Minister for Crime and Policing visit to Ipswich
Today I brought the Minister for Crime and Policing, Kit Malthouse, to Ipswich.
We have seen a spat of antisocial behaviour and vandalism affecting local independent businesses, so I wanted to talk to the Minister about preventing crime in the Town centre.
When I speak to residents, one of the main comments I get is that they want to see more uniformed officers on the street. Through the national Police Uplift Programme, the Government is recruiting 20,000 police officers in England and Wales to deliver more police officers and increase visibility. Today, the Minister came to meet the new recruits in Suffolk Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Crime Proactive Team, ‘the Kestrel Team’.
I also took the Minister to Dial Lane, where we have sadly seen some acts of vandalism affecting shops, and even the brand new Big Hoot owl. We discussed concerns of local shop owners here, particularly the need for CCTV in the area to reduce anti-social behaviour.
Thank you to Minister Kit Malthouse for coming to Ipswich, and for a productive discussion on preventing crime and anti-social behaviour in our Town centre.
Train Service Disruptions
So often it feels that train service provision at weekends is an afterthought. How often have we been stuck using rail replacement buses at the weekend? If I never see Newbury Park tube station again it will be too soon!
Of the four days over the next few weeks where there will be strikes on Greater Anglia lines two will be on a Saturday. I appreciate that everything should be done to avoid disruption Mon-Fri but disruption at the weekend is not pain free. There are significant consequences for local businesses, people who want to get to work and to travel for leisure purposes. I was pleased that in response to my question the Transport Secretary said we need to move to a proper 7 day per week train service that we can rely on. I was also interested to hear the Secretary of State point out that post pandemic the biggest increases in customers coming back to use train services is actually at the weekend.
I appreciate the work Greater Anglia staff carry out; a number will be my constituents. I’ve met many at Ipswich station and I’ve always found them polite and courteous. This hasn’t always been the case at London Liverpool Street I must add!
However, the fact remains that many of my constituents who rely upon the train service will be greatly inconvenienced by this week’s strike activity and will also most likely be on salaries below that of the majority of those who are striking. This is something I’m sure some will find deeply frustrating.
Jubilee Card Competition
After 14 schools entered over 1000 cards for my Jubilee Card Competition I had the very difficult task of picking out a winner. With so many entries this surpassed my Christmas Card competition last year. It’s great to see so many students wanting to wish the Queen a happy Platinum Jubilee.
This was obviously a really hard decision to make as we have so many fantastic artists in Ipswich. We had cards of all styles with some bright colours and different ideas for designs. With much deliberation I am pleased to announce that Freya-Nicole, a Year 6 pupil at Ranelagh Primary school has won the competition.
I was pleased to present Freya-Nicole with her own personal version of the card that will be sent to her majesty on behalf of myself and all the people of Ipswich. With so many great entries, many students who entered will be getting certificates to congratulate them on their great efforts.
Whilst at Ranelagh Primary, I met many of the pupils who also sang a song for the Queen on this special occasion. I’m proud to see pupils in Ipswich feel so strongly about our Queen. Well done to all the pupils who entered!
It’s clear that Ipswich is gearing up for the Jubilee Celebrations next week to celebrate this incredible milestone!
PUBLIC ORDER BILL
It’s right that we distinguish between peaceful protesters and individuals such as Roger Hallam (founder of Extinction Rebellion) who openly admits he would be prepared block ambulances and allow people to die to make a political point. The Bill I spoke in favour of and voted for last night just does that.
We cannot allow any repeat of the chaos ensued as a consequence of the Just Stop Oil protests the other month and the Insulate Britain protests that blocked off key strategic roads. All of this caused major disruption to the lives of the law-abiding majority, economic damage and also diverted police resources.
The reality is that many of the individuals carrying out criminal damage, risking peoples lives and causing huge disruption for the law abiding majority are not “protestors”, they’re “criminals” and we shouldn’t be afraid to say so.
Sadly but perhaps unsurprisingly the Labour Party voted against the Bill.
Opportunities in Further Education for students with SEND
Today in the Chamber I asked the Minister for Skills about what the Department for Education is doing to improve opportunities in Further Education for students with SEND.
Thank you to Minister Burghart, Minister for Skills, for visiting Suffolk New College with me. When I revisited on Friday, I spoke to Trudi the inclusive learning lead about the importance of support for SEND students in post-16 education.
Our Further Education colleges prepare students for the work-place and for life.
At Suffolk New College on Friday I also met Sam, who initially struggled with self-confidence but is now leading a whole team at the college’s Chef’s White’s restaurant. This is a tribute to the fantastic work Suffolk New College is doing in their inclusion team, building confidence, independence, and practical skills in their students.
Supporting SEND students at Further Education level has a huge knock-on impact on confidence, life-skills and employability. That’s why I called the Minister to look at funding, Ofsted inspections, and the requirement for an inclusion team at every Further Education college.