Parliament Week 2015

Parliament Week is an annual programme of events that engages and connects many people across the UK with Parliament, its work and its members.

It is a fantastic opportunity for discussion and debate about democracy and Parliament in the UK.

This year, Parliament Week will also look at the people who have made democratic change and how they can inspire others to get involved with Parliament today.

Events will take place across the constituency from 16-22 November 2015.

For information on how to get involved, visit http://www.parliamentweek.org

Derby Jobs Fair

On Friday 7th August, there will be a jobs fair held at the Derby Theatre between 10am and 2pm.

The fair is being held by The Job Fairs Network, and will be a fantastic opportunity for people to get face-to-face with companies such as Aviva, Bentley, Sky and the Army.

Additional information can be found here: http://www.thejobfairs.co.uk/

 

Bella’s Work Experience with Natascha

Bella is a Year 10 student at Highfields School in Matlock. She decided to undertake her two weeks work experience with us in our constituency office, and it has been a pleasure to have her.

This is what she said about her work experience:

“I wanted to do my work experience in a constituency office because I am interested in politics and how the government works.

I have learnt loads of new stuff about what MP’s and their workers do, from press releases to casework and policy letters, and so much more.

I have met a lot of new people, both local councillors and constituents.

The staff here are all lovely and welcoming, I have enjoyed my time here on work experience a lot, but it’s gone so quickly, my only complaint is that I have to leave!”

Housing

Earlier this year, I visited constituents to further understand the situation regarding housing in North East Derbyshire.

People are struggling to find a house, and once they do it proves to be inadequate. More than 3 million people are on council house waiting lists with no hope of finding a home. We are simply not building enough houses.

I want 250,000 homes built per year for buying and renting. I believe the best way to achieve this is to give local councils more powers to build homes in their areas.

I have seen the success of this in Grassmoor, where the council have bought land, built houses, and then rented the houses out to tenants. This is a great way to avoid the Right-To-Buy Scheme, and ensures that the houses remain in the ownership of the local council.

Visit to Wigley Primary School

I really enjoyed visiting Wigley Primary School on 26 June.

The song that they performed from their play ‘Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves’ was fantastic and they asked me some great questions.

We talked about my job as an MP and my new role as Deputy Speaker.

I hope that they’ll be able to come down and visit me in Parliament soon.

Barrow Hill Roundhouse

I was delighted to hear that Barrow Hill Roundhouse was successful in its Heritage Lottery Bid.

The money will be used for a new ‘Moving Forward’ project, which was officially launched on 20 February.

This fantastic project aims to raise awareness of this great local museum and visitor centre.

If you’re ever looking for something to do, pop down and have a look around.

You can find all the information you need here.

 

Planning Decision Opposition

Opposing Planning Decisions

We all have the right to express our views about planning decisions, especially when they affect us directly.

Although all the different ways of opposing decisions change depending on the particular circumstances, there are still three general ways to oppose planning decisions.

These are:

• By Letter
• Online
• By Email

 

Letter

Write to the department or individual responsible, making sure to mark your letter with the name of the project or the application code/case reference (this is usually made clear when any consultation is published on possible planning decisions).

Also, make sure to put your full name and address. Also, let them know if you are happy for your letter to be published.

Online

You can visit the site here to see the list of all the current planning applications and then use the website to lodge your comments or protests.

Make sure to reference the application code.

Email

Send emails to planningrepresentations@derbyshire.gov.uk

With the application code in the subject line.

Make sure to add your full name and address and let them know if you want them to publish your letter.

 

And please remember, if you have any trouble with any of this, or need further help or advice, contact my office on 01246 439 018 or email me at natascha.engel.mp@parliament.uk

Hilltop Action Group Petition

For residents living within 1 kilometre of the proposed open-cast mining project. Please sign the petition if you agree with the following statement:

“I vehemently object to the Provectus Open Cast Mining Proposal, for reasons including: damage to my physical and mental health resulting from noise and atmospheric dust contamination; increased road congestion; denial of access to an area of natural beauty; the spoiling of an area of natural beauty and the degradation of my quality of life.”

Find out more on their website here

Name(required)

Email(required)

Submit

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Leading Light Award for September

This month’s Community Champion is Greg Roberts who is the chair of Eckington youth group UFI.

When cuts meant that Eckington UFI might have to close, Greg led a campaign to keep it open and save the jobs of the youth workers.

Greg has also volunteered at Monday Club in Eckington for six years, where he works with people with learning difficulties and disabilities.

This summer I went to Eckington UFI’s Summer Fayre which Greg organised with other members of the group.

It was a fantastic event with live entertainment, dozens of local stalls, bouncy castles and even a football tournament. Well done, Greg!

Thank you to everyone who has sent me a nomination so far.

I’ve enjoyed hearing about all the good work that people do around North East Derbyshire and I’m looking forward to naming next month’s Community Champion.

Easing the Burden on Local Businesses

Despite the signs of a slow economic recovery, many businesses and retailers continue to face real challenges and business rates are now the number one issue for many local companies. Some firms are now paying more in business rates than they do in rent and there are understandable concerns about the increase in rates which came into effect this April following rises of 2.6% in 2013.

The Government moved to cap this year’s increase in business rates at 2%. However, many businesses have still seen their business rates rise. I believe the Government’s cap falls far short of what businesses have been crying out for at this difficult time and, in addition, also excludes workshops and other small and medium businesses. This is a massive oversight and evidence that there is a lack of real understanding at the Treasury and in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

Rather than simply capping the increase in business rates, I would like to see a cut in business rates in 2015 followed by a freeze in 2016. This would benefit 1.5 million start-ups, workshops and shops and could be fully funded by not going ahead with the Government’s planned corporation tax cut, which would benefit only a small number of businesses overall.

That is why I supported an Opposition motion in the House of Commons, in December last year, that called for the Government to ease the burden of business rates on all sectors, as well as an amendment to this year’s Finance Bill which would have required the Government to report on the effect of the planned corporation tax cut, particularly on the small and medium sized businesses which are the lifeblood of the economy in North East Derbyshire.

Some businesses and business groups are disappointed at the Government’s decision to postpone the next rate revaluation of business rates from 1st April 2015 to 1st April 2017. I know that this could cause real problems for local businesses and that is why I also supported an amendment to the 2013 Growth and Infrastructure Act that would have forced the Government to publish all necessary evidence including the impact on the finances of local authorities before this postponement was made.

It is always a pleasure to visit the businesses we have in North East Derbyshire. There is so much diversity and innovation, and I look forward to visiting even more of them in the weeks and months ahead.