You can call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99. It’s a free phone line running from 9-6 Monday to Fridays, which provides advice for those who are struggling to pay their energy bills and keep warm.

Research has show that one in ten households are entitled to some form of assistance with their fuel bills.  That help is worth an average of £250 per household.

The Home Heat Helpline’s trained advisors can also help with claiming support such as

- Free or discounted home insulation

- Discounts and rebate schemes

- Joining the Priority Service Register (disabled and elderly)

- Flexible payment options and benefit entitlement checks.

You can also find further details online by visiting www.homeheathelpline.org.uk

So don’t sit and freeze whislt worrying about bills, call the line and find out what help and advice is available for your household!

On more mundane (but no less important matters), last week was something of a ‘policy-oriented’ week. We have numerous backbench policy forums within the Conservative Party that gives the chance for the likes of me to have their say about what direction they think policy should go in – it’s where the comments I receive here on the ground usually find their outlet rather than on the floor of the House.  The product of all this input may sometimes be hard to discern, but persistence is the necessary requisite to changing ‘hearts and minds’ I find.  Last week’s policy work helped me to at least shape my question to the Prime Minister on Wednesday – the first time I had been drawn out of the hat properly to ask a question – where I focused on making an admittedly political point that the Government’s benefit cap is about demonstrating we were on the side of those trying to do the right thing – not least by excluding such groups as war widows, those on DLA and those on Working Tax Credits. Whilst I am sure not everyone will agree with me, I was gratified that the opposite side of the House fell silent for my contribution!

I also had a range of meetings with ‘interesting people’. The Chief Executive of the Community Transport Association, Keith Halstead, dropped by to discuss matters of mutual interest. Regular readers will know this is one of my pet topics, so we were planning the way ahead. I had a couple of Ministerial meetings. Firstly, with the Energy Minister Charles Hendry to discuss where we are with fracking and shale gas, and the fact that the report into the earthquakes should be due out soon. Secondly, brokering a meeting on behalf of Unity College with Education Minister Lord Hill who looks after the Academies Programme to discuss what the future may hold for the school. I also took the opportunity to raise wider issues about the need to innovate with regard to academies in Blackpool. I don’t want young people in Blackpool missing out on opportunities others elsewhere in the country get as of right.

I also attended the launch of the Prison Reform Trust’s new report into youth justice for 18-20 year olds. As a trustee of the organisation, I am probably biased in commending the work they do, but they consistently remind us of the need to regard our prisons as places where good can be achieved if we only behave with a degree of humanity. We do not need to be harsh to be tough.

My pet topic of aviation also got a look-in this week – not least meeting with Manchester Airport to swap notes over the forthcoming Civil Aviation Bill. I am spending part of my weekend preparing for the forthcoming Transport Select Committee hearings on the reform of the ATOL protection system. This may sound dry, but anyone who buys a holiday should take an interest, because ATOL is the protection scheme that ensures you get your money back if your firm goes bust. But more on that next week – because it is very, very complex!

My final Westminster meeting was with the Trailblazers and the Council for Disabled Children, discussing future plans for the All-Party Group on Young Disabled People.

Contrary to what you may have heard, I was actually in the constituency on Friday, just as I am every Friday. Trains are caught late on a Thursday to ensure I have a full day on Friday – but I still can’t get round every invite! This Friday saw 8 ‘events’ of one sort or another (though one was cancelled by the other party at short notice), clocking up 78 miles without leaving the constituency. These are a mix of meetings with local businesses and individuals. When I judge what I can and can’t come to, it is often first-come, first-served, but we try to fit everyone in.

This Friday I spent the morning with a local electrical firm discussing the Government’s controversial decisions around solar panels. I was in listening mode, mainly, but happy to discuss how policy is made, and how MPs like me can best improve it if it does go wrong. I then went on to the Sandyforth Arms in Thornton to a meeting with the Amber Taverns, a local firm who have the freehold. Unlike other pub companies, they deliberately don’t do food, but focus on a value pint and a good sports offer in a well-kept, presentable interior. I have been in a few times before, but it was good to meet the people behind the company, and our discussions ranged far and wide! Then it was on to Hawley Gardens, a new Barratts development, partly to see how the work was coming along, partly to keep an eye on the road signs that proudly proclaimed – wrongly – that we were in Fylde Borough. I’m onto it!

