August has been a busy month even though Parliament has not been sitting for much of this time. I have been busy seeing constituents, attending events and writing to Ministers and organisations. The following is a snapshot of some of things that I have been doing .
I had the pleasure of meeting many constituents at various events across the constituency. I attended the Wargrave and Shiplake regatta and the Twyford Fete. There I was able to meet up again with Mick Pollek from the Reading Ukrainian community. It’s good to know that many Wokingham constituents and Wokingham Borough Council are continuing to support Mick and his colleagues. Also at the Twyford Fete I met up with Twyford Age Concern and I will be supporting some of their fundraising events in the coming weeks.
I also attended the Olly Young Foundation fun day in Sindlesham and learnt a lot about their fundraising activities for several local and national cancer charities.
I was very pleased to attend the celebration of 50 years of the Wokingham Volunteer centre where I was able to spend time with friends who have been involved with the organisation for some time.
There was considerable concern in some local communities following the riots that happened in various towns and cities following the traffic events in Southport that led to the deaths of three little girls. I met with senior officers from the Thames Valley police force and was reassured that they had taken measures to make sure our communities were safe in the Wokingham area. I was able to pass on this reassurance in person myself to some of these groups.
Several people over the last few years have told me about the difficulties they have with local bank closures. Whilst I was leader of the Council, I had discussions with The Link Scheme Ltd who organise Banking hubs. This didn’t produce results because they thought we had enough outlets where to obtain cash. I have contacted the Link Scheme Ltd again and look forward to a fuller discussion with them soon.
I have written to the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions supporting the WASPI women. These are women who had the age when they got their pension moved by several years with little notice. I am planning to meet up with their organisation again at the forthcoming Liberal Democrat conference in September.
I have written to the Secretary of State for Transport asking for more funding for road maintenance in Wokingham following years of underinvestment by the Conservative government. I have also asked for action on pavement parking laws, on which little progress has been made despite a public consultation and concerns expressed to me by local residents.
I met with the CEO of the Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust, primarily to discuss the possibilities of a new Royal Berkshire Hospital. Five other local MPs were also present and most of us thought we had a constructive meeting. I have asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to let the Trust know as soon as possible when money for our new hospital will be available. I’ve also asked the Secretary of State for Health to visit the hospital so he can see for himself that we desperately need action to address the daily problems caused by the condition of the hospital.
The Conservative government failed to fund the new hospital programme properly and moved the beginning of construction from 2024 to 2031 meaning we won’t have a new hospital until at least 2036-7, a fact lost on local Conservative Councillors who seem to think the problem stems from the new government pausing the new hospital building programme which was never properly funded.
Thank you to many constituents and organisations who have been in contact with me since the General Election on July 4th. I am working through all your emails and letters with a small but growing constituency team. If you need to contact me, my email is clive.jones.mp@parliament.uk.
Clive Jones, MP for Wokingham
