Tamworth’s MP Praises Dig-iT in Parliament

During yesterday’s latest debate on education in the House of Commons, Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, praised the work of Tamworth’s dyslexia group Dig-iT and called on Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families Edward Timpson MP to pay tribute to the work of the group.

Mr Pincher said, “I am sure that my hon. Friend will pay tribute to Dig-iT, the dyslexia group in Tamworth, which does great voluntary work for dyslexia sufferers in the town.  Does he agree that we need a level playing field in the teaching of children with dyslexia and dyspraxia, so that they get the best possible chance of success?”

Edward Timpson MP, replied, “I have no doubt that Dig-iT in Tamworth is doing some incredible work to support children with dyslexia and dyspraxia, and we recognise that we need to do more to ensure a level playing field for those families who require extra support.  That is why, over two years, we are providing £5.5 million to a number of different voluntary organisations, including the Dyslexia-SpLD Trust, so that they can give free advice and training on key aspects of SEN, to make that level playing field a reality.”

Conservative Mayor to Give Out 250 Christmas Hampers

Cllr John Garner – Mayor of Tamworth 2013/14

Traditional Christmas hampers will be given out by the Mayor of Tamworth to spread some festive cheer.

The Mayor will be distributing 250 hampers to elderly and disabled residents in Tamworth this year, and is now asking for nominations.

Age UK, local church groups and ex-service groups will be helping to deliver the hampers filled with traditional Christmas favourites.  The Mayor will also personally deliver as many as he can.

Cllr John Garner, Mayor of Tamworth and Conservative ward councillor for Amington, said, “While we are looking forward to Christmas and spending time with loved ones, I want to make sure we give a thought to those who may not have friends and family to spend the festive period with.

“This time of year should bring people together and remind them that they are not alone.  If anyone knows of someone who would like to receive a hamper, please get in touch.”

To nominate someone to receive a hamper, please contact Democratic Services on 01827 709265, or write to Lin Street, Democratic Services, Marmion House, Tamworth, B79 7BZ.  The closing date for entries is Monday December 2.

Hampers will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and anyone nominated must live in the borough of Tamworth and delivery will start in the week beginning Monday December 9.

Conservative MP’s Support EU Referendum Plan

Conservative MPs have rallied behind a bill promising an EU referendum in the face of Labour attempts to derail it.

Yesterday in the House of Commons, legislation urging a referendum by 2017 was discussed for five hours but no major votes were held and the debate was adjourned until later this month, but the sponsor of the bill, Conservative MP James Wharton, said it had made “reasonable progress”.

The first in three days of detailed debate on Mr Wharton’s bill concluded with Conservatives and Labour arguing over parliamentary tactics.  In an effort to slow its progress, Labour MPs raised a host of related issues at length, including whether residents of Gibraltar and prisoners should be able to vote in a future referendum.

Mr Cameron’s referendum pledge, following a renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with Brussels, cannot be made law in the form of a coalition government bill because of Lib Dem opposition.

Conservative backbencher Mr Wharton agreed to propose the legislation after he came top in a ballot of MPs private members’ bill and many Tories pushed for the referendum commitment to be made binding before the 2015 general election.  The bill has now reached its “report stage”, where amendments can be discussed in detail.  More than 50 amendments have been tabled, including 36 alone by Labour’s Mike Gapes.

Mr Gapes, who spoke for about an hour, defended his approach, saying the bill as it stood was “inadequate” and required “more proper consideration”.  His colleague Barry Sheerman said it was “furtive and unseemly” to have such an important constitutional matter considered via a private member’s bill rather than through government legislation.

Mr Wharton told the BBC’s Daily Politics his bill was making “reasonable progress” but acknowledged it was “going to be slow going”.  He said Labour and Lib Dem opponents wanted to delay the bill so it ran out of parliamentary time, adding, “We are going to do everything we can to stop that from happening.”

Private members’ bills normally have little chance of becoming law due to lack of parliamentary time, unless they are backed by the government.  But Mr Wharton’s bill is being treated differently because David Cameron wants it to become law, to send a signal to his MPs and the public that he is serious about his commitment to hold a referendum.

If the bill makes it through the Commons, it will go to the Lords for further discussion in the next few months.

Conservative Controlled Council Calls on Employers to Take On an Apprentice

Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council is urging employers to offer more apprenticeships to the county’s young people.

