Karen pictured with Councillor Phillip Gretton and Madge Tillsley,  recently visited Terry Spring Court to celebrate the Christmas festivities with Care Home residents and staff.

Karen said “The work Terry Spring Court does is of very high quality and it was great to see residents and staff in such high spirits over the Christmas period. Christmas can be a difficult time for the elderly so it was very good to see the excellent work staff were doing to ensure there was both a good atmosphere and a full range of activities put on for the care home residents to enjoy.”

Karen, pictured with the team from the Stonebridge Nursing Home, Phil Edmunds, David Bott, Sarah Russell and Fran Edmunds, took part in the annual Christmas decorating contest held by staff and residents.

Karen said “I was delighted to visit and take part in the now infamous annual Christmas decorating competition.  There were some wonderful Christmas decorations but more importantly it was clear all involved very much enjoyed decorating the home, which contributed to great camaraderie amongst staff and residents alike.  Stonebridge plays an important role in helping the elderly in Redditch and I am pleased that the residents were provided with such comprehensive support during the Christmas period”.

Karen, pictured with pupils Lara Sutton and Aidan Brown, visited Church Lench Primary School  to speak to young pupils and staff following the school being awarded ‘outstanding’ status by Ofsted.

Karen said “It was great to visit Church Lench Primary School after their excellent achievement. One of my central priorities as the MP for Redditch is to raise schooling standards across the town and schools like Church Lench are a good example for other primary schools. Last week I wrote to all schools in Redditch asking them to come to the House of Commons to take advantage of the excellent educational programme here and learn more about democracy.”

Karen, pictured with Lyn Hudd and care home manager Jean Hacket, visited Madeba Care home, which specialises in providing Care for Adults with Learning and Physical Disabilities.

The home has recently had some alteration work done to it and Karen visited with a “gathering“ of staff, family and others to celebrate Christmas and the completion of the work.

Karen said “Madeba does excellent work helping some of the most vulnerable people in society. The care home has been revamped with new facilities which will help in the important work it does and it was clear that staff and residents were very happy with the improvements. I felt very privileged to be invited as a guest for the Christmas gathering and there was a good atmosphere amongst all who attended. I wish all at Madeba a wonderful Christmas”.

Karen, pictured with Ewan Lane, Boglarka Farkas, Pauline Marshall, and Danny Roberts, recently visited the ‘Your Ideas – Youth Art Club’ based in the Matchborough Centre. The club allows young pupils to bring out their artistic skills in a safe and vibrant environment. The club also recently received a Lottery Grant for project ‘support across the spectrum’ which will help young people and adults who have asperger’s syndrome by running weekly friendship clubs and volunteering opportunities. For more information please visit www.yourideas.org.uk

Karen said “It was great to see this fantastic local club in action. Staff at the Your Ideas club work incredibly hard to ensure that a wide array of services are on offer to help support young people. I was delighted to hear that they have been awarded a significant lottery grant. Speaking to staff, I can see first hand how much this means to them and the community they serve.”

Pauline Marshall (Organiser) said “The club is going from strength to strength and we now run over 7 different types of activity for young people in the area”. “In regards to the Lottery grant, I am absolutely overjoyed we were successful with the bid and it means an awful lot to those we serve.”

Karen, along with Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid, recently welcomed the Prime Minister to visit Lear Corporation (based in Moons Moat), a successful manufacturing company which provides seats to Jaguar Land Rover. During the visit, David Cameron undertook a ‘PM direct’ session which allowed employees of Lear to directly ask questions about the economy and other issues. With Corporation Tax being cut to 21%, now the lowest in the G8, the PM expressed that in the global race, it is vital that the UK does all it can to ensure businesses can compete.

Karen said “It was fantastic to see David Cameron at Lear Corporation take part in a PM direct session. During his session with employees, many were impressed with his responses to their questions. The Autumn Statement was a strong signal that Britain is open for business with a cut in Corporation Tax and sharp increases in tax reliefs to plant and machinery companies.”