Back at the office in Queen Street, I had a good meeting with Marketing Blackpool, who have a vision which goes beyond just tourism to marketing everything the Fylde Coast has to offer. Having just been ‘spun off’ by the Council, in line with Government recommendations, these are exciting times for what are now known as ‘destination management organisations’.

So ended another lengthy week – except for the fact that I then had a party executive meeting to attend, and a Burns Night fundraiser for a local colleague the following night. It was my first ever taste of haggis, and I made sure I didn’t think of what had gone into it!

The Transport Select Committee this week started an investigation into the Government’s Road Safety Strategy. Cross-examining witnesses, it was clear they were concerned that the lack of numerical targets for reducing the number of road deaths was compromising the effectiveness of the strategy. I was more concerned that inappropriate targets could distort decisions by Governments and Councils. If you have a target for reducing child deaths on the roads, is a Council going to promote the idea of more children walking to school which might on some routes put them at greater risk? Whilst controversial, ideas such as 20 mph zones do appear to be more effective at reducing deaths. I would far rather have a focus on continuous improvement that embeds a culture of casualty reduction – we need to recognise that we are already one of the top five nations in the developed world for having safe roads. I have spent part of the weekend reading comparable road safety strategies from Australia and New Zealand, and am impressed by the work they have been doing to focus on areas of greatest known risk. In this country, we have sophisticated mapping from EuroRAP that can pinpoint the most dangerous roads, and we can focus on making the roads safer as well as encouraging best practice from drivers. The Government’s Strategy is actually a good start in not demonisingall drivers, but trying to ensure that over time we ‘design out’ risk and focus on those drivers who do pose the highest risk. Knowing how many survey responses and letters I get about road safety, I think this could be one of the more fascinating inquiries we do!

Another mind-boggling encounter last week was a meeting with casino operators who took me through the utterly impossible levels of regulation that the casino industry has to operate under. I have never gambled in my life – and only been in a casino once. The allure of throwing money away for fun is lost on me, at least. But I remain perplexed at why an industry such as gambling has to have such incredible levels of specificity over the ratio of gaming tables to gaming machines and relevant floor space. The Act governing all this dates from 1968 (although substantial parts were amended in 2005 but through the unfortunate prism of a supercasino which never appeared). This was long before you and I had the opportunity to gamble online with absolutely no checks on whether we are ‘of age’. If ever an Act required some modest updating to meet modern reality, it is this one. But then when I put my mind to it, I can think several more, without much effort!

The Principals of the Lancashire Colleges made their annual trip to Westminster last week. It is always helpful to hear what they have to say – though I much prefer going to see them here in Blackpool! I was intrigued to hear that students studying for A-Levels in a school sixth form can access the Pupil Premium but not those studying at a college. I trust that was an anomaly the Minister was able to commit to rectifying when they met – shall have to write to find out!

I also voyaged outside of the Westminster Bubble last week to the not-so-wilds of East Finchley where the Bobath Centre (www.bobathcentre.org.uk is the charity, www.bobath.org.uk is the clinical side of things) which is a national centre of excellence for the treatment of people with cerebral palsy. It was fascinating to compare some of the physio techniques now in use to what I had as a child, and also to discuss with the centre the wider changes in the public perception of cerebral palsy. I had such a fascinating time I stayed an hour longer than I should have done – but they didn’t seem to mind. Bobath’s techniques were revolutionary when they were first propagated, allied to an understanding of how the body moves that was gained from the inter-war emphasis on physical education and ‘mass gymnastics’.  Mr & Mrs Bobath were amongst those who had to flee Germany because of Hitler’s persecution of the Jewish people, and we in this country should be profoundly thankful they found a home in North London where their legacy continues to help improve the functionality of the lives of so many.

Back up in the constituency, I continued my ongoing dialogue with the local hotel trade over how we can raise standards ever higher. Improving the area’s tourist ‘offer’ is key, in my view, to maintaining the success of the Fylde Coast as a tourism destination. Just this week, we saw TripAdvisor praising  one Blackpool B&B for being one of the best in the country. I realise TripAdvisor is by no means perfect, but it does show that quality pays.

I finished the week at the Ball held in aid of the Blackpool Carers Centre. As is always the case with the Carers Centre, I always run the risk of being too effusive with praise for them for my own good. But I know just how many carers are out there, and how many who may be aren’t aware of the help out there for them. I also know that the Carers Centre’s particular emphasis on young carers, which I have done my bit to assist, is something which the Fylde Coast would be much the poorer for without the Centre’s existence. But enough effusing on my part!

