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Parliamentary Newsletter - October 2015
Dear Constituent
Welcome to the October 2015 edition of my constituency e-newsletter. As I predicted, the last few weeks, since Parliament returned, have been full of lively debates, none more so than the debate over reforms to tax credits. Not surprisingly, I have been extensively lobbied on the subject and you can find my response on my website. We also had a rather frank debate on the so-called ‘tampon tax’ where a lot of people seem to have been in possession of only half the story so I have recorded a video podcast to explain what actually happened.
In the same vein, I have started a new series of regular podcasts on very topical issues given an instant viewpoint in just 2 minutes. You can find my ‘2 Minute Tim’ broadcasts, here: https://goo.gl/eB1DEy
Looking ahead, I have been chairing a working group that has been putting a lot of work into organising the formal Shoreham Air Crash Memorial Service at Lancing College Chapel. Given most of the places will be taken by families of the victims and members of the emergency services and first respondents, so it will not be possible to offer places to the public at large.
However BBC Radio Sussex will be broadcasting the service live, so people will be able to listen to the proceedings, and perhaps churches and other local groups will want to arrange events around the time of the service.
As always, I value your feedback on what you would like to see included in future issues.
Best wishes
Tim Loughton MP
Member of Parliament for East Worthing & Shoreham
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Upcoming Surgeries
Surgeries
Shoreham
October 30th
Worthing
November 12th (note this will be held on a Thursday)
Lancing
November 27th
Street Surgeries
Shoreham Farmers' Market
Sat 14 Nov 2015
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Lancing Children's Centre
Sat 21 Nov 2015
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Worthing Town Centre
Sat 21 Nov 2015
12:15 pm to 02:00 pm
Surgery details:
If you have a problem you think Tim could help you with and you would like to meet him to discuss it please ring 01273 757182 to book an appointment at one of his fortnightly surgeries.
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In Parliament
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Equal Civil Partnerships - My 10 Minute Rule Bill
On 21st October, I presented my 10 Minute Rule Bill, which had garnered widespread cross-bench support, to extend Civil Partnerships to opposite-sex couples, thereby correcting the glaring inequality in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
My Bill has two main rationale behind its introduction:
1) The Bill will correct an unintended but glaring inequality, whereby same-sex couples are entitled to a Civil Partnership, whilst opposite-sex couples are not. Instead their only option is a conventional marriage. This is a clear inequality in what was billed as an Act to promote equality.
2) We know that marriage works, but we also know that civil partnerships are beginning to show evidence of greater stability for same-sex couples, including those who have children, be it through adoption or surrogacy. There is a strong case for believing that extending civil partnerships would improve that stability for many more families in different ways. The Bill will offer the prospect of greater security and stability, as well as less likelihood of family breakdown, better social outcomes and better financial outcomes.
I hope you will agree with me that on this would surely constitute progress.
You can read my full speech here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/…/de…/151021-0001.htm…
You can watch my 2 Minute Tim video blog on this topic here:
https://www.facebook.com/TimLoughtonEWAS/videos/1671353099814456/
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English Votes for English Laws (EVEL)
I recently voted in favour of introducing English Votes for English Laws, which has the rather unfortunate acronym of EVEL because it will ensure that English MP will now have more of a voice over matters that only affect them. I thoroughly believe that there is now a system in place that is fair and workable for every part of the UK.
This will strengthen the Union and create fairer arrangements by finally answering the so called West Lothian Question, whereby Scottish MPs can vote on matters affecting England, but English MPs cannot vote on matters affecting Scotland.
That is a manifesto commitment made and a manifesto commitment delivered.
Ironically, in this case, EVEL is actually Good.
You can watch my latest 2 Minute Tim video blog on this topic here:
https://www.facebook.com/TimLoughtonEWAS/videos/1672457503037349/
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Victims’ Bill of Rights - Keir Starmer's 10 Minute Rule Bill
Last week I co-signed Labour MP, Keir Starmer’s, 10 Minute Rule Bill to introduce a Victims Bill of Rights, which seeks to establish a frameworks for victims of crime, thereby empowering them with enforceable rights.
The Bill addresses two main problems currently in our legal system.
1) People do not think the system is fairly set between victims and offenders, which results in people not initially coming forward.
2) Those who do come forward claim that they do not think the system works for them and would not use it again.
To tackle these concerns, the Bill proposes – among other things – to grant a right of appeal by victims against a decision to cease a criminal investigation.
