Andrew Murrison

Action needed to tackle worrying rise of young people carrying and using knives

Andrew Murrison MP has today expressed deep concern and surprise at the level of knife crime in Wiltshire revealed by new local knife crime statistics published by the Government. He called for action to tackle the growing menace.

The official figures published by the Home Office show that across Wiltshire there were 140 serious offences last year involving knives. 25% of all wounding, grevious bodily harm or robberies were committed with a knife in the Wiltshire constabulary area. Nationally, the figure is 19% and in the south-west it is 17%.

Conservatives are calling for a series of urgent measures to reduce knife crime, which include:

Anyone convicted of an offence whilst carrying a knife should expect to receive a custodial sentence. Currently, the Government is planning to allow offenders carrying a knife to be let off with a fine in some circumstances.
Making it easier for police officers to stop suspects and search them for knifes and other weapons, and increasing use of mobile knife scanners on the streets and on public transport (as already being successful trialled in London by Boris Johnson).
Providing more custodial places for young offenders, and increasing support for drugs and education programmes, and tackling the causes of knife crime such as family breakdown, lack of school discipline and welfare dependency.

"I was surprised at the level of knife crime in Wiltshire which is not known as a violent place. These new figures paint a grim picture of the government's failure to tackle crime and the causes of crime.

"Our police have been tied up in so much red tape that they can only spend 14 per cent of their time on fighting crime. At the same time our unprotected borders have allowed too many weapons and hard drugs to be flow into the country. Labour has also failed to address family breakdown which sets too many young people on a path of crime.

"Conservatives would start tackling this crime crisis by freeing our police from red tape and targets so they can be deployed on our streets to catch and deter criminals. We need stronger deterrent sentences and the expectation of prison for those convicted of knife crime. And we will address the fundamental causes of crime like drugs and family breakdown."

Andrew Murrison will attend the 20 th anniversary of the Mere district day centre for elderly people at the Rosemary Goddard centre, Lynch Close Mere at 2pm on Saturday 12 July. He will meet diners and trustees and say a few words.

MP meets postmasters
Andrew Murrison will tomorrow (Friday) attend a demonstration by postmasters from Bradford on Avon, Westwood, Hilperton and Rode at the post office Trowbridge Road Bradford on Avon at 10am.

He will hear their concerns about the post office card account and discuss how the post office network can be made more robust as it faces large scale downsizing to the detriment of his constituents.

Andrew Murrison has written to object to a plan by Hills Waste to build a refuse treatment plant (MBT plant) at Northacre Industrial Park , Westbury, that would provide fuel for the town's Lafarge cement works.

The MP has met with council officials and Hills Waste and today had a conference call with Lafarge Operations Director Bob Cooper and local works manager Jim Cross. He has heard from local residents that do not want the plant and its heavy traffic on their doorstep and met with local councillor David Jenkins who is opposing the application on behalf of residents.

Cllr Jenkins has spoken with Viridor which has a waste site adjacent to Lafarge. Viridor, helpfully, has indicated that it would be prepared to do a feasibility study with interested parties to see if its site could be used for the MBT plant. However, a modest extra portion of Lafarge land would apparently be needed to accommodate the plant. Lafarge has told the MP it is not interested in facilitating the plant next to its premises.

“If the Northacre application succeeds, the processed waste will be trucked across Westbury to Lafarge for incineration. If Lafarge was concerned about the local environment it would have been more helpful in accommodating the MBT plant on land it has available. I am very disappointed.

“Having the MBT plant next to Lafarge screams out as the obvious, environmentally sensitive solution that will have the minimum impact on residents.

“No doubt Hills is rubbing its hands at the prospect of such an easy solution and the council is between a rock and a hard place because of landfill targets from the government. However, my constituents would have to bear the brunt of the wrongly located MBT plant and the associated heavy traffic.

The MP has pointed out in his letter of objection that the application is contrary to the council's own Waste Local Plan, a large and expensively produced document that identifies sites available for the processing of waste. Northacre is not in it but the Viridor site is listed as waste Preferred Area S5.

Northacre's Westbury Dairies has written to the MP to express its concerns that MBT emissions have the potential to contaminate its product and threaten its operation.

“Lafarge is already facing heavy criticism for exceeding its permitted emission limits. Its stance on the MBT plant is likely to lose it the few friends it still has.

