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Duncan Hames stands up for Wiltshire Town Centres

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:02:18 +0000

Duncan Hames MP spoke up for Wiltshire residents in a House of Commons debate on the future of town centres and high streets on the 17th January.

Duncan referred to the recent cases of Chippenham’s Sainsbury�s planning application and car parking charges in the town and pressed home the point he made to ministers before Christmas, that Councils should help town centres realise their potential.

Duncan said, �The future of town centres lies not in rolling them back to the way they were decades ago, or even in maintaining them just the way they are today, but in giving them the freedom to redefine their role according to local strengths and opportunities, and then in ensuring that the public bodies in the local area co-operate with that ambition.�

Duncan also drew the attention of the House to the Pre-Submission Draft Core Strategy for Wiltshire which went before the Council Cabinet on the 17th January, explaining that the advice provided to councillors by Council officers was �simply wrong�. Guidelines stated that the pre-submission draft needs to be �in conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West unless new up-to-date evidence indicates otherwise.�

As far back as 2010, Duncan gained assurances from ministers that inspectors should now consider unadopted Regional Spatial Strategies as immaterial. During the debate, Duncan asked the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, for further reassurances in light of the guidance issued to Cabinet members.

Mr Shapps explained that: �I can therefore tell my hon. Friend that policies and proposals from the once-emerging regional spatial strategies should carry very little weight indeed in the minds of anybody involved in our planning system today.�

Duncan said: �The scale of development in the Chippenham area should meet the changing housing needs of local people, rather than the dated targets from the last government and should not instead aim to attract more people here from elsewhere.�

Click here for Duncan’s speech.

Click here for Duncan’s question to Housing Minister, Grant Shapps.

Duncan Hames opens Learning Resource Centre at Wiltshire College

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:57:48 +0000

Duncan Hames MP joined staff and students from Wiltshire College for the opening of the newly refurbished Learning Resource Centre (LRC) at the Chippenham campus on the 2nd December.

The LRC has been refurbished over the summer to include a new Higher Education centre which will enable a wider range of degree courses to be offered here in Wiltshire.

MP joins pupils for Vouchers for Schools presentation

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:52:48 +0000

Duncan Hames MP joined school ambassadors from Ivy Lane Primary School, St. Paul�s Primary School and New Lane Nursery, on the 11^th November for the Tesco Vouchers for Schools equipment presentation.

The Vouchers for Schools scheme is designed to award local schools with new and useful equipment to help pupils with their studies.

Duncan joined the pupils at the Tesco� Chippenham Metro store for the presentation.

Duncan Hames welcomes Government decision to protect mobility component

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:00:41 +0000

Duncan Hames MP has welcomed the announcement by the Disabilities Minister, Maria Miller MP, that the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will not be removed from people living in residential care homes.

Since the announcement in the Spending Review 2010 that the mobility component of DLA would be withdrawn from people in residential care homes after 28 days, Duncan has continued to press Government ministers, on behalf of his constituents, to think again about the proposals. In February, he presented a petition organised by Chippenham Gateway Club objecting to the proposals and later put it to the Prime Minister that the comparison made between care homes and hospitals when discussing changes to DLA is not valid.

While Duncan welcomed the Government�s decision in October not to withdraw the mobility component of DLA from those in residential care homes, he has consistently asked further questions of ministers in the House of Commons and in private meetings to ensure that this also applies to the new Personal Independence Payment, which is set to replace DLA from 2012.

In Thursday’s written statement, the Minister announced that the Government will now table an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill to remove the provision which allows for the withdrawal of the mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment from those living in residential care homes.

Duncan said, �I am delighted that the Government has listened to the concerns that I have raised on behalf of my constituents and that it has now made the decision to retain the mobility component, not only of DLA, but also of the Personal Independence Payment. It is right that we support people living with disabilities in our communities, such as the members of the Chippenham Gateway Club in my constituency, in leading independent daily lives.�

MP learns more about rural broadband solution

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:22:58 +0000

Duncan Hames MP visited Deltenna Limited on the 4th November to find out more about their impressive WiBe, or Wireless Broadband Enabler, which uses existing 3G networks to offer an alternative option for accessing broadband in rural areas.

Based in Chippenham, Deltenna Limited manufactures wireless infrastructure and access points. Duncan visited the business and was given a presentation on the workings of the WiBe, before touring the site and meeting staff.

For more information about the WiBe, visit: http://deltenna.com

MP presents petition to keep Ticket Office open

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:18:17 +0000

Duncan Hames MP presented a petition to the House of Commons on the 9th November, signed by around 1200 local residents who are keen to see Bradford on Avon Ticket Office remain open.