The Bill will also raise the importance of specialist provisions for children in the criminal justice system.
This Bill would replace the voluntary codes and various organisations, which currently serve victims, with a clearer and sharper framework that will more effectively defend victims.
Too often victims are the forgotten party and it is about time that they receive proper legal support and protection.
I am very supportive of this Bill, as we simply cannot have a situation where our criminal justice system is not adequately serving the most vulnerable, for whom justice is the light and the end of dark, dark tunnel.
You can read the full Hansard text of Sir Keir's speech here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm151020/debtext/151020-0002.htm#15102045000628
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Reforms to Tax Credits
I know this is a contentious issue and many constituents have written to me about it. Again it is part of the difficult decisions that have to be made if we are to get the country’s finances back on an even keel and it will not be easy. However, it is important that the proposals on tax credits are not seen in isolation but as part of a package of other measures which are benefitting people working in lower paid jobs. There is an important principle at stake here too, namely that it cannot be up to the taxpayer to subsidise low pay by multinational companies who have had little incentive in the past to pay decent wages when they know the taxpayer will step in. That is beginning to change and the radical move to the new living wage is a very important part of that. The cost of tax credits has increased drastically from £1.1bn in 2003 to £30bn now. That cannot be right particularly at a time of rising wages and the largest number of people in work in the UK ever. These proposed changes will simply take the level of tax credits back to what was the more realistic level in 2007-08.
In the Summer Budget, the Government offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high-welfare, high-tax, low-wage economy to a lower-welfare, lower-tax and higher-wage one.
From next April, the introduction of a National Living Wage will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full-time on the minimum wage. By 2020, it will reach more than £9 an hour, worth at least £4,800 a year extra in cash terms. Taking tax and benefit changes into account, it means a renting family with two children where both parents work 35 hours a week on the minimum wage will see their income increase in cash terms by more than £5,500.
These reforms are part of a single coherent plan. It involves a new National Living Wage, reformed tax credits and lower taxes. They go hand-in-hand as a new settlement. I am pleased that the increases in the personal allowance have already saved the typical basic-rate taxpayer £825 a year. The threshold will rise to £11,000 next April, with it reaching £12,500 by the next general election. Analysis shows that 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the personal allowance, living wage and welfare changes in the Summer Budget.
Reforms to Tax Credits are needed to get the welfare bill under control. The system cost just over £4 billion in its first full year but ended up costing £30 billion a year, with nine out of 10 families qualifying for means-tested payments.
Most importantly, National Living Wage has a wider ripple effect. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility expects six million people in total to get a pay rise as the new National Living Wage imposes upward pressure on wages further up the scale.
On the issue of limiting Child Tax Credits to two children, I believe benefit claimants should face the same choices as taxpayers. One decision that most families make is how many children they have. While it’s important to support families, it’s also important to be fair to the many working families who don’t see their budgets rise by anything like that when they have more children. Please be assured this will only apply to new claims and will not affect families that currently have more than two children.
It is also worth addressing the recent events in the House of Lords regarding our changes to Tax Credits. I will avoid going into the technicalities of the constitutional issues involved here, but what I would say is that the Chancellor has clearly been listening to the recommendations and concerns that many have had. He has therefore undertaken to reconsider the details of the changes and return with new proposals as part of the Autumn Statement later this year. This is an extremely complex area of policy and I agree that we need to get it right.
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Also in Parliament
Employers who have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage have been named and shamed.
Last week, the Government named and shamed more than 100 employers who have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage.
Between them, the 113 companies named owed workers over £387,000 in arrears, and span sectors including hairdressing, retail, education, catering and social care.
Since the scheme was introduced in October 2013, 398 employers have been named and shamed, with total arrears of over £1,179,000 and total penalties of over £511,000.
Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families.
As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it.
Next April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly.
The 113 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HMRC, which you can see here.
This Government is launching a consultation on proposals to allow the government to intervene quickly in failing schools.
A consultation was launched last week on proposals to speed up the transformation of failing schools and schools that are deemed to be ‘coasting’ - delivering on the government’s commitment to extend opportunity and ensure all children are supported to reach their full potential.
The tough new powers, first put forward by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in the Education and Adoption Bill in June, will allow the government to swiftly intervene and turn around failing schools. The measures will sweep away the bureaucracy previously exploited by opponents with ideological objections who could delay or obstruct the process by which academy sponsors take over to improve the running of schools. In some cases, campaigners have delayed intervention by drawing out debates, refusing to provide important information and blocking vital decisions.
