Letters
Chris urges MP to vote for more transparent expenses
Chris Skidmore has written to the Kingswood MP, urging him to vote against the government's plans to exempt MPs' expenses from the Freedom of Information Act. Chris believes that all expenses that MPs occur should be made available to the public if we are to restore faith in our democractic system.
The letter reads:
Dear Roger,
I hope that you are well.
I am writing as a local constituent to ask that you vote against any attempt to block full publication of MPs' expenses that will be coming to the House of Commons on Thursday as part of the Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009.
We need a more democratic system of government, in which the business and expenses of MPs are more transparent and open to members of the public. This means ensuring that MPs' expenses are subject to the same regulations of the Freedom of Information Act as other public servants, and that MPs make a full disclosure of their expenses. MPs should not be exempt from the laws that they make for others. Above all, at a time when many hard working families are struggling to cope in the current recession, the general public of Kingswood have a right to know how taxpayers' money is being spent.
As President Barack Obama stated in his Inaugural Address, "Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government."
I am sure that you agree. I hope therefore that you will have little problem in voting against this Order and its attempts to block the full publication of MPs expenses.
As this is a matter of public interest, I am releasing a copy of this letter to the local media.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Skidmore
Evening Post, 2 December 2008
I THOUGHT that I would respond to Peter Hack's letter concerning the campaign that I have been running against the Government's decision to build on the green belt in Kingswood ("Tell us how you'd fix it, Mr Skidmore", Open Lines, November 15).
I entirely agree that the supply of affordable housing is a serious problem in the South West. We do need more affordable homes. We need them for struggling young families that want to have a home they can call their own.
We need them for those who work in the public services who struggle to get on to the housing ladder - teachers, police, care workers like Mr Hack.
I am also concerned that there are many vulnerable young people who desperately need the opportunity to access social housing as a step towards a better life.
As a trustee of Kingswood Young Homeless Project (now KYHP), I hope I can help to provide those opportunities within Kingswood. It is one of my key political aspirations and ambitions to get as many people as possible owning their own homes, giving them greater independence and security.
And yes, we do need to resolve the current housing crisis that our nation faces. It is painfully clear that the Labour Government's decision to reduce the number of affordable and social housing units to an all-time low of 20,000 per year, coupled with its decision to allow a house-price bubble to get out of control, has been a mistake: a mistake that is not only costing every taxpayer, but is already increasing the suffering of the most vulnerable unable to purchase a home in the years of rising prices, and who could have benefited from a steady supply of new affordable homes over the past 10 years.
In the South West alone, there are now 157,000 people on housing waiting lists - an increase of 66 per cent since 2002. So I am not against building new homes. The problem is that we must be able to ensure that our local infrastructure - our hospitals, schools and road networks - are able to cope with the increased demand that extra housing brings, if people who need new housing are to get the decent homes matched with the public services they deserve. This is why South Gloucestershire Council has suggested that 21,000 homes can be built, which would also avoid building on the green belt.
This is why I helped establish the "No Way To 33k" campaign to highlight that the local area could not cope with the Government's demand of 32,800 homes, and have worked with local housing campaigners against the Government's plans.
It is important that the green belt should remain in place, as it is crucial for a sustainable environment that benefits everyone, and is something that can be enjoyed by all.
The problem with building on the green belt is that it also gives developers the incentive not to build on brown field sites which need to be developed if regeneration of those local areas is to take place.
Chris Skidmore, prospective Conservative MP, Kingswood.
Chris hands in petition against extra homes in Kingswood-
giving local people their say
title: Chris local people their say
In his campaign against the number of extra homes being planned for South Gloucestershire, Chris has handed in hundreds of petition signatures from local residents calling on the government to reduce the number of new homes planned for South Gloucestershire.
Chris is pictured handing in the signatures to the leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Cllr John Calway.
Handing in the petition, Chris also sent a letter of thanks which appeared in the Evening Post:
I would like to thank local residents who have so far signed my petition to South Gloucestershire Council to call on the government to reduce the number of houses being imposed upon the local area. I have presented the hundreds of petition signatures recieved to the Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Cllr John Calway who was very grateful to receive them.
