The demountable flood defences in Bewdley proved their worth again last week. This time the pallet defences at Beales Corner were deployed. Why were they thought to be safe this time when just a month ago they were not erected because of safety fears?

Were they effective? What were the risks? I shall ask the Environment Agency.

I have received inquiries about what is being done to reduce the risks to other road users posed by over confident new drivers. The new regulations established in 1995 are well known to new drivers as they are told that six or more penalty points acquired within two years of passing the driving test will lead to an automatic loss of licence and requirement to re-pass the driving test.

A lesson I have only just learnt is that appeals to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman made through MPs are time limited and must be made within "twelve months from the day on which the person aggrieved first had notice of the matters alleged in the complaint".

On Tuesday we had an open meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Local Hospitals Group. 
This was very successful with support from people from twenty counties giving a strong message to the Government that acute hospital reconfigurations and mergers must not be carried out without acting upon local people's expressed wishes and needs and that the degree of downgrading that our hospital suffered in 2000 was intolerable and will never be acceptable to any other community. 
I have already written to the Health Secretary requesting help to increase the scope of our local emergency services.

Waste recycling is again in the news with recent information from the Environment Agency that "landfills in the West Midlands have only enough room for 7 more years of waste if we carry on throwing it away at the current rates". 
I still receive letters requesting a return to weekly rubbish bin collections but the vital reason for fortnightly collections with the provision of re-cycling boxes is to make us re-cycle more and cope with fortnightly collections.

During the whole of my time in Parliament I have received letters about the pensions crisis – from people, as examples, who have lost their pensions, who cope with difficulty on the pension they receive and who do not even qualify for full state pensions. 

The Government recognizes the problems and the Second Reading of the Pensions Bill passed unopposed last Tuesday. 
Although the Bill will increase the retirement age it will re-link the state pension to average earnings, reduce the number of years of national insurance contributions required to qualify for a full state pension, abolish contracting-out for defined contributory pension schemes and establish a Delivery Authority to design new private personal accounts. 
Although opposition parties approved the broad outline of the Bill they promised to push for amendments during the committee stage.

R.T.