This week was a busy one. The key piece of legislation to debate was the Finance Bill which had reached its second reading. Unlike other matters, Finance Bills can be debated until any hour – in this case until 2.45am! As I write I know that this week promises to be the same.
I had a meeting with Andrew Lansley after Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday to raise some of the issues and concerns I have had over the centralisation of healthcare. I want to see more care locally in our community hospitals, not less. I would like to see more services in Newton Abbot Hospital.
I am pleased to see the White Paper on Health set out the values and vision for an NHS centred on patients. Patients need to share in decisions about their care and to have more real choice. That is why the proposed move to give more of the decisions to GPs by giving them budgets for healthcare for their patients seems to me to be a good thing.
All Party Parliamentary Groups
The All Party Parliamentary Groups are now being re-established – and new ones created. These are cross party groups which focus on particular issues –some are geographic and some are topic based. There are over 200 of them so the challenge is to identify which ones you really want to and have the time get involved with. I have endeavoured to choose those where there is a local issue which my involvement will support.
To date I have become involved with the APPGs for Carers, Hospice and Palliative Care, Life Sciences, Small Businesses (of which I am now an officer), Flood Prevention, Climate Change, Dementia, Mental Health, Community and Voluntary Services, Muscular Dystrophy, Regeneration, Water, Tourism, Ageing and Older People and Entrepreneurship.
Out and About
This week I met up with both Rydon School and Newton Abbot College of both of which I am a governor, to start conversations about what we can do as a government to help them and of course other schools in the constituency. I will be getting round as many schools as I can to get feedback on some of our recent proposals.
I was also delighted to speak at the Carlton Theatre in Teignmouth to a packed audience from the Senior Council for Devon. It was a good meeting with many issues raised and a good discussion about the Vision for Teignmouth. This is a first class document and our challenge now is to make it happen!
On Saturday I joined the Dawlish Air Training Corp for the opening of their new bespoke building – it is a fabulous building in the grounds of Dawlish Community College. I was treated to a display of Gun Running which was most impressive. It involves dismantling a gun, putting it back together, firing it, going over an obstacle course and racing to the finish!
Surgeries and Getting in Touch
My next surgeries will be on Saturday 17th July at 9am and Friday 23rd July at 12 noon both at the Courtenay Centre in Newton Abbot, on Friday 23rd July at 4.30pm at the Village Hall in Kingskerswell, on Saturday 24th July at the Manor House in Dawlish at 10am and on Saturday 24th July at 12 noon at the Meadow Centre in Teignmouth.
I am also holding Public Meetings on Friday 16th at Abbotskerswell Village Hall at 5pm and on the same day at the Church House Inn at 7pm at Stokeinteignhead, and 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.