Andrew Murrison and County Councillor Ernie Clarke have been inundated with complaints from walkers in the Semington area following the announcement by British Waterways that they will close the Semington swing bridge from next week for 6 months in order to carry out maintenance works.

Andrew will meet BW representative Will Burnish tomorrow Friday at Semington bridge at 3.20pm for a tour of the site. He said;

“Everybody understands the need for repair works but six months does seem a long time. I am hopeful that BW will be able to do what they have to do within a tighter timeframe.

At 9am on Friday morning Andrew Murrison MP will meet with George Batten, Director of Environmental Services, Fleur Miss Fleur De Rhe Phillipe, Cabinet Member for Transport, Andy Conn, Cabinet Member for Waste and Councillor David Jenkins to discuss issues relevant to the proposed MBT plant at Westbury.

At 11am Dr Murrison will arrive at The Centre for Addictions Treatment Studies, Action on Addiction which is based at The Manor House, Ash Walk, WARMINSTER , BA12 8PY . Andrew will be meeting Tim Leighton, Director and Nick Barton joint CEO for Action on Addiction and touring the premises.

At 3.45pm Andrew will be making a brief visit to the Lafarge Westbury cement plant and meeting with Jim Cross, Works Manager.

Andrew Murrison hopes that the new treatment centre announced today in Devizes will benefit his constituents. However, he fears that the shift towards independent sector treatment centres in the south west may destabilise the region's acute hospitals as staff are sucked away to do straightforward work.

The medic MP also points out that care of the elderly and longterm sick will not be improved by the change in direction and that the end of community hospitals, reduced access to primary care and the closure of the local maternity unit in Trowbridge that all form part of the local PCT's plans risk seriously undermining local provision and the quality of healthcare.

Friday 6 June 2008 Andrew Murrison will be re-opening the West Ashton Village Hall which had recently undergone refurbishment and had an extension added.

Andrew will be arriving at the village hall at 12 midday in West Ashton Village near Trowbridge.

Andrew Murrison will be addressing Princecroft Primary school 's assembly tomorrow (Friday 6 June 2008) during Citizenship Week.

Andrew will be arriving at the school in Princecroft Lane , Warminster tomorrow at 8.45am.

Robert Key ( Salisbury ), Andrew Murrison (Westbury) Michael Ancram (Devizes) and James Gray (North Wiltshire) contributed this afternoon to a debate at Westminster on the future of Wiltshire's police helicopter.

Andrew was especially concerned that Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) should be prejudicing the future of the helicopter that it shares with the police by trying to negotiate a short lease with the constabulary to give it time to do a clinical review. He said;

“It is not as if the lease renewal has been sprung on GWAS. It has known about the expiry of the current arrangements for a long time and has had ample opportunity for conducting its review.

“I hope the Trust will crack on and sign a definitive lease without further delaying tactics.

Medic MP Andrew Murrison believes Wiltshire PCT's plan to close community hospitals and build a big GP surgery in Trowbridge has a poor prognosis. He said;

“The PCT's strategy owes much to the government's blueprint for primary care which will mean so-called polyclinics replacing the familiar general practices that are accessible to people.

“The new clinic that will be built controversially on sports fields will it seems add very little to actual healthcare. In return we are expected to take a real hit with the closure of community hospitals and maternity services. This will hurt the elderly and vulnerable particularly.

Andrew Murrison will join dignitaries on the 0958 from Westbury calling at Warminster for a plaque unveiling at 1020, Westbury for the same at 1050, Trowbridge ditto at 1130 and lastly Bradford on Avon at 1200.

The exercise will mark the completion of an investment programme at each of the stations and will allow guests to view the upgrades including new toilets, extended car parks, a lift and improved ticket offices and waiting rooms.

“First Group's spending on station facilities will be welcomed by the travelling public.

Doctor Andrew Murrison will this week support amendments to the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill that will reduce the maximum gestational age for termination of pregnancy from the current 24 weeks to 20 weeks.

Dr Murrison who qualified as a doctor in 1984 and accredited in both General Practice and Occupational Medicine before entering Parliament was put off a career in Obstetrics and Gynaecology after witnessing abortions when he was a student at Bristol University Medical School .

“Since then societal attitudes have changed, in part because of improved imaging of the unborn child.

“I'm sure the law needs updating and 20 weeks appears to strike the right balance.”

