21/02/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Out on Saturday night in Wisbech at a quiz organised by our Conservative Future team, and it has left me feeling really upbeat.  They organised the whole event, with a mix of regular quiz questions, fun ad hoc challenges, and hot two course meal.   It was an excellent night.  There was a real buzz in the room, and a wide mix of ages from late teens to too old to ask.  If young people organising such events and working together is the future of our party locally, then it is brighter than I could have hoped.

After my abject failure at answering questions at the last quiz I attended organised by Wisbech County Councillor Steve Tierney, at least this time I managed to get a few questions right.  Unfortunately my effors at one of the challenges - building a bridge from straws and paper - will take some living down.  The bridge lasted all of one second under the weight test (the worst of the lot!), and was accompanied by a chorus of don’t give up the day job!  Well done to all the CF team on a great job last night.

Friday night was a different type of evening, with a trip out to Chatteris Working Men’s Club for the Mayors Ball.  Cllr Peter and Angela Murphy were perfect hosts, and it was particularly pleasing to see so many other Mayors attending from both within and outside North East Cambridgeshire.  It reminded me of how many charity evenings local mayors support across Cambridgeshire, and what a valued role they play in our civic life.

Posted in Conservative Future, Chatteris, Wisbech | No Comments »

12/02/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Three different people have mentioned over the last few days problems with local bus service.  Two waited for a bus which just never turned up, and tell me this is not the first time.  The third is concerned that the service between Chatteris and Huntingdon will no longer change at Warboys but take a longer route.  There are also issues with the lack of service back from Cambridge to Chatteris or Wisbech, with the last bus setting off far too early. 

If you have had any problems with the bus service please let me know and I will follow it up.

Posted in Public Transport, Huntingdon, Chatteris, Wisbech | No Comments »

31/01/2010 by Steve Barclay.

The closure of the Wisbech Driving test centre highlights a problem with our current democracy.  The decision is being taken by expensively paid quango chiefs who have little if any accountability.  They are not elected, do not live in or know this area, and their pay and perks are unaffected by public delivery. 
 
The decision to close the driving test centre here is against the wishes of the local MP, town councillors, district councillors, and county councillors.  The money being saved - just £11,000 a year - is a fraction of what it has now been revealed these same quango chiefs claimed in expenses over the last year.  The result is that learner drivers, often the young and those on modest incomes, will have to pay more in driving lessons.
 
I have blogged before about how little democracy there is in Britain today. Seven of those attending the British Cabinet are unelected, not to mention many of those in Europe making laws here, and those at a regional and national level deciding issues as important as what medicines we can get on the NHS.  The relationship between power and democracy is illustrated by the fact that the elected leader of a local district council often earns around £15,000 when the unelected chief executive can earn ten times more, on £150,000 plus final salary pension.
 
Last summer I was contacted by Wisbech driving instructors.  They had been told by the Driving Standards Agency that opening a new test centre in King’s Lynn did not mean closing the centre in Wisbech, but they feared closure was the hidden agenda. I went along one evening to their meeting to discuss this, and then contacted the Driving Standards Agency.  The Agency refused to give any information other than to say the matter would be reviewed after 12 months (in July of 2009).
 
Malcolm Moss MP tabled a couple of Parliamentary questions to seek more clarity.  The Agency confirmed the low cost of the centre and the review timescale, but made no mention of the criteria on which they now rely for their decision.  When the 12 months came and went, I again contacted the Agency.  Again I was told no decision had been taken for closure.  Given that 12 months had passed, this suggested the review had passed positively.
 
Four months later over the Christmas holiday period, a press release was slipped out by the Agency.  This made the ludicrous claim that closing the driving test centre would “improve the local service” as the test centre in King’s Lynn had disability access.  As this centre was already available, it is difficult to see how closing Wisbech, with the added journey times, would improve service.  Disabled drivers could still use King’s Lynn.
 
The spin on the Agency’s claims sits at odds with the critical response of local driving instructors, residents, and Fenland District Council.  The Council has passed a unanimous resolution condemning the decision, setting out the costs to local people (which directly contradict the Driving Standards Agency claims), and calling for urgent talks on either keeping the centre or setting up a new, disability compliant centre in Fenland.  No response has been received to this letter - again highlighing the lack of accountibility and the sense the review was prejudged.  The Government’s transport minister has refused to intervene.  As so often with Labour, they care little for rural services and want to move these to urban areas.
 
