Articles and columns
30 January 2006
Starting over
Traditionally, January is a time for new beginnings. So, it is a good month to start a new column. Or it would be, if I had not already had one in the
Stevenage Mercury. But, as that was quite a while ago now, perhaps this column is a new beginning, especially as it is fortnightly instead of weekly.
My aim is give a local take on national politics. I know that these are a turn off for most people, but politics does affect all of our lives in a myriad of different ways. That is why, even when they seem argumentative, irrelevant and boring, we ignore national politics at our peril. I will try to keep you in the loop without bombarding you with lots of mind-numbing facts and, if there is anything you would like to know or ask, write to me at the House of Commons, London SW1A OAA or contact me here. I would really like to hear from you.
Listening hard
Actually, my ears have been working unusually hard this month. Listening is not something politicians tend to do and that is why I decided to spend sometime this year doing just that with my constituents.
After three Saturday morning sessions I have learnt three very important things. The first is that I have a better grasp of the essentials of British politics than many MPs, the second is that people are interested in politics; they just hate the smear and sneer of party politics and the third is that I need to do more listening.
That is why I have scheduled several more Just Listening seminars over the next two months. When these are finished I will put all the responses together and write a report. This, along with those of the thirty one other MPs taking part in this exercise, will be presented to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair and the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. So, if you want to have your say, do please come along to one of these events. I promise to listen.
Health problems
Health was one of the main topics of the Just Listening seminars. Most constituents were pleased with the improvements in waiting times but many expressed concern about the deficit in the finances of the Trust that runs the Lister and the QEII Hospitals. I share this but it should be seen as a problem, not a crisis.
Ten years ago, when I first heard about this deficit, it was crisis. That is because, at the time, nothing was being done about it. Now plans are in place to reduce the deficit and measures are being taken to prevent its re-occurrence. One of these is the long planned and much consulted upon reconfiguration of hospital services in the area. This includes the building of a new, ultra modern, hospital in Hatfield which will, eventually, replace the old QEII in Welwyn.
This reconfiguration, not the deficit, is the main reason for the transfer of some services from the QEII to the Lister Hospital. Most of these services will, in turn, be transferred to the new Hatfield Hospital when it is completed in 2013.
Last week the new Hatfield Hospital moved a step closer with the signing of the first round of papers for the purchase of a 38 acre site just near the A1M. It is also right next to the University of Hertfordshire where plans are being made to open a medical school. I know that seven years seems a long time to wait but, from the plans I have seen, it should be worth it.
Getting it right
The proposed closure of Collenswood School is another cause for concern in Stevenage at present. This first came to my attention three years ago when OFSTED inspectors put the school into Special Measures and gave Hertfordshire County Council two years to improve it. But, last month, they decided that insufficient progress had been made and, fearing that the pupil’s education was being put at risk, recommended that the school be closed. .
Since then parents, teachers, governors and pupils have attended a series of meetings with the County Council. Much dissatisfaction has been expressed and I will be discussing the matter with the Collenswood Action Group later this week. Meanwhile, the County Council is consulting on the closure.
Barbara Follett MP
