This week in Parliament, John Baron MP met with a group of 8 Key Stage 2 students from St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, Billericay. The students had been on a specially designed tour which was followed by an interactive workshop where the students had the chance to explore a particular aspect of Parliament’s work. John Baron MP was invited to meet the students after their workshop for a Q & A session. The visit was organised by Parliament’s Education Service. The attached photograph shows John with the students.

 John said:

 “It was good to meet the students in Parliament. They asked some good questions which showed they were clearly interested in politics and had enjoyed their visit.”

 Angela Moreton [Assistant Headteacher, St Peter’s Catholic Primary School] said:

 “Our School Council visit to Westminster has become an annual trip, and as well as being very enjoyable, it is also a very informative day. The children were delighted that John Baron MP had …

The decisive blow came when the Labour Cabinet threw ...…

Prime Minister David Cameron opened the London Conference on Somalia on 23 February.…

When in opposition, Daniel Hannan and I wrote a book called The Plan, to try to provide precisely the kind of policy coherence needed.

Shortly after The Plan was published, the magpies picked up some of the sparklier parts of it. I couldn't help notice, for example, how David Cameron's Milton Keynes speech on new politics contained some almost identical lines.

I was delighted. Suddenly we were all for dispersing power, radical localism and renewing democracy. Or so it seemed.

But then we entered government - and what was once narrative has not always been implemented as policy.

Simple ideas - proposals to give people the power of recall or Parliament power to oversee government - have been mangled. Or, like open primaries, quietly dropped.

Basic promises, like scrapping local government Standards Boards, have yet to be fulfilled. More complex pledges, like Human Rights reform, remain a distant dream.

Why …

Cambridge MP Julian Huppert has won a commitment from the Prime Minister to make cycling safer and promote it ahead of his Westminster Hall debate tomorrow (Thursday, February 23).

David Cameron claimed that cyclists “take their life in their hands” riding in cities and he praised The Times ‘Cities fit for cycling campaign’ which will be supported by Julian during his debate.

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MP Julian Huppert battered the opposition in a Parliamentary Pancake Race when MPs and the press took on the Lords to raise money for the Rehab charity.

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Foreign Secretary William Hague spoke at the Somali Diaspora reception on the eve of the London Somalia Conference.…

MP Julian Huppert has struck out in Parliament for better education for youngsters from poorer families.

He wants more help for pupils in receipt of free school meals and those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds to reach their full potential.

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Julian Huppert, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, has sponsored an attempt to change the law to improve road safety.

The ten minute rule motion moved by John Leech, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington, would introduce a whole range of measures to improve road safety, as well as encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport by children to and from school.

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During Health Questions in the House of Commons, John Baron MP asked the Minister for Cancer Services, Paul Burstow MP, about the inclusion of various cancer survival rates in the reformed NHS and the consequent improvement in earlier diagnosis. Our survival rates are poor relative to other countries because we diagnose cancer too late. By highlighting survival rates, the local NHS will introduce measures to encourage earlier diagnosis.

Following pressure from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer and others, the Government has included one- and five-year survival rates inside the NHS Outcomes Framework. However, the one year survival rate is not yet in the Commissioning Outcomes Framework.

In addition, because the population sizes of the new Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will generally be smaller than those of existing Primary Care Trusts, survival figures will be less statistically robust. Consequently, proxy measures will need to be used to supplement the one- and five-year figures. Such measures include the number of cancers first detected at …

Last year the Welsh Government announced that five Welsh enterprise zones were to be established to help nurture businesses, St Athan was designated as one of those zones and Barry lost out.

On the floor of the House of Commons I raised Barry and its aim to achieve Enterprise Zone status, and questioned the Wales Minister on his views about the Welsh Government’s approach to Enterprise Zones.  I particularly queried why Barry had not so far been designated an Enterprise Zone, when the town is in need of support to help create private sector employment.

I was pleased to hear that despite the lack of clarity about the parameters of what would be included and required of the St Athan site, the Business Minister Edwina Hart has confirmed that the zone has at least been extended to include Cardiff Airport and other employment sites.  This inclusion …

Two Barry Comprehensive pupils recently completed work experience in their local MPs Westminster office.  Following on from the time they spent in the constituency office of Alun Cairns MP last summer in Barry, the students jumped at the opportunity of spending the day in the Vale MP’s London office.

Mr Cairns and his team have welcomed a host of students over the last year to spend time in the constituency office on the High Street in Barry.  Hannah Parker and George Scott, pupils at Barry Comprehensive took up the offer to work in Mr Cairns’ office in St Stephen’s Tower in Westminster earlier this month.

Alun Cairns MP said:

“I think it’s really important that businesses and public sector organisations look to support local pupils wherever possible, as part of work placement modules from their schools or colleges. 

“There’s no substitute for students to get first-hand experience of a workplace whilst they’re still in education – it can often help spark a career interest or simply provide an opportunity to …

Alun Cairns MP has welcomed the news that construction has begun on the new 80 bed Premier Inn hotel and Brewers Fayre restaurant at the Innovation Quarter in Barry Waterfront. 

Local contractor Carter Lauren has been awarded the £7.5m building contract by Whitbread, Premier Inn’s parent company, and is expected to complete the development by the autumn 2012.

 The Vale MP had viewed the plans for the new hotel and restaurant during 2011, and had been pleased to hear that the development would create much needed local employment and support for local businesses in the construction and running of the site.

Mr Cairns said:

“It’s really good news to hear that work will begin on the new hotel and restaurant in the Innovation Quarter in Barry Waterfront this week.  The fantastic location of the Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre and the high-quality budget accommodation and good value meals should help bring business visitors and tourists alike to the area. 

“Whitbread are investing a substantial amount and I was pleased …

             It is predictable and sad that the south of the UK is threatened with water shortages.

             I remember urging the last government to put in more reservoir and desalination capacity. I asked in my news  release whether they wanted to greet Olympic athletes and visitors  to London in 2012 with words telling them to cut down on the showers and avoid using too much water.  Apparently they did want that, and sure enough it is coming to pass.

             There has to be a reason why an island surrounded by big seas where people worry about rising sea levels, with massive rainfall in many parts of the country, is unable to supply sufficient water for its population. The reason is simple. It is that we still choose to supply our water through local monopolies that are heavily regulated “in the public interest”.

             Potential challengers to the water monopolists find it difficult to get access to water supplies and access to the market for a variety of reasons. …