New data shows that 600 Apprenticeships have been delivered in Bedford & Kempston in the last year, up 70% on the previous year.

Richard, who recently visited Ultra Precision Engineering in Kempston, where they have just taken on two new apprentices from the Bedford Training Group, said that the record rise in apprenticeship numbers shows commitment to helping employers train the skilled workers they need to build a stronger, growing economy. He added that companies like Ultra Precision Engineering are providing a vital role in skills development.

He was also delighted with the Government’s announcement that it will offer cash bonuses to employers for taking on an apprentice aged between 16 and 24 and urges companies in Bedford and Kempston to take up this opportunity.

For more information on apprenticeships, please visit this link.

Richard Fuller has welcomed Tuesday’s announcement by the Chancellor that funding for East West Rail will be made available.

In a powerful Autumn Statement, which focused on supporting growth while maintaining the budget discipline that keeps our interest rates low, the Chancellor announced that a new East West Rail link will go ahead.

Restoring the rail link between Bedford and Oxford (via Milton Keynes) is the key first step in the East West rail project, which ultimately aims to add Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich to the line, and is supported by MPs from all along the proposed route. The project forms part of the Government’s investment in infrastructure to boost growth, and will create 12,000 new jobs in the region.

“Future increases in fuel duty should be reconsidered to help family budgets” was the message in Parliament from Richard Fuller this week. A parliamentary debate had been called asking for fairer prices at the pumps, after over 100,000 people had signed an e-petition asking for the topic to be discussed.

Richard said that it was unacceptable to force through further rapid increases in duty when the average family budget is already under pressure. Richard said: “The Coalition government needs to be fairer to motorists than the last government and with 10 percent of family budgets going on petrol, stopping further increases would be a major help.”

Earlier this week, Richard lent his support for investment in the East West Rail link, arguing that it would give a lift to job creation in Bedford and Kempston. The debate was called to urge the government to set aside £250m for the Bedford to Oxford link in the 2014-19 rail plans.

Richard commented: “A regular fast rail service to Oxford, linked with a direct route to Central Milton Keynes, will reinforce Bedford’s position as a natural hub for the rail network, further improving our attractiveness for new businesses and bringing more, local jobs.”

The announcement of the Olympic Torch’s route to London 2012 has now been made, and I am delighted to hear that the torch relay will be coming through Bedford.

I am pleased that LOCOG has recognised the diversity and sporting importance of our town, and that the residents of Bedford and Kempston will be able to share in this great festival.

So, make a note in your diaries that Sunday 8th July will be the day the Olympics comes to Bedford!

LOCOG are now looking for ‘local leaders’ to get friends, family and neighbours together to celebrate the torch relay and to organise local events. Please visit London 2012 Local Leaders to sign up

Richard opened the Diwali Festival of Light recently, welcoming a large crowd of people to Harpur Square in Bedford town centre. The event, which was organised by the Bedford Council of Faiths, celebrated the multicultural success of the town.

The day started with a procession through town and was followed by music and dance performances from the town’s cultural groups, as well as food tasting and a competition among local restaurants to find the best dish in town.

A new, local initiative aimed at invigorating the economic recovery by investing in a new generation of start up and early stage businesses is planned for Bedford. One hundred local business leaders from Bedford attended the launch by MP, Richard Fuller at the University of Bedfordshire.

The proposed Fund, which will be advised by local business leaders and managed by South East Fund Managers Limited, an FSA regulated entity, will seek to raise an initial fund of £500,000 in units of £10,000.

This will be boosted by co-investment from Finance South East and national government schemes, with a potential total of £2 million.  Investments will be made on a purely commercial basis, with the goal of maximizing financial returns to investors.

The initiative has the active support of Cranfield University, Colworth Science Park on the Unilever campus, the University of Bedfordshire and Bedfordshire on Sunday.