Schools also eligible for intervention will be those which fall within a new definition of ‘coasting’ where performance data shows that, year on year, they are failing to ensure their pupils reach their potential. Unlike failing schools, where there is no question that swift intervention is required, coasting schools will be offered help.
The consultation seeks views on the proposed definition of a mainstream school which is coasting as well as the options for developing a coasting definition for special schools and for pupil referral units.
We are committed to delivering on our manifesto commitment to transform failing and coasting schools so that every child has the benefits of an excellent education.
Over the course of the last Parliament, we saw a million more pupils in good or outstanding schools. The measures outlined in this consultation will focus on the next million, extending opportunity to young people right across the country.
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In East Worthing and Shoreham
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Western Sussex Eye Care | Southlands Public Exhibitions
Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust are holding a number of public exhibitions and engagement events about the development of the Trust’s new ophthalmology outpatients department at Southlands.
The service will be called Western Sussex Eye Care | Southlands and is designed to enable more patients to receive all tests, results and diagnosis in one visit, with many treatments also available on the same day.
The plans will be displayed next month when patients, members of the public and any interested parties are invited to meet the Eye Care team and share their thoughts about the £7.5m project.
Two public exhibitions will showcase all the latest information about the development of Western Sussex Eye Care | Southlands and provide an opportunity for people to have their say on the plans.
The first exhibition will take place on Monday 2nd November, between 4pm and 7pm, at Worthing Hospital Education Centre (WHEC), Worthing Hospital, Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, BN11 2DH.
A second exhibition will take place, again for three hours, on Wednesday 4th November, between 4:30pm and 7.30pm, in the OcTherapy Room at Southlands Hospital, Upper Shoreham Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, BN43 6TQ.
Visitors can drop-in at any time to meet members of the Eye Care team, ask questions, view plans and share their thoughts about the new ophthalmology outpatients’ centre.
From November onward, the information will also be available online via: www.westernsussexhospitals.nhs.uk/eyecare. This will then go on public display in both hospitals following the exhibitions. There will also be a newsletter going out to stakeholders.
Western Sussex Eye Care | Southlands is due to open in early 2017, with all ophthalmology outpatients services moving from Worthing Hospital at this time, as agreed following the Service Redesign for Quality public consultation in 2011.
I hope you are able to attend one of the engagement events, where I am sure you will be able to find out any further information you would like to know.
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Northbrook Graduation
I was delighted to see such a strong group of young people at the Worthing Assembly Hall to enjoy their graduation ceremony, with a lot of stylish footwear strutting its stuff across the stage in particular from where I was sitting!
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Genes Seminar
I was asked to join a question time panel, organised by London University, along with 4 professors, on the subject of 'Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism'...no, me neither! But sometimes in life, you just have to wing it !
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HSBC Meeting
Following the news that HSBC is to close its branches in Broadwater and Lancing, I went to see HSBC's regional management in the area to try to understand the rationale behind their decision, not least because in Lancing we have the second largest business park in the whole of West Sussex, who presumably need banking services, let alone the public.
I was particularly concerned that the moves had been taken without any public consultation at all. Many constituents will remember the campaign several years ago to save the HSBC branch in Findon Valley, the last remaining bank in the Valley. I joined a group of residents who walked all the way to Broadwater because we were told that that branch was near enough to cover the locality and it would always be there. So much for that promise.
We met at the HSBC branch in Shoreham, which will now be the last surviving HSBC branch in the whole of my constituency. I would not put money on it surviving much longer, I am afraid!
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Shoreham Beach neighbourhood plan
A team of Shoreham Beach residents, led by Dawn Clenton-Sparey, has been putting together a neighbourhood plan, which is now permitted, under the Localism Act, as a way for local residents to shape the development of their local communities.
This is particularly needed on Shoreham Beach where there are so many different styles it is difficult to determine under planning law what is in keeping with the area and what is not. As a result, and in the light of the very big expansion of houses on the Shoreham Beach peninsula, there have been several controversial developments of former bungalows into large houses, which some see as ‘overbearing.’
The group revealed their plans at a ‘Have you Say’ event held at Shoreham Beach School in the middle of October. You can find out more information here: http://www.sbnf.co.uk/ourplan/
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Tim Loughton MP wins battle with Network Rail over bridge graffiti
I am very pleased to say that the graffiti on the rail bridge over the Adur has been successfully removed. I have been working closely with local residents and Network Rail to find a solution. Network Rail were eventually persuaded to use the planned removal of a redundant gas pipe as an opportunity to remove the graffiti. The work has now been completed.
