Usually, my weeks are spent down in Westminster focusing on delivering on your priorities through votes in the House of Commons Chamber and meetings with Ministers. However, I was delighted to be able to spend the whole of last week in Blyth Valley, visiting local businesses, organisations, and of course hearing from you.
On Tuesday night I was privileged to meet with the local Army Cadet Force detachment in Cowpen, for their presentation night and to witness the cadets' passing out parade and award ceremony. Some years ago, both of my children were cadets at the Cowpen Detachment, and it is great to see all the hard work the volunteers put in and it is now the biggest detachment in North East. I am always grateful to be invited to such events and to see the young people of Blyth Valley thriving and building leadership skills.
On the subject of young people thriving, last week I also saw Newsham Primary School make a trip down to Parliament. The children had a great day visiting the popular sites of London, having a tour of the Houses of Parliament and even got to visit Downing Street as part of Lessons at Number 10 with Akshata Murty, the Prime Minister’s wife. The school have gone above and beyond to give these students an opportunity of a lifetime.
As we approach Parliament Week, which is in early November, I would like to remind everyone that Blyth Valley schools are eligible for funding to get more students visiting parliament, please contact my office at [email protected] for more information.
Despite storm Babet, I had a great turn out to my second veteran’s roundtable. The goal is to connect veteran's organisations, both national and local together, in order to bring some positive change to those who have served in Blyth Valley and the wider region. I would like to thank all those who attended this meeting, and all the staff and volunteers across the area for the great work they do for the veteran community. This was also a good opportunity to discuss the great progress that has been made at a national level, some recent announcements include:
A further £33 million pounds announced at the spring budget for veterans across the country. Op Fortitude backed by £8.55 million pounds to end veteran homelessness. Veteran’s ID cards rolling out. £400 million pounds of funding to improve forces accommodation. A further £5 million pounds to support veteran’s mental and physical healthcare. The rollout of the nuclear test medal. Backing the 60 commitments in our Veteran’s Strategy Action Plan with £70 million pounds in funding. As well as giving tax cuts to employers who hire veterans. I will continue to do everything I can to support our community and represent them in Westminster.
