MP Thanks Redditch Postmen and Women for a First Class Effort

Karen Lumley, MP visited the Royal Mail’s Redditch Delivery Office on Friday 10th December to see for herself how postmen and women in the area get Christmas sorted.

The MP will took a tour of the delivery office to see how we deal with the mountains of festive mail. She will also chatted to Royal Mail’s hardworking staff who make sure they deliver a first class Christmas for Redditch residents.

Ms Lumley made an early start in order to meet Jas Johal, Delivery Sector Manager, and some of the 126 postmen and women, who are responsible for ensuring that Redditch’s massive Christmas mailbag is delivered to over 41,500 addresses at Royal Mail’s busiest time of year.

The visit will be in time to post any cards and presents for delivery before Christmas, with the last recommended posting date on Tuesday 21st December for First Class mail.

She is shown with Frank Lloyd who has 36 years’ service with RoyalMail.

Karen Lumley Stands Shoulder to Shoulder with All Who Serve

Karen Lumley, MP for Redditch County, attended an event at the House of Commons to learn about The Royal British Legion’s welfare work with the whole Armed Forces family.

At the event, Karen was told about the charity’s new strapline, ‘Shoulder to Shoulder with All Who Serve’, and about the difference the Legion is making in the local area. She also learnt more about the Legion’s ‘Time To Do Your Bit’ campaign amongst MPs, as well as its concern that the Government should support bereaved Armed Forces families through a Chief Coroner’s Office.

Annette Summers, the Legion’s County Welfare Officer for Worcestershire said, “It was great to see Karen; we really appreciated her making the time to drop in. Many people don’t realise that we spend over £1.2 million a week on helping both the serving and the ex-Service communities, including their families, so we were delighted to tell her about the range of services we provide. The Legion is currently celebrating its 90th Anniversary Year, and campaigning for the Armed Forces family is as important to us now as it was in 1921. We’re really pleased that 70% of MPs have pledged to do their bit as part of our ongoing ‘Time To Do Your Bit’ campaign. People can find out if their MP has pledged at www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk.”

Karen Lumley MP said, “I was really pleased to see my local County Welfare Officer and tell her that just as the Legion stands shoulder to shoulder with all who serve, so do I. The Legion does very important welfare work for some of my most vulnerable constituents in both the serving and ex-Service communities. I was delighted to thank them for the difference they make to the welfare of the whole Armed Forces family and for keeping MPs like me informed about the issues that matter to them.”

Local MP backs campaign to save children’s lives on our roads

Karen Lumley, MP for Redditch, is supporting Road Safety Week 2010 (22 – 28 November), organised by the charity Brake, and appealing to drivers in the area to slow down to 20mph around schools, homes and shops.

At 20mph, you have a good chance of stopping in time if a child runs out three car lengths in front of you. Any faster than this, you would hit the child and have a significant chance of killing or maiming them.  In 2009, 195 children under 18 were killed and 4,188 were seriously injured on UK roads – that’s 12 deaths and serious injuries every day. Six in ten (59%) of these deaths and serious injuries were children on foot and bicycle. Although the UK has the second lowest road death rate in the EU, our child pedestrian death rate is worse than 10 other EU countries, and eight times higher than Sweden’s.

Karen Lumley MP is also calling on the Government to act by signing a petition for MPs who support Road Safety Week. The petitioners are calling on the Government to put in place challenging targets to bring down child deaths and injuries on the road and to lower the default urban limit to 20mph to make communities safer for families to walk and cycle without fear of fast traffic.

Karen Lumley said: “I support this campaign because I recognise the devastating effect that road deaths have on the families involved and on the wider community. It’s a problem that can, and must, be tackled through individuals making a commitment to slowing down in the community, and through Government policy to protect children as a priority.”

Julie Townsend, campaigns director for Brake, said: “We’re really pleased that Karen is supporting Brake’s campaign to protect children in the community. It’s unacceptable that thousands of children are killed or maimed on UK roads each year. One of the best ways we can protect children is by slowing down, as it gives us more time to come to a stop in an emergency, such as if a child runs into the road. Driving at 20mph or less on roads around schools, homes and shops could be the difference between life and death for a child on foot or bike.”

Local MP rallies support for Make a Difference Day

Karen Lumley MP for Redditch is joining forces with pop mogul, Pete Waterman, to encourage people throughout Redditch to give their time to benefit the local community as part of CSV Make a Difference Day, the biggest single day of volunteering on Saturday 30 October 2010.

