It’s been a busy couple of weeks as your Member of Parliament, standing up for our area in Parliament and supporting some of our fantastic community organisations.
Pushing to secure a positive future for the Hitachi factory in Aycliffe remains a top priority. I brought Jim Brewin, the UK Chief Director of Hitachi, to Parliament to meet a group of North East MPs, to update us on the negotiations to secure new orders. This is crucial to fill the gap they have between current train orders and future High Speed Rail contracts to come. We were pleased to hear that there’s been a step change in the speed and quality of negotiations since the new government was elected and good progress is being made.
As part of my work on Hitachi, I also met Lord Hendy, the Rail Minister. I spoke to Lord Hendy about the situation at Hitachi, which he was fully on top of. We also discussed the need to end the ‘feast or famine’ approach to rail manufacturing which we saw under the Conservative government. This is part of what caused Hitachi’s problems and we must move to a more sensible, planned approach to placing train orders and away from the chaotic manner we’ve seen previously. I also met with representatives of LNER and Northern Rail to discuss how to improve rail connectivity in the new constituency.
Back in the constituency, I had the pleasure of meeting with the inspirational local charity, Sisters of Support. They’re based in Aycliffe, but provide a peer support group for women across the County, supporting female survivors of domestic abuse and those struggling with their mental health. Having only set the charity up three years ago, they have grown and expanded and are doing brilliant work.
Noticing the lack of support for women, they look to provide a bridge between those struggling and the support networks they are entitled to. They have run successful local campaigns such as #WeAreListening which encouraged women to come forward and share their experiences, breaking down the barriers and stigma around mental health. Please have a look at their website or their Facebook page if you think they might be able to help you.
It’s encouraging to see vital work like this in our community and I’m delighted that the government is taking mental health seriously. The Health Secretary has set out plans to give mental health the same level of focus as physical health. Extra funding for our NHS was announced in this recent Budget. This will go a long way to tackling the mental health crisis and supporting fantastic local charities like this one.
I also attended the Cornforth Partnership in West Cornforth for my MP advice surgery. Beforehand I got to see the brilliant work they are also doing to support local people across our area, including employment training, benefits advice and community activities. They do great work in their community, helping to get people back into work and access to services that they need. I acknowledged their hard work in my maiden speech as an MP and I look forward to supporting them throughout my term.
Finally, I was honoured to unveil the newly refurbished St Catherine’s Church Hall in Fishburn. I’ve been to lots of events there and seen firsthand the real sense of community. Facilities like this are the heartbeat of our local communities and improvements like this will allow this to be a hub for residents for years to come.
My constituency office continues to work through the emails and queries they receive from constituents every day. Thank you to everyone that has been in touch recently. My team and I are working hard to support a large number of residents, including families facing very serious issues. If there is anything you think I can help with then please email me: alan.strickland.mp@parliament.uk