From: Aidan Burley MP news@aidanburleymp.

org Subject: News Bulletin from Aidan Burley MP #80 Date: 25 February 2014 14:43 To: news@aidanburleymp.org

In this edition:
Aidan Burley MPs Diary Website of the week: Staffordshire's Lowland Search & Rescue Team Aidan to stand down at next General Election New bus fleet is formally unveiled Aidan in Parliament: Aidan questions Treasury Minister on private sector job creation Photo news: Aidan welcomes more local residents to Westminster Cannock Chase "Olympic star" possible with funds says Chase MP Burley calls on residents to share experiences of mental health crisis care Photo news: Rugeley Arts, Crafts and Farmers Market Aidan in the papers: Jobs boost for Amazons Staffordshire base Aidan in the papers: Dissolving of trust put to GPs' vote Aidan in the papers: MPs want to tighten law on criminals Aidan in the papers: Funds to boost economy Aidan in the papers: MP serves up a treat for Lions festive lunch How to contact Aidan Burley MP

Issue 80 - Tuesday 25th February 2014

Since the last edition, Aidan has:

Announced he is to stand down at the next General Election. Welcomed the launch of brand new Arriva Buses to Cannock Chase for the popular 25/26 Pye Green Circular service. Questioned Treasury Ministers in the House of Commons on private sector job creation. Welcomed two more groups of local residents to Westminster for a tour of the Houses of Parliament and a question and answer session. Held a residents' help and advice surgery in the MP Help Zone in Cannock town centre. Attended the launch of the Rugeley Arts, Crafts and Farmers Market. The market is held on the 4th Saturday of each month. For more see www.selltoearn.com. Welcomed the arrival of 4G by EE in Cannock which will provide a boost to local businesses and consumers. Paid tribute to the Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team volunteers who have been helping with the flood relief effort in Surrey. Attended a Delegated Legislation Committee to discuss the draft Enactment of Extra-Statutory Concessions Order 2014.

Website of the week:

www.ssart.org

The website of Staffordshire's Lowland Search & Rescue Team. SSART is a team of dedicated volunteers with specialist training to locate and rescue missing people in urban and rural lowland areas. The team rely on donations from the public and Aidan encourages all Cannock Chase residents to consider supporting them in their excellent work.

Aidan to stand down at next General Election

Aidan Burley has announced that he will not be standing as a candidate at the next general election. Commenting Aidan said: "It was a wonderful surprise to win the seat of Cannock Chase in May 2010 with the biggest swing in the country and it has been a huge privilege to represent the people of Cannock Chase in Parliament over the past four years. I am grateful to all those who voted for me and supported our campaign which led to our famous victory, winning a seat which had been held by Labour for 18 years. In particular I would like to thank my Agent Ian Collard, without whom none of this would have been possible, and who has been my rock of support since being selected as the Conservative Candidate in July 2008. "I am proud to have been able to deliver many positive things for our area since our election success, including spearheading the campaign to save Cannock Chase Hospital from the administrators axe, running four local Jobs Fayres to help get people back into work, and securing 35 million to electrify the Chase Line. That is what really matters to local people in their day to day lives. "After a difficult time I have decided to announce I will stand down at the next general election in order to protect my family from further press intrusion. I will continue to work for the people of Cannock Chase until that election, and look forward to supporting my successor, as soon as he or she is selected, to ensure that Labour have no chance of re-taking this seat."

New bus fleet is formally unveiled

Aidan Burley MP and local dignatories welcome the new Arriva buses on the Cannock to Pye Green route. Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley joined civic dignitaries recently to launch a new fleet of buses in Cannock. Aidan was was guest of honour, along with Councillors George Adamson, council leader, and Gordon Alcott, for the unveiling of the seven new single decker buses at Arriva Midlands in Delta Way. The buses will serve the popular Cannock to Pye Green route. The invited guests joined area director West of Arriva Midlands Rob Cheveaux, to formally unveil the vehicles to the public for the very first time, and reveal details of the 1.1 million investment made to implement the fleet improvements. The vehicles are fitted with low-emission Euro 5 engines, CCtV, LED light- ing as well offering easy access low flooring. Mr Cheveaux said: "We're proud to deliver these high quality vehicles to our customers on route 25/26." The 25/26 service runs between Cannock, Pye Green and Hednesford. It runs up to every 12 minutes during the day Monday to friday and up to 15 minutes on a Saturday, including evenings. a new Sunday service will operate from March 23. Commenting, Aidan said: "It was a great pleasure to be invited by Arriva, to launch the entry into traffic of seven brand new buses on the popular 25/26 Pye Green Circular service, representing a 1.1m investment. The Pye Green Circular is one of the most popular local bus routes, serving my constituents in Cannock, Chadsmoor, Hednesford and Pye Green with a 10 minute frequency. 27.7% of households in Cannock do not have access to a car or van and the provision of high quality bus services is therefore important to local people, for work, shopping, educational, hospital and leisure journeys. The new buses comply with the Euro 5 low emissions, provide more seats and also have wheelchair access."