Karen Lumley says “As a supporter of CSV Make a Difference Day, I am encouraging the residents of my constituency to do something to benefit our community! No matter how big or small – make a cup of tea for a lonely neighbour, dig out those weeds and plant flowers in the community park, or bake a cake for a local nursing home.  I’ve seen the positive changes a little volunteering can help impact the local community”. You can register an activity or check whether any projects have already registered in your area by visiting www.csv.org.uk/difference .

Pete Waterman says “This is the 15th Make a Difference Day organised by CSV, the UK’s leading volunteering charity. More than half a million people have taken part so far. I want family and friends to spend time together and volunteer a little to benefit their local community.”

This year’s CSV Make a Difference Day, the UK’s biggest single day of volunteering, is on Saturday 30th October with events taking place from 23rd October to 7th November.  Each year tens of thousands of people turn their minds to benefit others in the community; they bake cakes for nursing homes, create allotments in schools, tidy isolated neighbours’ gardens, put on theatrical performances and visit patients in hospitals – to give a few examples.

If you are stuck for inspiration, the campaign has produced free “How to” guides:
•    How to plant your family tree
•    How to design a door number mosaic, courtesy of interior designer Andrea Maflin
•    How to bake a pumpkin pie, courtesy of TV Chef Rachel Allen
•    How to print your own t-shirt, courtesy of Hemingway Designs (as in Wayne Hemingway)
•    How to volunteer as a family

There is a special focus on encouraging families, as well as individuals and groups to volunteer this year. New independent research commissioned by CSV, shows that families want to spend more time together. Up to half of Britons (48%) say they would like to spend more time together and volunteering to help others is one way to do this. To find out more about volunteering on CSV Make a Difference Day, call us on FREEPHONE 0800 284 533 or email difference@csv.org.uk

In the true spirit of CSV Make a Difference Day, the campaign is also seeking photographs of volunteers who have the most fun on the day and you could be in with a chance to win a digital camera and photo printer. All you have to do is capture your “most fun” moment and send it with your contact details to difference@csv.org.uk by Friday 12 November, 2010
More information about the day can be found on the Make a Difference Day website www.csv.org.uk/difference

MPs wear it pink to fund a cure for breast cancer

Karen Lumley MP for Redditch County is joining forces with Breast Cancer Campaign to raise awareness of its award winning fundraising event, wear it pink day, supported by Vanish.

On Friday 29 October 2010 supporters in schools, colleges and businesses throughout the country are encouraged to don an item of pink in support of the Campaign and each donate £2 to fund innovative world-class breast cancer research.

Last year over one million people took part in wear it pink to help improve survival rates for the one in nine women who experience breast cancer during their lifetime.

Karen says “Every year in the UK, over 45,500 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women. Although it is rare, men can also suffer from breast cancer, with around 300 men diagnosed each year. I know people who have lost friends and family members to the disease and I would like to encourage everyone in my constituency of Redditch and throughout the country to support wear it pink on October 29, to raise valuable funds for breast cancer research.”

To take part in the UK’s original and best pink day call freephone 0800 107 3104 or visit www.wearitpink.co.uk and register to receive your free fundraising pack now. wear it pink is supported by Vanish, which has committed to raising an incredible £250,000 for the charity this year.

Karen Lumley has today welcomed the fall in unemployment in the Redditch County constituency but remains concerned that it is still a figure of 4.8% of the economically active population and is still in the top half of all constituencies in the country.

Karen said, “I am delighted that unemployment has fallen by 60 since August and 496 since last September but over 2000 unemployed is still too many and we need to do everything we can to try and secure investment into Redditch from the private sector. I hope to be able to work with business and the local council to work towards that end in the coming months.”

Karen Lumley MP Cheks Out Vital Gadgets to Help Older people Stay Safe

At this week’s Conservative Party Conference, Redditch MP Karen Lumley checked out new gadgets that could transform the lives of older people and those with long term needs as well as saving the local council and health services money. Visiting the Carers UK/Tunstall Healthcare exhibition stand, Karen (pictured with Andy Scott from Tunstall) volunteered to have her vital signs checked.

Using the latest telehealthcare equipment provided by world leaders Tunstall Healthcare meant  Karen’s readings could be immediately available to a nurse, paramedic or GP,  even if they were hundreds of miles away – allowing them to discuss her condition with other medical professionals  and call out help if required.

In Redditch there are 1,816 people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), which includes emphysema and bronchitis, and is the most common cause of hospital admissions. Technology which monitors people’s health at home can be an early warning system and prevent older people from falling ill and having to go into hospital and residential care.

Karen Lumley MP said: “As we get older we all hope to stay in our own homes as long as possible. This kind of technology can be a win-win for everyone, taking the pressure off families, hospitals and social care services by helping people to stay independent for longer.”

Telehealthcare can also give families who care, unpaid, peace of mind and much needed breaks from their caring duties and can allow them to return to work on a part or even full-time basis.