This eyesore has been a long running irritant for residents, who had been faced with it every day. It is important that we keep on top of vandalism like this before it gets out of hand. I am pleased Network Rail have at last used a bit of common sense and that we been able to reach an agreeable resolution for local residents.
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Legion d’Honnueur for our D-Day Heroes
Last year, during the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, President Hollande announced that France was to award the Legion d’Honneur to all the living veterans of the campaigns to liberate France in 1944-45. This most generous offer was eagerly taken up by veterans of that campaign, members of what we are proud to call “the greatest generation”.
However no-one was prepared for the sheer volume of the response and it soon became clear that both we and the French needed to make more resources available to deal with the applications as swiftly as they deserved. The resultant delays caused frustration for some veterans and families, but I am pleased to say that we are now seeing the results of our jointly increased efforts.
Of the 3,300 applications received by the end of last year, over 1,100 have been approved, and around 750 of these medals have already been awarded. In order to speed up the process, the French are now sending these medals directly to recipients by post, but have invited veterans to contact their region’s French Honorary Consul should they wish a personal presentation. British officials are also working with The Royal British Legion to facilitate regional events to honour the veterans.
President Hollande is personally committed to fulfilling his offer. However it will take some time to clear the backlog and deal with applications that are still being received.
I wholeheartedly encourage you write to me in order to highlight any applicants suffering from ill health, who you believe merit prioritisation; officials can then work with them as swiftly as appropriate.
Constituents will recall that, over the last 2 years, I have organised a special ceremony at Worthing Town Hall to personally award Arctic Star veterans their medals, rather than them just receive them - rather inelegantly - through the post. It would be good if we could repeat the exercise for this medal presentation.
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UK Youth Parliament 'Make Your Mark' Campaign
As the former Minister for Children and Young People and a long-term advocate of the great work our young people do up and down the country, I was delighted to hear that the UK Youth Parliament’s recent ‘Make Your Mark’ campaign, which encouraged young people (aged 11-18 years old) to take part in the UK Youth Parliament’s annual ballot of young people living in the UK, was such a great success.
The ballot contained 10 policies voted for by Members of Youth Parliament including poverty, mental health, curriculum, climate change and votes at 16, which reflect their election pledges in local elections across the UK.
There was a marked increase in voter turnout in West Sussex. There were 20,872 votes cast overall, which represent a 186% increase. This substantial increase in turnout is a testament to the good work carried out by the Youth Parliament and the‘Make Your Mark’ campaign.
Voting closed on Friday 9th October 2015 and the results in West Sussex were as follow:
- The Living Wage (5725 votes)
- Everyone aged 16 or over should be paid at least the Living Wage.
- A Curriculum to prepare us for life (2724 votes)
- Schools should cover finance, sex and relationships and politics in the curriculum.
- Transport Links (2331 votes)
- Make public transport cheaper, better and accessible for all
- Mental Health (2179 votes)
- Compulsory mental health education and challenge stereotypes.
- Racism and religious discrimination (1889 votes)
- Young people should combat all forms of discrimination.
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I was also delighted that one of the community project winners, at the Postitive for Youth awards, held in Shepards Bush, was the West Sussex Youth Council team with their 'Free Your Mind' mental health project. This is the third year the Positive for Youth awards have been held and they were originally established by former Worthing constituent, Tiffany Newell.
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Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)
Service Cancellations due to staff absences
We all have our own nightmarish experiences of the ongoing debacle that is GTR. These have often been caused by services being cancelled, as a result of staff absences. To tackle this issue, myself and a number of other MPs wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin. He responded with the following:
“The level of cancellation across the GTR network remains a concern and GTR has failed to meet their franchise benchmark for cancellation.
“That is why…I am pleased…that…an improved financial incentive/penalty regime [has been agreed]. The aim of this is to incentivise the operator to deliver a reliable service. [The new scheme does not distinguish] between absences that GTR have to manage, e.g. a known absence for a planned event and those where drivers just to not turn up for duty.
“In addition…GTR are also obliged to compensate passengers for disruption."
These changes should hopefully see standards rise , as GTR will have to compensate if their services are disrupted regardless of whether staff are expected not to be at work. Although, that being said, I am not holding my breath just yet!
