The national focus this week has of course been on events in Afghanistan and I want to applaud the efforts of the MOD team led by Secretary of State, Ben Wallace. The work of the department and the clear and consistent communications to me and other colleagues about what was actually happening has been commendable. The challenges around evacuating people from a country that has so many people that need our assistance, but also some that want to harm us, are particularly difficult, but this team could not have done more.
My week started with a couple of visits, the first being to Acorn Dairy, which is a farm based not far from Aycliffe at Archdeacon Newton between Walworth and Darlington. They sell their milk and other products primarily to the local markets and it was a pleasure to see their operations and meet local members of the NFU (National Farmers Union). They are doing some fantastic development work to enable school children to visit and see how a farm works. The other visit was to a small business in Middleton St George where we discussed banking services. Wednesday saw me start at NETPark to help promote potential inward investment before coming to Newton Aycliffe. Once here I started at the Veterans Hub, this was being opened by The Lord Lieutenant, Sue Snowden, along with Veteran, Scott Robertson. I spent a great couple of hours talking to the many veterans and volunteers present and if you know any veterans who would like support from them or indeed want to support veterans yourself, just get in touch, or call down and buy some of their fantastic products.
I had a call with the ladies leading the Darlington and County Durham Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre to understand their work and make sure we know how best to contact them should any constituents reach out to us.
I welcomed Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for MHCLG, to Newton Aycliffe on Thursday, visiting the new housing development at Elder Gardens. This includes some houses in the pilot scheme offering 30% discount to key workers and this is only the 3rd site in the country to offer this.
MHCLG stands for Ministry for Housing, Communities and local Government. Departmental responsibilities include driving up housing supply; increasing home ownership; devolving powers and budgets to boost local growth in England and supporting strong communities with excellent public services. His team are Luke Hall MP, Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government; The Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, Minister for Housing; Eddie Hughes MP, Minister for Rough Sleeping & Housing and Lord Stephen Greenhalgh, Minister for Building Safety and Communities.
Whilst he was here to talk housing, I also took the opportunity to talk about regional devolution and the importance of County Durham getting a solution that enables it to control its destiny and not be overwhelmed by its neighbours to the north.
I had an update from the Police and Crime Commissioner as regards the proposed new custody suite being proposed for Durham. She has decided to proceed with the previous proposal, whilst this appears to be the preference of the police as well, it is important that full consideration is given to the estate as a whole. The amount being spent on the custody suite is significant so there are concerns that this could put pressure elsewhere later, but she has assured me this is not the case.
I had the pleasure of calling at the community event at Silverdale Place led by Junction 7, Durham Community Action and Livin. The weather just about held together despite trying to rain several times. A great event and a credit to everyone involved. Friday teatime I called down The Big Club to see Joanne and Nev Jones and team for the family disco event they were putting on. Some of their normal team were busy so I ended up on door duty. The attendance was incredible and it was fabulous to see so many smiling faces and hopefully they made some money for the Shine choir. On Bank Holiday Monday I was out and about in Thornley, Wingate and Station Town and saw the end of a dog show as well as talking to residents about their concerns with regards to anti-social behaviour issues.
Things generally feel like we are heading back to a more normal world, but it is absolutely critical that we do not get complacent. The importance of continuing to take every opportunity to maximise fresh air and using masks when appropriate remains and if you have not yet been vaccinated please do so. Should we see upturns in infections it is vaccinations that will mean that these do not translate into hospital admissions or, worse still, deaths. So please don’t waste the efforts of our NHS and get yourself jabbed.
Stay safe
Paul Howell
Member of Parliament for Sedgefield