As I said last week, week commencing Monday 16th October started with the Prime Minister giving a Statement about the conflict in Gaza where Hamas have initiated a terrible sequence of events. The terrorist actions of this organisation are now delivering untold suffering on a part of the world that has seen more than its share of violence already. On Monday there was also a Question about the HS2 changes, which is particularly relevant to us locally. The change has been to cancel part of the primary HS2 route that goes between Manchester and Birmingham and to commit to many other smaller projects around the UK. Locally, for us, we now have a commitment to reopen the Station at Ferryhill which will give direct access to Teesside and the coast for local residents.
There was also a reference to funding for the Leamside line which attracted disproportionate controversy. This is the mothballed line running from Ferryhill northwards to Newcastle that would help the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and provide connections into Washington, Wearside and Newcastle. The Government has committed an additional £685m to help this project through the North East Mayor’s office when in place next year. Disappointingly, some opposition politicians are trying to portray this as bad news! When it comes to portraying things badly, I must also correct Vince Crosby from his letter last week where he says the failures around the Newton Aycliffe Police Station are to do with the Home Secretary. Sorry Vince, but this lies firmly at the door of the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner.
Tuesday started with me attending the Local Trust Regeneration event which closely aligns with my All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Left Behind Neighbourhoods (LBN) and it was good to listen to Baroness Armstrong speak. After this I went into the Chamber of the House for Questions to the Secretary of State for Health where I spoke about the need to support people at risk of suicide. Later I met up with the LBN team to talk about some press releases and our report launch this week. This was followed by a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, to discuss the Ferryhill and Leamside projects.
We should have then had a meeting with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) but this just started as a sequence of 18 votes started in the Chamber relating to amendments proposed by the Lords to the Levelling Up Bill so will need to be rescheduled. After this, I had the pleasure of accompanying Hitachi at a reception at the Japanese Embassy to celebrate 150 years of UK-Japan Railway Friendship.
Wednesday had interesting drop ins as usual, as well as the Transport Select Committee meeting, where we took evidence around the Air Traffic Control failure on Bank Holiday Weekend. Then it was PMQs and a meeting with the Northern Research Group before being addressed by the Ambassador of Israel who complimented the UK for our engagement and support. My day in Westminster finished with my duties as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Economic Secretary to the Treasury in a debate on Business Banking.
On Thursday, I had a catch up with my team at the Aycliffe Office as well as a Teams meeting with a Minister and PFF Group from NETPark before heading to Ferryhill to meet the Ambassadors from Dean Bank Primary School who were talking to local shops about fireworks. We also met with JBM solar for an update on their solar farm planning submission which they will be communicating early November.
Friday, meetings started with two businesses in NETPark before meeting some Mums to discuss Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAHMS) and the lack of support they have, we have more meetings scheduled. After this it was Hardwick Primary School for their assembly in Parliament Week and then I called briefly at Sedgefield Primary before a catch up with the County Durham Community Foundation who do some fantastic work. I then went to meet some Ferryhill residents in the Dean & Chapter pub to provide some clarity about progress on the Station. I had some criticism on social media for not attending a Private Members Bill (PMB) debate scheduled for Friday, but this is rarely possible due to how busy I am in the Constituency on a Friday, as above, the agenda for PMBs is also quite fluid so it is difficult to commit time.
Over the weekend I joined some walkers from Ferryhill for a wander around the local countryside and it was lovely to see the team decorating Ferryhill Town Hall with poppies in anticipation of Remembrance Weekend. If you pass Ferryhill it is well worth calling into the market square for a look.
Back to Westminster on Monday for what is likely to be the last week of this session before we break for the Kings Speech. If you would like to catch up, please contact me on Aycliffe 790580 or email paul.howell.mp@parliament.uk
Parliament Talk