Christmas Service
With the holiday season once again coming upon us apace, regular GTR commuters – myself included – cringe at the thought of another Christmas period spent on GTR trains. With this in mind, I thought I would bring some early Christmas job and provide you with an update on the major changes to trains in Sussex this Christmas, so as to at least prepare you.
As part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan, a major project to completely replace a crucial junction at Purley will mean major changes for trains to Gatwick Airport, Brighton and stations along the south coast. This work will take place from late on Christmas Eve to 3 January 2016 inclusive, and includes three working days (December 29-31).
As a result, there will be no trains between South Croydon and Redhill, and the Gatwick Express service will be suspended. There will be some diverted train services and bus replacements to help passengers to complete their journeys.
Passengers for Gatwick Airport will travel by train to East Grinstead for a bus link to the airport, or catch a train from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport via Horsham, but this will take considerably longer.
Passengers travelling between London and Brighton will catch a train to East Grinstead for a bus link to Three Bridges and then a train to Brighton.
Passengers travelling from Brighton to Gatwick Airport are unaffected. However, passengers travelling from Brighton to London Victoria will be able to travel to Three Bridges for a connecting bus to East Grinstead, where they will board a train to complete their journey.
In addition to the work at Purley over Christmas, there will be changes to Southeastern services as a result of work at London Bridge, this is part of the government-sponsored Thameslink Programme. The work includes making major changes to the tracks and signalling, and will bring a new viaduct built at Borough into use for the first time.
As a result of work which will take place between 8pm on Christmas Eve and 3 January 2016, there will be no Southeastern trains from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and London Bridge, with services diverted to and from Victoria, Blackfriars and New Cross.
Whilst fewer passengers travel at Christmas - making it a good time for major investment work – it will nevertheless prove disruptive to families in Sussex, so I urge anyone travelling over the festive period to check www.nationalrail.co.uk/christmas before they travel, or visit your train operator's website for more information.
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The St Barnabas House shop in Lancing celebrates its 25th anniversary
I was delighted to attend the celebrations for The St Barnabas House shop’s 25th anniversary and it was a great pleasure to present 85-year-old Jean Webb, from Sompting, with a 30-year service badge.
Jean started volunteering in 1985 after her father died. He had been to St Barnabas for respite care and Jean and her husband were so impressed with the treatment and kindness he received, they made a donation to the charity and became volunteer drivers.
Then, when the Lancing shop opened 1990, Jean decided to volunteer at the shop, while her husband continued as a driver. He died in 2003 and was also cared for by St Barnabas.
You can read the full story here:
http://www.worthingherald.co.uk/news/local/lancing-charity-shop-celebrates-25th-anniversary-1-7020411
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Cake Competition - Great Tuck at Tuk Tuk
Congratulations to Lawrence Boon from Pasante for organising the Lancing Business Park Great British Bake Off. There were more than 50 entries from employees across the business park, including sweet and savoury items.
I was delighted to judge the winners, along with the winner of Professional Masterchef, Steve Edwards (above right). It can be a tough life being an MP sometimes! The competition was tough, but over £1000 was raised for Worthing Churches Homeless Project, which is the business park's chosen charity.
You can see a selection of the entries below!
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An invitation from Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group
NHS Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group wants to hear from you about your priorities for the services you receive at your local GP Practice and the care you receive when you need NHS help and support urgently.
As a clinical commissioning group, they plan and buy health services in the local area. Health services are seeing more patients than ever before and people are living with more complex health needs.
They are looking for better ways to provide excellent health services - and want to hear from residents about how they can do this.
By filling out the survey below, you can tell them about what you need from your local health services in the future. They will be using the information you give them to influence their plans for the next two years, starting with a series of workshops this autumn. It should take about 10 minutes to complete. All your responses will remain confidential.
To have your say, please respond to the online survey at: http://dc.miprocloud.net/DCWebEngine/collect.aspx?rspid=fe901945-ddb4-4825-a7db-37b4a3c48c4b
If you would like to talk to anyone about this survey please email contactus.coastal@nhs.net or call Bridget Pettitt, Public Engagement Manager on 01903 708537.
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Closure of Adur Outdoor Activities Centre
I was very sorry to hear the news earlier this week that the Adur Outdoor Activities Centre is about to go into administration and that the staff have been made redundant. I have been there many times and know how popular its activities are, but clearly that popularity has not translated into revenue.