MP marks TA centenary at St Pauls and the Guildhall
Andrew Murrison, local MP and Shadow Defence Minister, attended a special service at St Paul's cathedral this morning to mark the 100th anniversary of the Territorial Army followed by a march past of serving and retired members of the TA. The Lord Mayor of London hosted a reception to follow at the Guildhall that was attended by soldiers of all ranks from the Chief of the General Staff to private soldier, city dignitaries and politicians.

Andrew, who is a Surgeon Commander in the Royal Naval Reserves, said;

"London is rightly proud of its special historic links with the TA but it was good to see territorials from all areas, including ours, represented. They do a great job.

MP visits sculpture garden in Bishopstrow
Andrew Murrison will join the celebration of the Millstream Sculpture Garden 2008 season at Mill Lane Bishopstrow Warminster on Saturday 17 May at 6pm.

The MP is keen to learn about the educational, cultural and economic aims of the venture and to hear about its work with both local schools and schools in Bath and Salisbury.

Andrew Murrison will tomorrow afternoon (Friday) meet delegates from the Ham Residents Group headed bylocal councillor Cllr David Jenkins to discuss the location of the proposed MBT plant which the group feels is too close to people's homes.

"Whilst I'm sure the plant involves safe technology, it is desirable that a site is chosen that will minimise the impact on people's lives and enjoyment of their homes.

Andrew Murrison has had a response to his letter to the Highways Agency following a meeting convened by Chapmanslade Parish Council he attended with County councillor Fleur de Rhe Philippe to discuss road safety on the A36.

In the letter the Agency's Chief Executive Archie Robertson said that the white lining will be repaired in July 2008. There will be a study of the A36 this financial year as part of which extension of the double white system further down the hill and signage will be investigated.

“I am pleased that the hazards of Black Dog Hill have been recognised and that there is the prospect of remedial action.”

Tomorrow (Friday) morning Andrew Murrison will call on the Adjutant General Lieutenant General Sir Freddie Viggers at Trenchard Lines Upavon near Pewsey to discuss Army personnel issues that fall within his brief as a Shadow Defence Minister and which are of important to a large number of his constituents. He will be especially interested in what is being done to improve education for Army children and military accommodation.

In the evening he will be the guest of the Westbury branch of the Royal British Legion at the conference centre Standerwick.

Local driving instructor Tony Pharo will tomorrow be taking Andrew Murrison from Warminster to Chippenham via Frome and back to illustrate the lunacy of closing the Driving Standards Agency's Driving Test centre at Trowbridge and forcing his constituents to take their test in Chippenham.

“I hope the DSA will consult properly as they are meant to do and have a re-think. We are losing local services at a rate of knots at a time when the population in West Wiltshire is expanding rapidly.

Along the way he will be joined by his North Wiltshire colleague James Gray and Frome constituency Parliamentary Candidate Annunziata Rees Mogg.

Andrew Murrison has expressed his displeasure at the failure of Salisbury District Council to consult properly over housing plans for the southern part of his constituency. The MP wrote to the council's Chief Executive on 8 April to ask why he, among others, had not been asked for his views by the council on plans to build hundreds of new houses in the district. He has received a letter dated 25 April from the ‘Head of Forward Planning and Transportation' apologising for the oversight and pointing out that the deadline for responses has, following a robust campaign by residents, been extended.

“I accept the council's apology but the opaque way in which this consultation exercise has been conducted hardly inspires confidence and is likely to make people wonder if they can rely on the council to stand up for their interests."

Trains minister Tom Harris MP has written to Andrew Murrison following their meeting at the department for transport on 2 April regarding the Bristol-Waterloo service run by South West Trains that offers a direct service to the capital for the towns in his constituency.

In his letter the minister commits to the current level of service but seemed lukewarm on the prospects of the more frequent service that Andrew is pressing for. Mr Harris said in his letter;

“Given the need to deliver the hourly Exeter service from December 2009 and the continued need to balance this with provision of sufficient capacity for Yeovil/Salisbury from London flows in the am and pm peaks, the ability to provide any extra commercial services from Waterloo to Bristol via Salisbury and Westbury may be quite limited.”

“It seems that any improvement in the service will be dependent on commercial viability and competing network priorities. Ministers and Network Rail must do more to increase capacity without which it seems unlikely that we will see much improvement on the direct service via Salisbury or the ‘Trans-Wilts' route.

The minister's letter did not contain the timetable promised for FGW remedial work and Andrew has written to ask if this could be provided as soon as possible.