Of course, behind the scenes, a Prime Ministerial visit is quite an undertaking. No-one is officially told for security reasons until only a day or so before. Rumours circulate, but no-one really knows until the last minute. So as I stood outside the ward with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the hospital, we were all quite upbeat. The security detail were lurking – slightly concerned that it was a cul-de-sac with only one entrance. My observation that it should be OK as Downing Street was also a dead end drew only a withering stare!

I didn’t accompany Mr Cameron on to the wards – it’s bad enough trying to maintain excellent hygiene standards on the wards whilst trailing the press around without unnecessary hangers-on such as myself. Instead, I was able to chat to the staff and get an underlying understanding of just why the Vic’s nursing had been singled out for praise.

The only disappointment was someone beat me to it at PMQs to ask about nursing as I wanted to draw attention to the high quality service the hospital provides. Still, no-one can say I haven’t been active in Parliament this week with ‘most speeches ever in a single week for me’ three. The teaching of history, the pressures on rail fares and how to ensure Parliament remains an institution we can all relate to being the focus of my three contributions. I also got a little shock when, minding my own business sitting in the chamber, I heard the Speaker shout my name out to ask a supplementary on a question I hadn’t been trying to intervene on – it is at moments like that the mind goes truly blank as you grasp for something sensible to ask about building high-speed rail in Scotland. Bizarrely, my question then got covered in some of the news reports next day (another first!). It just goes to show the need to have presence of mind – thank goodness it was a topic I knew a little about…

One other worthwhile observation to make is about the Blackpool Fairness Commission which has just been launched to replace the Strategic Partnership Labour have decided to abolish. Whether or not you agree with that decision to abolish the BSP, I think it’s vital we ensure that this new Fairness Commission isn’t just tokenistic. The BSP brought together the third sector, and had as its key focus diversifying the local economy to enhance our prosperity – the best way to tackle our many local problems in the long-run. The new BFC states that its first task is to lobby national government about inequality – a bit different to what the BSP did.

Whilst that shift in emphasis is not something I particularly agree with (far better to make a difference on the ground in my view), I equally realise that objecting to ‘fairness’ is never going to strike that much of a chord – we all want fairness, but we all have our own definition of it! So I think it really important we have a diverse and varied membership of this Commission to reflect a wide spectrum of opinion, so I would urge everyone to have a look at http://blackpoolfairness.wordpress.com/commissioner/  and see whether it is something they might like to be involved in. Just as I spoke in Parliament on Thursday about the need for the House of Commons to resemble the nation, so I think this Fairness Commission needs to resemble Blackpool!

I also had a busy day in the constituency on Friday. I had a lengthy meeting with the local Youth Offending Trust to build on the youth justice work I have been doing in Westminster and the visits I have made around the region. They perform a complex and difficult job, at an intersection of social work, education, health and so much more. It was a fascinating discussion, with much to reflect on, but underlined the importance of not relying on kneejerk thinking in this field, nor just box ticking to keep officials happy. More than anything else, it is about remembering that people are humans first and foremost, not objects.

I also dropped by the Snowdrop Centre which helps parents who have lost children, often unexpectedly. It has had a few funding problems in recent times which I have tried to help out, but I am glad that that situation has been resolved, and support from Donna’s Dream House in particular has been substantial. I am sure everyone was pleased to read this week that the arsonists were arrested, and wish Len well with getting the House back on its feet again.

I also paid a visit to Blackpool North station to meet with staff to discuss the challenges they face, how the local rail network could improve and the substantial number of community projects they are involved with.

Finally, I also stayed behind after my surgery at the Frank Townend Centre to witness some of the rehearsals of the Phoenix Theatre Group who provide opportunities for inclusive theatre. Entirely volunteer-run, you can find out more at their website www.phoenixtheatre.co.uk. They have a new show coming up in a few weeks which I am certainly looking forward to – the rehearsal was a great taster. The volunteer organisers deserve great praise for putting such effort in.

I would like to finish the year by contrasting my three most recent nights out. On Saturday 17^th December, I was fortunate enough to be invited by the BBC to attend the filming of Strictly Come Dancing. I know that millions applied for tickets, and I am very fortunate to have been invited, but the event is sufficiently important to the town that civic representatives like me also need to show our support for the BBC continuing to bring it here – so it works both ways.

