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Monday, 14 July 2014
Welcome
Welcome to this, my 152nd news bulletin.
Recently, in Manchester, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out a vision for a northern British powerhouse by connecting up our northern towns and cities.
We are already building a new north-south railway, HS2, which will connect eight of the UK’s 10 largest cities, including Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield.
It has been proposed to use Crewe as a hub station for this new line, making our area more accessible to new businesses and jobs and providing commuters and travellers with far more choice and a greater number of services.
This northern phase of HS2 alone is a £21bn investment, and will support at least 60,000 jobs. It’s the most important investment in the north for a century, and something we can afford because we have taken difficult decisions elsewhere.
But we also need an ambitious plan to make the cities and towns here in the northern belt radically more connected from east to west. Those of us in Crewe and Nantwich with family or work reasons that take us to the North East or Yorkshire know what a drag it can be to get there.
As well as fixing the roads, including improving M6 junction 16 and building the Crewe Green Link Road, that means considering a new high spend rail link. We want to start thinking about whether to build a new high speed rail connection east-west from Manchester to Leeds, based on the existing rail route, but sped up with new tunnels and infrastructure.
All of this will serve to make our area more accessible and more attractive for business and leisure, and I couldn’t be more excited to be involved in a project that is going to make such a difference to the lives of my constituents in the future.
Edward Timpson MP
Member of Parliament for Crewe and Nantwich and Minister of the Year
Please remember, you can always contact me directly if you have any questions for me, or if there is anything I can do to assist you.
Locally, I have...
- Cut the ribbon at the launch of the NSPCC's Rainbow Centre in Crewe.
- Attended the 'Skoolzfest' and Nantwich Fete, where I volunteered to be put in the Pillory (pictured, right) to raise money for local Scouts.
- Held two of my regular constituency advice surgeries, in Nantwich and in Crewe - please get in touch if you would like an appointment to speak to me about any issue of concern.
- Launched Leighton Hospital's appeal for a nuch-needed second MRI scanner.
- Met with the Chair and Chief Officer of the South Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group, the GP-led organisation that has the job of commissioning health services in Crewe and Nantwich.
- Welcomed children from Mablins Lane Community Primary School on their visit to the Houses of Parliament.
- Played for a team of Cheshire MPs in a charity cricket match organised by Weaver Vale MP Graham Evans. We won a narrow victory over the cast of Emmerdale.
- Met with local residents concerned about the preservation of the Grade-II listed Nantwich Walled Garden.
Community News
Scanner appeal launched
Crewe Chronicle: Vital funds are needed to help save lives by providing a second MRI scanner for Leighton Hospital.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity formally launched their new Scanner Appeal this week to enable them to provide an extra facility to run alongside the existing one, which is currently functioning way beyond capacity.
With more than 14,000 patients a year arriving at Leighton for an MRI scan, the current scanner is working 13 hours a day, seven days a week and some patients are being sent elsewhere because they department is at capacity.
The charity now need to raise £1m to provide the state-of-the-art scanner as well as completing necessary building work so it can be situated back to back with the current one.
With a significant rise in demand for scans due to the introduction of MRI prostate screening and an increase in the number of high risk stroke patients, staff are currently relying on back up from a mobile scanner which comes
every three weekends of the month just to ease the pressure.
Successfully funding the £1m target would deliver a better service for the thousands of patients needing the service from Crewe, Nantwich and its surrounding areas.
The new scanner will feature a range of benefits to patients, including:
- A larger scanner to accommodate a variety of body shapes, sizes and clinical conditions, as well as reducing claustrophobia
- Generally improved patient experience
- Reduced failure rates
- Additional MRI scanning capacity
- Faster scan times
- Reduction in MRI waiting times
- Increased diagnostic accuracy and therefore improved clinical outcomes
The charity, which was behind the successful One in Eleven Appeal is hoping to smash its target within two years.
Laura Riddle, fundraising manager said:“We have given ourselves a goal of raising £1million in two years. The local community have always been hugely supportive and we can’t thank them enough for this.
“We look forward to hearing about your fundraising efforts so have some fun whilst raising money for this wonderful cause!”
To donate to the MRI Scanner Appeal simply visit www.mchcharity.org or text mchc00 and your amount (e.g. mchc00 £1) to 70070.
Texts are free on all networks. Maximum text donation is £10.
Children's Minister Edward Timpson opens new Crewe NSPCC centre
Crewe & Nantwich Guardian: Local MP Edward Timpson welcomed a new NSPCC centre in Crewe that will help vulnerable families and children access professional care.
The Children’s Minister cut the ribbon on the Rainbow Centre in Oak Road on Tuesday, July 1.
He said: “I have supported the work the NSPCC does for many years and it’s great to see the charity investing and expanding in our local community with supportive services.
The new centre has 12 staff and offers cutting edge services for vulnerable children and families, including services for children suffering neglect, and children in families where drug and alcohol problems exist.
Services include SafeCare- where NSPCC staff visit homes referred to them due to neglect, showing parents how to play with their children, keep them healthy and handle difficult behaviour.
Elsewhere, the NSPCC’s Graded Care Profile will let staff identify when a child is at risk of neglect by looking at four key areas of physical wellbeing, safety, love and esteem.
Meanwhile, a special group work programme will be provided for children aged 5-12 years, whose parents misuse substances. Practitioners lead groups of up to five children over 10 weekly sessions while parents receive support on an individual basis.
