Wayne Instrell with Richard Fuller MP and Maggie Alphonsi at Bedford Academy

Wayne Instrell, Bedford Academy student and Sky Sports ‘Living for Sport Student of the Year 2012′, received a special visit from his MP, Richard Fuller, on 19th April.

The Sky Sports ‘Living for Sport Awards’ celebrate the successful way UK secondary schools are using Sky Sports ‘Living for Sport’, a free initiative delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, to inspire young people through sport. The Awards offer UK schools the opportunity to shine a light on their pupils’ sporting journeys and share their stories of success.

Wayne was chosen as the winner of the overall Student of the Year Award because of the transformation in his behaviour since participating in a Sky Sports ‘Living for Sport’ project. Before the project, Wayne was having difficulty in school and was no longer participating in mainstream lessons because of bullying. Since participating in the project, Wayne has returned full time to mainstream lessons and is no longer afraid to contribute in class. He has also increased the amount of extracurricular activities he takes part in and volunteers his time to the school’s sports leaders.

Richard Fuller, MP for Bedford, arranged the visit to Bedford Academy so that he could congratulate Wayne on his award in person and learn more about the ‘Living for Sport’ project.

Michael Cox, Community Development Leader at Bedford Academy, commented: “As well as overcoming bullying and confidence issues, Wayne maintained impeccable manners and respect throughout the project. His dedication to PE, and in particular the swimming project, was second to none despite facing some hard challenges. He is a fantastic role model for the rest of his form as he always gives his best and never gives up. I can think of no one who deserves this award more than Wayne.”

During the visit, students at Bedford Academy also participated in a Sky Sports  ‘Living for Sport’ teambuilding workshop with women’s rugby star and Athlete Mentor, Maggie Alphonsi, to show how the initiative teaches students new life skills.

Richard had raised the issue of encouraging new businesses and securing employment. He spoke of the example Bedford is setting by being the first area in the country to set up a Local Enterprise Fund, in which people who care about Bedford and Kempston have raised £400,000 to invest in businesses locally.

The Prime Minister showed support for the fund that Richard has spearheaded and said that we need to see more enterprise and more businesses starting.

Richard Fuller MP sends ‘message in a barrel’ to the Chancellor alongside beer and pub industry representatives – Feb 2013

Bedford and Kempston MP, Richard Fuller, has joined calls for a freeze in beer duty in the March Budget by sending a special ‘message in a barrel’ to the Chancellor at an event in Parliament.

The hand-crafted oak barrel, an iconic symbol of Britain’s world-renowned brewing and pub industry, is a reminder of how important brewing and pubs are to the Bedford and Kempston constituency, says Richard.

The barrel, with its calls for a freeze in beer duty, was later delivered to the Treasury by MPs and representatives of the British Beer & Pub Association, CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers).

Richard commented:

“I strongly support calls for a duty freeze, and I hope the Chancellor will listen. The brewing and pub industries are incredibly important to our town. The Charles Wells brewery was founded in 1876 in Bedford and is still going strong nearly 140 years later. Nearly 2,000 local people are employed by the industry and I do not want any further increases in duty to put any of these jobs in jeopardy.”

Brigid Simmonds Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, which organised the event, added:

“I want to thank Richard for championing beer and pubs in Bedford. Beer tax hikes are not raising more revenues for the Government, and with a duty freeze we can create many more local jobs.”

Richard Fuller MP with refugee at ‘Dignity in Pregnancy’ event – Feb 2013

MP for Bedford and Kempston, Richard Fuller, spoke out for pregnant women in the asylum system at an event in Parliament on Monday 25 February.

Richard was hosting the launch of new research from The Refugee Council and Maternity Action that showed UK Border Agency policies are putting the health of hundreds of pregnant women and their babies at risk, by moving them to accommodation around the country, thereby removing them from essential healthcare and leading to isolation.

The charities are calling for women in the asylum system to be allowed to prepare for motherhood and access the healthcare they need.

Richard Fuller MP said:
“Every woman should be allowed dignity in pregnancy, no matter what their immigration status. The Government has recognised this with recent changes but I want to see them go further to ensure a health pregnancy and birth.”

The report explains that asylum seeking women in the UK have high risk pregnancies, often due to serious mental and physical health conditions having fled torture, or sexual violence in their own countries. The study found, however, that due to UKBA’s policies, such women are being separated from the specialist treatment they need throughout their pregnancies, contrary to guidance from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The report found examples of:
• Pregnant women being moved away from essential healthcare against medical advice and too close to their due date
• Women being moved to new accommodation multiple times during pregnancy
• Women being separated from the father of their baby, and giving birth alone in new area, with no access to interpreters
• Wasted NHS resources: midwives were not always informed when their patients were moved and spent time searching for them, and scans and tests had to be repeated in their new area.

Maternity Action and the Refugee Council are calling on the government to urgently review its policies to ensure that pregnant women in the asylum system, and their babies, are no longer put at risk.

Cathy Warwick, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives says:
“It is shocking that in a country which, arguably, has one of the best maternity services in the world more is not being done to prevent such vulnerable women being denied high quality care. Our society is failing these women and their babies. This is not acceptable particularly when the solutions are so obvious.”

Shān Nicholas, Interim Chief Executive at the Refugee Council said:
“We work with pregnant women every day who have been ripped away from their families and healthcare, causing undue distress and health problems at what should be an exciting and positive time of their lives. The UKBA must stop sending pregnant women to live in new cities unless all risks have been considered and adequate healthcare arrangements have been made.”

