaret Stanhope Centre is so important. I personally think it is outrageous that one of the reasons that the PCT is putting forward to support its closure is that people want care in the community. What people want is respite care, and that is why it is so important that the unit should stay open.

If you would like to see the whole debate then please visit the following link. The debate starts at 6:09 mark and you can see my speech at 6:37 mark: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=9665

I will continue to work with Mr Griffiths to see what can be done to ensure the continued access to care at the Margaret Stanhope Centre. The Burton Mail has some excellent coverage on this issue; I would like to thank them for it as well as the campaigning work done by Dr Long and Mr Chatfield. South Staffs PCT has extended the deadline for Consultation for another 4 weeks; do get involved if you can. I hope in the New Year there will be an agreeable outcome, if not then the PCT have not listened to the local feeling at all.

Earlier this month I visited the Hatton Sorting Office to see how the Royal Mail is preparing for the Christmas period

Submitted by Heather on 20 December 2011 - 6:37pm

On Friday the 2^nd of December I made an early visit to the Royal Mail sorting office at Hatton to see their preparation for the Christmas rush and winter weather.

Last year the rural areas served from the Hatton sorting office were badly affected when we had snowy weather, so I wanted to go and see how things are going to be dealt with this year.

I was very impressed with the team at Hatton, their Delivery Office Manager, Stephen Martin, showed me the equipment bought for the vans and shoes of the ‘posties’ to help them get out and about safely when the snow arrives.

Also if it does get too bad for the Royal Mail to get out members of the public can, if they want to, make their own way to the sorting office and on the production of two forms of ID can pick their own post up.

Mr Martin told me about general issues that would help get the post out.

Mr Martin said:

“With the automatic letter recognition machines if people actually put Findern, rather than Derby, on the envelopes it would help get their letters that village quicker. Also, if people could not use gold coloured pens on the envelopes because the machines cannot pick that up, that would really help.”

I think after this time of year when the Royal Mail handle an incredible 130 million items of post, the pressure on the ‘posties’ is immense. I wanted to meet them to say thank you and hope that they keep safe from dogs and cope with the bad weather this year. We cannot do without the service they offer.

“Keep the cold out this winter” information pack

Submitted by Heather on 15 December 2011 - 11:29am

I have welcomed the move by the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) to highlight five cost-saving tips to keep homes in good energy-efficiency order, helping to keep bills down.

HHIC have produced a leaflet giving five safe and simple ways to keep energy bills low this winter. They are: only heat the rooms you use most; insulate your home; stop drafts; draw your curtains and use radiator reflectors. You can also look at their website to get more impartial advice at www.centralheating.co.uk.

I know rising fuel bills are a real concern for families in South Derbyshire. People are worried about how they will pay to keep their homes warm this winter.

That is why I welcome this initiative by the HHIC who have put together this no nonsense advice in their leaflet. I’d urge my constituents to look at the HHIC website www.centralheating.co.uk or open the pdf attachment below to see the HHIC leaflet.”

Chief Executive of the energy trade association SBGI, Mike Foster said:

“Having impartial advice from the energy experts of the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council on how to keep fuel bills down this winter can only be a good thing. Such practical steps can be taken by everyone.”

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My visit to Chequers!

Submitted by Heather on 13 December 2011 - 4:48pm

I had the fantastic opportunity to join the Prime Minister at Chequers with 20 or so of my Parliamentary colleagues for dinner on Friday the 9^th of December. It was a real pleasure to see the Prime Minister in the comfort of this historic home when away from No 10.

As you may be aware he joined our dinner party shortly after returning home from Brussels where he did not agree to a new EU treaty as he felt that it would not provide adequate safeguards for Britain. I personally welcomed his decision to use Britain’s power to veto a new EU treaty. I have campaigned persistently, since I was elected, for Britain to repatriate powers back from Europe and I think Mr Cameron’s decision was a step in the right direction.

Despite the Prime Minister only having two hours sleep the night before he was high spirits. We had a beautiful dinner and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was great to speak to the Prime Minister again, especially following his visit to South Derbyshire on the 24^th of November to welcome the excellent announcements of £210m investment and 1800 new jobs at Toyota and Nestle.

I will endeavour to keep you updated on developments in Europe and on any further information I have from the Prime Minister regarding our position.

Backing South Derbyshire’s Bryony Balen in her attempt to be the youngest Briton to reach the South Pole

Submitted by Heather on 6 December 2011 - 12:45pm

Some of you may have already heard about Bryony Balen, a 20 year old, South Derbyshire girl that aims to become the youngest Briton to reach the South Pole from the Hercules Inlet. At the moment Bryony is studying Geography BSc at Newcastle University, however she is taking a year out to focus on the challenge of crossing 1,100km journey of icy inclines in freezing temperatures, in just 57 days, to reach her goal of getting to the South Pole.

The youngest Briton so far to have reached the South Pole is Andrew Cooney who at the age of 23 gained the title. Currently Bryony is already a week into her expedition and will celebrate her 21^st birthday in a few weeks time whilst on her way. Bryony needs all the support she can get, so I am urging all of South Derbyshire to send her words of encouragement and if possible donations!

If you would like to make a donation to Bryony, then please visit her website at http://southpoleadventure.com/?page_id=258

Here you can make an online donation or contact her by email.

I wish Bryony all the best and I can’t wait to hear all about her journey when she returns; this is such a fantastic opportunity!

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Welcome to my Parliamentary Website, particularly for those of you visiting for the first time, I hope you drop in regularly in the future. I hope this website allows you to see how I am representing your interests locally and nationally, working to improve South Derbyshire. This would not have been possible without your support and I thank the people of SD for electing me.