Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, has called on the Ministry of Defence to help Normandy Veterans commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-day in 1944 by providing support for their families and carers to make what may well be their final trip to Normandy to pay their respects to friends and fellow servicemen who lost their lives.
Other governments are planning to help their frail former D-Day servicemen to make the journey to the beaches and Christopher has said the UK Government should follow suit.
Mr Pincher said, “As the anniversary is now little more than a year away, I have asked colleagues in the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Culture, Media and Support to ensure that our personnel who saw active service are offered similar support as to that offered by US and French Government’s to their veterans”.
In response Veterans Minister, Mark Francois MP, said that lottery funding should be available to provide support for ex servicemen to travel to France.
Afterwards Mr Pincher said, “I will continue to talk to local constituents, veteran groups and representatives from Government and ensure that all those involved in D-day will be able to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-day in the most appropriate way.”
The 70th Anniversary of D- day is the 6th June 2014.
Following the recent announcement of a 0.1% cut in its share of the council tax, Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council has the lowest council tax of any county in England.
After freezing its share of council tax bills for two years, Staffordshire has cut its council tax for 2013/14 by 0.1%, meaning that its share of a Band D property bill will be £1,027.25. This is lower than any other English county.
Staffordshire County Council, leader Philip Atkins said, “Despite national cuts in public spending, we made an ambitious promise last year to try and reduce our share of council tax bills over time. We have delivered, following years of sound, responsible leadership.
“We know that people want us to put extra energy into creating jobs and improving the local economy, and to look after those people who need our help. People also want us to help protect their pockets as they feel the strain from rising energy bills, petrol prices and the cost of the weekly shop.
“That’s why we have made every effort to not only keep council tax as low as possible, but even to reduce it slightly, at the same time as protecting and improving services.
“This is another milestone in transforming the County Council into a high value organisation with low tax and quality services at its heart. That means using innovation to deliver services in new and better ways, cutting waste and working closer with partners to find savings.”
Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council has offered 9 out of 10 parents their first choice primary school, despite rises in pupil numbers putting pressure on school places.
Figures show the overwhelming majority of parents have been allocated their first choice school, with 97 per cent in total allocated one of their top three preferred schools.
A total of 8897 places have been allocated, with 8167 of those receiving their first choice primary school and 8648 getting one of their top three. This is despite a rise in birth rate of up to 11 per cent in Staffordshire over the last decade putting more pressure on school places.
Three years ago, the county council successfully applied for £44 million of the government’s ‘basic need’ allocation to increase capacity across Staffordshire. Since then, officers have managed to provide an extra 2,000 primary school places across the county through expanding existing schools and building two new ones.
Anne Birch, County Commissioner for learning and skills said: “A huge percentage of parents in Staffordshire have got their first preference, and have good reason to celebrate. Despite the rise in birth rates and the extra pressures on primary school places in the county, through careful managing of the admissions process and the extra capacity we are putting in Staffordshire schools we have managed to ensure the majority of parents are offered one of their top three places.
“Last year we were awarded nearly £13million towards primary school places in the county, in recognition of rising birth rates. We have already added capacity in Burton, Huntington, Fradley, Lichfield and Stafford either by making better use of existing accommodation or through building new schools, and this will continue for the next few years.
“These pressures on school places makes the fact that we have given 92 per cent of parents their first choice school all the more remarkable. A large number of parents now have very good reason to be pleased as their child starts their school life in a Staffordshire school.”
Highways crews tackled around 400 potholes in just one week, as part of Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council’s blitz to tackle winter road damage.
Twenty teams have been working across the county to fix the worst potholes on Staffordshire’s roads.
Ian Turner, Staffordshire County Council’s Head of Highways Operations, said, “Our highways crews are really pulling out all the stops to tackle the worst potholes caused during the winter.
“The heavy rain, ice and snow really has taken its toll on our roads, but we are doing our very best to fix as many potholes as we can, as quickly as we can. Although more potholes have been identified, we are also repairing many more than we did last year, but it is an on-going challenge and I would ask people to bear with us as we carry out these repairs.”
The county council is investing a further £500,000 to tackle pothole repairs following the winter damage.
Potholes are caused when the repeated freeze-thaw process causes road surfaces to weaken. The stress of traffic then leads to the surface rupturing and potholes forming in the road.
Extra crews will now be working on repairing the worst potholes over the coming weeks. Drivers can also help by taking extra care and passing potholes slowly until repairs can be carried out.
Staffordshire’s Police & Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis attended a private meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron in Burton on Friday (19 April) to discuss wide-ranging plans for Staffordshire.
Commissioner Ellis’ proposals will be outlined in the Police and Crime Plan, which he will unveil in June.
Mr Elis said, “I was delighted to be asked by the Prime Minister to meet and was surprised to have nearly half an hour of his time talking about real business – it was sit down straight talking to understand what we are doing in Staffordshire.