Andrew Murrison will be meeting up with driving instructors in his constituency tomorrow at the test centre in Trowbridge that is due to be axed under new government plans.

The government's Driving Standards Agency (DSA) wants to close the Trowbridge test centre in Wiltshire Drive and force candidates from west Wiltshire and east Somerset to Chippenham to take their test.

Today (Thursday) the MP has tabled some written parliamentary questions in the Commons asking about the consultation process and for the number of test centre closures in England that have taken place and are projected. He has also written to the Secretary of State for Transport.

“People in the county town and from the wider area feel that all their services are being shut down – hospitals, post offices and now this latest – at a time of unprecedented residential growth.

Andrew Murrison will be meeting up with sixth formers from local schools this afternoon at a seminar held by the Holocaust Educational Trust in Exeter for those in the region that participated in a tour of Auschwitz on 15 April.

“I'm looking forward to hearing the thoughts and reflections of the students following their experiences in Poland which I'm sure will have challenged and tested them.

“The Holocaust Educational Trust is to be congratulated for arranging these visits and I am delighted that schools in our area have participated.

Andrew Murrison will be the guest of Bradford on Avon Chamber of Commerce on Friday at a meeting in The Fat Fowl from 6.30pm.

The Chamber has asked the MP to discuss with its members issues relating to business in the town and to take questions.

Andrew expects local issues including the Kingston Mills development, traffic and parking and the performance of First Great Western to top the bill together with national points around the future of small business as the economy faces a downturn.

Andrew Murrison will meet road safety campaigners tomorrow (Thursday) at 8pm under the auspices of Chapmanslade parish council in the village hall to discuss the accident record of the A36 at Black Dog Hill.

A wide range of stakeholders has been invited including the police and neighbouring parish councils.

“Black Dog Hill has an appalling accident record as last month's incidents demonstrated. I hope that we can find ways of improving the stretch.

Andrew Murrison will meet trains minister Tom Harris MP at the department for transport tomorrow at 9.30am to discuss the failing train operator First Great Western.

The MP has already met the company's chief executive Andrew Haines and has been briefed by West Wiltshire Rail Users Group.

1. Why rolling stock serving his constituents has deteriorated despite the government's document of July 2007 ‘Delivering a Sustainable Railway' which promised more trains nationwide

2. What the minister will do to sort out FGW which is in breach of its franchise and what its timeframe for improvement is

3. What proportion of the clawback from FGW to ‘invest' in Network Rail has been diverted to other regions

4. What he will do to upgrade the ‘transwilts' service to link the main towns of the county given projected increase in passengers.

5. What plans exist to further improve the direct service to London Waterloo run by South West Trains.

Local MP and Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Murrison has been saddened by an anti Armed Forces motion passed at the National Union of Teachers' annual conference this week. The motion discourages the use of Army, Navy and Air Force schools presentation teams in secondary schools.

The MP who represents a large number of servicemen and veterans and the garrison town of Warminster said;

“The UK 's sailors, soldiers and airmen are fine men and women and excellent role models. Their presence in our schools should be positively encouraged.

Andrew is writing to the eight secondary school head teachers in his constituency for reassurance on their position.

Andrew Murrison will be meeting DC Leisure at Westbury swimming pool tomorrow to discuss its services in providing leisure facilities in his constituency in partnership with the local authority.

The company wants to discuss how the current taxation and tendering system discriminates against commercial operators in the provision of leisure facilities.

Andrew Murrison will be on a fact finding mission tomorrow following complaints that wind turbines planned by Ecotricity at Silton near Gillingham will be a bight on the countryside.

It seems unlikely that onshore wind turbines will do much to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels although my objection in this case and in the case of the Cucklington plans a few years ago rests on the damage they can do to sensitive countryside.

On 4 April Andrew will attend a public meeting on the issue in the Lecture Hall in Mere. He has discussed the matter with his parliamentary neighbour North Dorset MP Bob Walter.

Andrew Murrison will tomorrow afternoon meet with highway officials in Trowbridge to discuss residents' parking.

The MP has been approached by worried constituents in Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon who are concerned about the implication of changes to parking restriction enforcement in June 2008 when responsibility passes from the police to local authorities.

"I hope that the council will be able to reassure me that my constituents will be able to park near their homes after the new arrangements take effect in the summer."

