Scholar Green Post Box

Delay in opening post box “Inexplicable” says Fiona Bruce MP

Fiona Bruce MP has contacted Royal Mail about the lengthy delay in opening the post box in Scholar Green which she and residents campaigned for earlier this year.

Fiona Bruce said “Residents were delighted when the post box as put in place, but there has now been an inexplicable delay of almost a month during which time it has been taped up! I have contacted Royal Mail at a most senior level to ask for the box to be opened without further delay so that residents, particularly those who are elderly and find it difficult, will no longer have a lengthy steep walk to undertake, simply to post a letter.”

Fiona Bruce MP visits Cledford House in Carers Week

Fiona Bruce MP visits Cledford House in Carers Week

Fiona Bruce MP visited Cledford House, Cledford Lane, Middlewich for their open day last week to meet with residents and carers for a tour and afternoon tea.

Cledford House is one of Cheshire’s newest and friendliest homes offering residential and respite provision to adults with learning disabilities.

Following her visit Fiona Bruce said “I was extremely impressed with the quality of the accommodation offered at Cledford House which is clearly the result of a huge amount of thoughtful planning -and hard work!"

The visit comes as national Carers Week (8-14 June) approaches, the theme of which is ‘Carer Friendly Communities’. ‘Carer Friendly Communities’ are aware of the indispensable part played by unpaid carers and encourage everyone, individuals, businesses, public services to make life better for carers. One in eight people are likely to be a carer and every day 6000 people take on new caring responsibilities and the aim of Carers Week is to raise awareness of these unpaid, invaluable carers.

Fiona said “I was pleased to be able to visit Cledford House as part of Carer’s Week because it is a place embodying the spirit of a ‘Carer Friendly Community’.

Fiona Bruce MP responds to news of proposed Private Members Bill on Assisted Suicide

Fiona Bruce MP responds to news of proposed Private Members Bill on Assisted Suicide

Following today’s announcement that Rob Marris MP for Wolverhampton South West will bring forward a Private Members Bill Ballot in an attempt to overturn the ban on Assisted Suicide, Fiona Bruce, Chair of the Parliamentary All Party Pro-Life Group said today:

“I am confident that Members of Parliament will vigorously oppose and reject efforts to legalise Assisted Suicide, as was clearly shown to be the case the last time this was debated at length in the House of Commons, in 2012.

Such proposals threaten the lives of the frail, elderly and disabled, as evidence from other countries shows, where many choose to take lethal drugs or a lethal injection because they see themselves as an unwanted burden.

What is needed is in such circumstances is care, practical help and support, both for the individual – in what is often the most vulnerable of situations – as well as for their family and friends.

Britain leads the world in palliative care, and this Bill will give an opportunity to press for this to be even better – that will be the most compassionate response to this Bill.”

In 2012, Fiona Bruce led a group of MPs who effectively challenged the effort by the then MP for Croydon South, Richard Ottaway, to test the will of the House of Commons to change the law on Assisted Suicide then.

Speaking at the time Fiona Bruce MP said “We are delighted that the House has sent such a clear message that improving specialist palliative and hospice care is a priority and that assisted suicide is not the route we wish to take as a society.”

Fiona Bruce added today:

“What we should be focussing on is the wonderful pioneering work in palliative care and dying well being undertaken by organisations such as St Luke's Hospice in Cheshire, helping people to support family members and friends to pass away in a peaceful, loving and caring environment.

How to best support those we love to have a "good death " at home and in our local communities is something  we can  all learn more about and is the best antidote to travelling abroad to an impersonal foreign clinic. It is a tragedy that so much publicity has been given to the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland which portrays in such a negative way the doctor patient relationship. I do not believe that such clinics are the way forward here, nor what people want. A lethal injection is no substitute for a good death where pain is alleviated and the best possible care provided. No one should feel they are a burden or that they have a duty to die."

The proposals to be brought forward by Rob Marris MP would allow patients thought to have no more than 6 months to live and who have demonstrated a ‘clear and settled intention’ to end their lives to be prescribed a lethal dose of drugs on the authority of two doctors.

The last time this was debated in the House of Commons 27^th March 2012 where MPs rejected an amendment to change the law and approved Fiona Bruce’s amendment for greater emphasis on palliative care – http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120327/debtext/120327-0002.htm#12032752001212

Photo shows Fiona Bruce, Vice President of St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice, with (right) Siobhan Horton, Director of Clinical Services and (left) Rachel Zammit, Head of Public Health and Wellbeing, The End of Life Partnership

Fiona Bruce MP challenges Government to support families more

Fiona Bruce MP challenges Government to support families more

In her speech in the debate on the Queen’s Speech in the House of Commons this week Fiona Bruce argued that much more support needs to be given to addressing family life by the Government.