The proposals contained in the government's draft Report are for 30,800 new homes to be built in South Gloucestershire over 20 years – thousands more than South Gloucestershire Council’s recommended figure of 21,500. On the eastern fringes of the Kingswood constituency, over 8,000 new homes are being planned.
To press ahead with the volume and density of these numbers would be madness.
Firstly, the number of homes seem to have been plucked out of a hat, without any regard to the present economic circumstances and the downturn in the economy. The figures came out before the crisis in the housing market and it seems highly unlikely that this unrealistic demand for new homes will be met by developers. It is especially worrying for local residents of Kingswood, as a report I recently produced showed that the area has suffered the fourth worst slump in house prices nationally. To build more homes at this dramatic level will undoubtedly reduce the value of many surrounding homes, forcing many Kingswood families into further financial trouble.
Secondly, local services and facilities are already overstretched, particularly with the radical downgrading of Frenchay hospital. Added to this, the detail of the draft proposals show that the Government’s plans for this extra housing will not be matched with the necessary investment in additional local services and facilities, including schools. A lack of government support on public transport provision has also already led to dire levels of congestion on local roads and motorways. This extra development will just worsen existing problems with congestion. It is perverse that the Government wants to massively increase the population whilst at the same time cutting our services.
In addition, if the Government’s proposals are fully implemented, there will be a significant and tragic loss to our Green Belt land, as well as the loss of habitats of biodiversity interest and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty such as the Siston Conservation Area. New areas of woodland planting around Siston village and at Warmley Forest Park as part of the Forest of Avon would also be threatened. The point is a simple one- once you start expanding Kingswood eastwards into the Green Belt, when and where do you stop?
Above all, it is this government's regional planning process that is to blame for the 30,800 figure that South Gloucestershire is now being asked to accommodate. We should not have to put up with Whitehall’s Soviet-style top-down approach to housing provision. Any new housing should be decided by local communities and not by distant and unaccountable regional and Whitehall bureaucrats. This will ensure that we build the right homes in the right places.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Skidmore
Conservative Prospective MP
Kingswood
chris@chrisskidmore.com
June 2008
Dear Sir,
As the Evening Post has widely reported, the government are planning to build an extra 30,000 homes in South Gloucestershire by 2026. This will include 8,000 extra homes on greenfield land around Bridgeyate, Siston and Oldland and North Common.
As the prospective MP for this local area, I believe that the current infrastructure simply can't cope with the volume of new houses that the government is trying to impose. At the same time as Labour have cut key local services such as Frenchay Hospital, leaving thousands without close access to emergency facilities, we cannot expect the local infrastructure, the road network and our public services to be able to withstand this level of expansion. The areas where the extra houses are planned are also on greenbelt land, in areas of outstanding natural beauty.
Worryingly, South Gloucestershire council have already raised their concerns at the government plans, and have advised the government that the area will not be able to cope with the sheer number of the government's planned developments. By imposing this number of houses upon the local area, this government is creating a potential nightmare scenario.
I have been petitioning local areas affected by the proposed expansion into greenbelt areas, in order to represent constituents' views in a report that I will submit before the local consultation process. The petition calls for the number of houses being planned for South Gloucestershire to be reduced. If you would like to sign the petition online, please visit my website to sign up at www.chrisskidmore.com, or else write to me free of charge at Chris Skidmore, Save Our Green Spaces campaign, FREEPOST (SWB 176), Bristol, BS6 6BR, and I will make sure that your views are heard.
Chris Skidmore
June 2008
Dear Sir,
I would like to congratulate the organisers and all the hardworking helpers who made the Mangotsfield Festival the success it deserved to be this weekend. For anyone who attended, I'm sure they would agree it was a fantastic event.
Sixteen years and going strong, it was wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves in the midsummer sun- it was estimated that almost ten thousand people attended the festival this year. Let's hope it goes from strength to strength. Cleeve Rugby Club were fantastic hosts- I'm sure everyone would like to give thanks to their dedication to the local community.
From a remarkable event, I'd like to salute those remarkable people who made it happen. Not a minute of there efforts were in vain.
Chris Skidmore
May 2008
Dear Sir,
So we have learnt that all 29 Post Offices under review in Bristol and South Gloucestershire as part of the government's closure programme are now to close their doors for the final time.
