New figures showing start up loans for businesses in Cheshire East

Fiona Bruce MP welcomes new figures showing Start-Up Loans for new businesses in Cheshire East

Fiona Bruce MP has welcomed new figures that show the Government’s Start-Up Loans Scheme has helped 37 entrepreneurs in Cheshire East set up their own business. Across the country 10,000 Start-Up Loans have now been awarded, worth a total of £50 million.

Fiona Bruce MP commented:

“Because of the financial crisis we inherited, people who want to set up a new business have often found it hard to get a loan. This has prevented people with ideas and aspiration from putting their business plans into action.

“Today’s figures show that Start-Up Loans are changing that - here in Cheshire East £196,050 has been lent to 37 budding entrepreneurs. This will ensure that all their potential and ideas don’t go to waste. Too many constituents have come to me saying that they cannot get the right bank finance for them and this Government scheme is going a long way to address that problem. If people want to know more they should see the website http://www.startuploans.co.uk. An additional bonus is that not only is finance accessible but also all important mentoring which can make the critical difference for a person starting out on their business journey which can often seem a lonely one, particularly at first. ”

As I know from over twenty-five years of running a business in Cheshire which I started up on my living room floor – local businesses the lifeblood of a vibrant local economy. That’s why I devote so much time both in Parliament and in my Constituency to support people who want to set up and run their own business. I also know how utterly rewarding building a business can be, creating something from scratch and seeing it grow and helping to release the potential of employees and building a team. Not only does this create local jobs, but also strengthens local community life.” 

Fiona Bruce appointed Sport Cheshire Ambassador

Fiona Bruce MP Appointed Sport Cheshire Ambassador

Sport Cheshire have appointed Fiona Bruce MP to be a Sport Ambassador for the region.

Sport Cheshire is a charity with a key aim of increasing opportunities for people in Cheshire of whatever age to enjoy sport and improve their health and wellbeing. The organisation provides information, advice, kit and grants to local groups which over the past year has enabled 15,000 local people to enjoy sport within their own neighbourhood.

Fiona Bruce MP said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed to this role and look forward to supporting Sport Cheshire in its important work across the county.

Among the exciting local projects I am currently working hard to promote is the development of the former Manchester Metropolitan University site at Alsager into a comprehensive local sports facility which will provide the opportunity for thousands of local people to enjoy a wide variety of sports both indoor and outdoor right on their doorstep. Another is the ‘Twin Assassins Campaign’ being energetically spearheaded by Olympic silver and gold medallist Ann Packer and her husband Cllr Robbie Brightwell of Congleton who are working to develop facilities at Eaton Bank Academy as a sport and health wellbeing life centre for the community.”

CAP Job Club Opens in Middlewich

First CAP Job Club in Cheshire Opens in Middlewich

The first Job Club in Cheshire run by the charity Christians Against Poverty has opened at Middlewich Community Church.

CAP Clubs provide much more than a database of job vacancies. Over several weeks, courses tailored to the needs of individual job seekers provide structured support such as ‘writing your CV’, interview preparation, ‘what are employers looking for?’, ‘personal profiles skills and positive qualities’, training and volunteering to gain experience, ‘self employment options’ and much more.

Speaking at the launch, MP for Middlewich Fiona Bruce MP said:

“This in an impressively structured course providing not only individualised coaching, for people seeking all types of job, but also the support that comes from joining a group of others in the same life situation and with the backup of people in the local community. I commend Middlewich Community Church for initiating the first such CAP Job Club in the county.

John Kirkby, founder of Christians Against Poverty, said:

“A CAP Job Club provides tools for personal and practical development to assist people in their job hunt. We hope to see hundreds of CAP Job Clubs across the country over the next few years. Using our sixteen years experience of helping people get free from debt we are now working to support the unemployed through the local church.”

North West Women's Enterprise Day 2013

Fiona Bruce MP attends North West Women’s Enterprise Day 2013

This year’s North West Women’s Enterprise Day was held at Cranage Hall where women already in business or aspiring to set up their own enterprises met to learn how to achieve success in business.

Dozens of delegates came from across the North West of England and a wide range of backgrounds, from retail, production, professional and the service sectors.