Commenting after the debate Fiona Bruce said “Family and community life is particularly strong in the Congleton community but this is not so in many parts of the country. The UK’s family breakdown statistics are sadly far higher than in many other developed countries. Indeed, one of the saddest statistics I have heard is that a teenage boy in this country today is more likely to have a smartphone than a Father at home. We must do something about this.

Government now accepts that it is a right responsibility for it to lead on promoting our physical well-being – through exercise and healthy eating for example – and should equally help equip people to develop and maintain healthy relationships which are equally important for our well-being.”

The full text of Fiona Bruce’s speech is below and can be accessed at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150602/debtext/150602-0003.htm#15060233000316

The Quinta Primary School - Parliament's 2015 Flag Project

Flag designed by The Quinta Primary School representing Congleton Constituency flying in Parliament Square this week

A flag designed by children from The Quinta Primary School to represent the local community in Congleton takes its place at Westminster today at the culmination of a unique parliamentary project.

The flags stem from an educational journey undertaken by children in over 450 primary schools to discover the importance of elected representation in the UK Parliament – a project developed to celebrate the 750^th anniversary of the House of Commons (Simon de Montfort parliament of 1265). 

Between 18 – 22 May, 80 flags designed by primary school children from across the UK will fly in public for the first time in Parliament Square – during the same week that the House of Commons meets for the first time after the General Election. Each flag will be representing historic counties, Quinta’s flag will be representing Cheshire. The result is a fascinating child’s eye view of the UK.

Speaking at the culmination of Parliament’s 2015 Flag Project, David Natzler, Clerk of the House of Commons said today:

“Flags are one of the key ways in which individual and group identities are represented around the world. This makes them a perfect vehicle to encapsulate a project celebrating this year’s anniversary of 750 years of political representation in the UK.  

“The flags also demonstrate the wonderful creativity and imagination of all the participants who have drawn upon the natural environment of their area, a local trade or industry, myths, legends or history in order to represent their local identities in a variety of highly imaginative ways.”

Speaking about the project, Fiona Bruce MP for the Congleton Constituency said today:

 “I am delighted that Quinta’s flag will be representing Cheshire and am thrilled to see it flying in such an iconic space to coincide with the sitting of the new Parliament. We should all feel proud of the achievement of the pupils at Quinta whose excellent work has enabled them to be selected out of 500 flags. I congratulate them!”

Headteacher of The Quinta, Tracey Walklate said “What a high honour and privilege it is for The Quinta Primary School, to have our design chosen to fly in Parliament Square, Westminster. I am extremely proud of our pupils’ historic and artistic skills. I would like to thank our local MP, Mrs Fiona Bruce for selecting us to undertake this prestigious task.”

The 2015 Flag Project forms part of the Houses of Parliament’s public programme, Parliament in the Making, which commemorates two important anniversaries in 2015: 750 years since the Simon de Montfort parliament (20 January 1265) and 800 years since the sealing of Magna Carta (15 June 1215).

The display of flags in Parliament Square is made possible with support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 

Alsager Ladies Lifeboat Guild Plants, Cakes and Coffee

Fiona Bruce MP supports Alsager Ladies Lifeboat Guild

Saturday’s sunny window saw Fiona Bruce MP supporting the Alsager Ladies Lifeboat Guild’s 3^rd Annual Plants, Cakes and Coffee morning at St Marys Church, Alsager.

The event, held by the Alsager Guild which has been going since 1953, selling homemade cakes, plants grown in local gardens and a selection of handmade crafts, raises money for the lifesaving work of the RNLI lifeboat crews and lifeguards around the coast of the UK and Ireland, on the Thames and on our beaches.

The morning raised over £800 for this work and Harriet Crompton, on behalf of the Guild said “We are incredibly pleased with this total and thank everyone for coming and supporting us, not just on Saturday, but at our events throughout the year. We have some very loyal supporters to whom we are very grateful. The money raised goes to help those extraordinary volunteers who drop their normal lives to take to the water to help people in need.”

Fiona Bruce MP said “I am always pleased to support local charity groups and the Alsager Ladies Lifeboat Guild is no exception. The amount they have made is fantastic and is testament to pleasant morning well spent!

The Guild will next have a stall at the Alsager Carnival on 13^th June. Watch this space for details of their Christmas Coffee Morning! 

Fiona Bruce MP

I am delighted to have been re elected to serve the people of the Congleton constituency once more. Fiona Bruce