2015

Thank you for visiting my website. I would like to wish you a Happy Christmas and New Year.

I am pleased that Junction 9 of the M6 has finally reopened. The management of the closure by Highways England has been inefficient and my constituents have suffered disruption and inconvenience throughout 2015. The slip-road was to be reopened in May, but the date was put back to August, then to November and finally to Christmas. Even now it will be closed for a week from 4 January 2015 in the late evening.

On Friday 18 December 2015 I met with representatives of the Canals and Rivers Trust, the Inland Waterways Association, the Birmingham Navigation Society and Walsall MBC to discuss how to increase usage of Walsall’s canal infrastructure.

The Communities and Local Government Secretary made a Statement on Thursday 17 December 2015 on the Local Government Finance Settlement. I was called by Mr Speaker and I  asked: “In Walsall South, libraries are closing, there is a disproportionate cut to the public health budget, and it is difficult to recruit and retain social workers. Will the Secretary of State confirm that under the settlement that he has just announced, all those services will be protected and there will be no need for further cuts in those areas?”

The UN ‘COP21’ Summit in Paris marked a big step in the global effort to fight Climate Change.