Carers and Carers Week

I am delighted to give my support for carers week.  Carers are the ‘unsung heroes’ of our welfare system and they deserve to be given more recognition and support by the Government.

http://carersweek.org/

LOUNGERS INVEST £400K AND CREATE 20 NEW JOBS IN KINGS HEATH

(left to right) Alex Reilley, Loungers MD, Jake Bishop, Loungers Ops Director, Roger Godsiff MP, Dylan Stevens, competition winner (centre) 

I was delighted to be asked to join local children from Colemore Primary School to officially open the venue and to judge the colouring in competition which was won by Dylan Stevens aged eight years. Dylan won a birthday party for him and five friends at Loco Lounge.
 
Loungers is a national group of food-led café/bars and this latest opening will create 20 much needed new jobs following a £400,000 investment.
Loco Lounge will be open every day from 9am to 11pm with food being served all day until 10pm and is located at 32-34 High Street, Kings Heath.
 
For more information visit: www.thelounges.co.uk.

2011 Budget and Action for Children’s ‘On our own two feet’ Campaign

A number of my constituents have written to me concerning the above campaign which calls for a savings scheme for children in care to be included in the 2011 budget and I have written to the Chancellor, George Osborne MP, adding my support to this campaign.

Under the Action for Children proposal, looked after children would have a bank account set up for them when they go into care with £250 in it, followed by £100 every year that they stay in care.

Action for Children calculate that this scheme will cost just £6.6m and make a massive contribution towards helping young people move to living independently, a chance to stay in education or get training.

www.actionforchildren.org.uk/owntwofeet

West Midlands Fire Service Arrive in Japan

I have just been informed today by the office of Chief Fire Officer Vij Randeniya that a team of 12 personnel from West Midlands Fire Service have arrived in Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture as part of the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue (UKISAR) response following the devastating earthquake and consequential tsunami in Japan.

The UK team is made up personnel from nine UK Fire Services, with a total of 63 personnel, two search dogs and 11 tonnes of equipment and had only just returned from supporting the work in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Asylum Seekers and Refugee Council Cuts

Asylum cases should be dealt with and concluded before six months and it is grossly unfair on the applicant that many of these cases have been allowed to drag on for years and years.

Those people who have had their asylum applications refused but cannot be returned to their country of origin because, for example, there is internal unrest in that country, should be allowed to work and to maintain themselves until it is safe for them to return to their country and I am happy to support a call for change to the immigration rules to facilitate this.

Refugee Council Cuts - Government Response

Hunt and BSkyB Take-Over Decision

I am totally opposed to this take-over and I share the views of other parts of the media that the assurances which Murdoch has given about the independence of Sky News is not worth the paper that any such assurance was written on.

I will express my concerns to the Secretary of State but now that a decision has been taken by him I do not think that there is slightest chance of him changing his mind.

I will be interested, however, as to whether Vince Cable and any of the other Lib.Dem Ministers feel strongly enough to resign over this issue particularly in view of what Cable said on the interview recorded by undercover reporters.

Greetings to the Irish community on St. Patrick’s Day.

The 17^th March is commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day in memory of Patrick the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer, who was born in the 4^th century AD.    Having originally being sold into slavery by pirates he escaped and went to Ireland where he spent 20 years travelling throughout the country establishing Monasteries and setting up schools and Churches and winning converts for Christianity.

Although originally a Catholic Holy Day St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a secular holiday which is celebrated by Irish people of all religious faiths as a celebration of the Irish culture and I extend greetings to all my constituents of Irish descent on this happy occasion.