This is a real tragedy that will not only inconvenience the lives of many- for some it will mean the end of a vital lifeline of support. Many local residents who use post offices are elderly, and will now struggle to reach the nearest post office. We should never forget it is the most vulnerable members in society that these closures are letting down.
It needn't of happened this way. Sadly, when there was a vote in parliament to halt the closure programme, along with the rest of Bristol's Labour MPs, the Labour MP for Kingswood voted with Gordon Brown and the government to shut the post offices in his constituency.
Two post offices in my local area will now close: Bitton Post Office and Hill Street Post Office in Kingswood. I had campaigned to save both, gathering hundreds petition signatures and holding a demonstration in Kingswood against the closure. I would like to thank everyone who supported the campaign. In both Bitton and Kingswood, talking to residents I found that the local post offices were at the hub of the community, and many people and local business were distraught to hear that they were due to close. Once again, however, this government has driven another nail into the coffin of our local communities.
I am now very concerned about the welfare of people in the local area who will be badly affected by these post office closures. I would like to see what can be done to ensure that those who will struggle or be unable to reach to their next nearest post office, get access to the services they deserve. I would like to hear your views, so please do get in touch with me if these closures affect you at chris@chrisskidmore.com or write to me at Chris Skidmore, Freepost SWB 176, Bristol, BS6 6BR, and I will work to do my best to see where we can go from here.
Chris Skidmore
March 2008
Dear Sir,
It was a real shame and disappointment to read through the names of MPs who had rightly voted against the proposed Post Office closures- and find that not one of our Labour MPs had put their names forward.
I had written to the Kingswood MP, in the hope that he wouldn't back the government's plans to close two post offices in the area- Bitton Post office and Hill Street Post Office in Kingswood. These are crucial services and the amount of support I have recieved from local residents has been remarkable, and I had hoped that our MPs might listen to their constituents' wishes. Sadly, this was not to be the case. Instead, the government won the vote and is allowing the closure programme to continue.
We now have until 9th April to get our voice heard, before the consulation process closes. Without the support of our MPs on side, it will be crucial to put the case across to keep these vital services open. I will be writing on behalf of the residents of Kingswood- often the most vulnerable members of our society- who depend upon their local Post Offices. If residents would also like write, please do so at consultation@postoffice.co.uk or else email me at chris@chrisskidmore.com and I will happily put your thoughts across.
Chris Skidmore
March 2008
Dear Sir,
On Wednesday 19th March the Conservative Party has arranged a debate and vote in Parliament to suspend the closure programme, on the basis that the consultation process has been flawed; that the access criteria (which are used to decide which ones will close) have been badly drawn up; and that more emphasis should be given to finding new business to keep post offices open, rather than simply managing the decline of the network.
This will be a crucial moment in the campaign to save our post offices. We need people to contact their local MP and urgently to request them to support this motion on Wednesday. He or she can be contacted at the House of Commons on 020 7219 3000.
We have also written to our local MPs to ask that they sign a vital Early Day Motion, requesting that the government recognises the seminal role post offices play in local communities and the damage that will be done if the post offices that are under threat do eventually close. It is vital at this time that our MPs give their full support to our post offices.
We will be submitting signatures to our petition that we have been collecting before the consultation closes on 9th April. Thank you to many of you who have signed. If you would like to do so, please visit our campaign website at www.savepostoffices.com
Yours sincerely,
Chris Skidmore
Prospective Conservative MP
Kingswood
Charlotte Leslie
Prospective Conservative MP
Bristol North West
March 2008 - Letter to the Evening Post
Dear Sir,
There are only a few days left before the consultation on the post office closure programme comes to an end. This will be the last opportunity for local people to have their say, and try and keep local post offices under threat open. For those who would still like to get your views across, you can write either via post to National Consultation Team, Post Office Ltd, FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM, email consultation@postoffice.co.uk or telephone 08457 22 33 44, stating your local branch affected.
In Kingswood, Hill Street Post Office and Bitton Post Office are under threat of closure. I will be submitting a report from all the residents' surveys I have collected, but if you are affected by these closures and would like to get your view across, please do contact me.