Attending the day Fiona Bruce MP, a former Small Business Bureau Businesswoman of the Year, said:

“This year there was a real emphasis on encouraging the women attending to share their own know-how between themselves. Often we can learn as much from each other, for example how to juggle home and work commitments, bench mark ourselves against industry standards, manage personnel and close deals as we can from formal conference presentations. It was encouraging to hear just how much expertise there was in the room. This bodes well for business and enterprise in the North West as increasing numbers of women are setting up their own businesses – and enjoying it!”

Fiona Bruce continued:

“The North West Business Enterprise Days are always a positive experience for women not least because the day encourages them that they are not alone on their business journeys and that many of us have experienced and overcome similar challenges. It was particularly encouraging to hear of how previous such Enterprise Days had helped women such as Jayne Srith from Creative with Candy in Macclesfield whose first orders came from her attending the North West Women’s Enterprise Day 2011.”

Towards a Drug Free Congleton

Towards a Drug Free Congleton

A new scheme to educate young people in Congleton about the dangers of drug use was launched last week at a meeting for interested parents at Congleton Town Hall.

Towards a Drug Free Congleton was initiated by the Congleton Youth Committee who have worked in conjunction with Fiona Bruce MP and former Town Mayor Sally Ann Holland and current Town Mayor George Hayes for around 18 months.

The Parents Meeting was a culmination of this collaborative working and involved presentations from the Cheshire Police, Cheshire Fire and Rescue, the Street Pastors and a current offender who spoke about the impact drugs had on his life.

There will now be an ‘Intervention Day’ in the two high schools on 27^th November for all Year 9 pupils including the presentations from the Police and Fire and Rescue Service that were briefly outlined at the Parent’s Meeting.

Fiona Bruce MP commented on the event “It is a privilege to work with the enthusiastic and forward thinking members of the Youth Committee who are committed to making a difference in their community. I was incredibly pleased by the success of the meeting this week which will pave the way for educating the young people of Congleton in a coherent and consistent way across the town. I am also very grateful to all those who are involved in presentations for the Parent’s Meeting and the Intervention Day and to Eaton Bank and Congleton High for so enthusiastically facilitating this. This important work is addressing a real need in Congleton and will make a genuine difference not just for the pupils and their parents but for the community as a whole.”

Chairman of the Congleton Youth Committee, Joe Hearson said

“What was great was that it wasn't just parents who attended, but people representing all sorts of different agencies. Drugs awareness has been a big project for the Youth Committee for almost two years now since we produced a report containing the views of 413 members of Congleton's youth on issues such as drugs, alcohol, transport etc. When we presented the report to Fiona in the House of Commons she suggested that we focused on cracking down on drugs, and so we did. It is exciting for us to see that the hard work seems to be paying off, and it will be fantastic to see the project developed further in the future to diminish the issue of drugs in Congleton more and more.”

Action for Market Towns National Convention comes to the Constituency

Fiona Bruce MP Keynote Speaker at Action for Market Town’s National Convention in Congleton

Fiona Bruce was a keynote speaker at the National Convention and Awards Ceremony of the Action for Market Towns (AMT) Organisation held in the Congleton Constituency on 6^th and 7^th November.

Fiona Bruce MP who was instrumental in bringing the Convention to this part of the country said:

“This is the first time that the Convention has been based across five communities. I congratulate the five ‘Town Partnerships’ of Congleton, Alsager, Holmes Chapel, Sandbach and Middlewich for promoting in so many ways the strengthening of community life here, to such a degree that people travelled from the length and breadth of the UK to learn from their experiences.”

Speaking at the conference at Congleton Town Hall Fiona said:

“Whilst Government can and has done a great deal to support High Streets and our Market Towns – such as through the Future High Streets Forum, High Street Innovation and Renewal Funds and the Portas Pilots and Town Team Partners – of which Sandbach, Alsager and Middlewich are all Partners – ultimately it is local people in local communities who really make things happen - working tirelessly to create a quality of life which is second to none in so many of our Market Towns. I know how hard all the Town Partnerships work in my Constituency and congratulate all those organisations from across the country who have won well deserved AMT Awards in a strongly fought competition.”

After speaking, Fiona conducted a Q and A with delegates to obtain from them fresh suggestions, ideas and comments which she undertook to take back to Parliament to discuss with the Minister for Local Government and High Streets, Brandon Lewis MP, and to feed back his responses to the Action for Market Towns Organisation.

During the two day convention, which featured a packed programme of workshops and visits designed to support towns and high streets, delegates exchanged ideas, learnt how government policy will affect them, and picked up new suggestions for projects and plans to boost their areas and travelled across the five towns of Alsager, Congleton, Holmes Chapel, Middlewich and Sandbach to take part in workshops featuring local community innovations.

