Congleton Concert Celebrates Day of Older Persons

Congleton Concert Celebrates Day of Older Persons

Fiona Bruce MP and guests from the local community enjoyed a show stopping performance at a charity concert organised by Age UK Cheshire East at the weekend.

The concert sponsored by SAS Daniels LLP was held at Eaton Bank Academy in Congleton to celebrate UN International Day of Older Persons.

A great day was had by all with highlights including Sister Act by Congleton Musical Theatre, “Rivers of Babylon” by the Can’t Sing Choir, Riverdance by Louise Carter School of Dancing, “The song that goes like this” by Micheal Daws and Heidi Cook and Starlight Megamix by Centre Stage Youth Theatre.

Guest speaker Fiona Bruce MP said: “I passionately believe in the work of Age UK Cheshire East and its mission to provide a more fulfilling life for people in later life.

The United Nations International Day of Older Persons takes place every year celebrating the role older people play in society – so what better opportunity than for us all to get together and share in the incredible work Age UK Cheshire East are doing in our area and enjoy an afternoon of fun with great company and great entertainment.”

Over £700 was raised for the charity which will go towards supporting services for older people within Cheshire East.

Damon Taylor Chief Executive said “Thanks to everyone who came along to celebrate UN International Day of Older Persons. This date is very important to our charity as an organisation which helps older people in Cheshire East enjoy a more fulfilling life. The annual commemoration is celebrated around the world, recognising the important role that older people play in society and we’re very proud to have been part of the celebrations.

The performances were of a very high standard and we can’t thank the acts enough for giving up their time for a very special cause.”

If you’d like more information about Age UK Cheshire East services, please call 01625 612958 or visit www.ageukce.org

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Age UK Cheshire East’s mission is to ‘improve later life for people in Cheshire East’.

Age UK Cheshire East provides services and support to older people throughout the Cheshire East area and campaigns to achieve positive change.

We believe poverty, isolation and loneliness, poor services, inadequate care and support, discrimination and a lack of respect are unacceptable.

We are a medium-sized business and an independent charity that must grow because we have such a big job to do.

For more information, please contact Age UK Cheshire East on 01625 612958, go to www.ageukcheshireeast.org or visit us at the office – New Horizon’s Centre, Henderson Street, Macclesfield, SK11 6RA.

Fiona Bruce MP

House of Commons

London

SW1A 0AA

4 October 2016

Dear Fiona

I just wanted to write to thank you so very much for attending our charity concert on

Saturday. The concert was a great success, raising vital funds for our charity as well

as developing awareness about the services we provide for older people in

Congleton and the wider area.

I feel that your support added gravitas to the event and your words really struck a

chord with what we are all about as a local charity looking after the needs of our

older population. It was great to hear you talk so passionately about the important

role that older people play in our society and so relevant given it was the UN

International Day of Older Persons.

Once again, many thanks for your support and please do not hesitate to contact me

if you would like to meet again to discuss older person issues and how we could

work together to tackle some of the common issues being faced by our ageing

population.

Yours sincerely

Damon Taylor

Chief Executive

Age UK Cheshire East

Brereton Wives

Fiona Bruce MP "Had a lovely evening speaking at the Brereton Wives group - here with their Chairman, Mrs Yarwood, about to celebrate her 90th Birthday!"

Morfruit

Local Fiona Bruce MP and Congleton business, Morfruit, save 2016 Christmas puddings for the nation!

After local businessman Simon Brown, MD of Morfruit, went to see Fiona Bruce MP at one of her regular local surgeries, the MP realised how serious his concerns were. Unless urgent and high level action was taken at the top of Government to change an EU regulation, many jobs would be lost at the long established Congleton business and possibly it could close altogether.

The EU regulation banned grapes sprayed with a particular pesticide – chlorpyrifos - which, whilst not harmful, was to be banned from grapes used in food production after August 2016. However, inadvertently the wording of the EU regulation meant that it included raisins harvested in 2015 or earlier. Raisins are produced from grapes and can be kept for two years after harvesting and are a staple ingredient in Christmas Puddings, mince pies, breakfast cereals and a host of other products made by Morfruit – and another local manufacturer, Mornflake. The raisins to be used in this year’s Christmas Puddings etc would all have been treated with the banned pesticide, having been harvested in 2015 – these raisins having come mainly from Turkey – and no other raisins would be available if they were not allowed to be used.

Fiona Bruce said “This regulation meant that over 90% of all Christmas Puddings would not be available for sale in the UK for Christmas 2016 plus a host of other products. With the risk to many jobs at Morfruit I realised this regulation has to be changed – and urgently.”

Fiona Bruce spoke with the then Farming Minister George Eustace and arranged a meeting with him in Westminster with Simon Brown of Morfruit and a representative from Mornflake. The importance and urgency of the situation was clearly explained and the potential impact on millions of food items in the run up to Christmas 2016.

As a result DEFRA have now released a formal statement allowing the use of the sultanas and raisins from Turkey that may otherwise have been wasted. The UK Government have created a solution which allows production of goods with dried fruit from Turkey for the rest of the season, whereas the EU countries were unable to agree on a solution for allowable levels of chlorpyrifos in dried fruit to tackle their own regulatory oversight.

