Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

John Redwood welcomes u-turn on mobility benefit for blind people

April 21, 2009 3 Comments

Wokingham MP John Redwood has welcomed a Government decision that allows blind people to receive a benefit called the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance. This is a small sum of money to help disabled people with extra mobility costs, such as taxis or private hire vehicles. Currently, blind people are excluded from receiving this benefit, despite facing some of the biggest obstacles when trying to travel independently.

After meeting with a group of his constituents last year, John Redwood threw his weight behind the campaign to give blind people an extra helping hand. He supported a parliamentary motion calling on the Government to stop excluding blind people from eligibility for the benefit, and wrote to the Minister for Disabled People at the Department for Work and Pensions arguing the case.

During Report Stage of the Welfare Report Bill in the House of Commons, the Minister for Disabled People said that from April 2011, people with no useful sight for mobility purposes will be able to claim the Higher Rate Mobility Component. This will give them an extra £29 a week. Although this is not a huge sum of money, the RNIB has estimated that it will assist some 26,000 people, helping them to travel to job interviews, visit friends or family and engage in their local communities.

Speaking about the Government’s decision, John Redwood said: “I was pleased to have been able to lend my voice to this important campaign. My constituents put forward a powerful case, and I was glad to have been able to represent them to the Minister”.

“The public finances are tight and the Government does need to find ways to cut its expenditure. However, the way to do this is not to neglect disabled or other vulnerable people but to reduce wasteful spending like regional assemblies, Identity Cards, bank bailouts and the lavish pension benefits of Whitehall bureaucrats”.

“I am pleased the Government has shown a degree of sense and compassion in this case, and that my constituents who lobbied so hard for such a change will benefit”.

Wokingham message on flooding

March 16, 2009 0 Comments

I met Chris Smith, the CEO and the Thames area Manager of the Environment Agency today to chase progress on the Winnersh and Wokingham Emm schemes, the need for a wider Loddon plan and projects, and to chase issues where there are still disputes over which agency is responsible. I will keep you all posted of their written responses which they have promised.

Bracknell News 50th anniversary message

February 4, 2009 0 Comments

The Bracknell News is fifty years young. When the journalists start to look young you know you have a bit of experience behind you, but fifty is the new forty. I expect the Bracknell News to show plenty of vim and vigour in the years ahead.

Local newspapers do an important job. They bring the community together. They enable us to share the highs and lows with the neighbours, to tell people about forthcoming events and great services available in our locality. They allow us to say “thank you” to those who have done good things or have served us well. They let us send sympathy to those going through difficult times, and congratulations to those riding high on success.

In these dark days of recession, with falling advertising revenues and economic stress, it is not easy reporting the local news. We look to the papers to tell it as it is. We also need them to help raise our spirits from time to time, so we can get through this trough of gloom.

John Redwood’s Christmas message for 2008

December 15, 2008 5 Comments

Don’t let this nasty recession wreck your Christmas. One of the things I most like about the Christmas break is you have time to do more homely things for yourself, and more time to think of others. So often what people want is some company and thoughtfulness rather than expensive presents. The comfort of the family group, the warmth of neighbourliness is easier to achieve when you do not have to do battle with peak hour traffic or wait on a cold station for the delayed train.

Of course this Christmas has an economic shadow over it. On the High Street some famous stores are struggling. Many are nervous of how long their jobs will last or whether the incomes for their businesses will hold up. I am doing all I can to explain the crisis to government and to offer advice to try to lift us out of the downturn.

In the meantime against such a background the true spirit of Christmas can make a difference. The work of our local charities and the countless deeds of friendship and helpfulness of so many in our community are all the more welcome at a time when people are counting the pennies. I want to say a big Thank you to all the volunteers, carers, Mums and Dads, and good neighbours who do so much to make the lives of others better day by day.

Christmas got off to a good start in Wokingham thanks to the organisers of the Winter Carnival. The lights came on to the sound of the first carols. There are many good Christmas events planned over the days ahead to light up the dark winter days. If we can all recapture some of that magic of Christmas that most of us were lucky to experience as a child, it will have done its job. It’s not how much you spend or what it says on the label that makes the difference. It’s the spirit you do it in that matters most. Sometimes the most modestly priced gift gives the greatest joy because it is what the person wants, or because they are moved that you bothered.

So what can I give, poor as I am? Give my heart.

Spare that rhododendron

December 10, 2008 2 Comments

I ought to be a natural member of the National trust. I like to see our important heritage buildings preserved and open to the public, without being a burden on the taxpayer. I want some of our beauty spots to be acquired and held by a long term trust that keeps them free of development and allows sensible use of them by the public for recreation.

