Archive for November 14th, 2011
Monday, November 14th, 2011
Tamworth’s Member of Parliament, Christopher Pincher, last week participated in a debate honouring our armed forces. In his short speech which came at the end of the debate Mr Pincher began by expressing his admiration for 3 Mercian (the Staffords) who have recently came back from Afghanistan, he also paid his respects to those fallen in combat, particularly Pte Gareth Bellingham from Stoke.
He said:
“May I put on the record my admiration for the work of my local battalion? The Staffords, the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, have just returned from Afghanistan after a 10-month tour of duty. They will be proudly marching through Tamworth on 29 November and I, for one, will be there to welcome them, to honour them and to remember Private Gareth Bellingham, who unfortunately lost his life during the tour.”
He then commended the Armed Forces Covenant, enshrined in law by the Armed Forces Act 2011 of which Mr Pincher was a committee member before moving onto raise concerns about Services housing. He asked:
“First, will the Minister consider enhanced accommodation allowances for our service personnel? Secondly, will he consider developing the shared equity scheme that the previous Government piloted? Thirdly—this one will cost him nothing—will he encourage the Chancellor of the Exchequer to sit down with banks and encourage them to offer forces-friendly and flexible mortgages, to help our servicemen and women? They need a stable, fixed address and the opportunity to put their feet on the property ladder. If they can do that, it will help us to reduce the £285 million a year bill on the 50,000 units of service family accommodation, which often needs to be upgraded. These people have put their lives on the line for us abroad. The very least we can do is offer them the opportunity of having a good home at home.”
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Monday, November 14th, 2011
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Hints, Hopwas & Tamworth, intervened in Parliament on the Chairman of the Transport Select Committee, Louise Ellman, during her report on the publication on the Transport Select Committee’s report on HS2.
Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con): Will the hon. Lady give way?
Mrs Ellman: I am running out of time, but I will give way once more.
Christopher Pincher: The hon. Lady says that the Committee’s report raises important points, and she says that the environmental impact has not been properly assessed. Does she believe that that impact will have a significant effect on the net cost-benefit ratio in the business case?
Mrs Ellman: That is an important point. I cannot anticipate what the impact would be, but we think that other factors, including the importance of reducing current overcrowding, should be assessed as well. Ultimately, any cost-benefit ratio would have to take account of the findings in regard to those factors, and possibly others as well.
Christopher Pincher commented at the end:
“It is clear that there are still many questions about the business case of HS2. In addition to environmental factors blight is not taken into consideration in the proposals. Blight will affect revenues to the Treasury due to reduced income from Stamp Duty. The Government needs to investigate the entire case for HS2 so the taxpayer is not left to foot a huge bill for this project. The Transport Select Committee’s report raises an array of questions which the Department for Transport must address. I will continue to work with local action groups in Hints, Drayton Bassett and Hopwas to question the business case of this project which I just do not think stacks up.”
“I also intend to meet with Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, on 21st November to raise my concerns. Together, with other local MPs, I asked for an urgent meeting with her so I am pleased she has agreed to see concerned Members of Parliament.”