Andrew Murrison will meet with representatives from Wingfield Parish Council and Wiltshire County Council tomorrow Friday 7 March 2008 to talk about road safety. The meeting will review existing speed limits and measures to improve the safety of the B3109 Chapel Lane Junction.

Local MP Andrew Murrison will be voting for a referendum of the British people in this afternoon's crucial Commons vote on the EU Lisbon constitutional treaty. The Eurosceptic MP points out that the 2005 election material of MPs from all major political parties promised to support a referendum on the EU constitution and that a spectrum of observers consider the constitution and the treaty are virtually the same.

He points to Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, architect of the rejected constitution who said of the two;

"It is pure political sophistry to pretend that the rejected constitution and this appalling treaty are significantly different. They are not, and so there is no question - the people of this country are owed the referendum that they were promised in 2005.

Andrew Murrison will be at Trowbridge Fire Station on Friday 29 Feb at 1345 when young people taking part in a week long Salamander Course will be presented with their awards. The Award Ceremony is organised by the Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service.

Andrew Murrison will be dropping in for coffee at Warminster's Athenaeum at 10am on Saturday 1 March to mark the town gaining the status of being an official fairtrade town. He said;

"I'm delighted that Warminster has been given this accolade by the Fairtrade Foundation.

Local MPs Michael Ancram and Andrew Murrison will today slam the home office and the police in a Commons debate over the failure of the government to honour a contract with Avon Rubber at Melksham costing their constituents' jobs and losing confidence in the government as a reliable customer and partner.

The MPs met this morning with Avon Rubber Chairman Sir Richard Needham to discuss the emergency hoods designed and made by Avon at Melksham to protect against chemical, biological and nuclear (CBRN) threats.

"Scottish police and the ambulance service have bought these hoods but England 's police forces will not now get them. At a time when the CBRN threat has never been greater it seems extraordinary that this personal protective equipment should not be avilaible to officers at the front line.

"Cancelling orders in this way opens government agencies to legal challenge and dents the reputation of government as reliable customers.

MURRISON DEMANDS URGENT MEETING TO DISCUSS POOR AMBULANCE SERVICE PERFORMANCE

Westbury MP Andrew Murrison has today written to the Chief Executive of the Great Western Ambulance Trust to discuss the poor performance of ambulance services in the area.

Conservatives have expressed serious concerns about the postcode lottery in ambulance services. Figures unearthed using the Freedom of Information Act have shown massive variation in the speed at which ambulances reach emergencies across England .

The Government target is for 75% of serious emergencies (‘Category A') to be reached within eight minutes. Performance in Wiltshire meant that just 54.3% of these emergencies were reached within the target period – ranking it among the worst ten performing trusts.

“There's a postcode lottery in ambulance services and it looks like we're on the losing side.

“I'm concerned that just half of those in serious need of an ambulance in Wiltshire receive them within the target eight minutes. This adverse report is supported by experiences reported to me by constituents.

“I do recognise the good work of our ambulance crews but the Trust must improve its performance.

Andrew Murrison has welcomed the announcement by FGW that £29 million will be spent on inproving its services.

"I met the company's chief executive Andrew Haines recently and will be seeing the trains minister soon. FGW faces the real propect of losing its franchise unless its abysmal service improves.

"Clearly the company appreciates the danger and I note in addition that the Chief Executive and half his senior staff have changed in the past 6 months. It is imperative that FGW is able to demonstate substantial improvements fairly quickly.

Andrew Murrison has learnt from the post office review team that it is reviewing its proposal to close the Obelisk post office in Warminster following representations though the remaining six on the at risk list will either be shut or downgraded.

“This opens up the prospect of some good news for Warminster but is very bad for customers in Westbury, Trowbridge, Broughton Gifford, North Bradley, Longbridge Deverill and Heytesbury.

Andrew Murrison will visit The Mead Primary School at Hackett Place , Trowbridge on Friday 15th February at 10.00am. Andrew will be answering questions based around sustainability and the environment.

Local MP and Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Murrison will tomorrow morning (thursday) visit Wiltshire Coroners Court in the old Town Hall Trowbridge whilst it is sitting at the invitation of the Wiltshire Coroner David Masters.

The MP is keen to familiarise himself with the procedure which historically has been attended by considerable delay to the distress of relatives. Following investment by central government Mr Masters has made it clear that there are no delays from his service.

Andrew Murrison will be at The Youth Centre in The Close, Warminster to meet with the Residents Association "The Triangle" at 6.30pm tonight (Wednesday 13th February).

