One of the key tools Members of Parliament have to raise issues in the House of Commons are what we call Early Day Motions (or EDMs). These are short motions that Members propose and which other members can sign in agreement. In effect they are petitions that allow MPs to have their opinion of a particular issue put on record in Parliament and can on occasion influence public policy. Over the last week or so, I have been involved in a number of EDM’s, three of which I have written and tabled, a number of others I have signed. The three I have tabled include one welcoming a petition by the Royal British Legion which calls for more assistance to the ex-service community over 65, a third of whom currently live below the poverty line. Another that I have worked on celebrates the 60th Anniversary of NATO, which takes place in a few weeks. The third EDM I have tabled calls on the energy watchdog, Ofcom, to focus more of its attention on working to lower energy costs and protect consumers.

Over recent weeks I have visited a number of the local schools in Walsall South and I have been very impressed with what I’ve seen. Clearly a lot of money has been pumped into local schools over recent years and it is obviously having a positive impact. I was also very impressed with the new campus at Walsall College. One issue relating to these local schools that I have been disappointed with, however, is the Council’s decision to charge local schools a surcharge fee of somewhere between £10-20,000 This comes after the schools annual budgets have been written and agreed upon. By demanding this payment it will result in schools having to make cut backs and in some cases could lead to staff being laid off.

We’ve recently celebrated National Apprenticeship Week, so last week I questioned the government on the number of apprenticeships it is funding, both nationally and in Walsall South. Apprenticeships are vital for our economy as we need a UK workforce which has a greater skill-set so we can survive and compete when we come out of the recession. I was told by the Minister that in 2007-08 we saw a record high of 225,000 young people start on an apprenticeship, a rise of over 150,000 from 1996-97. In Walsall South last year 420 people started on an apprenticeship scheme, the highest number in five years.

The government has just produced a consultation paper on Violence Against Women and Girls. I fear in the current economic environment, relationships will suffer because of the additional pressures on families and this will undoubtedly in an increasing number of cases lead to physical violence. We are at a period when budgets are being discussed; I hope that the spending on deterring violence and dealing with the consequences as undertaken by the truly excellent Walsall Domestic Violence Forum will not be subject to a further attack, this time on its 2009/10 budget.

I was sad to hear that the Editor Natalie Missenden and reporters George Makin and Craig Winyard are leaving the Walsall Advertiser. I would like to thank them all for their professionalism, dedication, courtesy, and political fairness. They are all a credit to their profession.