An advisory panel of local business people will be formed, with Nick Kier, partner, Lane & Holmes and Dougie Hunter, Chief Executive, Aircraft Research Association Limited, leading the effort.

Richard said:

“Bedford and the surrounding area have a wealth of business opportunities. This initiative aims to bring together all the local experience and talent of current business owners in order to inspire and support the next generation of businesses and provide the investment they need to prosper.  Feedback from the folks at the meeting was encouraging and we are off to a good start with indications of interest already for half our target for the Fund.”

Dougie Hunter, Chief Executive of ARA Limited added:

“I am very happy to play a part in moving this initiative forward and I look forward to meeting the challenge of putting together an advisory panel of business leaders to help with the Fund.”

Sally Goodsell, Chief Executive of the FSE Group said:

“We are very pleased to be involved with this unique initiative led by Richard Fuller and the Business Community of Bedford. We look forward to backing innovative ambitious businesses in the Bedford area and playing a part in their growth and success”.

A business mentoring scheme is also proposed asking local business people to share their expertise with the entrepreneurs and business leaders of tomorrow and strengthening businesses in difficult economic times.

Richard said:

“A leading reason why early stage businesses fail is because they make a small mistake which they could have avoided with some advice from someone with experience.  Business executives have limited time, but do have a personal and commercial interest in promoting success of the next generation of business leaders. The mentoring scheme will make this expertise available for those who can benefit from it.”

For more information on the fund please contact Sally Goodsell at Finance South East (sally.goodsell@financesoutheast.com).

For more information on the mentoring scheme please contact Richard (richard.fuller.mp@parliament.uk).

Richard with Brendan Harris holding Olympic Torches along the Embankment, Bedford

Last month, Richard invited one of the very few organisers of an Olympic Torch Relay, Brendan Harris, the Chief Operating Officer of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games, to Bedford where they visited two local schools, Balliol Lower and Queens Park Academy. Brendan recounted the story of how he spent three months on the road with the Olympic flame, travelling 16,000 miles through 43 of the 50 States in the USA. As students listened, two real Olympic torches were passed around– one from the Atlanta Games, and the other from the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

The students learned that the torch relay is the largest spectator sporting event; that over 15,000 people carried the torch in 1996 and that the torch could be carried as you ran, as you walked, on a wheelchair, on a train, on a plane, in a canoe – just about any method of transport.

Brendan said that Bedford was a perfect destination for the  2012 London Olympic Games torch and urged the Council, and all of us, to contact the regional organising committee to say the torch must pass through our town on the 8th July when it wakes up in Cambridge and goes to bed in Luton.

Please join Richard in his efforts to get the torch to pass through Bedford by emailing: eastofengland@london2012.com

Richard on the litter pick with UCC Councillor, Kitty Sams

I recently joined a community litter pick to mark the launch of Cauldwell and Kingsbrook in Bloom 2010.  Local residents constantly tell me that littering is a real annoyance – not only for the ugly blemish on our landscape but also for the cost to local wildlife.

Our council workers do a good job, but there is always a need for local volunteers to spare their own time to help out.  One person who epitomises the volunteering spirit is Kitty Sams.  She is devoted to the community of Cauldwell and is also a hard working member of the Urban Community Council.  I was happy with the amount of rubbish I had collected, but Kitty managed to collect more!

The King’s Arms Project held their biennial “Sleep Out” on Friday to raise awareness of the problems for people who have to sleep rough on our streets here in Bedford and Kempston.  On this topic, as on others, The King’s Arms church is dedicated, knowledgeable, caring and inspiring.  Their leadership is providing help and insight to some of the most disadvantaged in our community. 

In her talk, Ali Inwood, CEO of the King’s Arms Project, mentioned how important it was to recognise that every instance of a person sleeping rough is an individual story, with an individual history of events and circumstances that has led that person to the need to sleep rough.

 The volunteers of King’s Arms make a real, positive impact on people’s lives.  I hope the next Government can encourage them to do even more to help.