Heathrow consultation

I attended the Heathrow consultation at Parliament this week. I renewed my lobbying concerning excessive plane noise when the wind comes from the east following changes to flight routes in 2014.

The airport said they would be consulting again about the noise issue later this year and were working on ways of abating noise. They are looking into steeper ascent and descent so planes are higher for longer and at whether they should revert to the previous routes which did not produce such concentrated noise for Wokingham. I asked them for a written statement for me to share with constituents over how they will seek to mitigate the noise problem.

Environmental lobby 26 June

I agreed to meet constituents coming to the environmental lobby today. In the end only one came for the meeting, but we had a good conversation with a  number of positive ideas.

My constituent raised the issue of too much plastic getting into the oceans. I explained how the UK government was leading the charge to try to cut plastic use and to stop so much ending up in the seas. The UK can do more to substitute degradable materials for plastic, and cut down  the presence  of single used plastics dramatically. We can also  improve enforcement of laws against litter to ensure more waste is properly contained and processed by our domestic and commercial waste systems.

I was asked about motorcycle noise. I agreed to look in to standards and controls over noisy bikes. The problem of fast bicycles  not using bells to warn pedestrians of their presence was also a matter of concern.

I was shown a number of containers and plastic cutlery items where better design and different materials could make a difference. I agreed to pursue with Wokingham Borough what more they can do to offer green leadership by their own purchases, I explained that the new leadership of the Council is seeking to pursue greener policies and are currently reviewing just these matters. I agreed to write to them encouraging a review of the Council’s practises to offer good leadership on recycling and  the use of suitable materials.

TV licence fees

Some constituents have written to me to complain about the BBC’s wish to limit free TV licences to only those over 75 who are on a low income. This is clearly out of the spirit of the agreement with the government which gave the BBC the right to levy a higher tax to finance itself as long as it paid for free TV licences for the over 75s.

I am taking this matter up with both the BBC and the government. I think the government should apply more pressure to the BBC to honour the pledge made.

Wokingham Choral Society concert

I attended the Wokingham Choral Society concert on Saturday evening. They sang “Songs of travel” which included the first performance of the revised “Didcot Haiku” by Paul Burke. The composer attended and received a good round of applause for his composition.  9 Vaughan Williams songs concluded the programme, following a spirited duet  on  the piano of the Ride of the Valkyries.  James Morley P0tter, Conductor, joined the accompanist Benedict Lewis-Smith for this item.

The choir sang well, tackling the complex chords and soaring with the bird flights, sunrises and dreams described in  the poems. I am grateful to the Society for their invitation top what was a most enjoyable evening.

 

Boris Johnson speaks in the Wokingham constituency

On Thursday night Boris came to dinner with Conservatives in the mid Berkshire area at a function organised by Reading West Conservatives and held in the Wokingham constituency.

He gave a wide ranging speech full of positives for our future once out of the EU which was well received by the Conservative members present from several local constituencies. He is keen to see better education from higher per pupil funding, faster broadband and better roads and railway investments.

More money for West Berkshire and Wokingham schools?

One of the good things to come out of the Conservative leadership election is a willingness to talk about the obvious need for more money for schools. I have pressed the case with the main leadership contenders, who seem ready to relax the budgets a bit. Rory Stewart has not tried to talk to me or many other MPs because he has been so busy with the media and the wider public, but the others who have contacted MPs  are encouraging about more money for schools.

Flood risks

The Environment Agency have contacted me to say they are keeping the Emm, Loddon and other water courses under careful review for flood risk. From time to time they issue flood alerts which they tell me are available on the Environment Agency pages of the Gov.uk website.

Wokingham Post Office

I have received this letter from the Minister regarding the move of Wokingham Post Office. I will be taking up her offer of a further meeting.

Visit to Luckley House School

Yesterday I visited Luckley House School, to the south of Wokingham.

The Head and Bursar wanted to review the issues surrounding tax and money for a fee paying school. I reassured them that I support charitable status for schools, and do not propose placing VAT on school fees. Private sector schools face large rate bills for their properties, and substantial tax on employing people, in addition to the taxes paid by their employees. There are limits to how much additional tax many private schools could afford.

The state is a double  beneficiary of fee paying schools. It collects these taxes on the schools and their employees, and saves the money on providing places for the young people themselves in state financed schools. It would not be easy finding the extra  money and providing the places necessary were some future government to ban private schools or tax them out of existence.

The main argument behind policy suggestions to tax them more is that parents who can afford fees for their children’s education are buying privilege. The best answer to this criticism is to make sure the standards at all state schools are good so there is no great educational advantage out of going to a fee paying school.

In order to earn and maintain charitable status these days some think a fee paying school has to do more than offer a good education to the children of those who can pay. Private schools are encouraged to provide access funds or scholarships, so children from lower income backgrounds can attend. Schools often provide sporting and cultural facilities that are available for community use as well as school use.  They may invite in pupils from state schools for various events and lectures they are organising, share their sporting facilities or otherwise  make a contribution to better and wider ranging education elsewhere in the area.

I toured Luckley House School which has some good facilities, and wish it well for the future. The theatre at Luckley is particularly good and available for others to hire for their events.

Royal British Legion lunch in Sulhamstead

It was a pleasure to attend the annual Burghfield Royal British Legion lunch today as their guest and to say a few words to them. I thanked all involved in the work of the Legion who do so much for veterans and their families, and keep alive the story of the wars so we can learn from it.  I explained why remembrance is so important. The two world wars of the last century, with 750,000 and 400,000 UK dead afflicted every family and changed our country. The  victory  of two young generations of service personnel upheld democracy and self government, and ended a brutal genocide. We are right to remember the ultimate sacrifice of those who died, and the sacrifice of those who returned from fear and privation to lead more normal lives.

I also spoke about next week’s events to commemorate the launch of Operation Overlord 75  years ago to liberate the European continent from German Nazi tyranny. On my main blog I am writing about our relationship with the USA and  NATO, our main defence partner. I also raised this in my speech.

I would like to thank the organisers of the lunch for a most enjoyable occasion.