Drink Local is a campaign being run by the Henley Standard and it is a campaign which hits the spot. I support our local pubs. I know what a great community role my own local plays in my village. Unless we use our local pubs we will lose them. That would be a catastrophe because pubs ought to be at ...
In February 2010 I was responsible on behalf of my party for a series of radical proposals for the reform of the planning system under the title ‘Open Source Planning'. Open Source Planning provides the principles and the inspiration for the Coalition Government's planning refor...
This is a particularly beautiful and affluent constituency; but neither of these factors should hide the difficulty many have in coping with what is also a highly rural area in which only some 20% live in towns. What we all surely want is a balance between the need to protect our environment, to ma...
One of the responsibilities I had in the 2005-2010 Parliament was in championing Child Poverty issues for my own party. In 2009 I sat on the Child Poverty Bill Committee - the type of committee which examines a bill line-by-line. As part of the committee we took evidence from charities involved...
It is always difficult when a school at the heart of a community fails to provide the educational attainment which the children and the community deserve. In the case of Berinsfield Community School, the school has failed to meet the basic levels set for schools (called floor standards) for more tha...
We have a healthy mixed economy of early years providers in this constituency and I am keen to see our pre-schools and nurseries flourish. I am pleased that in the Comprehensive Spending Review the Government reaffirmed its commitment to the provision of free nursery care, with additional benefits f...
The campaign to prevent a large area in the west of the constituency (around Benson, Dorchester on Thames and Warborough) from being dug up for gravel extraction has won an important victory with the county council's decision to base future production on existing areas. It is true that mi...
As someone who has lived in the constituency for some 20 years, our local health services are important to me. I and my family and friends rely on them as we all do. I personally would want to pay tribute to the excellent, complex and successful medical treatment which a member of my family had to u...
As a result of its relative proximity to Heathrow, the Henley constituency is one of those affected by noise from aircraft coming to and departing from Heathrow. My postbag on this subject has been large, because Henley and the surrounding area is one of those places above which aircraft bank to app...
A study by the Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA) in the summer of 2010 showed that the Henley constituency (which now runs from the edge of Bicester to the edge of Reading) was likely to be at best only partially served by Next Generation Broadband. The broadband revolution h...
HS2 On 10 January 2012, the Secretary of State for Transport made a statement in Parliament to announce that the Government had given the green light to HS2. Statement on HS2 - Secretary of State Like the Secretary of State, I recognise that that this is a project which raises considerable ...
As part of the consultation organised by Oxfordshire County Council over the summer of 2011, I was grateful for the meetings with residents of villages in the constituency affected by the library proposals and for copies of their own submissions. My submission is attached. I made my view on l...
Headline statistics as usual never tell the whole story. On the face of it we have been fortunate throughout the recession and have not had to share many of the social issues faced elsewhere. The number of asylum seekers, for example, in supported accommodation or on subsistence in the constituency ...
I welcome the news of a 10-year deal today (24 January 2012) between Royal Mail and the Post Office, securing the future of services without resorting to the failed closures programme which dominated Labour's time in government. The deal follows the Government's other measures to protect ...
Rural crime has in the past often been a forgotten side of policing. But over recent years we've seen a rise in crime in the countryside; much of it of a particularly mindless and destructive nature. I raise this and other similar issues at the briefing meetings I hold with our local Area Poli...
I was delighted when the Chiltern Centre emailed to tell me a of the good news that it had been awarded £286,000 from the Social Enterprise Investment Fund to extend its buildings and provide two additional bedrooms. Despite the number of excellent charities in and around Henley, the Chiltern ...
LATEST NEWS - OCTOBER 2011 The Europa Free School project will now proceed to the next stage of the process to become a Free School. The letter from the Minister confirming this is attached. Europa School - Free School bid EARLIER CAMPAIGN COMMENTS It is a great shame that the ...
For over five years since I first became a county councillor in Oxfordshire I've been at the forefront of trying to ensure that there is real local participation in decisions about spatial planning i.e. how we plan for the long-term for our area. As an MP I am unable to get involved in individual pl...
My tour of 80 of the smaller villages in the constituency which finished on Friday 30 September was a great success. The tour, which was branded under the title of 'On Your Doorstep' took me from one end of the constituency on the edge of Bicester to the other where it borders Reading. The tour allo...
I have summarised below examples of real constituency cases with which I have been asked to help. Personal and identifying details have been removed to protect the privacy of those involved.
Student Finance
A mature student found her student loan tuition fees unpaid after administrative errors had been made. We got the matter resolved so that studies could continue. The constituent said: 'Thank you so much for this, you've managed to sort this in under a week when I've been trying for over 6 months.'
Visa Problems
A constituent requested us to intervene with the UK Borders Agency after the Agency had taken over a year to deal with his case. By working with the Agency and the constituent on the detail of the case we were able to resolve it successfully.
Child Support Agency
After years of trying to resolve his case with the Child Support Agency we were able to cut through the clerical errors and complexity of the case so that correct payments could be made. The case could only be resolved by patient determination over a number of months.
Planning enforcement
Although planning is outside our normal remit, we were able successfully to challenge on behalf of constituents a local district council as to whether it was following due process in relation to a persistent breach of planning which was causing a significant nuisance.
Sewage and water
On behalf of local parish councils we have been able to work with Thames Water to focus on problems of sewage and drainage across a wide area to ensure progress in resolving issues underlying raw sewage washing down a village street.
HMRC
HMRC was about to take action against a local small business, despite having got its tax affairs in order, which would have made it difficult for it to operate. Successful intervention persuaded HMRC that the action they wanted to take was inappropriate.
Air Traffic
In response to complaints about increased aircraft noise, we were able to clarify with the air authorities how aircraft movements are mananged and the reasons why Henley and surrounding villages experience variations in aircraft noise.
Pensioner overpayment
We helped a pensioner negotiate an apparent over-payment of Pension Credit and the details for repayment.
Utilities
We assisted a constituent gain proper compensation from a utilities company following an accident.
Housing
We took up the case of housing for a former member of the armed forces.
