Giving more opportunities to local young people is one of my top priorities, so I was delighted to run a Summer School programme for students from UTC South Durham in Aycliffe. The programme gave local students a unique opportunity to learn more about Parliament, industry and the exciting careers available here in County Durham. Throughout the Summer School, students met representatives from local space businesses in NETPark in Sedgefield, the Royal Air Force and UK Space Command, as well as gaining first-hand experience of how Parliament works.
The key focus of the summer school was to task the pupils on how we can grow the space and satellite sector in our constituency. Students were challenged to develop ideas and recommendations for how we can strengthen and grow this innovative industry, helping to create future jobs, investment and opportunities for local people. The programme concluded with a visit to Parliament, where I was delighted to present certificates recognising the students’ successful completion of the Summer School. They also met the Speaker of the House of Commons. Their enthusiasm, professionalism and thoughtful contributions throughout the programme were a real credit to both them and their college and I was proud to support them as they explored future career paths and developed the confidence to succeed.
It was a pleasure to meet the School Council at Greenfield Academy. They asked excellent questions about my role as their MP and shared their views on a range of issues affecting our community. It’s always encouraging to see young people taking such a keen interest in the area where we live and wanting to make a positive difference. Their passion and enthusiasm for helping others gives me great confidence for the future. It was also brilliant to have a tour of the new school which, when finished, will be an excellent new learning space for all the students.
Supporting local families is really important to me, so it was really good to visit Deaf Hill Primary School and see their free breakfast club in action. It was fantastic to see children arriving at school early, enjoying a healthy breakfast and taking part in activities before the school day began. Breakfast clubs provide an important boost for children while also offering valuable support for working families.
I’m also pleased that seven more local primary schools will introduce free breakfast clubs, from September, through Government funding.
I’m delighted to share that my new website is now live. Residents can use it to keep up to date with my work as our MP, request a surgery appointment, complete surveys and find out more about campaigns and events taking place across the constituency – www.alanstricklandmp.com
I want your views on local bus services. Reliable and affordable public transport is vital for connecting people to work, education, healthcare and leisure opportunities and I want to hear directly from you about what is working well and where improvements are needed. I’m particularly interested in hearing suggestions for new routes and ways to improve existing services. The feedback will help inform discussions with bus operators, Durham County Council and the North East Mayor/ as we work to improve transport links across our communities.
As always, if there is an issue you would like to raise with me or if you would like to attend one of my advice surgeries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.