Yet in recent years I have found myself in strong opposition to the management of the trust. I also like rhododendrons. The trust seems to hate them with a passion, and is set on rooting them out of its land, even where they are an improtant part of the landscape and have graced it with the beauty of their late spring blossoms and their dense evergreen foliage for so many decades.

In Berkshire the Trust has rooted out rhododendrons and some trees it objects to, leaving a much bleaker heathland landscape along with stumps and dead trees in the name of going back to some imagined past period of different and sparser vegetation. Realising some still object to this assault on our countryside, the Trust has now briefed the Telegraph that the rhododendron is a wicked carrier of Phytophthora, so it deserves to be rooted out before it infects the rest of our flora. Please will the Trust think again and end this victimisation? They claim the rhodo is not a native species. They are using all the worst techniques of black propoganda to make the rhodo an unwelcome presence in our land. They should remember that many plants like people came here from somewhere else at some point in evolution. They should be welcomed, not condemned.

Semi-final of the Wokingham Schools’ Debating Competition just around the corner

November 14, 2008 0 Comments

The semi-final of the annual Wokingham Schools’ Debating Competition is just around the corner. On Thursday the 20th November, teams from the Emmbrook, St. Crispin’s, the Holt School and the Willink will compete against one another, with the two winning teams going through to the final eight days later to compete for the John Redwood Cup.

The semi-final will take place at Wokingham Town Hall, at 7pm, on Thursday the 20th November. The motions to be debated are as follows:

Emmbrook (proposer) vs. St. Crispin’s

This House welcomes the slump in house prices

The Holt (proposer) vs. the Willink

This House welcomes the big cut in energy use as a result of the economic downturn

The final round will take place on Friday the 28th November, in Wokingham Town Hall at 7pm. John Redwood will act as Speaker for the semi-final and final, and the panel of judges will be made up of Sally Bryant from the Wokingham Times, Donald MacDonald from the RBS, and Ian Graham from Clifton Ingram.

The winners of the competition will receive the John Redwood Cup for their school and the two teams to compete in the final round are also invited to spend a day in the House of Commons with John Redwood, which includes lunch and the chance to sit in the audience for Prime Minister’s Questions.

The competition is generously sponsored by RBS, Classicstone Properties, Bill Clark, Clifton Ingram, 3M and Ticheners.

For more information please contact Carl Thomson on 020 7219 4205

John Redwood responds to Department of Transport consultation on the safeguarding of the Maidenhead to Reading Crossrail route

October 13, 2008 4 Comments

John Redwood has today responded to the Department of Transportation’s consultation on the safeguarding of the Maidenhead to Reading route for the potential future expansion of Crossrail. The consultation does not provide a commitment to extend Crossrail to Reading, but seeks views on whether formal Safeguarding Protections should be issued on the stretch of land that would be used to expand Crossrail from Maidenhead to Reading in the future.

As part of his response to the consultation, John Redwood highlighted the unprecedented population growth which is projected to take place in the South East over the next few years, and pointed out that Wokingham and the area around Reading has borne the brunt of development pressures. Allied to these pressures is the fact that this growing number of people must carry out their business on a transport system that is increasingly unable to meet the needs of a modern economy. John Redwood has told the Department of Transport that the expansion of Crossrail to Reading would help in easing these pressures on commuters, businesses and families.

Speaking about the consultation, John Redwood said: “The sad reality is that my constituents face considerable problems with insufficient capacity, very high fares and an unrealisable service. My constituents often tell me stories of very overcrowded journeys. Other services in the Reading area do not offer enough choice of journey times to be attractive for commuters, forcing people onto the roads when they might be attracted back to the railways by more frequent services”.

“It would be reassuring to know that Reading is being seriously considered for the more regular and faster services to London that would come about through a direct link to Crossrail. The population pressures on Wokingham and the South East demand a transport system that is able to move people about quickly and allows them to carry out their business. The expansion of Crossrail to Reading would be a huge contribution towards meeting that demand. It is for that reason that I support the objectives set out in this consultation”.

Wokingham Schools’ Debating Competition

October 6, 2008 3 Comments

The first round of the annual Wokingham Schools’ Debating Competition kicks off this Thursday the 9th October at the Emmbrook School, as the Holt School compete against Luckley Oakfield and Bearwood College go up against Emmbrook. The second round will be on Thursday the 16th October at the Willink School, where Maiden Erlegh, St. Crispin’s and the Willink will compete to go through to the next round. The two winners of each of these rounds will progress through to the semi-finals at Wokingham Town Hall on Thursday the 20th November, and the final will be chaired by John Redwood at Wokingham Town Hall on Friday the 28th November.