As you can imagine, it was a glittering, star-studded night and so on and so forth – many of you will have watched it on TV, know who won, who lost, and who shed tears.

And whilst I had a good time, I also had a good time the following night at a slightly smaller-scale production at Thornton Little Theatre. The Tramshed Theatre Company is an inclusive theatre company – the only one locally – which brings together people from all backgrounds, including those with a disability, to perform on stage in a proper theatre group. Led by the inspirational Caz Hackett, and based at Montgomery School, they do a superb job performing routines from the shows, self-scripted acts, and vocal performances. The emphasis is on the quality of the performance, the professionalism of all involved whether on stage or backstage, and the pleasure the performers so clearly derive from their participation.

You may wonder what the benefits are, but for many who feel socially-excluded, theatre is a superb way of improving self-confidence and engaging with others. I’m delighted to be a strong supporter of Tramshed, and would urge any of you out there who hold the purse strings of local charitable trusts to consider them for funding. If you want any further details, do get in touch either with me or have a look athttps://localgiving.com/tramshedtheatre .

Just as thought provoking was my attendance at the Salvation Army’s carol concert on Saturday 10^th December. Whilst it may have lacked Strictly Come Dancing’s glamour and glitz, it perhaps stressed some of the more important themes we should focus on at this time year. I am sure we are all aware that this part of the world has its fair share of social problems – especially in and around the town centres. What many of us may be less aware of is the work the Salvation Army do to help support those who are less fortunate. We may see them regularly collecting outside M&S, but do we know what the money goes on? Visiting Raikes Parade gave me an insight, certainly, into the multi-faceted activities of the Salvation Army.

At Raikes Parade, they run a day-care centre for those over 25 experiencing homelessness and other isolating conditions. Open from 10am-2.30pm, it provides things like basic computer training, and a place to keep warm. It is also the location of Manna’s Bistro – where culinary skills are taught with a view towards gaining some qualifications. It costs well over £150,000 a year to maintain the projects, and it gives very many people a second chance in life. You can find out much more about what the Salvation Army do here:

http://www2.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf and search for Blackpool.

As we face another uncertain New Year economically, I think it is important to recognise the work of groups such as the Salvation Army in our society and give them some praise. We all hope never to fall on hard times, but we also know that many in society do, and that it is a mark of our own generosity of spirit never to walk by on the other side.

May I take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

It will, I am sure, come as little surprise to readers that I wholeheartedly support David Cameron’s decision to use the veto – the first PM ever to do so. I don’t see what else he could have done in the circumstances. I’m also struck at the lack of emphasis on whether the decisions taken in Brussels will actually increase the likelihood that the Euro will survive. What has been decided is all about ensuring the crisis is not repeated – rather than try to solve the crisis in the short-term.

One of the strange aspects of being an MP is knowing that you have a front row seat in the theatre of history. The Prime Minister’s statement in the House of Commons will, I suspect, be an occasion to remember. If the Eurozone crisis continues, as I think it will, the PM’s decision will come to seem ever more astute in my view.

Needless to say, I have not spent my entire week waiting for the all-night marathon negotiating of Thursday. There has still been work to do in Westminster. In the Transport Select Committee, we have been presented with the somewhat unexpected pre-Christmas gift of a bill to scrutinise. One of a Select Committee’s less well-known functions is to participate in what is called ‘pre-legislative scrutiny’. This occurs when a draft Bill is published – in this case on the economic regulation of airports – and the Select Committee is invited to take evidence from interested parties as to what the flaws in the legislation may or may not be. This ensures that when the Bill is put before the House in a couple of months time, some of the kinks and problems have already been ironed out of it. It is a lengthy and laborious process, and well-suited to the skills of lawyers who are used to scrutinising legislation line-by-line. If it brings the legislation affecting the operation of airports into the 21^st century, and truly does put the passenger first – as the Government intends – then it is a good use of MPs’ time.

The same day saw a delegation of pupils from Unity College come down to Westminster accompanied by their teacher Mrs Heron. They got the ‘full works’ tour, including 15 minutes with International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, as well as lunch in the Members’ section of the cafeteria (a rare treat!)  An increasing number of local schools are making their way down over the coming weeks, so I shall look forward to expanding my welcome. And it goes without saying that any constituents in London are always welcome to drop by – the more notice, the more we can do!

