Last week I took part in a working forum organised by the Severn and Avon Vale Wetlands Partnership to study how to take forward their ambitious plans for preserving and reclaiming areas of wetland along these two major rivers.     
To my surprise, the Partnership does not extend up the Stour to Kidderminster where we have Puxton Marsh and Wilden Marsh. Wetlands are important for the survival of many species of wildlife and I was horrified to learn of the drastic reduction in recent years of breeding wading birds like lapwings, redshank and particularly snipe. 
The Partnership includes English Nature, the Environment Agency, local wildlife trusts, the NFU, and the RSPB among others. It has already achieved a great deal and this working group produced ideas for the way forward for the organisation.   Knowing of the huge membership of the RSPB, and of the responses to garden bird surveys, there is so much interest in the preservation of wild birds that I hope with extra publicity the Wetlands Partnership will achieve more widespread support.

I opened the new OXFAM shop in Kidderminster and was amazed on arrival to have to wade through a small crowd besieging the door for the opening bargains. It was not quite like Harrods Sale but one lady told me she had been tempted to camp outside for the night!   
Faced with this crowd the opening ceremony was exceedingly brief. The stock in the shop is of high quality, many of the goods being new. I wish them all success. Volunteers for the caring charities demonstrate that we are aware of the horrors facing people in places like the Sudan and that we are all trying to help.

I always enjoy Kidderminster Horticultural Show which this year was no exception in showing fabulous flower arrangements, exotic individual blooms, vegetables to dream about and excellent works of art.   Mike George’s Question Time with Reg Moule, was informative and great fun.

Our Party Conference this year had good publicity and I was delighted to list some of our achievements and to point out that in the Government’s latest paper on “Keeping the NHS Local” there are details of the services provided at Hexham Hospital in Northumberland. In this we have the working blueprint for the hospital services we must continue to fight for here.

Train delays prevented me from voting on the Second Reading of the Children’s Bill but there was relatively little opposition to it at this stage. 
I returned to London in time to put a question to the Health Minister on the funding of GP Out of Hours services and to hear the answer to another question that reassured the people of Pontefract that their A&E will not close! 
I am watching closely events there and in Hartlepool as both are close to larger neighbours.

R.T.