Parliament Talk

Paul Howell, Member of Parliament for Sedgefield

Once again I had a busy end to the week, last week saw me up and down to London as usual. I was able to get a meeting with the Police and Victims Commissioner, Steve White, who is acting in the role following the sad death of Ron Hogg. This was primarily to discuss the anti social behaviour issues in the Sedgefield and Trimdon areas although discussions expanded into areas like Ferryhill and Spennymoor.

This week in Westminster has been the usual variety of debates but has also seen a lot of activity around Select Committees. First was the appointment of chairs followed by committee members being appointed. I have put myself forward to be on the BEIS (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) committee and at the time of writing await the result of the votes.

Select committees are set up to oversee the work of government departments or agencies and being on the BEIS select committee will enable me to scrutinise and make representations to the department that influences the environment for our local businesses like Hitachi, but also the myriad of smaller businesses that are the backbone of our economy.

I will let you know next week whether I was successful.

Paul Howell

Member of Parliament for Sedgefield