Rosalind Bragg, Director at Maternity Action said:
“The very poor health of pregnant women in the asylum system is well documented. It is high time the UKBA recognised asylum seeking women as being a particularly vulnerable group with complex needs, and urgently ensure their policies reflect this. All women deserve to be treated with dignity during pregnancy.”

From April 2013, public health budgets will be ring-fenced for the first time, with local authorities taking the lead for improving the health of their local communities. This will help drive local efforts to improve health and wellbeing by tackling the wider determinants of poor health.

The funds, provided by the Government specifically to improve public health, total £5.45 billion for the two year period. Bedford Borough will receive a 10% increase in 2013/14 and a further 10% increase in 2014/15.

Local MP, Richard Fuller, was delighted at the news, commenting “The Government clearly recognises the need to target health inequalities and to help people live longer, healthier lives.

“For the first time, this funding is being specifically targeted at those areas that need it most – based on advice from an independent expert group: the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA).

“It is a major investment in health and the prevention of illness in Bedford and Kempston.”

Importantly, he will put the outcome of these negotiations to a referendum where people can decide to accept a new settlement or to leave the EU.

As I have said before, I want the British people to be given a choice over our future with the EU. To this end, I am pleased that the Prime Minister has committed to holding an ‘in/out’ referendum. As he must have time to negotiate a better position for Britain, I see the merit in deferring this until no later than the end of 2017.

I realise that some people are calling for an immediate in-out referendum, but a vote today between the status quo and leaving would be – as I said previously – a false choice. The EU is in a state of flux while the Eurozone countries work out their new relationship. For a vote to be held there must be clarity of the choice on offer.

Richard declares Cranfield Audio Ltd officially open

Cranfield Audio’s Managing Director, Roger Samels, welcomed local MP, Richard Fuller, and the other guests to the company’s showroom facilities on Adams Road, Kempston.

Roger said “My father started his local electrical wiring business in 1959 and I am delighted that the new CAL showroom can bring the best in audio to our existing and new customers.”

Richard met the team, viewed the latest developments in HiFi and home cinema in the two new demonstration areas at Cranfield Audio and chatted to guests from CAL’s suppliers who represent some of the very best names in the HiFi and Audio-visual industry, such as Tannoy, Quad, Roksan, Rega and Musical Fidelity.

Gregory Colton, Technical Sales Manager added “We are tremendously supportive of quality products, and it is surprising how many are still manufactured here in the UK.”

Arctic Convoy veterans, including some residents of Bedford, have long been fighting for their own campaign medal. Last December, Richard wrote to the Prime Minister on behalf of local constituents to press for recognition of those who served on the Arctic Convoys.

Richard said: “We owe an immense debt of gratitude to the brave sailors who served on the arctic convoys in almost unimaginable conditions. Ensuring that supplies reached our allies in Russia was an incredibly important part of the war effort and I am pleased that these veterans will now get the official recognition that they deserve.”

The Prime Minister also confirmed that the aircrews of Bomber Command will be awarded their own medal clasp – similar to the ‘Battle of Britain Clasp’ that many members of Fighter Command were awarded after the War.

Richard added: “Bomber Command crews suffered an extremely high casualty rate: 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew. The bravery of these men, whose average age was just 22, is indicated by Bomber Command’s receipt of 19 Victoria Crosses between 1942 and 1945, and they continue to provide one of the most inspirational chapters in the history of World War Two.

“I believe the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces – both past and present – in service of this country are nothing short of inspirational, and they deserve the respect and gratitude of its people and its Government, and I welcome the two awards announced today.”

“Enterprise and regulatory reform, part of the title of the Bill, are words to bring succour to those who work in the engine room of the British economy — words that can take a thousand ideas for a new business, which have been discussed over a pint or sketched out on paper, and transform them into job-making, wealth-creating vehicles of growth.

“The anticipation for the Bill is almost tangible, but I fear that it will fall short of fulfilling the hopeful expectations. Where is the rolling back of the myriad fees and charges that are blithely imposed on businesses; where is the relief for shopkeepers from the sky-high rateable values set at the peak of Labour’s boom-cum-bust; and where is the implementation of our policy to roll back job-destroying EU regulation?

“The Bill’s proceedings should have started with a rallying call to our businesses that this Government are unambiguously on their side; a statement cherishing the principles of the free market as the most liberating force for social good; a determination to embrace, defend and expand the global free market that has lifted hundreds of millions of people from poverty, to which too many were consigned by the misguided socialist policies of the past; a rebuttal of the insidious assumption, which too often underlies Government intervention, that, left to their own devices, people who run their own business cannot be trusted. That assumption should be replaced by a presumption of trust that in starting and growing businesses, people are doing the essential work of a grateful nation, burdened by its debts and seeking the wealth to maintain its cherished public services.

“Capitalism delivers by its results what all rival systems can only promise on paper. That is a truth that the Bill should have heralded as clearly and unequivocally as President Obama did just last night:

     ’I believe the free enterprise system is the greatest engine of prosperity      the world has ever known.’

“We need to spread access to capital for people to start their own businesses, so that it is as available in Bradford, Burnley, Bath and Bedford as it is in London, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. We need to create a front-foot nation, a nation of entrepreneurs. It must be as much a part of our culture for people to want to own their own business as to want to own their own home. We need a people with the willingness to start, the ambition to grow and the courage to try again. We need a local community spirit that expects, encourages and supports those endeavours.”
 
Richard Fuller MP, 17th October 2012, House of Commons