A busy week as ever. The Finance Bill continued to be debated – but we managed to avoid a sitting beyond midnight.
This week we announced a review of counter-terrorism and security powers, seeking to ensure that the powers which we need to deal with terrorism are in keeping with Britain’s traditions of freedom and fairness. Civil liberties have been seriously eroded under Labour.
The Coalition Government is clear that all options for higher education funding should be explored in Lord Browne’s review, including variable graduate contributions. When Labour introduced variable tuition fees in 2006 it did not tie the rise in student contributions to improvements in student satisfaction and teaching excellence or to wider reform.
Local issues
You may have read in last Sunday’s papers that Teignbridge had the highest number of long standing unfilled job vacancies in the country yet a high number of those on Job Seekers Allowance. I was very concerned to get to the bottom of this. In fact it was an error in the figures and Job Centre Plus only has two jobs which are still unfilled after 19 weeks.
However it gave me a good opportunity to pick up the phone to Job Centre Plus and Devon Works and we are all agreed to work together to help people into work. Both are keen to feed in ideas about what we can do to make the system work better. And there are very local issues to address like the lack of public transport to Heathfield which makes it difficult to fill shift work roles and the lack of training for care workers, which is one of the biggest areas of job vacancies.
Water Issues
I had a meeting with South West Water this week to discuss again the problem with our Water Rates. We have to tackle two issues –affordability and fairness. Affordability is easier to address with a national change in support systems like WaterSure. Fairness is harder. I would favour a levy across the country to make sure those of us in the South West keep rates closer to the national average –this was not favoured by Anna Walker in her Report for the last government so I have a battle on my hands – but lots of support!
We had the first meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Flood Prevention of which I am now the Secretary. There are so many flood related issues in the constituency both coastal and river based that I feel it is important to be driving the national thinking. Global warming and the gradual tilt of the country will see the South West worst effected in the years ahead as compared with the North East.
Out and About
It was a real pleasure to visit the new Dawlish Youth Centre which will officially open in September. The “Red Rock” named by local young people will be a centre for young people to learn and develop, rather like the Junction in Newton Abbot –but better still there will be a Skills Centre.
This Skills Centre will have its first 15 students this year – and music to my ears- they will be studying technology based skills, like plumbing. There is a very strong link with the local business community so the prospects of work afterwards, because you have the skills they need, are much enhanced. The centre itself will offer services to the public so that for example while hairdressing will be taught there will also be a salon to book up for a cut and blow dry!
I opened the Lloyds Pharmacy, now much better housed at the Barton Surgery in Dawlish and then had the pleasure of opening Holcombe Village Hall Summer Fayre. I also dropped in at Oakwood College in Dawlish for their Open Day and was very impressed with what they offer to the young people there getting them ready for independent living in the community. Finally I had some good public meetings in Abbotskerswell at the Village Hall and at the Church House Inn in Stokeinteignhead. Nothing like supporting our great British pubs!
Surgeries and Getting in Touch
My next surgeries will be on Friday 23rd July at 12 noon at the Courtenay Centre in Newton Abbot, and then at 4.30pm at the Village Hall in Kingskerswell (just up the road from the polling station hall), and then on Saturday 24th July at the Manor House in Dawlish at 10am and at 12 noon at the Meadow Centre in Teignmouth.
I am also holding Public Meetings on 30th July at Ideford Village Hall at 4.30pm and then at the Jolly Sailor in Ogwell on the same day at 7pm to give you an opportunity to come and meet me and tell me about local issues with which you think I can help.