Aidan in Parliament:

Aidan questions Treasury Minister on private sector job creation

Click on the image above to watch Aidan's question and the Ministers reply. The full text of the exchange was as follows: Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase, Conservative): In Cannock Chase, 4,000 more people were employed in the private sector in the 12 months to June 2013 than in the same period in 2012, an increase of more than 12%. Unemployment is down 40% in Cannock Chase since May 2010. What further action is the Treasury taking to make it easier for small businesses in my constituency to take more people on? David Gauke (The Exchequer Secretary; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative): To highlight one measure, the introduction of the employment allowance in April will mean that the first 2,000 of jobs tax will not need to be paid. It is worth noting that some believed it was not possible that growth in private sector job creation would outweigh public sector jobs lost. Indeed, in 2011 the shadow Chancellor said that that whole idea was a fantasy.

Photo news:

Aidan welcomes more local residents to Westminster

Aidan with a group of local residents who recently visited Westminster for a tour of the Houses of Parliament and question and answer session with their local MP.

Cannock Chase "Olympic star" possible with funds says Chase MP

News that Cannock Chase primary school pupils are to benefit from additional funds for sport and exercise has been welcomed by Aidan Burley. The money comes from the decision by the Prime Minister to extend the PE and Sport Premium until 2020 worth 150m per-year nationwide. This means that between 2014 and 2020 primary schools in Cannock Chase will receive around 1,552,890. This is part of the Government's long-term economic plan, will secure the Olympic and Paralympic legacy, and will help to deliver the best schools for young people. Primary schools around England are already using the premium to get children doing more sport. Schools are using the money for a wide range of activities including hiring extra professional coaches and PE specialist teachers, purchasing new equipment, offering more afterschool clubs and delivering holiday and weekend activities. Commenting Aidan said: "I am very pleased we have secured this extra money for Cannock Chase primary school pupils as it will help keep them active and fit. "I am really ambitious for the scheme many of us are currently watching the Winter Olympics and these funds might produce a future Olympic star. "The last Labour Government only played lip-service to physical activity with over thousand schools having no competitive sport at all."

Burley calls on residents to share experiences of mental health crisis care

Aidan is calling on his constituents who have experienced a mental health crisis, or who have supported a friend or relative through one, to share their experiences of the help, care and support received with the health watchdog. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is seeking feedback from anyone who has tried to get help in a crisis, particularly in the last two years, to help improve its understanding of how local services respond. Aidan is urging constituents to share their experiences with the CQC by completing the online questionnaire which is available at: www.cqc.org.uk/mentalhealthcrisis. CQC will use the information in a number of ways to: Build a picture of where mental health crisis care works well and where it doesn't. Help select the local areas visited by CQC inspectors as part of this review. Inform CQC's national report by showing differences in service provision across England, and by highlighting examples of good or poor practice. Commenting Aidan said: "I welcome CQC's appeal for people to share their experiences of the care they received during a crisis. When people are at a crisis they need support that treats them with respect, compassion and dignity. We hear too often that they cannot get the help they need when they need it. I hope the work the CQC is doing in this area will help us gain a greater understanding of the importance of local services working together to provide prompt, appropriate and effective support." Later this year, CQC will publish a report on its findings from the review. This will look at the help, care and support experienced by people experiencing a crisis, including differences in approach across the country and highlighting good and poor practice where this is found.

Photo news:

Rugeley Arts, Crafts and Farmers Market

Aidan at the launch of the Rugeley Arts, Crafts and Farmers Market. The market is held on the 4th Saturday of each month. For more see www.selltoearn.com.

Aidan in the papers:

Jobs boost for Amazons Staffordshire base

Express & Star Tuesday 4th February 2014 Some 330 workers originally on temporary contracts at the site in Rugeley have been handed permanent contracts. They are among the 800 new jobs nationwide announced by Amazon last October. Until now it had not been revealed how many would be in Rugeley. We originally expected to create 800 permanent roles before Christmas 2013 but in fact have actually been able to create almost 1,000 new roles across the UK in the last three months, said Catherine McDermott, Director of Operations at Amazon.co.uk Ltd. This means that in 2013 alone we have created more than 2,400 permanent positions in our UK fulfilment centres. Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley welcomed the new jobs. He said: I am delighted that Amazon is continuing to invest in our area by creating 330 new permanent positions. When I visited the fulfilment centre last year I was able to meet some of the staff who had started out on a temporary basis, but had since become permanent, and it is great news that Amazon have now been able to offer the security of a permanent position to even more local people. Councillor Gordon Alcott, portfolio leader for economic development and planning at Cannock Chase Council, added: I am delighted with the creation of the permanent posts at Amazon in Rugeley, its a great boost to our local economy. Not only does it give the employees security and stability, but it also shows Amazons ongoing commitment to the area and their support for community initiatives over the last two years.