At 7.30pm Dr Murrison will be attending the UK National Defence Association Regional Branch meeting which will be held in the Assembly Rooms in Warminster. Andrew has been asked to speak on Defence and the Armed Forces.

Andrew Murrison has written to trains minister Tom Harris to request a meeting to discuss the future of the government contract with failing train operating company First Great Western.

The MP has been appalled by the deterioration in FGW's service and the cattle truck conditions that exist on many of its trains. He said:

“FGW has been given plenty of time to improve but my constituents are still suffering from a third rate train service. I think the time has come for ministers who are responsible for the contract to consider pulling the plug”.

On the 14 th February Andrew will meet FGW Chief Executive Andrew Haines and West Wilts Rail Users Group in Trowbridge and has a further meeting with Mr Haines in London on the 19 th February.

Andrew Murrison has responded to the Post Office consultation on its plans to close or downsize seven post offices in his West Wiltshire constituency.

The MP supports objections to the plans submitted by Wiltshire's councils on the grounds that they will disadvantage the most vulnerable in the towns and in the villages have not been rural-proofed contrary to the government's stated policy.

“I'm afraid that our experience of consultations locally has not been a happy one in recent years as they too often turn out to be a tick-box formality as we've seen in the case of our community hospitals. However, I sincerely hope that the Post Office takes note of the representations that have been made and has a re-think.

Andrew Murrison has written trains minister Tom Harris to request a meeting to discuss the future of the government contract with failing train operating company First Great Western.

The MP has been appalled by the deterioration in FGW's service and the cattle truck conditions that exist on many of its trains. He said:

On the 14 th February Andrew will meet FGW Chief Executive Andrew Haines and West Wilts Rail Users Group in Trowbridge and has a further meeting with Mr Haines in London on the 19 th February.

The press like to suggest that parliamentary expenses and allowances are viewed by MPs as a handy supplement to the parliamentary salary. I do not believe that this is the case although the rules should be more prescriptive in my view and tightened further to leave no room for doubt.

MPs should be prepared to be as open about their pay and allowances as any other public servant. The accounting procedures routinely expected of others on the public pay roll must be applied to them. For example, on becoming an MP in 2001 I was surprised to find that receipts for expenses of up to £250 were positively discouraged. This went against the grain since I had spent my working life up to that point in the public sector where I had to account for every penny.

On the subject of employing relatives which has been so much in the news recently, I believe that the practice can be of benefit and that such employees often work over and above their contracted hours, mirroring the anti-social hours that MPs tend to work. That is certainly my experience of my father-in-law Bob Munden who works for me as a constituency researcher and who will be well known to those he has dealt with in that capacity since 2001. He is paid at a point in the Commons pay-scale that is appropriate for his qualifications and experience and on which I have taken advice. However, employment of family members is potentially open to abuse and for that reason there must be a clear audit trail of work and the means for checking it.

On the subject of checks, I consider that periodic auditing of MPs'claims is desirable. Many outside Parliament will be surprised that such routine accounting practices are not applied already. This need not involve a huge new bureaucracy but spot checks would, I believe, help to dispel the idea that all MPs are creative accountants.

January has been a really terrible month for the reputation of the House of Commons. I can tell you that morale among MPs is rock-bottom. In mitigation it is reasonable to point out the contrast between ourselves and representatives in other European states and assemblies but a fundamental reappraisal of the way we operate is surely appropriate in the light of events.

Andrew Murrison will be at Charter House in Trowbridge today at 2pm to present the ‘Four Stars' certificate to staff for catering hygiene. Andrew will also be given a brief tour of Charter House.

In January Andrew Murrison had welcomed the decision by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and Wiltshire PCT to keep older people's mental health services at Charter House in Trowbridge.

MP registers his objects to post office closure plans
Andrew Murrison has sent his response to the Post Office's plans to close or downgrade seven of the sub post offices in West Wiltshire to Mr Tim Nickolls of the Post Office's consultation team in advance of this week's deadline. He has criticised the philosophy underlining the closures and pointed out that in West Wiltshire they will disadvantage his more elderly, vulnerable and isolated constituents. Andrew has supported the opposition to the closures tendered by Wiltshire's local authorities.

He said;

"I am appalled by the slash and burn policy adopted by the Post Office and the government. Ministers have consistently ignored innovations proposed by the Opposition that would safeguard these valuable community resources.