John Redwood has been organising the annual debating competition for several years. Last year the competition was won by the Emmbrook School and Luckley Oakfield. All participants receive certificates and prizes from the House of Commons with the winning school receiving the “John Redwood Cup” for debating. The four finalists and their teachers spend a day in London at the House of Commons, which includes lunch with John Redwood and a tour of the Palace of Westminster, followed by a chance to watch Parliament in action. The John Redwood Cup is engraved with the winners’ names and presented to the school for the year. The winning school also receives an overhead projector donated courtesy of 3M.

Speaking about the competition, John Redwood said: “The Wokingham Schools’ Debating Competition gives young people a chance to engage with the issues of the day and gain experience in public speaking and defending their arguments in front of an audience. I hope many people will come along to hear the debates and support the participants. The competitions are lively, fun and informative, and have been well attended in the past”.

Notes for editors:

The first round of the debating competition will take place at the Emmbrook School on Thursday the 9th October at 7pm. The timetable of the debates is as follows:

The Holt School vs. Luckley Oakfield

This House believes government can cure fuel poverty

Bearwood College vs. Emmbrook

This House believes exams get in the way of education

Luckley Oakfield vs. Holt

This House believes government can make housing affordable

Emmbrook vs. Bearwood College

This House believes A-Levels are too easy

The second round will take place at the Willink School on Thursday the 16th October at 7pm. The timetable for the debates is as follows:

Willink vs. Maiden Erlegh

This House believes government can cure fuel poverty

St. Crispin’s vs. Willink

This House believes exams get in the way of education

Maiden Erlegh vs. St. Crispin’s

This House believes government can make housing affordable

The semi-final will be held at Wokingham Town Hall on Thursday the 20th November, and the final will be held at the same location on Friday the 28th November. John Redwood will act as Chairman for the semi-final and final. The motions for these rounds will be released closer to the time.

The judges for the first two rounds are as follows:

Rebecca Johnson of the Wokingham and Bracknell News
Cllr. Beth Rowland
Cllr. Annette Drake

The judges for the semi-final and final rounds are as follows:

Sally Bryant of the Wokingham Times
Ian Graham of Clifton Ingram
Donald MacDonald of the Royal Bank of Scotland

The sponsors of this year’s competition are as follows:

RBS
Classicstone Properties
Mr Bill Clark
Clifton Ingram
3M
Ticheners

We would be grateful if you could mention the sponsors in any story as they have been very generous and are the ones who make this competition for the school pupils possible. We would also appreciate media outlets encouraging as many people as possible to attend and support the students. It makes the competition much more fun if they have a good audience.

For more information please contact Carl Thomson on 020 7219 4205 or Christine Hill on 0118 962 9501

John Redwood calls for Government intervention to save Arborfield postal services

September 9, 2008 1 Comment

John Redwood has today written to Pat McFadden, Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform responsible for Royal Mail, asking him to look into the sudden closure of the Post Office on Eversley Road in Arborfield and ensure that another operator will be found so postal facilities in the area can be retained.

In his letter to Pat McFadden, John wrote:

“The closure of Arborfield Post Office would cause considerable difficulties for many local residents, particularly as the recent review of postal services deemed that the London Road and Barkham Road Post Offices in the constituency are to close.

I understand that, as Arborfield does not appear on any list of Post Offices which are due to close, Royal Mail is obliged to do what it can to help maintain the same level of postal facilities in the immediate area.

I would be grateful if you could also look into this matter and see if there is any action that can be taken to protect postal services for Arborfield residents in light of the strength of feeling amongst the local community over what would be a huge inconvenience for many of my constituents”.

Speaking about the potential loss of a third Post Office in his constituency, John Redwood said:

“There is a general feeling that communities like Wokingham have borne the brunt of the Government’s sweeping closure of local Post Offices. Having already been told that we are to lose two branches, it would be unacceptable for a third one to go without serious attempts being made by Royal Mail to find an alternative operator. I want to see postal services in Wokingham strengthened and retained and will press the appropriate authorities to do so”.

Wokingham MP’s website gains top spot in Total Politics blog awards

August 21, 2008 2 Comments

John Redwood has thanked all the people who voted to make his website, www.johnredwood.com, the top ranked MP’s website as chosen by the readers of the top sixty political blogs in the UK and Total Politics magazine. John Redwood’s blog was voted the best blog produced by a Member of Parliament. The full results will be published in the “Guide to Political Blogging in the UK 2008-2009”, which is published on the 5th September.

John Redwood said: “I am pleased so many people nationwide enjoy my blog and log onto it regularly. I produce at least one daily story to keep it topical. I am setting up a seperate local issues page, and would like more people from the Wokingham and West Berkshire areas to write in with their views and issues on local matters to complement what I do on the national concerns that I deal with in Parliament”.