Teignbridge Matters
10th July 2009
Read Anne Marie’s views in her weekly column; an advertisement sponsored by Conservative supporters.
Getting Stuck In
Once unpacked in my new home, I started getting stuck in. My first
challenge – getting a street by street map in my head and meeting as many of you as I could! I needed to understand your issues and I wanted to make a difference. Many public meetings, coffee mornings, village fetes and later I am getting to grips with local challenges – and doing something about them. I have listened to many parents, business men and women, farmers and pensioners and over the coming weeks I will tell you what they have said – and what I have done. Last month I helped a lady with a heart problem get central heating installed by Warmfront –she will have her first warm Christmas this year after a very long wait! That was great news.
Education
I was invited to become a governor at Rydon in early 2007 and was delighted to accept. I was there last week with Year 5, learning about their latest history project – Henry VIII and all his wives! Then I had a guided tour of the gardening club’s hard work – everything was growing
well! Also now a governor at Newton Abbot College, I am seeing first hand the challenges of secondary education – helping children aspire and make the most of their natural talents. Gareth Davies is an inspirational head and this is a school I can see growing from strength to strength.
But whether primary or secondary, schools have a huge challenge here in
Devon – our schools are underfunded to the tune of some £659 per child per year as compared with the figure from the government for a child in Bristol. Every child should have a fair and equal chance of a good education and I have been lobbying the government to fairly fund our schools in Devon. Over 2,300 parents and local supporters have signed my
petition which I presented to Downing Street in May. I await a reply.
Health
Access to healthcare is fundamental. The opening hours of our Minor Injury
Units in Dawlish, Teignmouth and Newton Abbot have been significantly cut
back over the years and I am determined to change that. Patients tell me how they are sent from one hospital to another to get the treatment they need, as Eveline Davies discovered when she could not have her broken arm X rayed at Newton Abbot over the bank holiday. A number of patients needing dialysis have also spoken to me about the challenges they face as this service is relocated to Torbay from St Michael’s. A key issue for them is transport which I am now addressing with the Senior Council for Devon on which I sit representing the interests of Newton Abbot. I have also taken up the matter with the shadow cabinet.
