Word from Westminster - November 2009

Word from Westminster.

I have always applauded and supported the many cadet troops around the constituency and am proud to be Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sea Cadets at Westminster. It gave me a great deal of pleasure to welcome the Minister for Defence and Veterans, Kevan Jones MP,  who accepted my invitation to visit Great Yarmouth last week to see first hand the enthusiasm of the youngsters and the volunteers. Due to limited time we could not visit every cadet unit but the visit gave the Minister a snapshot of what’s involved by visiting the Gorleston Sea Cadets, 221 Squadron Air Training Corp and the 901 Troop Winterton Marine Cadets. What was especially pleasing was that the Royal British Legion attended the Sea Cadets unit to jointly launch this year’s Poppy Appeal.

Whilst on the subject of our troops I was relieved that the Government saw sense in reversing the cut in training for the Territorial Army; once again it proves that with a huge amount of lobbying from backbenchers and the public we can persuade Ministers to do the right thing. There is also speculation about an announcement of a new Bank Holiday for next year. Having attended the Trafalgar Night dinner hosted by the Winterton 901 Troop Marine Cadets, perhaps a Trafalgar Day would be appropriate?

Still on the subject of youth, the arson attack on Newtown Community Centre was devastating. However, true to the community spirit that is evident, both youngsters and adults alike soon rallied to clear up the mess. It has been widely recognised that the effort over the years has resulted in a well established facility for the youngsters in Newtown to meet and use their energies in the activities organised by the volunteer adults. We need to rally round now and support the effort to have a purpose built centre in Newtown, and I will do all I can to help.

The graduation ceremony at St Nicholas Church for students of the College of Further Education was once again a huge success. With the numbers of students increasing at both the College of FE and our East Norfolk Sixth Form College, the drive to gain qualifications has never been stronger. Knowing that, year on year the grades are getting better, I was angry and appalled at a report that gave the impression Great Yarmouth was in the bottom 20 for people without any qualifications. The report, did not take into account the number of people with qualifications moving away to gain suitable employment, and I will be meeting with the University and College Union, who put the report together.

Having been involved in securing the Government funding for the  semi derelict St George’s Theatre and the King Street regeneration project, I am wondering why the powers that be have decided to change the flow of traffic around the area. Together with the redevelopment of the nearby St George’s Park, the soon to be transformed area will no doubt be similar to how I remember it being as a youngster living in the area; with every shop being open and the whole of King Street full of activity. I am sure the improvement will be welcomed by all – but I am still wondering about that traffic flow!

Being guided around St George’s Park with a blindfold on, made me realise how difficult it is to be unsighted or to have a visual impairment. Although only an exercise, organised by the Lions Club as part of World Sight Day, it highlighted how important it is  to look after our sight, but also showed sighted people the everyday difficulties that blind and visually impaired people endure.