As the final month of 2022 begins, I want to update you on the very latest work I am doing as your Member of Parliament, as well as provide you with some useful information affecting our area.
Many parents have been in contact with me to express their concerns about the proposals put forward by The Two Counties Trust to harmonise term dates across their academy schools, including Friesland and Wilsthorpe. This would have particularly affected families with children in primary and secondary schools, as their school holidays would have followed different patterns. Having taken this issue up directly with the Trust, I was delighted to receive confirmation this week that they have decided not to go ahead with these plans, meaning that our schools will continue to mirror existing local authority arrangements.
Christmas would not be complete without a card from a loved one (or maybe even a gift), however due to the ongoing strike action by the Communication Workers Union, Royal Mail have revised their last recommended posting dates. The new date for 2nd Class mail is 12th December and 16th December for 1st class mail. Full details of the revised posting dates, including for international mail can be found here.
One of my highlights of the festive season is judging the designs drawn by local primary school children for my official Christmas Card. This year’s winner was particularly difficult to choose (I even enlisted the help of The Prime Minister), however, after much deliberation, I am delighted to announce that the winner of my 2022 Christmas Card Competition is Kasey, a Year 4 pupil at Chaucer Junior School in Ilkeston. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations Kasey!
To mark Ilkeston Rotary turning 100 this year, I recently secured a special tribute from the Leader of The House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt which you can read here. Generations of Ilkeston Rotarians have generously contributed their time and money to support our town and are always on hand to help at local events, such as the annual classic car show, Charter Fair, or the Ilkeston Community Hospital Fete. I therefore thought it was important to mark this historic milestone and say a big thank you to all those who have been involved, both past and present.
Erewash Borough Council is currently running an important public consultation on the future of local government across our region, which I would urge you consider contributing to. As you may be aware, early this year Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Nottingham City Council agreed to a £1.14 billion East Midlands devolution deal with the Government, which would see the creation of a Combined Authority with an elected Mayor. The deal would see an extra £38 million a year coming to the East Midlands from 2024, addressing years of historically low investment in our area and now the Borough Council is asking for your views on the plan. Click here for further information about The East Midlands devolution deal and details of how you can have your say.
As part of my role when Public Health Minister, I was responsible for HIV prevention and treatment. On World Aids Day this year, I was proud to wear a red ribbon and join colleges from across the House of Commons to show our solidarity with those living with HIV. It is vital that we continue working towards ending new cases of HIV, as well getting the message out there that someone on effective HIV treatment cannot pass on the virus. To learn more about this important issue and help end the stigma of HIV, please check out: https://www.worldaidsday.org/2022-campaign
Parliament is currently debating The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill which aims to strengthen the regulator of Social Housing and better protect tenants, including those living in Erewash. This week I served on the Committee tasked with scrutinising the Bill line by line before it returns to the House of Commons for further consideration by MPs. To help with the work of the Committee, I was able to draw on some of the experiences of my constituents who have all too often been let down by their social landlords to illustrate why this important new legislation is needed. I look forward to continuing to support the Bill as passes through the House of Commons and hope that when it reaches the statue books, it will result in driving up standards of social housing, as well as giving the regulator more teeth to hold rouge landlords firmly to account.
Finally, I will be presenting the petition to Parliament calling for the reinstatement of the Number 21 Bus on Tuesday 13th December, so there are just a few days remaining for you to sign it. You can do this online at https://www.maggiethroup.com/save-number-21-bus or by popping into my community office in Ilkeston. Also, if you have any completed petition sheets yet to be returned, either scan and email to [email protected] or drop into my office.
With best wishes, Maggie Throup MP
Member of Parliament for Erewash
P.S. My community office is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, however we are operating an appointment system. Should you need to visit my office, please phone 0115 930 0521 to book an appointment. Should you have an issue I can help you with, please either phone my office or email me at [email protected].
P.P.S. Your friends and family can now sign-up to receive my Westminster Despatches, by visiting www.maggiethroup.com. In addition, should you know of anyone who does not have access to a computer and would like to receive paper copies of my e-news on a regular basis, then please do let me know their details (including their full name and address).
Promoted by Ian F. Gutteridge, on behalf of Maggie Throup MP, both of Unit 2 The Old Co-Op, South Street,
Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 5SG.