Regional Award winners included Rochford Art Trail, Beccles Lido, Northallerton Homegrown Food Festival, Henfield Hub Community Website, Lancing’s Sensory Garden, Sevenoaks Town Partnership Sunday Supplement. The Overall National AMT Award Winner, whose award was presented at the Awards Evening at Congleton Town Hall by Fiona Bruce MP, was the 4CG Project in Cardigan, Wales, a community-owned low cost car park which as well as increasing access and footfall within the town, has raised £300,000 in investment for local community projects.

Fiona Bruce MP Hosts Pro-Life Student Event in Parliament

Fiona Bruce MP Hosts Pro-Life Student Event in Parliament

On Tuesday 5^th November, Fiona Bruce MP, Chair of All Party Parliamentary Pro Life Group (APPLG), and the Alliance of Pro-Life Students (APS) hosted an evening reception in Parliament where pro-life politicians, students and recent graduates from across Britain had the chance to connect. In conjunction with APS’ mission and vision this was an excellent opportunity for pro-life students to support each other and to exchange ideas about how best to promote a positive pro-life ethic on campus. The university age bracket has one of the highest abortion rates within the demographic (ONS 2012) making campus pro-life work all the more vital.

With the All Party Pro-Life Group (APPLG) providing the Jubilee Room in the Palace of Westminster, and, having just launched APS membership, this was the perfect opportunity for APS' members to meet each other in person. The organisation’s young leaders gave short but stirring speeches: Eve Farren (Executive Director) discussed the future of APS and the importance of free speech on campus; Ed Smith (Chairman of the Board of Directors) talked about concrete ways that students can get involved with the organisation; and Isaac Spencer (President of Cardiff Students for Life) reflected on the need for APS, from a student leader’s perspective. In addition, Lord David Alton and Fiona Bruce MP inspired the assembled students by encouraging them to actively defend life.

 Fiona Bruce MP, Co-Chair of the APPLG, commented following the event:

“Congratulations to everyone at the Alliance of Pro Life Students for making this event such a success! It was enormously encouraging to meet so many passionate and articulate young people fired up to support the Pro Life cause.”

Lord Alton of Liverpool commented:

“It is really heartening to see such a wave of articulate, intelligent and committed university students from all over the UK, passionately arguing for new attitudes towards the unborn, the terminally ill and the dying.  Young people like these provide reasons to be cautiously hopeful about the future of our society.”

Through the friendships and contacts made at the event, APS has laid a firm foundation for the longevity and continued growth of the pro-life movement in British universities for years to come.

Fiona Bruce MP co-leads report in Parliament to tackle nuisance calls

Fiona Bruce MP Co-Leads Parliamentary Report to Tackle Nuisance Calls

Fiona Bruce MP for Congleton, has worked with a small group of colleague MPs to produces a report published this week into the unsolicited Marketing industry and to call for action now to protect the public from wanted nuisance calls and texts.

The All Party Parliamentary Group against nuisance calls, of which Fiona Bruce is the Vice Chair, was set up to help the many thousands of constituents plagued by nuisance calls by investigating existing unscrupulous practices and identifying deficiencies in the current legislation. The Group launched the inquiry into nuisance calls in July with the aim of finding a solution to the menace affecting everyone in the UK.

Commenting on the inquiry, Fiona Bruce MP said:

“Millions of us are being bombarded with nuisance calls and texts and people are totally sick and tired of it. It is appalling that consumers are not being properly protected and are being targeted every day.

“Doing nothing is no longer an option, and this report paints a worrying picture of a country under siege. We need action now, not in a year’s time. I hope the regulators; Government and industry rise to the challenge laid down by this report and make the necessary changes which are so desperately needed.”

The Report’s recommendations to tackle Nuisance Calls and Texts include:

• An easy to use short dialling code for people to report nuisance calls and texts
• Encouraging telecoms companies to block the numbers of nuisance callers and text senders
• Tightening loopholes with the Telephone Preference Service Register which have enabled organisations to circumvent this
• Ensuring the TPS is constantly checked and updated in real time
• A requirement that persistent offenders have their data management systems audited
• Caller line identification to be provided free of charge
• Establishing a co-regulatory body for nuisance calls and texts

The Inquiry obtained evidence from members of the public aswell as telecoms providers, regulators, and consumer groups.