Other meetings attended in the week included a pow-wow with TripAdvisor in order to raise some of the concerns of local hoteliers that I had been briefed about. I’m pleased to report that Fylde Coast hotels get on average a slightly higher rating than nationwide! Some of the more specific points will be circulated to my Parliamentary Hotel Advisory Board when I get some more information from TripAdvisor.

I was also pleased to be invited by Liz Sayce, the Chief Executive of RADAR, to participate in the launch of their ‘Doing Transport Differently’ which aims to help disabled people make the most of public transport. Accessibility has come on significantly in recent years, yet many continue to have a negative perception of using public transport. The document, available at www.radar.org.uk/publications/doing-transport-differently/, aims to try to increase confidence in the journeys that can be made – whilst accepting that there is always more progress that can be made – progress that is often down to the likes of me to promote.

A parallel activity as part of my All-Party Group for Young Disabled People was to have the major cinema chain owners in Westminster last Thursday for a discussion about some of the issues that the Trailblazers campaign group found in their report on cinemas, available at http://www.mdctrailblazers.org/assets/0000/6701/Trailblazers_Big_Picture_cinema_report_WEB.pdf . I think it fair to say this was one of the more controversial reports the Trailblazers prepared, and the cinema companies had a few criticisms of the report, which can be read at www.cinemauk.org.uk/mediacentre/_133/ . I saw my task as trying to ensure that by the end of the two hours, we had noted the progress that has already been made and charted a path towards a better future. In particular, I was pleased to join the Trailblazers in handing over a petition to Downing Street about cinema access – photo at www.mdctrailblazers.org/news/911 .

Back in the constituency on Friday, I was able to visit Highfurlong as part of the ongoing campaign to get them a new school – www.highfurlong.org/wordpress/?p=1247 has more on that. I then dashed up to Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Thornton to hand Becky Dolan her prize for winning my Christmas Card competition. In between, I met with residents of Waring Drive and the County Council to discuss proposals for easing the burden of traffic on one of Thornton’s more notorious rat runs. Saturday morning saw me at Chris & Anne Palk-Smith’s post office on East Pines Drive in Anchorsholme doing a ‘semi-official’ drop-in session-cum-surgery. It’s a cracking little operation they have there, and they deserve congratulations for their contribution to the local community.

Lastly, as I am bumping up against my word limit as normal, I should give a mention to the Salvation Army at the Blackpool Citadel who kindly invited me to their Christmas service on Saturday night. I accepted the invitation as much as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to them for all the work they do on behalf of the vulnerable here in Blackpool. I am sure many will be unaware of the projects they are involved in – from helping the homeless to ensuring newly-released prisoners keep on the straight and narrow to running Manna’s Bistro which gives people the chance to train for NVQ qualifications and get a first rung on the jobs ladder. You can read more about the Citadel’s incredible range of social work at  http://www2.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-sublinks/9DD15FED24878B15802575A0004FDD1B?openDocument.

As the MP for Blackpool North & Cleveleys, it is always an honour to meet people who put far more into their local community than they take out, and Saturday night on Raikes Parade saw an entire building full of them. Unsung heroes each and every one.

You can see pictures of all my activities on my Flickr account by clicking here.

Sadly, some bags intended for charity are being stolen by thieves and fraudulent collectors, costing UK charities many millions in lost income each year. Many residents are now understandably nervous of donating goods in this way and this could lead to an even greater loss of income for charities.

Alistair McLean, Chief Executive of the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB), adds: “The real crisis is that charities need donors’ confidence and support now more than ever. While charity bag crime is a worry for all, we ask donors to remember that the large majority of collections are legitimate and that charities rely heavily on this income stream.”

I am supporting the Bogus Bags campaign, led by the FRSB and supported by the Institute of Fundraising, Charity Retail Association and Textile Recycling Association. The campaign aims to help the public give confidently to the charities they care about, offering this simple advice for local residents:

• Check – Legitimate charity collection bags will clearly state what organisation(s) funds are being raised for and feature a charity number registered at www.charitycommission.gov.uk
• Look for the tick –The FRSB tick logo indicates that the charity is signed up to fundraising regulation and industry standards.
• Call – There will be a working landline telephone number on genuine fundraising materials for you to call.
• Report – After making these checks, if you think that a collection is not legitimate, you can report any suspicions of theft to the local police and bogus collections to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

For more information, see www.givewithconfidence.org.uk.