"Throughout my constituency sub post offices and local shops are interdependent. If one falls, so will the other.

The MP is a frequent customer of sub post offices in his constituency and has had a considerable correspondence with constituents about them in recent months. In his response the MP points out that North Bradley sub post office was transformed as recently as 2002 as a trailblazer for the government's then new model of delivery and that at Longbridge Deverill plans for relocation have descended into farce following the revelation that the proposed new location is no longer available.

Please consider this letter as my formal response to the proposed closure plans for post offices in the Westbury constituency.

I am concerned at the proposed closure of seven post offices within my constituency - Heytesbury, Longbridge Deverill, Broughton Gifford, North Bradley, Queens Square in Westbury, Seymour Road in Trowbridge and the Obelisk in Warminster.

Post Offices are a vital part of the social fabric of all the communities I represent. However, the selection focuses, perversely, on rural settlements and those with high indices of deprivation. It has also been poorly thought through since at least one of the options, the delivery of outreach services at Longbridge Deverill, is non viable as the existing commercial premises on which it was to be based, which was in any case highly inaccessible, has now closed for business.

I am persuaded by the argument that the programme of closures has been informed by a calculation of how many post offices the Government considers it can get away with closing, rather than on a business case or assessment of consumer need. The Government's vision for fewer sub-post offices providing fewer services to fewer people is likely to affect the most vulnerable, all the more so given the location of the proposed closures in my constituency. A van for a couple of hours per week is a poor substitute for a valued community resource and is likely, ultimately, to fail.

The local authorities that have an interest in my constituency have expressed their concerns at the proposed closures and I support the case they have made. In particular, West Wiltshire District Council points out that whereas 99% of those living in deprived urban areas are guaranteed access to a post office, there is no reflection of this in our area.

The decision to base closure plans on distance rather than journey difficulty may be logistically convenient but is unhelpful to elderly and vulnerable constituents who may not have easy access to transport. I can find little evidence of a serious attempt to assess the practical difficulties people will face in accessing either post office services or shop facilities given that the two are co-dependent in many locations.

I am disappointed that outreach services have not been better defined where they are proposed or considered where they are not. I am also disappointed that scope to work with local authorities in establishing ‘council-counters' in local branches, to allow sub-post offices greater freedom in offering a wider range of commercial products and to establish ‘one stop shops' for central Government services have not been explored as part of this review.

The incoherent and wasteful way in which post offices have been managed in recent years is exemplified by North Bradley which relocated and adapted under a government initiative in 2002 and was considered something of a trailblazer. Co-located with the community hall of a large village, it is now scheduled for closure.

The proposed post office closure programme in West Wiltshire seriously threatens communities in my constituency and I strongly urge you to think again.

Andrew Murrison will be briefed on the work of Jobcentre in his constitiuency tomorrow (Friday) at his HQ in Trowbridge. The MP will meet district manager Charles Morse and is keen to hear about innovations to the service, particularly given the threat of an economic downturn which could have implications for jobs.

Andrew Murrison will be at the CCTV control room in Dewey House, North Row Warminster tomorrow (Friday) to see how CCTV is helping to tackle crime in Warminster and Westbury. The MP has been invited in by the town clerk Heather Abernethie following a recent spate of criminality in Warminster that he has been in correspondence with the police over, particularly in the Portway and the Close.

"We do live in something of a surveillance society, particularly in the UK , but technolgy of this sort clearly has a place in tackling the crime and seriously antisocial behaviour that causes so much misery to residents.

Shadow Defence Minister and Westbury MP Andrew Murrison and his parliamentary neighbour Salisbury MP Robert Key joined forces to berate defence minister Derek Twigg over funding for schools with large numbers of Army children at defence questions on Monday.

Andrew was concerned that Army children that join and leave a school within a single academic year, which is quite common because of Army turbulence, are not counted for funding purposes and so Wiltshire is short-changed. The minister failed to deal with this point so the MP has tabled a written parliamentary question to press him on it. He said;

“Failure to identify and count Army children means that Wiltshire schools lose out since we have a large Army presence.

Mr Key pointed out that Army children are twice as likely to have special educational needs because of turbulence and called for an equitable funding settlement that would take this into account.

“We know that the government is reviewing the school funding formula at the moment so it is important to keep the pressure up. I've written to schools minister Jim Knight about giving Army children a fair deal but received response that can best be described as lukewarm.

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