11 JANUARY 2007

Coming back to the House of Commons after a Christmas holiday at home is like going back to boarding school but one soon settles into the routine – train to London on a Monday and return home late on a Thursday. 

This week we had the Second Reading of the Statistics and Registration Service Bill which aims to improve statistics' collection and reliability across different services while maintaining independence. It passed without a division. 

Then the Report Stage and Third Reading of the Welfare Reform Bill were debated. The Government's broad aim is to emphasise capability for employment even if limited rather than to stress inability which results in an all or nothing effect. One is either fit for all work or for no work. Some Opposition amendments were proposed but did not lead to the necessary labour rebellion to carry them and so the Bill now goes to the House of Lords. 

An Opposition Day Debate on Community Maternity Services allowed MPs to raise concerns about the effects of NHS deficits and the resulting economies by PCTs on community midwives, home births and midwife-led birth centres. Unlike our birth centre which sadly we lost, several flourish safely in isolated situations and it would be wrong if any were lost for the sake of economy.

Another Opposition Day Debate on the Future of the Sub-Post Office Network allowed Members to question the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who before Christmas told the House that of the 14,300 post offices in the UK only around 4,000 are commercially viable. He promised that the Government subsidy would continue until 2011 to allow time for change which he predicted would lead to the closure of about 2500 post offices but still leave 99% of the population within three miles of a post office.

After the floods at Beales Corner in Bewdley on 10 December when no one on the scene could tell me why the pallet defences had not been deployed, 
I asked a parliamentary question and was told that

the pallets which had been demonstrated at a dry trial run in June were not considered safe because of a high risk of "moving under certain conditions". 

I was also concerned that affected residents might not have been warned but I was told that 

they had been informed that they would not be protected on this occasion but could expect protection from early 2007.

We have had further Lottery fund successes. 
I was delighted to learn that Wyre Forest Nightstop and Mediation Scheme achieved £75,211 from the Big Lottery Fund to help provide young homeless people with emergency accommodation and support to find permanent housing. 
Also Bewdley Historical Research Group and Bewdley Development Trust were awarded two grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund totalling £64,100. 
Grant applications are time consuming but, thank goodness, they can be successful.

RT

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