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Dear resident,
The last week has seen Veterans Week take place once again here in Blackpool, with the usual large number of visitors, culminating in the dinner at the Norbreck Castle (with musical accompaniment this year provided by Blackpool Brass) followed by the service at the Cenotaph on the Sunday.
Most striking of all this year, perhaps, was the service on Friday morning at the Arboretum which concided with the unveiling of the Burma Star Association memorial. Having  just finished – literally – the Booker Prize-winning account of the Burma Railway, Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North which is a stark account of the conditions the prisoners of war faced building that railway. The new Memorial is set at the back of a small cutting, and standing in front of it is a poignant segment of railway, just three sleepers and two rails, to indicate what that sacrifice was for.
Down in Westminster, I have been active as ever, with my usual eclectic mix of meetings, questions and debates. Amongst other highlights:
· I’ve met with the British Amusement & Catering Trades Assocication (BACTA) who are the trade body for the amusement arcade industry – of which we have a good few in the constituency. We discussed some of their concerns over the forthcoming introduction of the new 12-sided pound coins, as well as how we could tackle the problematic Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals which proliferate in bookmakers and have been called the ‘crack cocaine’ of betting given their addictive nature, high stakes and fast turnrounds.
· I was able to raise some concerns to the new Justice team in Justice questions about the difficulty prison chaplains are having organising collective worship because the prisoners are spending more time locked up in their cells. If we are to believe in rehabilitation, I want it to be as much a moral rehabilitation also as anything else, and restrictions on collective worship seem to me to be a lost opportunity.
· We also had a discussion session in the Chamber about child poverty – an issue I am endlessly alive to in this constituency. I took the opportunity to remind Iain Duncan Smith of the need to remember those children who are in what is known as ‘persistent poverty’. Whilst –routinely – half of children living in poverty one year are not the next, there remain a substantial minority (roughly 15%) who are in poverty three years out of four, and whose families face multiple disadvantages that act as barriers to them looking for, and finding, work. Anti-poverty strategies have to be much defter than just easing someone over a notional barrier – it does need to be about rewiring society so everyone gets an opportunity.
That was something that was brought home to me when I went to Layton Methodist Playgroup to discuss their plans for the future, and how they will be affected when we extend the 15 hours of free nursery provision to 30 hours for those in work. They have a strong track record of looking at improving communication skills amongst the boys and girls, and ensuring they are ‘school-ready’ when they transfer. It’s the sort of thing which if it doesn’t happen by age 4, can actually hold a child back all the way into adulthood.
I have also dropped by TS Penelope – otherwise known as Bispham Sea Cadets- to have a look at some of their current building needs and discuss their future plans too. We have so many excellent uniformed and non-uniformed youth groups locally that it can often be easy to overlook them all – especially when I get told there is nothing for young people to do locally!
I have also met with Mencap’s specialist employment team here in Blackpool to discuss what more can be done to improve the pitifully low employment rates for people with a learning disability, and how we can break down barriers with employers so they can see the value that could be added to their business. I’ve always believed that everyone has the capacity to contribute if only the right roles can be found – and no-one should ever be written off.
I was also able to visit the National Garden Society’s local open day at the Calder Gardens on Calder Avenue in Thornton – www.ngs.org.uk – which open for charity. Although the only one in the constituency, there are many more across Lancashire over the summer, and it is an enjoyable trip out round a selection of them on a sunny Saturday or Sunday, so have a look at the website. Many thanks to those green-fingered gardeners who let us all tramp round their gardens for the day!
Thank you also to those of who you stopped me during my wanders around Greenlands over the past few weekends on the first of my semi-official ‘ward walks’. I can’t imagine you were standing there all weekend just in case I walked past! But I’ve made lots of notes of issues to raise with the Council , and got plenty of new ideas.
Anyway, time to get the washing in before the sun clouds over ...
Your sincerely,
Paul Maynard MP
01253 473071
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Veterans Week continues to be an important focal point in the life of the Fylde Coast, and as the generations age, it continues to be reassuring to see the interest young people are taking. It has also been pleasing to note the many poppies which have been appearing around the constituency, blooming just in time for Veterans Week, which have come about through my distribution of poppy seeds last autumn. We have put our thinking caps on for a future development of the theme.
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You will also have received a few emails inviting you to nominate your local fine food purveyor – which hundreds of you have already done. I went out last Friday to visit one nominee, Nigel Wilkinson’s butchers shop in Holmfield Road. Many more visits to go on, and more to do!
Just click on the button to nominate your favourite independent fine food shop within Blackpool North & Cleveleys
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