This incompetence and misplaced arrogance is not new for the Driving Standards Agency and its Chief Exec Rosemary Thew.  In 2007 the Driving Standards Agency lost 3 million customer records which had been outsourced to the US and went missing, putting every learner driver (one in ten of all drivers) at risk of identify theft.  Just this summer, Private Eye and Motorcycle News commenting on further problems with the Agency, this time the daft new rules for motorcyclists, saying the following:
 
“Inept DSA chief executive Rosemary Thew boasts that the new test will make the roads safer by making it more difficult to get a full licence. But that seems unlikely. Not only are riders more likely to be killed or injured during the test itself, but there is evidence that more young tearaways and foreign dispatch riders are taking to the roads unlicensed - and therefore uninsured - rather than submit to the rigmarole of passing five tests to get a licence.”
From: Private Eye, No.1242, p.30 (August 2009)
 
With money short in a recession, and faced with higher costs for lessons travelling to and from King’s Lynn, some young people in Fenland may be tempted to take to the road without completing their driving test. This puts every road user at greater risk.  We already have a high fatality rate on Fenland roads.  Those who take their test face higher bills.  The Driving Standards Agency should now meet with Fenland District Council to agree a way forward.  Sadly, it looks unlikely such common sense will prevail.
 
I will be lobbying the new Conservative Government to reverse this short sighted decision and keep a driving test centre in Fenland.  Let’s hope the election comes soon, so it is not too late.

Posted in Fenland District Council, Malcolm Moss MP, Wisbech | No Comments »

17/01/2010 by Steve Barclay.

It is deeply frustrating to hear the news from the Driving Standards Agency that they want to close the Wisbech Driving Centre in March this year.  In response to a parliamentary question last April, they admitted the Wisbech test centre only costs £11K a year to run.  For such a modest saving, they intend that Fenland residents should have to travel to King’s Lynn.  That means paying for two hour lessons instead of one hour in order to practice on the roads where their test will be held.

Wisbech Town Councillor Sam Hoy has been in touch to let me know her constituents, including a local driving instructor, are far from happy about the closure.   Wisbech Town Council will discuss the closure at their forcoming meeting and I hope they, and residents in Fenland, will make their views heard on this issue.

Rural communities face more and more services being taken away from them.  The driving centre is just the latest, nor will it be the last under a Labour government which is based towards big cities.  Given the modest saving, I am sure the Driving Standards Agency could find £11K elsewhere in their budget. Malcolm Moss MP agrees that the DSA have got this badly wrong, and has written to both the Government and Shadow Ministers responsbile calling for a review.  He has tabled a number of parliamentary questions to the DSA to see if their £11K could be found elsewhere.  These are set out below.  Should I become MP I will be taking a very close interest in all aspects of the Driving Standards Agency’s performance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport…

1. …what the anticipated annual savings will be in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 following the decision to relocate the Wisbech Driving Test Centre to Kings Lynn MPTC.
2. …what additional costs have been identified for driving instructors in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 as a result of the decision to relocate the Wisbech Driving Test Centre to Kings Lynn MPTC.
3. …how many Driving Test Centres have closed, by location, in each of the last three years.
4. …which Driving Test Centres are due to be relocated in the next three years.
5. …what the anticipated additional travel costs for DSA examiners will be as a result of the relocation of the Wisbech Driving Test Centre to Kings Lynn MPTC.
6. …how many full-time equivalent employees of the Driving Standards Agency are in the following salary bands: a) £150,000 and above; b) £100,000-£149,999; c) £80,000-£99,999; d) £60,000-£79,999; e) £40,000-£59,999; f) £25,000-£39,999; and g) £24,999 and under.
7. …what the total amount claimed in expenses by each member of the management of the Driving Standards Agency was in each of the last three years.
8. …what the total salary expenditure on press officers employed by the Driving Standards Agency was in each of the last three years.
9. …how much the Driving Standards Agency has spent on online communications systems including Twitter in each of the last three years.

Posted in Wisbech | No Comments »

18/12/2009 by Steve Barclay.