The centre has been run as a charitable trust, with initial support from West Sussex County Council (WSCC), as landlords of the site, but it is run independently of the County Council. Despite the considerable work and dedication of the trustees, staff and volunteers working with the trust, I am told the simple facts are that they have run out of money and the centre in its existing form is not sustainable.
The Chairman of the trust tells me that they have had a professional organisation in to assist them for nearly a year and they have not been able to turn things around. This is largely due to declining income created by the competition from Bolder Brighton and the Withdean climbing wall.
Added to this there has been a big dropping off of support from local schools and colleges too. That left them with transient business from the general public. Put simply expenditure exceeded income and they had run out of options. To protect the pay and redundancy of the remaining staff they have taken advice and the route they are required to follow.
As the owner of the building, WSCC have been kept fully informed and last week there was emergency meeting to explore whether some sort of rescue may be possible. I agree that it would be very sad if the centre was not able to continue in some form or other. I have therefore offered my help in any way that the Council see fit. I have also asked to be kept in the loop and I will report back on any developments in my newsletter.
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Healthwatch West Sussex's report Well Enough to Go Home?
Healthwatch West Sussex's report Well Enough to Go Home? published earlier this year highlighted some of the issues patients faced when they were discharged from hospital. Their new report explores in more details patient's and carers' experiences of being discharged from hospital, including the steps taken beforehand, and what happened afterwards.
The work was commissioned by West Sussex County Council, but was carried out independently by Healthwatch West Sussex, with the agreement of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
You can read an executive summary of the report here: http://goo.gl/F2tpHZ
Alternatively, you can read the full report here: http://goo.gl/mrokdF
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Shoreham RiverFest 2016
Shoreham RiverFest launched in 2010 and has become an annual August Bank Holiday Weekend event to celebrate the past, present and future importance of the River Adur to our community.
Following the tragedy at this year’s air show, a large, new volunteer committee has been formed to ensure that Shoreham RiverFest 2016 is a really positive and significant event.
RiverFest has partnered with some key local business people, who are providing their expertise to move the standard and implementation to a new level this year.
In addition to providing our community and tourists with a fabulous festival, we are also embracing sporting achievements, arts, local foods and drink, legacy projects, learn and try, accessible culture, history and heritage, nature and wide ranging entertainment options for all ages.
RiverFest 2016 will be fundraising for 3 local charities:
- Shoreham Lifeboat Station (RNLI)
- Sussex Sailability
- Adur RSBP
You can keep up-to-date with any announcements regarding RiverFest 2016 by visiting their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/shorehamriverfest
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Tesco Neighbourhood Food Collection
Tesco we will soon be holding their 7th Neighbourhood Food Collection, in conjunction with The Trussell Trust and FareShare. This will take place in all of the larger Tesco stores across the country between 3rd and 5th December and in all their smaller Express stores between 23rd November and 5th December. I would certainly encourage you to lend your support and get involved.
The last collection, held in July 2015, was very successful and Tesco were able to provide 3.6 million meals to people in need. Since Tesco’s first Neighbourhood Food Collection in December 2012, the supermarket firm have donated more than 27.5 million meals to help FareShare and The Trussell Trust support a wide range of people in need across the UK.
If you are able to get involved in early December, you can arrange to take part by emailing jessica.walker@uk.tesco.com. If you would like further information about the collection, including who the food helps, you can visit www.tesco.com/foodcollection.
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Tesco Carrier Bag Community Fund nominations
As you will be aware, the 5p carrier bag charge came into effect earlier this month. This means that all large retailers are required to charge a minimum of 5p per carrier bag to help to reduce waste and improve our environment. Tesco will be reinvesting the funds from that charge into local communities across England including building new pocket parks, sports facilities, woodland walks and community gardens.
Tesco customers will get the chance to vote in store and online for the projects they most want to go ahead in their own local areas. Six projects will receive funding in each of 428 regions annually, meaning that around 2,500 projects will receive funding from the bag charge in the twelve months. The amount of funding available for individual local projects will range from £8,000 to £12,000.
I would encourage local community groups and charities to apply for funding. Nominations will be whittled down to three good causes that customers can then choose to vote for in each area. Administration of the local funding will be handled by environmental improvement charity Groundwork which specialises in transforming local green spaces for the better.
The process for nominations opened this week. To find out more or apply for support, please visit www.tesco.com/carrier-bags.
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Follow Tim on Twitter, like his Facebook page or visit his website here:
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