News Bulletin from Aidan Burley MP #78

8/13/2019 News Bulletin from Aidan Burley MP #78

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From: Aidan Burley MP [email protected]: News Bulletin from Aidan Burley MP #78

Date: 10 January 2014 10:27

To: [email protected]

In this edition: 

 Aidan Burley MP’s Diary Record numbers take upapprenticeships in CannockChase  Aidan welcomes extrafunding for new schoolplaces in Staffordshire Photo news: Aidan cycles the SherbrookTrail Reminder: Aidan offers unique chancefor local people to attendPrime Minister’s Questions Burley welcomes retentionof Chase Day Service inCannock  Aidan in Parliament: Aidan speaks in debate onStafford Hospital Council Watch:Labour Cannock ChaseCouncil fleece motorists,but still can't break even!  Aidan in the papers:MPs reveal economichopes for road ahead  Aidan in the papers:Taxpayers foot the bill for full-time union reps How to contact Aidan Burley MP

  Issue 78 – Friday 10th January 2014 

 Since the last edition, Aidan has: 

Spoken in a debate in the House of Commons on the future of 

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. See below for a

video of the debate.

Visited Soul Care Aesthetics to celebrate the opening of their 

new and expanded premises in High Green Court, Cannock.

Welcomed news of a record uptake of apprenticeships  in

Cannock Chase.

Questioned the Home Secretary on the number of businesses

in Cannock Chase and Staffordshire who have been fined

for employing illegal foreign national workers. You can view

the Minister’s response here.

Been quoted in the Express & Star   on Stafford Hospital,

taxpayer funded union reps and the UK's economic outlook

for 2014.

Cycled the Sherbrook Trail on Cannock Chase.

Weclomed news of over £23 million pounds for extra school

places in Staffordshire.

Record numbers take up apprenticeships

in Cannock Chase There was good news today for youngpeople looking for their first job with areport showing that 1,380 people inCannock Chase started anapprenticeship in 2012/13. This was upfrom just 580 in the last year of theLabour Government in 2009/10, andalmost half of this year's figures were atthe Advanced or Higher Levels.  Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government's mission torebuild the economy, giving young people the chance to learn a trade,to build their careers, and create a truly world-class, high-skilledworkforce that can compete and thrive in the fierce global race. These latest figures come after the Government introduced measuresto cut red tape for employers taking on apprentices. Over the lifetimeof this Parliament, the Government are funding 250,000 moreapprenticeships than planned under the last Labour Government. 

Commenting on the figures Aidan said: “This is great news. Not just for these individuals, whose lives are being transformed by theopportunity, but also for the whole local economy. “I have put job creation at the heart of my work for Cannock Chase,and these latest figures clearly show that the changes made by thegovernment to streamline the system are complementing my effortsand really starting to have an effect.”  

Aidan welcomes extra funding for new

school places in Staffordshire  Aidan has welcomed the news that theGovernment has announced an extra£2.35 billion to create more schoolplaces. This is in addition to the £5billion that is already being spent in thisParliament. This means that between2014 and 2017 schools in Staffordshirewill receive £23,580,423. This is part of the Government's long-term plan to give

every young person the opportunity to fulfil their potential. It is the first time that councils have had 3-year allocations of funding

to spend on school places, so Staffordshire County Council can planahead and ensure every child has a school place. This Governmenthas already created 260,000 new school places and thisannouncement means thousands more are on the way. Commenting Aidan said: "The last Labour government ignored the fact that rising birth rates meant we will need thousands more school  places in the coming years, and did nothing to prepare. "It is great news for young people in Cannock Chase that thisGovernment has found billions of extra funding to ensure every child has a place at school so that they can fulfil their potential. 

"This is part of our long-term plan to create an education system that gives young people who want to work hard the skills they need to get on in life and have a more secure and better future."  Education Secretary Michael Gove MP said: "Labour were warned repeatedly that they hadn't done enough to plan for a growing  population – and once more it's been left to the Coalition Government to clean up the mess. "Labour cut 200,000 primary places, slashed the amount spent onareas of population growth, and let immigration soar – and all this inthe middle of a baby boom. "The Coalition Government has, however, taken swift action to repair the damage. We have more than doubled funding for new school  places and we are also setting up great new free schools, which aregiving parents a choice of high quality school places in areas Labour neglected. "Ed Miliband is too weak to apologise for the shortage of school placeshis government left behind and too weak to stand up to the unions and back free schools."  

Photo news:

Aidan cycles the Sherbrook Trail 

Aidan and his fiancé, Jodie, after a New Years mountain bike rideacross Cannock Chase. They completed the Sherbrook Trail, inthe mud and rain, followed by a warming hot chocolate at the

visitor centre!

