2016 March

The PCS union held a rally in the Town Centre to draw attention to the closure of the HMRC Office in Walsall.  On Saturday 5 March 2016 despite the cold members of the PCS union were joined by the GMB union as members of the public waited to sign the petition.

On Saturday 5 March 2016 I joined constituents and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union in Walsall Town Centre to ask people to sign a petition calling on HMRC to reverse its decision to close Walsall’s HMRC Office. More than 500 people signed the petition showing there was great support from local people. I will be presenting the petition to Parliament.

On Friday 4 March 2016 I met with Mr Chris Stroud, Managing Director of Capita Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Assessments who confirmed to me that assessments would no longer take place on the first floor of the Centre at 51 Lower Hall Lane, Walsall.

Andrea Rodgers, of Bramble Hedge Florist, kindly asked me to judge the Mother’s Day Competition that she was holding. The competition was open to three- and four-year-old children at a nursery to draw a picture of their mother for Mother’s Day, and I was to judge the winner of the competition. The “mother” that won would get a bouquet supplied by Bramble Hedge Florist.

On Wednesday 2 March 2016 I hosted the All Party Parliamentary Group meeting on Epilepsy of which I am chair. The meeting was on ‘Improving patient outcomes: Establishing a national epilepsy register’ and provided a forum of engagement between parliamentarians, medical professionals and the public.