‘Let’s talk jobs’ is Staffordshire County Council’s latest drive to make sure young people know about the importance of getting good careers and jobs advice.  But the campaign is also turning its attention to local employers and letting them know about the free advice available through the apprenticeship helpline.

The helpline, launched last year by Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has already helped over 60 employers, giving them the advice they need to successfully take on an apprentice.

The helpline, available on 0300 111 8002, has trained advisers standing by to give advice on taking on an apprentice in your business and has access to experts who can help you move forward with everything from finding the right young person, the steps needed to set up a successful apprenticeship programme, and accessing the grants available for employers taking on their first apprentice.

Cllr Ben Adams, Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills with Staffordshire County Council said, “Our latest ‘Let’s talk jobs’ campaign is all about making sure young people get good jobs and careers advice but we also need employers to play their part.  We want more employers to consider taking on an apprentice and we want to support them to do this through our helpline.

“A key priority for us is to increase the number of apprentices across the county.  We now have nearly 14,000 apprentices working across a range of industry sectors, which is well up on three years ago.  Our own apprenticeship programme is continuing to give young people great opportunities, taking on almost 500 apprentices since 2009.

Businesses benefit from taking on an apprentice in lots of different ways, including having the ability to train someone in line with the business needs, and bringing in fresh ideas and ways of doing things, as well as bringing energy and enthusiasm into the workplace.

The Apprenticeship Helpline is available on 0300 111 8002, and dedicated webpages on http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/business/Apprenticeships/Gettinganapprentice.aspx also have a wealth of information.

To find out more about the ‘Let’s talk jobs’ campaign visit www.staffordshire.gov.uk/letstalkjobs.

Tamworth’s No Trick or Treat Here Card Displayed in Northern Ireland

Tamworth Conservative’s No Trick or Treat Here cards proved to be so popular; they were not just displayed in households across Tamworth they were also in windows in Northern Ireland’s capital city Belfast over Halloween.

As well as putting the No Trick or Treat Here cards through the letterboxes of local residents, Tamworth Conservative Association posted the card on their Twitter feed and Facebook page and Eimhear Macfarlane messaged the Association from Belfast saying, “A great idea!  We’ve never celebrated Halloween in our house so wish our constituency in Northern Ireland had something like this!!!”

After receiving the link to print off the No Trick or Treat Here card, Eimhear messaged all of her friends with details of the card, “Great idea from Tamworth Conservatives!  Some people don’t celebrate Halloween and are still plagued with everyone else celebrating.  So here’s a great way to opt out!  Just print off this poster for your window.”

Cllr Andrew James said, “We knew that the No Trick or Treat Here cards are popular with the residents of Tamworth after seeing so many on show since they were first delivered back in 2011, but we never expected to have our leaflets displayed in another town let alone another country.  This proves the positive power of both our literature and we will continue to send out our message through the letterbox, the Association’s website, Twitter feed and Facebook account.”

Tamworth’s Conservative MP, Christopher Pincher, added, “It is nice to think that a “do not disturb please” innovation that began in Tamworth has gone national.  Where next?”

Conservative Controlled Council’s Free Firework Display Draws Thousands

Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council’s free firework extravaganza that lit up the sky above Tamworth on Saturday proved to be the biggest and best yet, after around 22,000 people braved the wind and cold weather to watch the display.

The crowd easily topped last year’s 20,000, packing into the Castle Grounds for more than two hours of family fun, including a funfair, fire performers, more than 260 specially created artworks displayed throughout the Castle Grounds, face painting, food stalls, family activities, workshops and a sparkler zone.

The spectacular climax of the night was a 20-minute firework display set to music, which drew gasps of admiration from the crowd.

The free firework event, organised by Tamworth Borough Council’s arts and events team, is now in its sixth year.  Comments from delighted display goers shared on Twitter after the event included “What an amazing firework display in Castle Grounds – defo worth braving the cold for”; “Thank you for a fabulous firework display tonight.  Kids loved it and said it reminded them of Disney”; and “Excellent fireworks from Tamworth Council at the Castle Grounds tonight.”

Cllr Steve Claymore, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said, “This is the sixth year that we have staged this free event, and everyone is saying it was the best yet.  The company, which ran the display, did a great job considering the weather conditions and we were delighted with how it went.

“I am delighted that so many people from Tamworth and further afield came to the event and had such a good time.”

Conservative Controlled Council Supports Small Business Saturday

Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council is supporting the UK’s first Small Business Saturday on 7th December by offering free market stalls for local businesses and free parking for all visitors to the town centre.