 If you're interested in exploring the Cannock Chase Trails, click here. Reminder:

Aidan offers unique chance for local

people to attend Prime Minister’s

Questions 

Chase MP Aidan Burley is offering sixlucky constituents in Cannock Chase aonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity to seePrime Minister’s Questions in person atthe House of Commons.  Aidan receives just three confirmedpairs of gallery tickets each calendar 

year to the parliamentary show piece event and so as to ensureabsolute fairness to all his constituents, has this year decided to hold aballot a few weeks before each date which will be drawn from allreceived entries. The ballot for the most sought-after parliamentary tickets is open to allhis Cannock Chase constituents’ and will be held in good time to notify

winners so they can make the necessary arrangements. The three dates Aidan has been allocated for 2014 are: Wednesday19 March 2014, Wednesday 25 June 2014 and Wednesday 26November 2014. Commenting Aidan said:"I have been determined t o make Parliament more real and more accessible to the people in Cannock Chase. I have been organising tours, which have been pack ed out and feel thenext step is to let people see what the House of Commons is likeduring its most prestigious event. Parliament is al ways buzzing on aWednesday so I can promise a really interesting and exciting trip toWestminster for those who are successful." 

 Constituents who would like to be entered into the draw for any/all of the above dates can do so online via Aidan’s website atwww.aidanburleymp.org/pmqs.  Alternatively constituents can apply in writing at: Aidan Burley MP,House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA where theyshould include their full name, postal address, contact telephonenumber and the dates they would like to be entered for. 

Burley welcomes retention of Chase Day

 Service in Cannock   Aidan has welcomed the news that Staffordshire County Council haveagreed that the Chase Day Service must remain in Cannock. The County Council's proposed decision on the future of day servicesfor people with learning disabilities was recently made public, followingthe consultation that was held between August and November 2013. Following the consultation the proposed decision was to continue tosupport people with complex needs in council-run services and tomove other people into more personalised care. The Cabinet decisionwill be taken on the 15th January.

 During the consultation Aidan made clear that the Chase Day Servicecurrently supports both profoundly disabled people as well as thosewith less acute learning disabilities in a traditional day care setting –and that those with profound disabilities must continue to be supported'in house'. Aidan has therefore welcomed the news that a SpecialistDay Centre will remain in Cannock, and that the new, improved centrewill be closer to Cannock town centre and more accessible to thoseservice users. There will also be capital investment from the CountyCouncil in the new centre. Commenting Aidan said: "It was clear from my recent visit to ChaseDay Services that those service users with profound disabilities need a

specialist centre locally and it is good news that the County Council will continue to fund a Day Care Centre for people with complex needsin Cannock. Better still, t he new Day Care Centre will be located closer to the town centre, making it more accessible for relatives, and theservices will be invested in and improved. I will now be ensuring that no service users will be moved to the new facility until it is fully equipped and ready to take them."   Aidan added: "I also believe that people with less profound learning disabilities should have independence and the freedom to choosesupport that suits them. During my visit it was clear that this type of service user is increasingly choosing personalised, community-based care and as a result their attendance at Chase Day Centre has fallendramatically, with much of the current building lying empty as a result. I 

will be working with the County Council to ensure that all current service users will be assessed and supported to move to suitablealternative care where appropriate."  

Aidan in Parliament:

Aidan speaks in debate on

 Stafford Hospital 

Click on the image above to watch the debate.

Labour Cannock Chase Council fleece

motorists, but still can't break even! The Express & Star are reporting that Labour run Cannock ChaseCouncil is set to make a whopping £152,300 from parking fines for the12 months between April 2013 and 2014, which is up from the£135,200 brought in over the previous financial year. The number of fines given out has also gone up. From April to September 2013, therewere 3,926 penalty charge notices issued – an increase of 1,080 onthe same period last year. 

With such income, you would think they could run the parking serviceat no cost to the general taxpayer. But think again, they will actuallyend up with an estimated £28,500 deficit in their parking budget. Onceagain, inefficiency reigns supreme in Labour's town hall. 

Aidan in the papers:

MPs reveal economic hopes for road ahead Express & Star Wednesday 1st January 2014

 Better schools, newopportunities for businesses, a new railstation and a PizzaExpress. Those are the just some of the New Year’s hopes of West MidlandsMPs who have revealed their wishlists for 2014. Politicians from both sides of the political divide had lots of goals andambitions for the coming 12 months but were pressed for just one or two things they want to see happen. 

One ambition that stood out was the need to improve education. Wolverhampton was recently revealed to have the lowest number of good or outstanding primary schools anywhere in the country with just56 per cent making the grade according to education watchdogOfsted. Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said: “I want to seesome improved results by the end of 2014. We have to create better opportunities for Wolverhampton schools. “Our reaction to the Ofsted report is as important as the verdict itself.”

