Archive for June, 2016
Saturday, June 18th, 2016
Tamworth’s MP, Christopher Pincher, has welcomed the progress, which has been made in implementing the Government’s pledge for fairer funding for schools across the country.
The Government is currently at the consultation stage of the process to redesigning the funding formula. There are two stages to the consultation and the Government has completed the first stage of the consultation, with the second stage of consultation about to commence.
Mr Pincher said, “I am pleased to say that the Government has completed the first of two stages of consultation in the process of introducing fairer funding for schools. This first stage has discussed the basic foundations and the method of implementing the fairer funding formula.
“This means that we are one step closer to seeing fairer funding for Staffordshire and Tamworth. If we get it right, that will be of huge benefit to Tamworth. I will keep local schools up to date so they know what to expect and what we can all do to encourage a better set of school funding rules.
“This something a number of us at Westminster have been pressing for several years. We will keep at it.”
Tuesday, June 7th, 2016
Anthea McIntyre MEP
Conservative MEP for the West Midlands, Anthea McIntyre, has secured European Parliament approval for a report calling for the greater use of technology in agriculture.
It calls for sustained investment in research and help to ensure new ideas and techniques are commercialised. Innovative breeding to develop disease resistant crops and precision farming are among the advances that should be made available to all farmers, whether beef or arable, large or small, conventional or organic.
Miss McIntyre, MEP for the West Midlands, said, “Feeding a growing population while preserving the environment is one of the biggest challenges facing our world. I believe harnessing technology is the only way to square this circle.
“We need to develop technological solutions not only to increase production but to improve the means of distribution and to tackle food waste. We must raise awareness and understanding of new advances among both farmers and the general public.
“For example, agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s fresh water use but this can be significantly reduced by the use of precision farming techniques.”
The report stresses that EU regulations must not act as a barrier to innovation and urges a partnership between academia, industry, breeders, the agro-chemicals sector, farmers and food manufacturers to ensure European agriculture does not fall behind its international competitors.
Miss McIntyre added, “We must all work together to ensure we have the best research and that we translate research into practice. From lab to farm to fork.”
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth, last week contributed to a debate on the Economy and Work following the Queen’s Speech in the House of Commons.
He welcomed measures for delivering security for working people, increasing life chances for the most disadvantaged, and strengthening our national security.
The Queen’s Speech he believes will improve lives across the country, and contains measures that will continue progress in delivering the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitments. Since 2010, the Government has been working to do this, and we have seen:
- 31 million people given a tax cut
- 58 million people in work, up 2.5 million since 2010
- Over 2.6 million new apprenticeships started across England
- 9 million workers directly benefiting from the introduction of the National Living Wage
- Over 753,000 new homes provided
In his speech, Mr Pincher praised the success of West Midlands and Tamworth firms in driving the local economy forward. He paid tribute to local employers Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Invotech and Alcon.
He also praised the Government on their work with the Help to Buy scheme, which has been seminal in getting people on to the property ladder. However, he called for more homes that people want to live in the West Midlands and urged the Chancellor to encourage smaller SMEs and small developers into the supply chain.
Crucially, he also used the opportunity to call for further work to improve and upgrade the A5 running through Tamworth. Mr Pincher believes Wall Island must be redeveloped and the Stonydelph junction near the M42 re-drawn to stop traffic backlogs.
Mr Pincher said, “This was a Queen’s Speech for aspirational people who want to do the right thing and get on. That is why we made gains in the local elections in my constituency just a few weeks ago. In a town that had nearly 30 Labour councillors 16 years ago, there are now just seven. After the general election, Jon Cruddas was quite right to write in his, I hope, non-ironic document “Labour’s Future”, Labour lost because voters didn’t believe it.”
Following the debate Mr Pincher added, “We’ve seen people’s taxes cut, wages boosted, more homes built, and jobs and apprenticeships created. New Bills will help people save money, buy a home, get fast broadband access, as well tackle some of the deepest social problems in our country, and strengthen our national security. All of this will mean a better and brighter future for Tamworth.”