The report was presented to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ed Vaizey MP, on Wednesday 30^th October and was launched on the 31^st October 2013.

The full report and their recommendations can be accessed at http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/no2nuisancecalls/pages/158/attachments/original/1383134265/Report_-_Inquiry_into_the_unsolicited_marketing_industry_FINAL.pdf?1383134265

The Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe speaks at Gala Dinner for the Congleton Constituency

Strictly’s Ann sparkles at Gala Dinner Event for the Congleton Constituency

Former Strictly star and politician the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe was guest of honour at a Gala Dinner organised by Congleton Conservative Association at the Park Royal Hotel, Stretton on Saturday.

Fiona Bruce MP and the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe with Ann's autobiography 'Strictly Ann'

Her after dinner speech entitled ‘Life after Westminster’ entertained diners with tales of life in the public eye after her political career; from Strictly Come Dancing to hard hitting documentaries and she gave her unique perspective on the current political climate.

Before and after the meal Ann was on hand to sign her new autobiography, “Strictly Ann”, and pose for pictures with the guests.

Fiona Bruce MP said “It was a privilege to hear Ann speak again and I am grateful to her for coming to support both my constituency and the surrounding area. I am sure all the guests would agree that her speech was both erudite and witty and the evening can be considered a roaring success despite the roaring wind and pouring rain outside!”

Financial Education for Vulnerable Young People

Fiona Bruce MP call for action to support the financial education of vulnerable young people

More needs to be done to support the financial education of vulnerable young people outside of mainstream education, according to a report published this week by a group of MPs Chaired by Fiona Bruce MP.  The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People reported the findings of a 10-month inquiry into the provision of financial education for vulnerable young people in the UK and how this can contribute to their financial and social inclusion, and improve their life and job prospects.

The inquiry took evidence from charities, education groups and other organisations working with vulnerable young people, as well as a group of young people themselves.  Its final report calls on central government, local authorities, financial institutions and other organisations working in this area to do more to support the financial education of vulnerable under-25s. 

Fiona Bruce MP, Chair of the APPG Inquiry Financial Education for Vulnerable Young People, said:

“The inclusion of financial education in the National Curriculum for secondary schools, achieved by our All Party Group, has been a big step forward – but it is essential that vulnerable young people outside mainstream education are not left behind.  Our inquiry has identified a serious need for more to be done to support the financial education of this group of vulnerable under-25s – and so improve their life chances - and we have outlined specific ways in which this can be achieved. 

“We hope that the government, local authorities, financial institutions and other organisations working in this area study our findings and work together to improve provision of these vital life skills to young people in particular need of support.”

Key recommendations include;

For Government

• To enable statutory bodies coming into contact with vulnerable young people, such as Job Centre Plus, the NHS and Youth Courts, to train their staff to be able to help support and signpost them to manage their money
• To promote improved coordination and partnership working between providers of financial education for vulnerable young people across all sectors

For local authorities

• To take responsibility for the development of coordinated local strategies to develop and improve the financial capability of vulnerable young people
• To review the provision of financial education specifically for those in or leaving care and develop an appropriate tailored strategy embedding good practice

For financial institutions

·         To provide young people with appropriate advice around managing their money, particularly when an account is first opened or if difficulties become apparent

For organisations working with vulnerable young people

• To ensure that promoting financial capability is embedded in their policies, procedures and practice
• To take opportunities to engage in and promote partnership working and share expertise and good practice

APPG Report Chair Fiona Bruce MP said:

“We need to make sure that everyone receives the benefit of teaching and learning about money – and this is especially true of vulnerable young people, who are at particular risk of financial and social exclusion.  This is a crucial further piece of the financial education puzzle. 

“In the wake of last month’s confirmation of financial education’s place in the new National Curriculum, we have to keep up the pressure to ensure that all young people – whatever their circumstances – are given the tools they need to manage their money well throughout their lives.”

The APPG on Financial Education for Young People was launched in January 2011 to provide a medium through which MPs, Peers and interested organisations can discuss and encourage the teaching of financial education in schools and colleges.  In December 2011 the group published a report of a major inquiry into financial education in primary and secondary schools, which called for financial education to be made a compulsory part of the National Curriculum.  The APPG has since conducted a review of financial education provision in the further education sector.

In September it was confirmed that financial education will be taught in secondary schools in England through the new National Curriculum from September 2014