Archive for June, 2013
Friday, June 14th, 2013
Yesterday in Parliament Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, called on the Leader of the House to hold a House of Commons debate on the latest fall in unemployment.
Mr Pincher said, “May we have a debate on strengths and weaknesses? Five years ago, unemployment in Tamworth stood at 1,821, which was the highest in a decade. Today, it stands at 1,462, which is the lowest since before the Balls bust. May we discuss the strengths of the present Government’s economic handling, the weaknesses of Labour’s approach and the dangers of trusting weakness again?”
Leader of the House, Andrew Lansley MP, replied, “My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I wish that I could have announced a debate for that purpose, but the pressures on business are such that I could not. Such a debate would have enabled us to compare the record of this Government with that of the previous Government, under whom the national debt doubled and the gross domestic product of the country fell by 6.3%, and who borrowed one pound in every four that they spent and left us with the biggest budget deficit in the developed world
“In contrast, the deficit is now down by a third, more than 1.25 million more people are working in the private sector and, last year, employment grew faster in the UK than in any other G7 country. I hope that we have an opportunity to debate that contrast.”
Friday, June 14th, 2013
Yesterday in Parliament during the Business, Innovation and Skills debate, Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth and Chairman of the Parliamentary all-party group on Azerbaijan, questioned the Minister of State (Universities and Science), Business, Innovation and Skills on UK exports and overseas trade.
Mr Pincher asked the Minister, “What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s export week campaign.”
The Minister of State, David Willetts MP, replied, “Export week was launched by my colleague Lord Green in May and included over 80 events across the UK, attended by more than 3,600 businesses focusing on 20 high-growth markets.”
Mr Pincher continued, “As chairman of the all-party group on Azerbaijan, I attended the Caspian oil and gas conference, where BP announced its further development of the Shah Deniz gas field. What action can the Government take with UK Trade & Investment further to expand British trade with Azerbaijan in order to address the concerns of the governor of Ganja, it’s second city, that, although German, Dutch and French companies are bidding for major infrastructure contracts there, no British companies are involved?”
The Minister responded, “We are absolutely aware of the international export opportunities presented by major infrastructure projects and are strengthening the commercial role of our embassies in key target markets such as Azerbaijan to ensure that we secure a fair share of those contracts.”
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
Local MP, Christopher Pincher, has welcomed the latest numbers showing further falls in local unemployment.
Figures released today show that the number of JSA claimants in May stood at 1461 (3% of the potential workforce), a fall of 360 on claimants in May 2012. The month on month figures also showed a drop in unemployment of 116.
Mr Pincher said, “These latest figures are welcome news for our town. It shows that the difficult choices we have had to pursue to sort out Labour’s deficit and rebalance the economy are continuing to show results.
“Times remain tough and there is no room for complacency but I am very pleased that more and more jobs are being created. We must continue to ensure our recovery gains in strength.”
The fall in unemployment by 0.7% in the last twelve months comes on top of last week’s announcement of a new Morrison’s distribution centre in Dordon, which will create hundreds of new local jobs.
Unemployment in Tamworth is now at its lowest since September 2008, before the great banking crash.
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
Christopher Pincher MP said this week that he supports the Government’s Right to Buy Scheme and is encouraging council tenants to take advantage.
The right to buy scheme encourages those who are council tenants to buy their properties at a reduced cost. The scheme was launched April last year and offered its tenants up to £75,000 discount.
Chris Pincher said, “The right to buy scheme is a fantastic initiative pushed forward by this Government and I strongly encourage residents to speak to Tamworth Borough Council to find out more about the right to buy and if they qualify.
“It is great news that the number of people buying their own council home has doubled since 2010. This is real evidence that the Conservatives are helping people who work hard or save hard and want to get on. We want everyone to have an equal chance to own their own home.”
Tamworth Borough Council have written to every council tenant in Tamworth encouraging them to take up the offer, so far 18 Tamworth residents have purchased their council homes.
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth, this week discussed the expansion of Birmingham airport on the Sunday Politics show.
