I couldn’t make the historic ground-breaking event in Blyth this week because of Parliamentary commitments in Westminster but one of my team went along to represent me. Construction starts now on the Energy Central Learning Hub, which will provide vocational training and engineering courses focused on the energy industry.
It’s due to open next September and will make sure the local workforce is well equipped to take the well-paid jobs being created in the renewable energy industry here in our corner of Northumberland. We led the way in coal and we will lead the way in green energy.
I’m proud to have played my part in securing national funding for the £90m Energising Blyth programme and I’d like to put on record my thanks to the Conservative administration at County Hall, Advance Northumberland, The Port of Blyth, The Catapult and all of the other organisations and businesses who are working so well together on the transformational regeneration of our area. I’d encourage constituents to find out more about the wider Energy Central project and the planned Energy Central Institute to be located in the centre of Blyth on their web site. You can also discover more on the £90m Energising Blyth programme on the Council’s web site.
Last week’s column by my colleague across the Blyth Estuary Ian Lavery MP focused on the demands by some for free school meals for all children. This is an important and understandably emotive issue. The Labour party itself are divided with their leader Kier Starmer recently clarifying it is not official Labour policy to demand free school meals for all children whilst some of his back benchers like Mr Lavery have a different position.
Like Mr Starmer I don’t believe all children need free school meals and with increasing pressures on public finances and an ageing population we need to target Government support where it is most needed. It’s imperative that children have regular healthy and balanced meals throughout the day and cost of living pressures brought about by the war in Ukraine and covid pandemic make that harder for families. The state’s responsibility is to help those most in need and over £1bn is spent each year on free school meals. More is spent on school breakfast clubs and the holiday activities fund to ensure those most in need do not go without. There are also local initiatives run by the Council and other organisations. It’s something I keep a close eye on.
