Last Thursday I visited the RAF’s officer training facilities at RAF Cranwell as part of my Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) work. This scheme is to help understand the lives of our service personnel as it’s vital that the relationship between our armed forces and the communities they’re drawn from is as strong as possible. Whilst we get to understand the processes and environment they work in we also get to talk to people at all levels, from cadets to the station commander. It was interesting hearing the diversity of backgrounds the cadets were from but inspiring to hear that the lady in charge of the camp came from a normal background in the back streets of Scarborough. This just illustrates the opportunities available if you are interested in a service career. I managed to get back in time to call and see the Newton Aycliffe Youth Football Club. It was one of the girls’ training nights and fantastic to see the huge numbers of teams and young people they are supporting.
Friday was the usual rush everywhere day, started with a call with the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and her team to understand her initiatives and encourage more focus on (anti-social behaviour) ASB throughout my Constituency. After a quick visit to the dentist, it was then off to Oakwood Learning Centre near Heighington to see the fantastic work they do and understand their needs.
By midday I was over at NETPark meeting the North East Space Leadership group. This included important visitors from London and businesses who are working to develop the cluster of Space focused businesses we have in the region. After that it was off to Cornforth Partnership, although they are based in Cornforth, the work they do across our region is truly inspiring.
The final visit of the day was across to Shildon to meet Dehenna Davison MP and the team at Shildon Alive. This was to hear about all they do and see what we can learn when looking at developing community hubs.
Saturday saw a session with some Bishopton residents discussing rural issues before some time with friends. Monday I was back on the train south but unusually had my wife on the platform when I left. She was part of the Samaritans Brew Monday initiative. Last Monday is seen as one of the more difficult days of the year so Samaritans were out and about reminding you there is always someone who will listen and associating a cup of tea and a chat as a way to help. If you need support their number is 116 223, whatever you’re going through, you can call the Samaritans any time, day or night, from any phone for FREE.
Once in Westminster we started with questions to the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan MP, where I asked about school funding and the need for long term commitments. We also had the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill second reading. Whilst the right to strike must remain, there are some services that must have minimum levels for the safety and integrity of the community as a whole. The easy example is transport, where strikes will naturally need to disrupt life to make an impact, we still need key workers elsewhere, like nurses and teachers, to be able to get to work. On Tuesday I joined a breakfast meeting with the Prime Minister and later the Online Safety Bill was debated.
Later in the week the Transport Select Committee took evidence from the Rail Minister, Huw Merriman MP. This follows on from last week’s session where we had the Rail Unions and Employers giving evidence. There was quite a difference in the optimism, or lack of it, from the different protagonists but at the time of writing some hope of a resolution was stirring. We will be discussing both the dispute and his broader responsibilities.
This week is a full week in Westminster with the House sitting through Friday as well so I will not get to the Constituency at all but if we can help you, please email: Paul.Howell.MP@Parliament.uk or phone us – 01325 790580 – and we will do all we can to be of assistance.