Blackpool North & Cleveleys MP, Paul Maynard, welcomed students from Blackpool’s Unity College to Parliament yesterday.  The four students, along with teacher Katie Heron, enjoyed a full tour, lunch and meeting with the Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell MP.

Commenting, Paul says,

“I was delighted to welcome the students from Unity College to Parliament.  I invited them down after meeting with them 3 months ago to discuss what it is like to be a teenager in Blackpool.  The group had the full tour of both Houses.  We met with Andrew Mitchell, the Secretary of State for International Development, where they heard about the work the Government is doing in preventing the premature death of children in other countries from preventable disease.

After leaving Parliament, they walked down to Buckingham Palace and visited other famous landmarks before heading home on the train.  I enjoyed welcoming them, and I gather the students and teacher did also.  I am always open to school visits or anyone from Blackpool North & Cleveleys visiting me in Parliament.  After all I am their MP and the Houses of Parliament are their Parliament.”

In a week when economic turbulence, public sector strikes and European gridlock has brought home to us the potential reality of our economic position, it is always good to get back to the constituency – the real world – and meet up with the people of the local community to discover what they think and feel.

Friday morning saw me at Thornton Little Theatre with Lancashire Link. This is one of the nationwide ‘local involvement networks’ which the last Government introduced to replace the Public & Patient Involvement Forums (which in turn replaced a plethora of other alphabet-crunching acronyms). I talked for 25 minutes or so about the national policy picture, about the outcome of the Dilnot Review into the funding of long-term care and the likely costs of adopting the proposals. A spokesman from Lancashire County Council also spoke about some of the practical difficulties. But the questions from the floor brought home to me that in 10 years arguing for better recognition for carers we are still a long way off – GPs still don’t even have to identify carers to ensure they get the medical treatment they neeed as well as the patient they care for. And that is before we talk about the benefits trap too many carers still find themselves in. This is why MPs have so much casework – because the system still requires you to fit into their way of doing things, rather than building the system around your needs.

I then travelled on to Moor Park Health Centre for its official opening. It is, first and foremost, a superb building. Light and airy, it combines leisure, healthcare and a library. It even has a cafe on the ground floor to stop by for a cup of coffee.  The great and the good – I am sure you can imagine who I mean! – gave speeches welcoming the opening of the site, and real life patients and library users continued to enter and exist with some encouragement from the staff. Steven Croft, the Lancashire cricketer who hit the winning runs that gained us the County Championship for the first time in 77 years, pulled the cord which unveiled the plaque – as he is one of NHS Blackpool’s Health Ambassadors, there was a good reason for him being there besides being a cricketer! The Health Centre has three GP surgeries co-located there, with some 25,000 on their lists (myself included) so let us hope it goes from strength to strength. As those leading the tour around the North Shore Surgery suite confirmed, it is a great improvement on the properties in Holmfield Road that they were operating out of before.

Later in the afternoon, I held one of my biannual Parliamentary Hotel Advisory Boards, and am grateful to the Imperial for allowing me to borrow a room. We covered a wide range of issues – as we always do – ranging from the Government removing the requirement for an alcohol license to offer a bottle of champagne in a welcome pack, to removing the requirement for having endless no smoking signs up in every B&B. We also discussed the website TripAdvisor, who I am meeting in the coming week, to discuss the large number of concerns hoteliers have about the site.

Down in Westminster, we were celebrating Lancashire Day in style with a visit from (more cricket) the County Championship trophy (which I got to hold!) as well as an array of Lancashire-produced food from Eccles cakes to pork pies to beer celebrating Fleetwood’s 175^th Anniversary. It wasn’t just Lancashire MPs there, but anyone and everyone, so you can imagine the supplies went rather quick.  We also had representatives from the local tourism sector there, more importantly, and discussions are underway about what local MPs can do to help promote domestic tourism in the year to come.

Speaking-wise, I participated in two debates. The first was on sudden death from epilepsy – something which needs to be highlighted continually so that more and more know of a risk they are not informed about at diagnosis necessarily. The second was to consider the report the Transport Committee I sit on assembled on bus services. I was categorical that local bus companies have to improve their consultations, and make them a real listening exercise. It was a neat coincidence, for example, that in the week Moor Park Health Centre opened, I was looking into the issue of inadequate bus services to a location 25,000 rely on. I also spoke about the importance of Dial-a-Ride services, the continued threat to Rideability here in Blackpool, and my ongoing campaign to extend concessionary fares to community transport services which as regular readers will know is an issue I have been on about for a while now.

