Summer Adjournment — House of Commons, 2015-07-16
Topic: Technology
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh). Before I talk about some issues on behalf of my constituents in this Adjournment debate, I want to mention the excellent speech by my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Seema Kennedy). I think all the existing Members have been surprised by the fantastic quality of all the new Members on both sides of the House, and how quickly they have got to grips with this place My hon. Friend made a particularly insightful speech about breast cancer. I remember the Christmas eve when my mother told me she had breast cancer, and how scared and worried I was. For the whole Christmas, all we really talked about was how we could lose her. I am delighted to say that she is now well and has enjoyed a long and happy life since that Christmas. It is such an important disease, and I am now proud to be a breast cancer ambassador. It was an excellent speech and the issue was well worth raising In my constituency, rural businesses are succeeding, such as the Wellbeing Farm in Edgworth, but lack of broadband is a huge issue for such businesses, rural homes and towns. It stops many businesses flourishing as they should. Across Lancashire, 80% of homes and businesses are now connected to superfast broadband because of the work that the last Government did. Constituency figures are not available, but I am sure that the reach is not 80% in my constituency. That is not good enough, frankly, and I hope that the Government will continue to work with me, British Telecom and Openreach to ensure that we have a real plan to get all rural businesses and homes in Rossendale and Darwen connected to superfast broadband by 2020. In other areas where superfast broadband is not available, such as Lower Darwen and Whitworth, we are plagued by "not spots" that have no 3G or 4G available on mobile phones or tablets. That is a really big issue, and at business questions a few weeks ago I asked whether the Government would make a statement on what progress they intend to make in tackling "not spots". There has to be more we can do in terms of encouraging mobile companies to share bandwidth and masts to ensure that across my constituency, and other rural areas, we provide mobile broadband at least, and superfast broadband as soon as possible. In our work as Members of Parliament, we get to do lots of visits, and I recently visited Blackburn hospital. It is just outside my constituency, but it serves people from both Rossendale and Darwen. The hospital has been put into special measures, but it has made huge progress. It was a real privilege for me, as a local Member of Parliament, to go and speak to occupational therapists, doctors, nurses and managers in that hospital and talk to them about the long journey they have been on I want particularly to highlight the hospital’s plan to put a GP surgery at the front of its accident and emergency department. It is an excellent idea, because it will mean that my constituents who go to Blackburn hospital’s A&E department with the worst injuries or illnesses can be seen quickly. Some people who go to the A and E department need to see a GP. They should not be there in the first place, but if they are there with an ailment that a GP can look at, they will be diverted to the hospital’s GP practice. That is an excellent initiative by Blackburn hospital, and I think it is worth drawing to the attention of other hon. Members. The special measures regime can bring new ideas and different thinking to hospitals, and it can improve them I am very pleased that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has made £8 billion available to the NHS in this Parliament to ensure that such great ideas, and our fantastic NHS staff, have the money they need to serve my constituents. On that £8 billion, it is hugely important that all MPs engage with their local GP surgeries, clinical commissioning groups and NHS Trust—for me, it is East Lancashire Hospitals—to ensure that we have a fantastic service for the people we represent, because making sure the NHS is there for my constituents is and always shall be my top priority In my constituency we have some delays at the moment on the railway line between Darwen and Manchester. That has not caused too much disruption, but it is a great sign that the work we have been promised—to double the track between Manchester and Darwen—is now under way. We are going to move to a half-hourly service for trains all day, which will be a huge boost to people who live in Darwen but work in Manchester We have also been promised some new trains for our lines. We have Pacers, which are no longer fit for purpose, and I hope and believe that as part of re-franchising the Northern Rail franchise the Pacers will be phased out. We have been promised some new trains with wi-fi. I hope that over the summer people who live in Darwen, who will suffer delays while that work goes on, will think it is worthwhile and that we have delivered on the promise of improved rail links In Darwen we also have the A666. It is not the devil’s road, as some people have called it, or even the road to hell. It is a road that goes through the centre of the town of Darwen, and at the moment it is the scene of severe travel disruption, because Blackburn council has installed a new set of traffic lights. I hope that over the summer the council will listen to the literally thousands of my constituents who have signed an online petition asking it to turn off those lights. People are contacting me all the time, saying, "It is taking me over an hour to visit my family", "get to work" or "drop my children at school." We all support road improvements in our constituency, but the traffic lights scheme on the A666 has not been and is not working. The local authority should never be afraid to step back, turn the lights off and think again In Transport questions today, I mentioned a problem on Bacup road, which is being dug up for the third time in fewer than 18 months, causing severe disruption. I hope that over the summer people will not be too badly affected. Despite these transport improvement works and transport problems, I hope that Members from all parts of the House will not be put off visiting my constituency during the summer. In particular, they should go to the town of Bacup, where we have £2 million of Townscape Heritage Initiative investment in the town centre, restoring some of its 120 listed buildings I was reminded, after I finished my advice surgery at the newly restored library in the centre of Bacup, of how much the town has come on by the opening of a new antiques shop called The Shabby Elephant. I must admit that I have been suffering from a fit of desire since I went to The Shabby Elephant, because it had a rather splendid Raleigh bicycle, with a leather seat, mudguards, chain guard and three gears. If people do not get there before me, I may go back and buy it this weekend, and try to get fit over the summer In Rawtenstall town centre—again, really worth a visit—we have plans for a new bus station. I met the local authority this week and am delighted that it is thinking again about these plans. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape our town centre, but when we have fantastic historic mill towns we must make sure that any development reflects that heritage. The people of Rawtenstall need to be front and centre in terms of the design of, and the changes that need to take place to, the bus station plans before they go ahead. I am pleased that the council will do that over the summer, and the bus station work should start later this year I want to finish with some good news, about HAPPI—not the Pharrell Williams song, which we may all be listening to as we get in our cars and go back to our constituencies for the recess, but a community group in Haslingden, which has worked tirelessly for the last couple of years to reopen Haslingden pool. I had some wonderful news this week, because the pool should be reopening. Unfortunately, for parents who live in the village of Helmshore, where I live with my wife, or who live in Haslingden, the pool will not be open for this summer holiday, but it will be for the next set of school holidays. It just shows what a fantastically driven and well organised community group can do. It is no small feat to take a pool that has been closed for 18 months, sort out the building’s refurbishment, persuade the council to hand over some money and get it reopened. I am absolutely delighted, and it will certainly get my recess started with a splash.