Mr Pincher supports the plans for the airport development and the re-opening of the Whitacre link – reducing the time between Tamworth and Birmingham International.
The proposed development for a second runway at Birmingham Airport, if approved, will result in a 4-fold increase in passenger capacity. It is being proposed that a Brownfield landfill site will be used as the site for the second runway.
The proposed site near Packington Heath south of Meriden will not affect Tamworth nor will flight paths be affected. Such an expansion could result in 60 million passengers using the airport every year and tens of thousands of new jobs in the Midlands.
The redevelopment and opening of a new rail link to between Coleshill Parkway and Birmingham International has also been proposed as part of the airport expansion. The proposed links will mean there will be a direct route via rail from Tamworth to Birmingham international cutting journey time from 48 to 18 minutes. The redevelopment of the line will open up new destinations direct from Tamworth such as Coventry and Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Mr Pincher said, “The expansion of Birmingham airport will bring great benefit to Tamworth and the Midlands as a whole. A new runway at Birmingham airport will result in thousands of Jobs being created within 20 miles of Tamworth.
“We are in a global race and if want this country to be competitive then we must commit to the development of regional hubs such as Birmingham and “future proof” our airports. We need an airport that can reach the new and expanding markets in East Asia and South America in one hop.
“That will help tourist travellers, business people and local investment. And vitally, the expansion of Birmingham airport is necessary regardless of HS2 and whether or not those plans go ahead.”
If plans go ahead to expand the airport, up to 250,000 jobs could be created. It also means that the pressure would be taken off West London and British air travel will be able to double.
Monday, June 10th, 2013
Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis will be meeting members of the public in one-to-one meetings to discuss any concerns they may have about crime, policing and their community.
Matthew will spend time where you can come and have a chat with him about your community and how he can help make it an even better place to live.
If you would like to book a place please click here and complete the feedback form, alternatively come along on the day.
Location and dates:
TAMWORTH – Saturday 15th June
10.00 – 11.00 am Tamworth Information Centre (one-to-ones) Corporation Street B79 7DN
TAMWORTH – Saturday 15th June
11.30 – 12.30pm Asda Tamworth – come along and chat with Matthew Ventura Park Road B78 3HB
LICHFIELD Saturday 13th July
10.00 – 11.00 am St Mary’s Heritage Centre (one-to-ones)
Thursday, June 6th, 2013
Fazeley’s new Conservative councillors Alex Farrell and Doug Pullen
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth and Fazeley, has congratulated the two new Conservative Party councillors for Fazeley ward – Cllr Doug Pullen of Lichfield District Council and Cllr Alex Farrell of Fazeley Town Council who won election last Thursday.
Christopher Pincher said, “Congratulations to both Doug and Alex for all their efforts. This is a clear demonstration that hard work on local issues and a commitment to Conservative policies on welfare reform, immigration and rebuilding the economy are paying off.
“I am sure that both Doug and Alex will work hard in representing the people of Fazeley, Bonehill and Mile Oak.”
Thursday, June 6th, 2013
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Cllr Michelle Thurgood
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Cllr Richard Kingstone
Tamworth Borough Council has appointed a new Chairman and Deputy Chairman to its Aspire & Prosper scrutiny committee.
Councillor Richard Kingstone, a Conservative Party councillor for Mercian ward, was first elected to the council in 2012. He has served on the Aspire & Prosper scrutiny committee since joining the Council and he was the committee’s Deputy Chairman in his first year as a councillor. Cllr Kingstone is also a member of the Borough Council’s Planning committee, Healthier & Safer scrutiny committee and he is the current Deputy Mayor of Tamworth.
The committee’s new Deputy Chairman is Amington ward councillor Conservative Michelle Thurgood. Cllr Thurgood has been a Tamworth Borough Councillor since May 2011 and she also sits on the Audit and Governance committee.
Both councillors were voted into their new positions at the first meeting of the Aspire & Prosper scrutiny committee held at Marmion House on Tuesday 4 June.
Yesterday in Parliament Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, called on the Leader of the House to hold a House of Commons debate on the latest fall in unemployment.