Last but not least, I rounded off my week with a magnificent evening at Fleetwood’s Marine Hall with the Fleetwood & District Choral Society who performed a section of Handel’s Messiah, with some superb soloists, alongside the Northwest Sinfonia and fellow local choir Sylvan Sounds. If you haven’t been to see Fleetwood & District Choral Society, you really ought to do so as they are magnificent. Have a look at their website, www.fleetwoodchoral.org.uk, and put 12^th May in your diary, as that is their next concert when they will be performing Vivaldi’s Gloria and Rutter’s Requiem along with a range of solo pieces yet to be announced. I am delighted to be one of their patrons, and they are the sort of ‘unsung local heroes and heroines’ that don’t always get the attention their hard work deserves.

A few remarked that I was brave standing there. However, it is an important part of my job as the Member of Parliament to make myself available to the public in as many different settings as possible, and at different times – and if people have critical things to say, it is part of being accountable. It is always good to get feedback, and even the positive comments give me a little more encouragement to keep working hard. I am gratified how many say they enjoy reading the Letter from Westminster – and one gentleman even said he had taken up last week’s recommendation to try the cooked breakfast at Wyre Country Park and agreed with me! Not all locations or mechanisms work in terms of productive interaction, but clearly there is a place for the supermarket surgery every so often, and I am very grateful to both Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s for allowing me a space in their stores.

Sainsburys were also running, by complete chance, its national Fareshare drive to bring more food to those in need. Fareshare (www.fareshare.org.uk) is an excellent charity which is seeking to tackle some of the underlying effects of ‘hidden hunger’ here in the UK by gathering in unsold stock from the food industry nationwide. It ought to shock us – and it shocks me – just how many increasingly rely on food parcels in this country. And it isn’t always just about household income, as there can be many reasons underlying having recourse to a food bank. But we should set it against the amount of food waste in this country – not just the food we purchase ourselves, which we do not consume, but also the food that isn’t purchased in the first place. I am as guilty as anyone in that I sometimes find myself throwing away food because it has gone past its use by date without me eating it. Reading up on Fareshare is certainly make me think again about my patterns of food use. 

Fareshare plays a key role in providing that surplus food to charitable groups that can make use of it – from day care centres to hostels to breakfast clubs at schools. The regional depot for the North West is in Trafford Park – but I would also highlight the local work of the Fylde Food Bank run by Mr & Mrs Turner (www.fyldefoodbank.co.uk) who also do superb work across the Fylde Coast.  If you know of a local charity or organisation that may benefit from Foodshare, do let me know and I will get in touch with them.

This whole topic also tied in nicely with my visit to Boundary Primary School on Friday, where they are setting a superb example in terms of growing their own fresh produce on their available ground. Sadly, they haven’t been allowed a pig yet – a new case for me to work on! But I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm of their head Dayle Harrison – proof once again that school leadership is an important quality in raising educational attainment.

Slightly earlier the same day, I had a sneak preview of the new St Mary’s school building. It looks like the building site it is – at the moment – but the concept is clearly emerging, and it is clear just how excited the pupils are at moving in. We also had an excellent presentation from the pupils ahead of the Durban Climate Change Conference, so I shall be writing to Chris Huhne as promised.

Down in Westminster, I have been in and out of the Chamber as usual, speaking on disability hate crime this week. In advance of the debate, I met with the family of Gary Skelly, who you may have seen on the BBC’s Inside Out programme on Wednesday night. Gary was murdered just over a year ago in a disability hate crime, and last Monday’s programme was very, very powerful. They have set up a community group called FACE (www.facefacts.org.uk) whose website is well worth a look. There is coverage of the family here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-15815155 and I am sure you will find it (and the film you can access via the website) as shocking as I did. I still cannot believe that any human would find it acceptable to make someone ‘dance’ in order to have a cigarette from them – how degrading.  

 As well as that I was guest speaker at the Conservative Disability Group’s colloquium in London, as well as speaking at the Epilepsy Action Patron’s Reception (I’m Vice-President) at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. As a by-the-by, and not that Her Majesty needs any advertising, but the souvenir shop is well worth a visit should you ever be in London. Of course, should you ever be in London, I would hope you stopped by the House of Commons first to see me!

So ends another thought-provoking week.