“The Prime Minister was clearly knowledgeable and exceptionally complimentary about what we’re doing in Staffordshire and we had a useful talk about how the Government can help. Discussions were about different authorities working collectively behind the scenes to cut re-offending rates, provide more positive outcomes in a way that saves public money.”
The plan will be a collaborative approach from public sector to cut crime. It will also involve reviewing buildings with the future prospect of public services working together under one roof – one-stop shops wherever possible across Staffordshire, looking at the causes of crime rather than the effect to get better results.
Mr Ellis added, “The plan will be the most elaborative and most ambitious approach that has been done in the UK and aims to make a real difference to Staffordshire people.
“This was a memorable and very productive meeting. It is clear the progress we are making has reached Downing Street and I hope to progress further with officials in London next month.”
Prime Minister David Cameron visited Burton, on Friday (19 April), to see for himself how Staffordshire County Council, under Conservative control, is helping small businesses like Network Railways Ltd with the Staffordshire Small Business Loan supporting 9 jobs, how Burton Albion FC are doing in the promotion battle and speak to local Conservative County Council candidates.
During the meeting with Conservative candidates for Staffordshire County Council, the Prime Minister said, “The next big fight for this party is on May 2nd. Remember what we’re fighting for. Yes, we’re fighting for our councils but it’s about more than that.
“We’re rebuilding our country. Backing hard-working people. Making this a country where if you work hard and do the right thing, you will get on. We’re building a country where you put in, you get out.
“You work hard, you get rewarded. You save, you get security. And we are saying to each and every hardworking person in our country: we are on your side.”
The Prime Minister also took part in a question answer session with the candidates and answered questions from three of Tamworth’s Conservative candidates, Cllr Ben Adams, Cllr Andrew James and Cllr Jeremy Oates.
There are just two weeks to go until Tamworth’s spectacular St George’s Day celebrations in the Castle and the Castle Grounds, complete with a medieval joust and a friendly dragon.
The St George’s Day extravaganza is always one of the highlights in Tamworth’s events calendar. Last year’s celebrations attracted more than 8,500 visitors and in 2011, Tamworth was highlighted as one of the best places in the UK to celebrate the feast day of England’s patron saint.
Falconry, have-a-go archery and living history are just some of the events taking place during the free celebrations, which this year are being held on Saturday April 20 from noon until 5pm.
Sir Aurelious Jones and his dragon will also be making an appearance – and are set to be a hit with the crowds.
The hugely popular Medieval Joust returns again this year, when the Black Knight and Sir Robert Marmion will once again do battle for the honour of Tamworth.
Deputy Leader of Tamworth Borough Council, Cllr Robert Pritchard, said, “We know how important the free events are to the whole of Tamworth, and yet again, the St George’s Day extravaganza is the first of many this year.”
The event is completely free and will feature displays and activities including:
Children’s workshops
‘Have a go’ archery (for which there will be a small charge)
Falconer
Foot tournament
Medieval encampment displays
Walkabout characters
Face painting
A major highlight of the day will be the unveiling at Tamworth Castle of it new displays, as part of its £1.6 million refurbishment project. Visitors will be able to look at the new displays in the Castle Grounds and the Courtyard, experience the new Armoury and take part in living history and craft activities taking place throughout the Castle.
Admission to the Castle will be reduced on the day of the extravaganza to £3 for adults, £2 for children aged five and above and 50p for children aged between two and four. Children under two will be admitted free. Admission is valid for a full day, so visitors can enter and leave the castle as often as they wish on production of a valid admission ticket.
Following the sad passing of former Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, a Book of Condolence has been placed at Tamworth’s TIC for both residents and visitors to record their condolences.
The Tourist Information Centre, which is part of the Phil Dix Centre in Corporation Street, is open from 9am – 7pm, Monday – Friday, and 9am – 5pm on Saturdays.
Theresa May MP for Maidenhead, Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities will be joining Staffordshire County Council Conservatives to launch their Election Manifesto in Market Square, Stafford today, April 11th, at 12.30.
Phillip Atkins, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said, “The Conservative Party has a record of achievements to be proud of at Staffordshire County Council over the past 4 years and there is more to come as mapped out in our Manifesto.”
Christopher Pincher was first elected MP for Tamworth in May 2010 with a majority of 6,090. Christopher was re-elected in 2015 with an increased majority of 11,302.
Born and bred in Staffordshire, and a Midlander through and through, Christopher is committed to representing Tamworth residents.
Christopher believes strongly in the power of local communities where people look after one another, support their local schools and hospitals and post offices, respect common traditions and stand together against the threat of crime and anti-social behaviour.
After becoming MP in 2010, Christopher worked conscientiously to get Britain back on track. Along with advocating issues relevant to Tamworth, Christopher specialized in national issues, including: energy, climate change, and defence. He was appointed to the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and also served on the Armed Forces Bill Committee.