Simon Brown, Managing Director of Morfruit said “Our company was under extreme pressure from pending EU food legislation, perhaps as much as closure. Fiona’s help in creating a channel to DEFRA enabled us to discuss a sensible transitional solution which allowed my company to continue to supply our customers. Without this intervention, I doubt we would have survived and there would have been an enormous gap in supermarkets of many Christmas foodstuffs this year”

Middlewich Rail Link Business Case

Fiona Bruce MP secures Minister’s commitment to work on Middlewich Railway Station business case

Fiona Bruce MP has continued her commitment to the campaign for the reopening of Middlewich Railway Station to passengers by asking the new Rail Minister, Paul Maynard MP, to look at the recent business case plan for the re-opening of the station.

Speaking in the House of Commons after asking a Parliamentary Question at Transport Questions to the Minister, Fiona said “I was extremely pleased with the response from the new Rail Minister which was as positive as we could hope for at this early stage. I shall be making arrangements to meet with him to discuss the excellent and detailed business plan recently produced by the Mid Cheshire Rail Link campaign chaired by Stephen Dent of Middlewich.”

The full text of the PQ by Fiona Bruce MP and the answer by Minister for Trains, Paul Maynard MP, is below.

·         Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)

I am delighted to hear that the northern powerhouse is alive and well. Does the Minister agree that if it is to have real effect, it is important that investment is made in connectivity not just between the cities of the north, but between the towns? I thank Ministers for the initial investment in the Middlewich bypass, but will they also look at the business case for the reopening of the Middlewich railway station?

·         Paul Maynard

As someone born and bred in a town very close to Middlewich, I am well aware in my 40 years of the importance of the town’s connectivity at the heart of Cheshire. I know that there are good plans for Middlewich’s new station and look forward to working with my hon. Friend on progressing the business case.

Middlewich Horticultural Show

Fiona Bruce MP attends Middlewich Annual Horticultural Show on Saturday September 10^th

Fiona Bruce said "It was wonderful to see the Civic Hall full with so many entries and for this tradition going back 160 years to be maintained. It was particularly encouraging to see prizes won by young people and newcomers."

Fiona Bruce MP urges people to support newlife foundation for disabled children

'Fiona Bruce MP urges people to support newlife foundation for disabled children

Fiona Bruce MP met representatives from newlife foundation for disabled children recently, a local charity helping disabled and terminally ill children in the UK, the UK’s largest charity funder of disability equipment for disabled children. The charity will collect no longer needed medical equipment so that it can be reused rather than it being thrown away.

Fiona Bruce MP said "I'm urging my constituents to support this excellent charity which is meeting more than one real need. Over the years several residents have contacted me expressing concern that they have been told to dispose of medical equipment after they have used it, - some valuable - when it could be used again by someone else who very much needs it. This recently founded, but already successful and growing charity solves that problem and will even collect items of equipment form people's homes! I encourage everyone to keep a note of their contact details.”

www.newlifecharity.co.uk

Former Mayor of Sandbach and MP Fiona Bruce join to support North West Air Ambulance fundraising

Former Mayor of Sandbach and MP Fiona Bruce join to support North West Air Ambulance fundraising

The former Mayor of Sandbach, Mike Benson, who together with his wife, Kathie, volunteers for the North West Air Ambulance Fundraising team, joined forces with the MP at the recent Sandbach U3A concert to raise funds for them.

Funds were donated by those attended the 1^st concert by the Sandbach U3A at which Mike Benson spoke. His statement regarding the fundraising at the Wesley Centre, Sandbach is below.

Fund-raising at the Sandbach U3A Concert

When the North West Air Ambulance fund-raising team contacted me to see if Kathie and I could help by providing a fund-raising table at a U3A Concert, a quick check of the diaries and ‘yes’ was our response.

The Concert raised much-needed funds from ticket sales, a raffle and from our modest merchandise table.  The Concert was very successful and a credit to Pat and Norman Satterthwait and the Team.

As I explained to the audience shortly before the interval, our involvement with NWAA was for a personal reason. I told of how one morning in September 2012 I received a call from my son-in-law to tell us that our daughter Jennifer had been involved in a motorcycle accident in Darwen, Lancashire, and suffering serious injuries.

At the scene, the paramedic, Chris, made an important decision. He diagnosed spinal injuries and called for the Air Ambulance. Jennifer’s flight took four minutes and at The Royal Preston Hospital this was confirmed. Jennifer’s vertabrae was broken in two places and she had broken her shoulder, collar bone, pelvis, several ribs and both lungs had collapsed. I still shudder when I think of that call and that we could have lost her or she could have been crippled for life.

North West Air Ambulance now has three helicopters and it costs 6 million pounds a year from voluntary contributions to operate them across the North West, covering 5,500 square miles and 8 million people.  It is worth remembering that the Air Ambulance is in the Sandbach area regularly and that 30% of all missions are to road traffic collisions. It could happen to any of us.

Jennifer’s journey probably cost about three thousand pounds, but the gift of time of four minutes instead of a journey by road of over 20 minutes undoubtedly was a life changer. Her recovery took over two years but last year she completed a fund-raising trek to Everest Base Camp, taking twelve days to reach 5357 metres.

At the time of the accident I was Deputy Town Mayor and it was a given that I would nominate NWAA as my main charity when I was appointed Mayor in 2013.  Before and since then, we have continued to support other voluntary organisations in Sandbach but we will never forget our gratitude to the North West Air Ambulance Team for the fantastic job they do.

Mike Benson