Small Business Saturday is a great chance for small businesses to promote themselves and generate trade.  In the US, where it’s an established commercial holiday, it generated $5.5 billion in sales in 2012.

In the UK, Small Business Saturday is a grassroots campaign.  Small businesses of all kinds are taking part.  They’re planning special deals for customers, showcase events, joint marketing with local media and much more.  Small Business Saturday works when small businesses take action.

Small business organisations, local authorities, community groups, big businesses, banks, accountants and others are involved too.  They’re promoting the day locally, to their members, customers and supply chains.  Some are planning business health checks, clinics, and online advice.

Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, recently paid tribute to the Borough Council’s initiative in the House of Commons, Mr. Pincher said, “Tamworth Borough Council is doing its bit to back small business Saturday by promoting “created in Tamworth” and offering free market stalls to business people and free parking to customers.  We must encourage greater innovation to help these important businesses thrive.  Getting more and free parking will get people into our town centres.”

Christopher Pincher Calls for the Removal of Green Levies to Cut Energy Bills

Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, Member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, has called for a cut in green taxes and measures to increase competition within the energy market to help reduce energy bills.

Mr Pincher scrutinised the “Big Six” Energy Companies this week in a high profile session to establish the reasons and justification behind recent energy price rises.

During the session Mr Pincher pushed the “Big Six” to confirm that if green levies, used to subsidise renewable energy generation are lifted, then consumers’ bills will be directly reduced.

Mr Pincher said, “Renewable levies add £112 each year to the average annual bill, placing further burdens on hard pressed households struggling to pay bills and on businesses fighting for a competitive edge in the international marketplace.

“Chief Executives unanimously confirmed to me that these levies can be quickly removed to keep energy bills down for hardworking families.

“Unlike the Labour Party Conservatives in Government are offering a real solution of a cut in those taxes that add to your bill and more competition to keep bills lower. And are legislating to force energy companies to put people on their lowest tariff.”

Conservatives say Ed Miliband’s promised price freeze is a political con that will simply result in increased prices for consumers as suppliers increase their prices before the freeze and damage investment in our energy infrastructure. If Labour freezes energy prices, but costs go up beyond the companies’ income, they will have to be bailed out at the public expense and at a massive cost to our energy security.

Finally, freezing energy prices hits the smaller independent players more than the big 6 generators whose fixed costs can be more easily absorbed by their scale and vertical integration.

This view was echoed by Tony Cocker, Chief Executive of Power Company EON during the Select Committee hearing.

Mr Pincher suggested that a better way of helping those people living in the poorest condition housing and suffering big bills is to insulate their homes through schemes paid out of general taxation rather than through levies on people’s bills.

Tamworth’s MP Backs “Small Business Saturday”

Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth, praised the work of Tamworth Borough Council in supporting local businesses in the town centre by offering free market stalls for traders and free car parking for customers during business questions in the House of Commons this week.

In the House of Commons Mr. Pincher said, “Tamworth borough council is doing its bit to back small business Saturday by promoting “created in Tamworth” and offering free market stalls to business people and free parking to customers. Do the Government agree that local authorities have a hugely important role in helping rather than hindering small business growth, not least by offering more free parking?

In response the Minister for Skills and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP said, “We in Government are huge and enthusiastic supporters of small business Saturday, which has cross-party support. I encourage local authorities of all political persuasions to follow the lead of Tamworth and introduce policies that can help to support small businesses across the board, and especially on Saturday 7 December, small business Saturday.”

Mr Pincher later commented, “I am pleased ministers have paid tribute to the work our council and others in Tamworth do to help small businesses.  We must encourage greater innovation to help these important businesses thrive.  Getting more and free parking will get people into our town centres.”

No Trick or Treat Leaflets

With Halloween just days away, Tamworth’s Conservatives have again been delivering “No Trick or Treat” leaflets across the Borough.

Whilst many enjoy Halloween, there are plenty who do not like having their doors knocked on at night and “No Trick or Treat” signs displayed in windows and on doors are polite reminders that not everybody wants to take part.

This is the third year that Tamworth’s Conservatives have distributed the “No Trick or Treat” leaflets around Tamworth.

Spital ward councillor, Robert Pritchard, said, “Three years ago, we delivered just a hand full of the No or Treat leaflets around a small part of Mercian ward.  The leaflets have become so popular with our residents we now distributing them across the whole of Tamworth.”

If you have not received a “No Trick or Treat” leaflet and would like to have one to display in your property, you can download one here.