Spent the morning at King’s School in Ely where I judged the final of the junior and senior school debates.  Struck by the very high standard - well researched content, all the speakers kept good eye content, and some quite wonderful touches of humour and quick wit. 

To speak in front of a full hall is a big challenge, and even more so when it is before all your school friends who will no doubt have fun if you make a mistake.  So it was really uplifting to see the students speak so well.  The debates were fiercely contested with the teams having come through two earlier rounds.  The first debate was on whether to decriminalise drugs, with Wilkinson House winning.  The senior debate focussed on whether cultural and religious tolerance was a threat to Britain, and Torfrida House took the honours.

Pictured are the winning teams from the junior and senior debates.
In the afternoon I headed over to Wisbech, where I visited Ladbrokes for a briefing about the current state of the gaming industry which employs a number of people locally.  Whilst there I was also invited to place a charity bet - a £50 stake which I place on behalf of the East of England Air Ambulance. 

Am struck at the meeting, not for the first time, by what a small world it is.  At Labrokes the meeting was with Ric Royal who is a friend from my days living in Lancaster.  Rick now works for Ladbrokes nationally and has a detailed knowledge of the gaming industry.  It made for a good discussion about onshore and offshore tax issues, creating more jobs in the gaming industry, and he even helped out with tip for what horse I should back (not something I have a clue about).  We finished off with a sneak preview of the latest political betting for a few parliamentary seats and likely parliamentary majorities. 

Chatting with those in the store, one of the issues which will influence the election was clear - immigration.  There is a strong sense in Wisbech that the Labour Government has let local people down on immigration and not played fair.  Those who stick to the rules and work hard are being hit by higher bills, whilst others are seen to get special treatment with extra benefits.  If I am elected as MP, this is an issue I want to tackle.  We need to stop the current abuse of our benefits system and control immigration much better.  It is not a race issue to talk about immigration - it is an issue of fairness that people locally feel passionately about.   

Photo with Mr Rick Royal of Ladbrokes

Posted in Ely, Wisbech | No Comments »

12/12/2009 by Steve Barclay.

A hectic time of the year for us all and today is typical of the festive season with Christmas events in Whittlesey, Witcham and Wisbech. 

The day kicked off this morning with a very well supported coffee fundraiser organised by Cllr Kay Mayor in the Whittlesey Conservative Club.  Fantastic mince pies.  My comment to a few retired ladies present that I had not started Christmas shopping yet (it is only mid December after all so did not think this was too out of the ordinary) got shocked and disapproving looks!  Clearly it is time for me to make a start next week after the polite telling off.

Then it was a quick dash to one of my regular Saturday neighbourhood coffee meetings (this afternoon being held in Witcham). A chance to find out about what is happening in the village, what is causing concern, and what we can do to help. Just one of the many stories raised says so much about why Labour’s bossy, centralised approach turns people off.  A teacher said that in the local primary school the kids have been told they cannot take the emply loo roll holder in for art and craft lessons (the things we grew up watching Blue Peter using to build everything with from pretend binoculars to castles).  New health and safety rules deems the empty loo holder a health risk - on the grounds that it has been placed in the loo.  It is just one of so many silly yet depressing tales that sum up Labour’s daft regulations.

In the evening head up to Wisbech for a further Christmas fundraiser, this time a fun quiz, organised by Wisbech County Councillor Steve Tierney.  As I was driving back to March afterwards the diet of coffee continued all day.  Our quiz team managed a respectable second place, although in truth I contributed very few answers (not least being particularly poor on the history section which was the one I thought would not be too bad).  Lots of banter, a festive atmosphere, good food and a first class quiz master made for a really good night and one hopefully to be repeated soon.

Posted in Witcham, Whittlesey, Wisbech | No Comments »

02/11/2009 by Steve Barclay.

People sometimes say that they only hear from politicians at election time.  I do not want this said in North East Cambridgeshire.  That is why we have been running our regular programme of coffee meetings across the constituency on Saturdays, chatting with a wide range of residents about the issues that matter to them.  It is why after being selected we put out 30,000 introductory leaflets.  It is also why a wide variety of local issues have been followed up over recent months, whether across the constituency on issues like the Fenland Road Safety Campaign and the lack of access to speech therapy, or on issues impacting specific areas - flooding in  Whittlesey and Coates, paramedic cover in Littleport, tourism in Wisbech, vandalism and anti-social behaviour in March, and leisure in Chatteris to name just a few.