Concerns have been raised for the future of the Ticket Office after proposals outlined in the recent McNulty report earmarked 675 �category E� ticket offices for closure. Local residents have pointed out that Bradford on Avon Ticket Office provides an essential service to the community as well as to tourists visiting the historic town. Duncan was presented with the petition on Friday 4th November by Bradford on Avon�s Mayor, Councillor Peter Leach.

Duncan said, �Bradford on Avon Ticket Office provides a valuable service to the local economy as well as an important service for rail users. I support the campaign by local residents to keep the Ticket Office open and was pleased to present their petition to the House of Commons. I have also written to the Secretary of State for Transport seeking her assurances that those ticket offices which, like Bradford on Avon, are proven to be an important part of local communities will be allowed to remain open.�

MP lends support to 'Sign up, Speak up, Save lives'

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:04:05 +0000

Duncan Hames MP has joined two very determined young women to call for more people to join the organ donor register.

Duncan met with his constituent Hope Milne and Abby Thackray, campaigners from Channel 4�s online and TV challenge �Battlefront�, at Liberal Democrat Federal Conference in September to discuss how a policy change could encourage more people to sign up to become organ donors. Both young women have experienced firsthand the crucial role that registered organ donors play in saving lives, as their siblings have undergone organ transplants.

At the conference, Duncan suggested the possibility of including an option to sign up to the organ donor register with the new individual electoral registration forms. If this were to go ahead, every voter in the UK would be given a fresh chance to join the organ donor register.

Back in Parliament, Duncan put this suggestion to the Minister for Public Health, Anne Milton MP, who agreed to meet with Hope and Abby, Duncan and the Minister for Constitutional Reform.

To watch footage of Battlefront�s visit to Lib Dem Conference, click here.

To read more about Duncan�s question to the Minister, click here.

Duncan Hames meets with residents at local care home

admin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:46:50 +0000

Duncan Hames MP was delighted to visit residents at Bluebell Care Home in Chippenham on Monday 29th August.

Bluebell Lodge is a residential care home for older people based in the town and is a member of the National Care Association and Wiltshire Care Homes Association. Staff provide 24 hour care for residents.

Duncan was given a tour of Bluebell Lodge before meeting with the residents, family members and staff to discuss care for the elderly.

For more information about Bluebell Care Home, please visit http://www.bluebell-lodge.com/

MP joins in with Scraptastic event

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:54:06 +0000

Duncan Hames MP was delighted to be the guest of honour at Wiltshire Scrapstore’s ‘Scraptastic’ event on the 10th August.

Wiltshire Scrapstore is a children’s and community charity based in Lacock, which promotes learning through creativity by making low cost resources made available to all in the community. The charity also has a store, Barty’s Arts & Crafts, in West Street and a Scrapmobile which visits schools.

Duncan was given a tour of the Bowden Hill site to view the process donated materials go through, before making his own picture from Scrapstore materials.

Wiltshire Scrapstore is currently looking for new part-time volunteers. To find out more, visit www.wiltsplay.org.uk.

MP joins Reading Agency for launch of Summer Reading Challenge

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:11:31 +0000

Duncan Hames MP yesterday joined The Reading Agency in Parliament for the launch of The Summer Reading Challenge.

Guests gathered to show their support for libraries� contribution to literacy, including some of the nation�s best loved authors, along with MPs, councillors, publishing industry figures, librarians and library campaigners.

Created and run by independent charity The Reading Agency in partnership with libraries, this year�s Summer Reading Challenge has the highest rate of involvement ever. 97 per cent of UK library authorities are participating and over 760,000 children are due to join in.

This year�s circus�themed initiative focuses on reading for pleasure as a means of building literacy skills. It combines a personal challenge – to read six books over the summer holidays – with social activities, a creative online element and collectable incentives. Every child completing the Challenge receives a certificate or medal.

Summer Reading Challenge in Wiltshire

This year the national Summer Reading Challenge for 4 to 11 year olds will run in Wiltshire libraries from 16th July to 3rd September, and the theme will be Circus Stars. �The challenge is simple � for children to read six books over the summer, talk to library staff about the books and collect �rewards� to mark their progress. Incentives this year include a yoyo, as well as stickers, a medal and certificate on completion. Circus Stars is not a competition, but a fun personal challenge to encourage children to read more and use libraries more. Last year 8544 Wiltshire children joined the challenge, with 5000 reading all 6 books and 34,879 books being read in total. Families have enjoyed the challenge and last year 91.1 per cent of the participants said that by taking part in the challenge, their reading had improved a little or a lot. For further information, contact your local library.