Mrs Lumley added, “If Britain is to compete in the global race, it is essential we do all we can to assist companies such as Lear Corporation. This includes making tax rates competitive and ensuring people have the right skills needed to help companies grow and expand.  Lear Corporation now employs nearly 1000 people and is still expanding fast. It is a great example of how a dynamic manufacturing company can thrive and operate here in the UK. Lear Corporation has also been at the forefront in reaching out to the new emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil.  The Government is providing full support to other companies who are trying to expand, with exports to the emerging economies doubling since 2009.”

Karen, pictured with the team from the Stonebridge Nursing Home, was delighted to visit to an initiative started by generous residents of the home who this year decided, instead of buying presents for staff, to donate money to Redditch Nightstop. The Home matched the residents’ donation with money going to the Salvation Army.

Stonebridge Nursing Home also has a Christmas Giving Tree now up in reception – people  take gift tags from the tree, buy, wrap and return an appropriate gift and the home will pass them on to the Salvation Army who will distribute them where most needed.

Karen said “I was delighted to visit and hand over the cheques for £1,000 each to the Salvation Army and Redditch Nightstop. At this time of year, we must never forget those who are most vulnerable in society and the generosity displayed by residents and staff is a great example to all and shows true Christmas spirit.”

The Legion is the leading provider of welfare for the Armed Forces community in Redditch and this week local Karen attended an event in Parliament dedicated to seeing some of the Legion’s work in the Redditch County area. Karen used the opportunity to discuss with the new Legion Area Manager, David Lowe the changing face of Armed Forces welfare provision in the local community, and learn more about the Legion’s work developing Community Covenants locally.

The Royal British Legion provides care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces, past and present, and their families. That care and support can come in many forms within the Armed Forces community.

Mr Lowe 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 nearly £1.7 million a week on helping both the serving and ex-Service communities, plus their families, so we were delighted to tell Karen about the range of services we provide. We help everyone from a child of a serving family needing an adventure break to a young  entrepreneur needing advice and assistance to be his own boss.”

Karen Lumley MP said, “I was really pleased to meet David. He made it clear that the Legion’s work does not stop on 11th November. Providing assistance for members and former members of the Armed Forces who have been injured, or are struggling in any other way, is a 365-day-a-year job. It is vital that we as a nation honour the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces, and I’m proud to support the work of  the Royal British Legion.”

In support of the White Ribbon Campaign, Worcestershire MPs Karen Lumley, Harriet Baldwin, Robin Walker, Sajid Javid, Peter Luff and Mark Garnier have pledged their support to raise awareness of domestic violence with a handprint campaign in Westminster. The White Ribbon Campaign consists of 16 days of action “End Violence against Women”.

Karen said “The White Ribbon Campaign is an innovative and excellent initiative to show that we are willing to stand up and speak out against domestic violence and recognise the damaging effect it has on both men and women. The Worcestershire Partnership is doing good work in helping people feel that they can come forward with reports to the West Mercia Police about domestic abuse up by 21% in the past 4 years. It is vital we keep this issue on the agenda and that anyone who needs support feels they are able to speak out and access the help they need”.

Karen recently spoke in a debate in the House of Commons entitled ‘Life-saving Skills in Schools’. Karen highlighted the work of Robert and Maggie Underwood and their SADS campaign.

She said “They have been inspirational and I am pleased this was recognised by the leader of the debate. They have successfully raised £15,000 in just one year which has led to 14 new defibrillators being placed around Redditch. I urge people to take a minute to look at the website Robert and Maggie have setup at redditchheartsafe.wordpress.com.  Ensuring there is sufficient life saving equipment in public places is simply common sense. There are 20,000 cardiac arrests which happen in public places across the UK every year. Every minute is important and medics estimate there is a 10% reduction in someone’s chances of survival for every minute that passes. The ambulance arrival target is 8 minutes and 75% of ambulances make that. Obviously, this does not leave long for professionals to get to the site.”