I visited the Daily Mile Drop-In which was held in Parliament on Tuesday 5 September 2023 and met the founder of the Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie MBE, who is also the founder of the Foundation. I also spoke with  Gordon Banks, the Global Director of The Daily Mile Foundation pictured above.  

The Daily Mile was set up in 2012 starting with a single school in Scotland, and now 46% of schools across England have signed up with the ambition to grow more. The Daily Mile works with students, parents, and teachers to bring the benefits of being physically active.

There are 4151 children from primary schools across Walsall South who take part in the Daily Mile, a programme that helps children learn, feel better, and be more active with schools across the country taking part.  

I was delighted to hear from the Daily Mile team that these schools in Walsall South are taking part:

Pheasey Park Farm
Meadow View JMI
King Charles Primary School
Bentley West Primary School
Park Hall Junior Academy
Delves Junior School
Palfrey Junior School
Palfrey Infant School
Woods Bank Academy
Blue Coat Infant School

The team at The Daily Mile coordinates activities and supports schools around the UK to take part and will give support to schools who want to take part.

To find out more about how to start the Daily Mile which is in addition to PE lessons visit TheDailyMile.co.uk or you can email Sam Payne, the Program Coordinator, at '[email protected]'. 

I will be writing to all the Schools to encourage them to take part in the Daily Mile.  

I am pictured ( below) with Fiona Paterson, UK Partnership Manager at the Daily Mile Foundation.

The House of Commons debated and voted on the Lords amendments to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill on Monday, 4 September 2023, and I voted against the Government's motions to disagree with or amend the Lords amendments. The Bill was introduced to make Companies House hold more reliable data concerning companies and entities registered in the UK such as limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and limited partnerships (LPs). The Bill also aims to broaden the powers of Companies House to check, remove, or decline information submitted to, or already on, the register. However, the Government's amendments do not go far enough, with amendment (a) to Lord Garnier's amendment 151 exempting all businesses that do not qualify as "large organisations" from the 'failure to prevent fraud' offence. This would essentially exempt 99.5% of businesses in the UK from being liable for fraud. 

The votes were as follows:

Ayes: 295 -Noes: 205 Amendment (a) made to Lords amendment 23. 

Ayes: 297 -Noes:209 Amendment (a) made to Lords amendment 151.

Ayes: 294 - Noes: 206 Lords amendment 117 disagreed to.

Ayes:291 - Noes: 209 Lords amendment 159 disagreed to.

Ayes: 292 -Noes: 206 Lords amendment 161 disagreed to.

The Bill has been passed back to the Lords for Consideration of Commons amendments.

I would like to congratulate all students in Walsall receiving their A-level and BTEC results!  No matter what grades you receive, they do not define you. There is no such thing as a "low-value" degree, as the Government is suggesting. This was a great effort by all who sat the exams, the teachers who taught them, and family that supported them!

Our students have worked exceptionally hard throughout the past few years - they should be very proud of all they have achieved this year, and I wish them the very best of luck for the future!

 

I visited Birmingham Road with my constituent Tony Gray on Sunday 6 August 2023 to discuss the new proposals for Phase 2 .   

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) announced "planned bus lane has been reduced in length to retain the at risk trees on The Green next to the junction with Springvale Avenue". 

Local residents were informed of a consultation on the new bus lane, proposing further road widening plans that will endanger trees and greenspace on Birmingham Road. I was made aware of this by a joint press release from WMCA and TfWM. As a result of a thorough search of the website of TfWM, WMCA, and WMBC, there was no information about the work to be done on Birmingham Road. I have written to Anne Shaw, Executive Director of TfWM, Andy Street CBE, Mayor of the WMCA, and Walsall MBC in similar terms: 

Here is my letter to TfWM :



TfWM is still proposing the use of the 60ft Sprint articulated bus which was withdrawn over safety concerns in London, York, Swansea, Bradford and Leeds and also in Dublin.

You can contact me with your views at [email protected] with the subject ‘Sprint Bus Phase 2’. 

St Michael's Street Car Park is the scene of regular flooding near the pavement which has occurred over the last 2 years. I wrote to Walsall Council to look into the reasons and to clear the drains. In their helpful response, the Council said that the main drain near the pavement is frequently blocked, and three of the last four inspections identified oil and fats as the primary cause of the blockages. The Council said they will work with Severn Water to check the main sewer, and once this work is complete arrangements will be made for a maintenance crew to re-attempt jetting/cleansing works. It was last cleaned on the 24 May 2023, but repair works may still be required if the gully or connection pipe into the main sewer has been damaged through the build-up of oil and fats. The Council indicated that they will work to rectify the problem as soon as possible and in the interim, will try to identify the individual or business responsible for discharging oil and fats into the gully system to ensure this inappropriate discharge does not continue. This is a public health issue.

Below left is my letter to Severn Trent to ask about their assessment of the main pipe, whether repair works are necessary, and what is the timetable for the repairs and right,  my letter to residents and businesses for information.