This week I thought it would be helpful to report back on the last 18 months since being selected at the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate.  So we are putting out 48,000 newspapers, in five local editions to reflect the different issues impacting in different towns.  I still have a full time job which pays the bills so politics has to fit around this in my spare time in evenings and week-ends.  Hopefully the newspaper will be of interest to you, and shows that we are working hard all year round in North East Cambridgeshire.

To read the newspaper please click on the link to the relevant edition for you:

Wisbech
March
Chatteris
Whittlesey
East Cambridgeshire

This week-end I will be speaking at the NFU dinner at Chatteris on Friday evening, holding a coffee meeting on Saturday in Wisbech, and laying the remembrance wreath on behalf of Malcolm Moss MP in both Whttlesey and March on Sunday.

I hope the Prime Minister will reflect, as he stands before the cenotaph on Sunday, on the shameful news just from the last 7 days.  His proposed £20 million Territorial Army cuts which even his own backbench MPs described as shameful, the leaked email from Lt Colonel Rupert Throneloe warning that the lack of helicopters was forcing him to take unnecessary road trips risking lives (which tragically included his own and a teenage private after £2.4 billion was cut in the helicopter budget in 2004 by Gordon Brown), the inquest into the 14 deaths in the faulty Nimrod showing a catalogue of errors, and the 7 deaths from ignoring safety warnings behind the fatal helicopter collision in Iraq.  Tony Blair was quick to send the army to war but Gordon Brown has always refused to pay the costs.  Lives have been lost as a result.  I hope he reflects on this on Sunday. Make do and mend is not an adequate strategy for our armed forces.

Posted in March, Chatteris, Whittlesey, Wisbech | No Comments »

31/10/2009 by Steve Barclay.

In Wisbech on Friday evening for the book launch of Servant of Empire by local author Martin Gibson, held at the Wisbech & Fenland Museum.  The event is packed with a great atmosphere and the book is very well reviewed.  I am looking forward to reading it.  To order a copy from publishers Hayloft Publishing go to http://www.hayloft.eu/servant.html

Also worth a mention is the room where the drinks were held - it is an ideal venue for such gatherings and, as the museum needs our support to help with funds, I hope more people will make use of it for such occasions.

After the book launch, a dozen of us moved on for a curry at the Alishan Tandoori Restaurant.  The place was packed which was not surprising as the curry was excellent.  Also on the subject of food in Wisbech, on Saturday we tried the new W Four for lunch (it is just near to Wisbech rugby club).  We had an excellent lunch and were made very welcome - a great new addition and well worth a visit if you have not yet been.

Posted in Wisbech | No Comments »

23/09/2009 by Steve Barclay.

A striking feature of a number of public services is how little information there is in the public domain.  Those using a service, and taxpayers paying the bill, have few facts available to assess the quality of the service provided.  After being contacted by a constituent regarding the lack of speech therapy for his child, I have tried to bring a little transparency below on what is happening on this locally.

The Government‘s target is 18 weeks between a referral from a GP to the first treatment.  The longest a child in Cambridgeshire has currently been waiting is 90 weeks for their first speech therapy session.  The average time spent on the waiting list across Cambridgeshire is 30 weeks, three months over the Government‘s target.  60% of children in Cambridgeshire have been on the waiting list longer than the national target. 

A full time speech therapist works 36 or 37 hours a week, of which 80% of their time is clinical including travel time to schools, with 20% involving administration.  There are currently around 42 fully qualified speech therapists in Cambridgeshire, with up to 3,500 children waiting or accessing the speech therapy service.  It is a heavy case load per therapist, with only so many hours for one to one sessions.  The risk is that as resource is moved to bring the waiting list down there will be even less scope for one to one therapy or time with a fully qualified therapist. 

Within North East Cambs, there is one qualified speech therapist covering March and Chatteris, supported by a specialist one day a week and a further therapist 2 days a week.  They have to cover 83 children needing support, with a further 39 children on the waiting list.  34 children in March and Chatteris have been waiting longer than the Government target of 18 weeks from GP referral to their first therapy session.