Alex Modder, service centre manager for the NSPCC in Crewe added: “We are delighted with the new Rainbow Centre, which is a bright, colourful welcoming place for children, families and other professionals to visit.
“The services we offer here are aimed at helping children and parents to feel supported to overcome family difficulties, strengthen family relationships and ensure that children are kept safe.”
To find out more about the services on offer at the Crewe Service Centre, contact the team on 0207 650 3330 or email: crewe.service.centre@nspcc.org.uk
MP praises South Cheshire College for Technical Awards scheme
Nantwich News: MP Edward Timpson has welcomed new vocational qualifications which will help Nantwich and Crewe students prepare for the world of work.
Mr Timpson said he was delighted South Cheshire College is one of the first seven colleges picked to offer teenagers new Technical Awards.
The awards, announced by Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock, are an alternative to GCSEs aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds, who will have to meet tough new criteria set out by employers. They will allow pupils to study real-life practical and technical skills in subjects like woodwork, textiles and electronics, and have a higher requirement for external assessment as demanded by employers.
From September 2015, pupils will be able to study up to three Technical Awards alongside a minimum of five core GCSEs.
Meanwhile, 16- to 19-year-olds, alongside or instead of A levels, will be able to study Tech Levels.
At South Cheshire College, students studying Tech Level qualifications in IT and engineering will be offered the opportunity to complete all three components of the TechBacc.
Mr Timpson said: "Previously, young people were encouraged to study qualifications completely unrelated to their lives or the rapidly changing world of work.
"Technical Awards will give students the opportunity to learn practical skills which are valued by employers from the age of 14 and are recognised in the school performance tables.
"They can be studied alongside core GCSEs and offer a crucial first step towards securing a high-quality vocational education.
"Improving vocational and technical education is a critical part of our long-term economic plan which will deliver the best possible schools and skills for our young people, so everyone can reach their potential."
MP backs pothole funding
Crewe Chronicle: Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson has welcomed the announcement of £1,862,407 of new funding in Cheshire East to tackle potholes.
In total £3,112,192 of additional funding for Cheshire East has been announced for this year, on top of the annual roads maintenance budget.
Over three million potholes will be filled in across England with funding from the £168 million Potholes Fund, announced in the 2014 Budget. This is part of more than £24 billion which will be spent on England's roads between 2010 and 2021 – the biggest investment in our roads since the 1970s.
Mr Timpson said: "This is great news for everybody who uses the roads in Crewe and Nantwich.
"£1,862,407 of new funding will go a long way to dealing with the menace of potholes and ridding our roads of them. Investing in Britain's roads and infrastructure is a key part of the long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain – and this is just one part pf that. By fixing Britain's roads the Conservatives are supporting local businesses, and making life that bit easier for the hardworking people in Crewe and Nantwich who rely on them to get around".
Charity cricket match raises over £5,000 for local good causes - Emmerdale cast suffer defeat at hands of Cheshire MPs
So-Cheshire: Charitable Weaver Vale MP, Graham Evans, hosted a Celebrity Cricket Match on Sunday which raised over £5,000 for three good causes in his constituency: St Luke's Cheshire, Halton Haven Hospice and the Joshua Tree.
The event, which was sponsored by Robert's Bakery, saw over 500 people and their families visiting Northwich Cricket Club to watch the 'Emmerdale All Stars' team battle the 'MPs and Celebrities' team.
Players for the Emmerdale team included: Matthew Wolfenden (David Metcalfe), Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard), Bhasker Patel (Rishi Sharma) and Natalie Anderson (Alicia Metcalfe).
Players for the MPs and Celebrities Team included: Graham Evans MP, Stephen Mosley MP, Edward Timpson MP, comedian Nick Hancock, Secret Millionaire star Mo Chaudry and former international rugby player Ikram Butt.
After winning the toss, the Emmerdale side elected to field first. The MPs and Celebrities took to the crease, notching up a very respectable 164 runs in 30 overs. After a short break it was the Emmerdale team's turn to bat and, battling hard, they came within a whisker of snatching victory in the final over.
The match concluded with a nailbiting finish which saw the MP and Celebrities team clinch victory with a score of 165 to the Emmerdale All Stars' 164. However, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Emmerdale All Stars as Chris Chittell won the award for 'Moment of the Match' with his bowling technique.
'Man of the Match' was awarded to comedian and presenter Nick Hancock and the awards, together with the winners' trophy, were presented by music mogul Pete Waterman.
Graham told us: "This was a fantastic day which saw hundreds of families from Weaver Vale, Cheshire and across the country, come together for a cracking match and three really important local causes. Obviously, I am delighted that the MP team snatched victory from the Emmerdale team in a very tight game indeed.
"I would like to thank everybody who has contributed to make this such a fantastic day – the sponsors, players, helpers, our hosts Northwich Cricket Club who have worked tirelessly, and above all the public for coming along to watch."
The £5,000 raised so far (with some donations still to be made) will be divided between the three local charities. Graham concluded: "It's been a magnificent day for everyone concerned – thank you all for contributing!"
5 ways to contact Edward Timpson
- By e-mail: timpsone@parliament.uk
- On the web: www.edwardtimpson.com
- By phone: 01270 501 725
- By post: 30 Victoria Street, Crewe CW1 2JE
- In person: Click here to see surgery times
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