 Neighbouring Dudley fares much better with 72 per cent. But Dudley North MP Ian Austin said education should be the key aimfor everyone in public service. He said: “We have to make education the number one priority. “2014 has to be the year in which standards in the Black Country riseby more than anywhere else in the country. “It’s the only way we’re going to attract new industries and new jobs. “We have some brilliant headteachers. “But the whole community has to make this its priority. “It should be the number one thing for everyone from parents tobusinesses. “They have to get involved and support their schools.” Paul Uppal, Tory MP  for   Wolverhampton South West, agrees butadded: “Jobs and education are the real issues in this city. “Everyone talks about the great opportunity offered by Jaguar LandRover.

 “I want to see those jobs go to people from Wolverhampton. “The real threat is from not having the right skills this company and itssupply chain will want from their workforces. “Wolverhampton is a great place to invest and we have to show that.” His comments were echoed by South Staffordshire’s MP GavinWilliamson, who said: “2014 is going to be a momentous year becausewe’re going to see the opening of Jaguar Land Rover’s engine plant atthe i54. 

“I want to get as much as we can out of it for the West Midlands, withlocal businesses involved in supplying it. “I also want to see schools working with JLR.” 

 Aidan Burley, MP for CannockChase, was recently celebrating hisconstituency seeing one of thebiggest drops in unemploymentfigures in the West Midlands. He said: “We need to bring jobs andgrowth back to the area. That’s mynumber one priority for 2014. 

“The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance has fallen a lotand I want to see it come down further. “The most important thing for anyone is to have a job. If you have one,then almost everything else flows from that and I’ll do everything I canto help.” Meanwhile John Spellar, Labour MP for Warley, has set hissights on getting rid of the controversial ‘bedroom tax’. The policy, introduced in April 2013, strips 14 or 25 per cent of housingbenefit from council and social housing tenants if they have one or more spare rooms. 

Mr Spellar said: “By the end of 2014 I’d like to see an end to theBedroom Tax. “It’s particularly having an impact on people with disabilities. “That’s borne out by national statistics and by my caseload in Warley.” Meanwhile Emma Reynolds, MP for Wolverhampton North East,believes regeneration to be the number one aim. She said: “I hope that by the end of 2014 we have a plan in place for Wolverhampton rail station. I also want to see the start of regenerationand transformation in the city centre. We need to see more people

living there, which will help businesses. “And this may seem like a very small wish but I want to see a big chainrestaurant like a Pizza Express. “That’s not about just catering for people who like pizza. “We need to see more restaurants and more places for people to go inthe city centre. “Some restaurants may be waiting to see what happens with retail andhow that improves. “But it’s a question of what comes first. We need more restaurants in

the city centre now to bring people in.” 

Aidan in the papers:

Taxpayers foot the bill for full-time union

reps Express & Star Thursday 2nd January 2014 Taxpayers’ money is being

used to pay unionrepresentatives even if they spend none of their time doing their council job, figures have revealed. Figures obtained by the Express & Star show that there are workers incouncils and other public bodies around the West Midlands secondedto their unions full time. The work is permitted under laws governing so-called ‘facility time’. Butit has sparked anger as many unions fund the Labour party. Critics saythey should use their resources to pay for their own reps. 

The Unite union gave Labour £777,740 in the three months toSeptember. Unison and GMB gave £372,603 and £297,698respectively. But if their members are employed by councils andbecome reps, they can continue to be paid by the local authority evenif they are on union business. Cannock Chase Tory MP Aidan Burley has campaigned for unions tofund their activities for themselves. At Sandwell Council, a full-timeUnison branch secretary is on £30,851 a year while a full-time Uniteunion convenor gets £30,011. The GMB also has a full-time rep on£20,858. Councils in Walsall, Wolverhampton and Dudley also employ full-timeunion reps, the figures revealed. There is less provision at districtcouncils where no-one spends all their time on union duties. SouthStaffordshire Council lets two people have time off for union activitiesbut says it is ‘minimal’. There are six reps at Lichfield District Council and three at WyreForest Council. Cannock Chase Council has five reps, split between GMB, Unison andUCATT. One of the UCATT reps spent 17 per cent of their time onunion matters last year. It is also different at fire services. Staffordshire Fire Service has 19reps who do union work on their days off while West Midlands Fire

Service gave six people between one and three days each paid leavefor union work last year. Mr Burley said: “Hard-pressed people will beastonished to learn that rather than doing the job which they are beingpaid for, there are members of council staff working for their tradeunion at the expense of the taxpayer.” Brian Strutton, GMB national secretary for public services, defendedfacility time, saying it meant union reps could be available for their duties. “It’s time off from their job, not being paid for trade union work,”he said. “By reducing the number of employment tribunal cases, thesaving to employers and the taxpayer is between £22 million and£41m a year.” 

5 ways to contact Aidan Burley MP: 

By Phone: 01543 502 447

By email: [email protected]

By post:  Aidan Burley MP6 High Green Court,Newhall StreetCannock, WS11 1GR

In person: Click here for details of how tobook an appointment at AidanBurley MP’s regular help and

advice surgeries. www.aidanburleymp.org

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