In Wisbech, there is a full time specialist and a full time assistant, with a further part time therapist.  They have to cover 112 children needing treatment, with a further 30 on the waiting list, of which 9 children in Wisbech have been waiting longer than the Government target.

Despite these pressures on front line services, there is some good news.  Whilst 700 children in Cambridgeshire are currently on the waiting list, last year it was 1,300!  How many people locally were aware last year that 1,300 children were waiting for speech therapy? What does that say about transparency around the delivery of public services?  Such delays matter - not least when a child starts school and is struggling to speak with their teachers and classmates.

Despite as a country now spending over £100 billion a year on the NHS, it is interesting how today many children no longer have access to the benefit of the one to one sessions that used to be the norm.  Instead speech therapy is often delivered via Teaching Assistants who complete a 10 week course with an hour‘s training plus homework, a visit from a speech therapist once a term or every half term, or through work with a therapist in group sessions. I have not yet seen any data on whether a much lower percentage now gain access to one to one treatment with a fully qualified therapist, but the large demand for speech therapy suggests this may be the case. That is not to say that in some cases a group session or the support of a teacher assistant is not sufficient, but one to one support will often be preferred by parents.

It is good news that the waiting list across Cambridgeshire, and locally, has come down over the last year.  Extra funding has helped, although it has not adequately closed the gap with demand.  The average wait before the first treatment of 30 weeks is still far above the Government target and up to 90 weeks in the worst case.  Problems clearly remain in delivery of speech therapy across Cambridgeshire.

As for the case raised with me by the concerned constituent, the good news is that this has now been investigated.  Confirmation has been received today that he does qualify for one to one speech therapy sessions.  There is no explanation as to why despite the clinical need this treatment was not provided at all last year, other than that the service moved on 1^st Sept 2009 from Peterborough to Cambridge.  Moving forward he will now receive the skilled support of a speech therapist attending his school, alongside the attention of a much valued teaching assistant.  It will make a real difference.

More generally, this highlights the challenge we face across the public sector as all political parties now acknowledge the need for significant spending cuts.  The Conservative Party has made it clear that we will increase NHS spending. However there will also be more demand, not least from an older population and expensive new treatments.  The current Government has spent billions which has not been matched by delivery, as shown locally with issues like speech therapy.  Greater transparency is needed to ensure money gets to the front line and is not wasted.  More speech therapists in Fenland and East Cambs are certainly needed, and an NHS budget of over £100 billion should be delivering them. 

Posted in Speech Therapy, NHS, March, Chatteris, Wisbech | No Comments »

21/08/2009 by Steve Barclay.

Should it really be so difficult to get a sign?  I have posted previously on the frustration of tourist attractions like Elgoods Brewery in Wisbech trying to obtain a sign to direct visitors.  Another example came to light today on a visit to Dogsthorpe Star Pit near Peterborough which is a site of special scientific interest in disused clay pits beside the A47.  I met up with Brian Eversham, the Conservation Director and Chief Executive Designative of the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants, who took me on a tour of the site and provided a fascinating insight into the unique wildlife there.  It is a wonderful place, yet we saw just one family in the whole time we were at the site.  As you will see from the photos, a road sign is allowed outside this site but there is no sign to tell local families that this place is open to them to visit.  We need to address this sort of frustrating bureaucracy as it would be great if more people enjoyed it.

A visit also today to Young People Littleport which is a great centre catering for all ages, from youngsters playing on the trampoline dug into the garden to a 98 year old I chatted to who attends to play bingo.  A warm and welcoming place, Phil Malkin who runs the centre explained their exciting plans for the future, including showing me the building work upstairs where they aim to put a music studio.  This will be great in helping cater to the 13 to 17 year old age group as I am trying to promote better facilities for them.

Littleport was also hit by a significant fire today at the tyre recycling plant off the A10 Wisbech road.  It could be seen for miles, and was even more dramatic at close quarters.

A road sign is allowed but not a sign to tell
visitors that, on the right, is a site of special scientific
interest open to the public to enjoy free of charge.

Learning from wildlife expert Brian Eversham
of The Wildlife Trust.

A view of the special scientific site at Dogsthorpe
Star Pit (disused clay pits) beside the A47
- for those able to find it.

10 fire crews were called to the blaze which
involved 200 tonnes of tyres.

Posted in Littleport, Wisbech | No Comments »