Tunstall’s communications director Ali Rogan said, “Telecare ticks many boxes. For the person using the technology, it provides choice, dignity, empowerment and independence. For the carer or family member it offers reassurance and peace of mind 24 hours a day. For local authorities it offers cost effective, person centred care. For the health service, it enables earlier discharge, reductions in hospital admissions and a more joined up service with social care.”

Carers UK Chief Executive Imelda Redmond CBE said, “Technology can play a key role in giving the families of older and disabled people peace of mind and the chance to live their own lives alongside caring. The increasing use of telecare not only means older and disabled people can stay in their own homes for longer but it also comes at a fraction of the cost of the alternative – care homes and hospital beds.  This is, of course, of vital importance in light of the increasing strains on NHS and local authority budgets.”

MP Visits Redditch Young Firefighters

Karen Lumley, Member of Parliament for Redditch, went along to Redditch Fire Station last week to meet the Young Firefighters at their weekly training session.

Redditch Young Firefighters meet every Thursday evening between 7pm and 9pm at the fire station. They are part of the Young Firefighters Association, a uniformed organisation that encourages young people to learn basic firefighting techniques and to develop a range of skills, including greater confidence and discipline, community awareness and leadership qualities.

The Redditch branch has been established for 12 months and currently has 11 members, a mix of males and females aged between 13 and 17 years old. It is one of two branches within Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, the second based at Droitwich, and now in its 10th year.

During the visit on Thursday evening (23 September), Karen Lumley MP was welcomed by Redditch Station Manager Phil Griffiths and then went to watch the group as they started their weekly drill.

She heard how each young firefighter learns basic firefighting skills during a 13-week training course and then takes part in a passing out parade in front of senior officers, family and friends. She also heard about the community safety and local fund-raising initiatives the young firefighters get involved with and about the summer camps they can attend where they get chance to meet other young firefighters and experience a range of adventure-based activities.

Station Manager Phil Griffiths said: “Karen spoke individually to our young firefighters to find out which schools they were at and why they chose to get involved in the organisation. It was a good opportunity to show what the Young Firefighters Association is all about and we appreciate her interest.”

MP Karen Lumley added: “It was a pleasure to meet Redditch Young Firefighters and learn more about their training and the range of activities they can take part in. Firefighters at Redditch devote a lot of time and energy to the scheme and it’s fantastic to see youngsters doing something so positive in their free time. I feel sure that this will help them as they apply for jobs or university places in the future.”

The Redditch branch of the Young Firefighters Association is looking to recruit more young members – contact PAHope@hwfire.org.uk for further information.

Karen is seen with Redditch Young Firefighters and separately with Young Firefighters Jack Partridge and Lydia Brittain and YFA Branch Co-ordinator for Redditch Pete Hope.

Know  A Great Volunteer?

One week to recognise young volunteers through the vinspired National Awards

The vinspired National Awards are open for nominations.  We want to make sure everyone knows about the awards and has the opportunity to nominate an exceptional young volunteer aged 16-25.  We know there are a huge number of young volunteers out there doing an amazing job, it would be great to see them get the recognition that they deserve.

Last year’s inaugural awards were backed by all three major political party leaders and Prince William.

Do you know a local young person or a youth worker who embodies the spirit of volunteering and deserves recognition? Someone who has helped their local community, overcome personal adversity or made a big difference to the lives of other people? If so, why not nominate them for a vinspired National Award?

For more information visit www.vinspired.com/nationalawards. Deadline for nominations: 30 September.

End of Term

Three months have flown by since I was elected in May. I still can’t quite believe how lucky I am to be your Member of Parliament andI  am really enjoying my new job.

I arrived at the House of Commons on the Monday after the election and it was a bit like coming back to school after the holidays as I saw so many of my friends who had won seats. After trying for ten years to become MP for Redditch I have got to know many different people and the first few days were amazing.

Getting an office was the next big challenge and after five weeks of working on my laptop in the coffee shop I was successful. It is a lovely office in the Old Scotland Yard, quite a way from the chamber but large and airy. When the division  bell goes you can see lots of us running for the lifts as we are on the 5^th floor!

My other big challenge this term was making my maiden speech. As there are so many new MPs there was quite a queue to speak in every debate. I decided to wait a while and finally spoke in the Defence Review debate. I sat for nearly six hours waiting for the Speaker to call me and finally got to stand at 8.30pm. It was an amazing feeling and great to be able to talk about Redditch and how nice it is to live here.

I have also visited so many different people over these first three months and hopefully have been able to help some people too. I intend to spend some time with my family over the summer and lots of time in Redditch too.

All in all I have had a great first term and looking forward to returning in September.