The week began with a Ministerial visit to Blyth from the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper following the Rail Minister's visit a few weeks ago. The Northumberland Line is now fast becoming a reality with the announcement of the final money being released to complete the project. The Northumberland Line is due to open to the public in summer 2024. I then drove up to London in the afternoon to vote on the Social Security bill, offering additional payments to assist with the cost of living.
The following morning, we had our weekly team meeting to discuss ongoing casework and changes to policy. In the afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting with Boris Johnson to hand over a small token of gratitude from JDR cables, who are based in Hartlepool but are expanding and investing over £100 million into a new site on the Blyth estuary. That evening I met with representatives from the Fusiliers and Sporting Force who were in London for a conference. It was a pleasure to show them around Westminster and hear about some of the issues faced by veterans.
Wednesday was International Women’s Day and as I passed the Women of World War 2 memorial walking up Whitehall from Parliament Square, I had a moment of reflection to remember the 7 million extraordinary women who served, either in the armed forces or on the Home Front, of which some are still alive today. This was followed by Women and Equalities Questions in the House of Commons, and I asked a question about what progress is being made in supporting the frontline organisations that look after victims of domestic violence. I was pleased to hear the government’s commitment to create an all-system approach to address the issue. The Northumberland PCC received £3.7 million across the safer streets fund which included interventions, transport and therapy for domestic violence victims. The government are also providing training through the NHS and education sector. In the afternoon I attended the Environmental Audit Committee meeting to examine UK financial institutions’ role and ambition in supporting the UK’s transition to a net zero economy and ways in which Government can support them in achieving this goal. I also had a very exciting update from Northumberland County Council regarding the progress of the new Astley High School & Whytrigg Middle School development and the progress on the new Gilbert Ward Academy being built on the site of the former Princess Louise School in Blyth which will serve children with special education needs and children requiring alternative provision. Work has already started, and the school will begin taking pupils in September 2023 and be fully operational by January 2024. I was also pleased to hear that Cramlington Learning Village is benefiting from extra mobile classroom capacity from September 2023 to accommodate more pupils from the area.
Later in the week, the Wise Academy announced their delight as all three of their schools in Blyth received ‘Outstanding’ results from Ofsted and received much deserved media coverage with Chief Ofsted Inspector Amanda Spielman paying a visit to the schools. I was also pleased to hear we had a positive casework result concerning HMRC, the constituent was due to receive her pension however this did not happen on the specified date. The lady contacted our office, and we were able to liaise with HMRC and within a few days the lady received her backdated pension payments. It is always fantastic to be able to help in these matters and showcases the brilliant team in our Blyth Valley office.
I took a day of annual leave on Friday as myself and Maureen travelled to the Isle of Wight for the weekend. As always, you can reach me with any issues you may have or if you would like to arrange a constituency visit, please call 01670 338435 or email [email protected].