Aidan in the papers:

Dissolving of trust put to GPs' vote

The Chronicle Thursday 13th February 2014 Around 170 GPs are being balloted on whether they support plans to dissolve Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust. Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy has written a letter on behalf of Conservative colleagues Aidan Burley, Gavin Williamson and Bill Cash, calling on GPs to state whether they support the proposals. The doctors, who are members of the Clinical Commissioning Groups responsible for the area, are being asked to state a yes or no response. Moves to dissolve the trust were approved by health watchdog Monitor and 10,000 patients from New Cross Hospital will have elective surgery at the Brunswick Road site every year under the switch. Up to 350 staff will move over from New Cross Hospital to Cannock and free bus shuttle services will be introduced to ferry patients between the sites. Mr Lefroy told around 30 people at a public meeting in Stafford about the action that was being taken, as further concerns were raised about the plans.

Aidan in the papers:

Express & Star Friday 31st January 2014

MPs want to tighten law on criminals

Tory MPs from the West Midlands are trying to force the government to further tighten planned new immigration controls and get foreign criminals deported more easily. Five backbenchers from Staffordshire and the Black Country are among dozens of MPs to have backed amendments to the immigration bill, which is intended to bring down the number of people allowed to come to Britain. The rebels are trying to remove a rule allowing deportation of foreign criminals to be halted by the courts if it is in the 'overwhelming humanitarian interests' of children or if the criminal would face death or torture in their own country. They want the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to have the final say instead. Ministers have so far resisted amid concerns that it could breach the Human Rights Act or see the UK dragged before the European courts. The number of Eastern European prisoners in jails in the West Midlands and Staffordshire has risen by more than 70 per cent in the past year. The West Midlands rebels are Sir Richard Shepherd, who represents Aldridge Brownhills, Stone MP Bill Cash, Stafford's Jeremy Lefroy, Can- nock Chase MP Aidan Burley and Dudley South's Chris Kelly. Sir Richard said: "The way the Human Rights Act comes into play has been questioned by some of our highest law lords. It is Parliament that is supreme, with representatives elected by the people of this country." Some Labour MPs, including Birmingham Edgbaston's Gisela Stuart, and the former home secretary David Blunkett have also backed the amendment, put forward by Tory Dominic Raab. Mr Kelly, who has also backed re-introducing restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants, said he was waiting to see if the Government would change the proposed legislation. The proposal was put forward by Tory Nigel Mills. Mr Kelly said: "I do intend, though, to vote for Nigel's amendment if a division is called." Romanians and Bulgarians were granted the right to free movement for work across the European Union from January 1. The rebels want the rules put back in place until 2018. Prime Minister David Cameron has said immigration is still too high. The vast majority of Tories are backing the Government. South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said: "We all want a robust Immigration Act to stop the uncontrolled immigration of the last Labour government. "The government will want to look at all options to make sure that's the case." In 2013 there were 120 inmates who declared themselves as coming from one of 13 designated Eastern European countries, as opposed to 69 in 2012. They included 43 Romanian inmates serving time in HMP Birmingham, HMP Featherstone, HMYOI Brinsford and HMP Oakwood last year an increase of more than 25 per cent on 2012. The Ministry of Justice statistics, obtained by the Express & Star through a Freedom of Information request, also revealed the number of Polish inmates has swollen by 125 per cent since 2009. At HMP Oakwood, which opened in April 2012, 27 Eastern European prisoners served time last year out of a total prison population of 1,587.

Aidan in the papers:

The Chronicle Thursday 30th January 2014

Funds to boost economy

Parts of Cannock have been put in pole position for funding to boost manufacturing. The Government has flagged up 74 council wards across the Black Country, South Staffordshire, Shropshire and Wyre Forest, that it wants to prioritise for European Union funding. The areas will be used as the government works to attract European Union funding between 2014 and 2020. Across the Chase, Cannock East, Cannock South and Norton Canes wards have all be included after missing out in the previous round, cov- ering 2007 to 2014. Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley said Assisted Area status would help to create jobs. Deprived He said: "Assisted Area status in these wards has the potential to provide significant opportunities for business growth and development, which will act as a catalyst in bringing high-quality jobs to the deprived areas within the wards providing a further boost to the local economy. "Businesses in our area are already rising to the challenge of providing jobs for local people this potential extra funding from the European Union will give these businesses a helping hand. "It is important that local people now make representations to ensure that Cannock South, Cannock East and Norton Canes are included in the final proposals."

Aidan in the papers:

MP serves up a treat for Lions festive lunch

Express & Star Friday 31st January 2014 Cannock Lions Club For the end of 2013 the group organised a pre-Christmas lunch for senior citizens from Cannock. MP Aidan Burley provided the turkey and waited on guests. Britain's Got Talent's Jean Martyn played the piano along with Shirley Brown. Donations were made to the Land Army and the LCIF Philippines Disaster Appeal. The club also took part in the St Luke's Church Christmas Tree Festival. Member Mick Love attended the meeting with half a moustache in response to a bet for his Movember appeal. Finally, Lions had their Christmas Party at Newhall Farm.

5 ways to contact Aidan Burley MP:

By Phone: 01543 502 447 By email: aidan.burley.mp@parliament.uk By post: Aidan Burley MP 6 High Green Court, Newhall Street Cannock, WS11 1GR In person: Click here for details of how to book an appointment at Aidan Burley MPs regular help and advice surgeries.

www.aidanburleymp.org

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