This Saturday, 5th April, at 10am there will be a demonstration outside Hill Street Post Office, Kingswood, protesting against its planned closure. In Kingswood, talking to people, the strength of local feeling against the government's decision is high, and I'm sure that many people affected will turn out to make their views heard. Anyone else who would like to come along is very welcome. Many local residents who use the post office there are elderly, and will struggle to reach the nearest post office. It is the most vulnerable members in society that these closures let down. Let's stand up for them for a change.
Chris Skidmore
February 2008
Dear Sir,I welcome South Glocestershire council’s decision to invest £12.5 million in a new special school for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD).
We need more special schools that are effectively designed to provide pupils with special needs they education they deserve. Currently, this is not happening. Under the present government, 9000 special school places have been lost as special schools have been closed down across the country. Instead, under the government’s failed policy of inclusion, special educational needs (SEN) pupils have been forced into inappropriate mainstream schools that are often unable to cope with their needs. For those with particularly challenging and complex needs, such as BESD pupils can often have, this can prove extremely damaging, not only to their education, but chances in life.
A report I co-authored in January, SEN: The Truth about Inclusion, revealed that pupils with special educational needs have been let down by this current system. Educating special educational needs pupils in mainstream schooling can lead to disastrous consequences. Most likely, it can result in pupils becoming persistently disruptive and dropping out of school. Two-thirds of pupils excluded from schools are registered with special needs, and SEN pupils are four times more likely to play truant from school.
Once these pupils have been excluded from school, many are now placed in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), which then struggle to cope. As Ofsted’s recent Annual Report notes, ‘PRUs are often ill-equipped to cope with these pupils who have complex behaviour difficulties … Indeed, they were not designed to admit such pupils’. But since 1997, the number of SEN pupils being educated in PRUs has nearly doubled, from 5600 to 10,000.
Conservatives have called for the closure of special schools to end, and have set up a review on how to give SEN pupils, many of whom have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, the best education possible. South Gloucestershire’s decision to buck the trend and open a new special school in the present national policy of closures is a brave, and I believe, the right decision.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Skidmore
January 2008
Dear Sir,I'd like to thank the residents of the new Kingswood constituency who participated in the open primary to decide their Conservative prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the next General Election.
It was a new and exciting experience. The event was well attended and gave all four candidates the opportunity to present themselves in front of voters in an open and democratic fashion. Every candidate would have done a great job, but I was honoured to be selected for the seat. I am now looking forward to campaigning hard to provide a strong local voice for Kingswood, which is the pivotal target seat that will force the current Labour government out of power.
This new open primary system seems the fairest way to select its candidate, by the people that matter: the voters themselves. I'd encourage all parties to adopt this transparent system. Getting more people engaged in politics at a local level can only be the right thing for the future.
Chris Skidmore
November 2007
Dear Sir,I was heartened to read about Brislington Enterprise College's decision to break up their large school into ‘schools within a school’ (Pupils learn in little groups at Big School).
It has been a worrying trend over recent years that schools have become ‘supersized’. Since 1997, due to government recommendations on reducing surplus places numbers, many small schools have closed and the number of schools with over a thousand pupils has risen by 42%. Even worse, the number of pupils educated in schools over 1500 pupils has doubled to over 530,000.
How can teachers possibly get to know and control their pupils in schools of this size? It is no surprise that in these environments, a pupil is three times more likely to be excluded from a school with more than a thousand pupils than a smaller school.
Which is why we need more smaller school units in Bristol. We are facing a discipline crisis in our schools: over 3300 exclusions took place this year— amounting to over a fifth of pupils in school. According to the figures, we have the second worst discipline record in the country behind Darlington.
Small schools may go part of the way to dealing with the problem of poor behaviour — permanent exclusions have decreased in smaller schools by 46% since 1997. As research in the US and elsewhere has shown, they provide stability and a friendly atmosphere in which even the most challenging pupils can learn. But they require the courage and determination to break free from government regulations travelling in the opposite direction. The headteacher Mr Matthews should be commended upon taking this brave step: it just goes to show what exciting opportunities can be explored when schools take decisions into their own hands
Chris Skidmore