30 children expelled and 2050 suspended in local schools

Brandon Lewis, Prospective Conservative MP, this week expressed concern as official Government figures have revealed that over 1,000 pupils every school day are being suspended or expelled from schools for physical assaults, verbal abuse and threatening behaviour on both pupils and teachers.

Across Norfolk, there were 30 expulsions for assaults and abuse and 2050 suspensions – equivalent to 11 exclusions for each school day, in the last recorded year.

Since 1997, Labour Government rules have deliberately made it more difficult for schools to expel pupils. This undermines the authority of head teachers and means that bullies and disruptive children end up back at the same school as their victims. Labour Ministers have also hindered teachers on ‘human rights’ grounds from searching and confiscating items which might cause violence or disruption in schools.

Conservatives are pledging to give teachers new powers to tackle violence, to introduce home-school contracts to improve behaviour, and to reform the flawed exclusions process which undermines head teachers.

Brandon Lewis said:

“Despite the hard work of our teachers, it is clear that we have a serious problem with discipline in our schools. Unless there is good discipline, pupils can’t learn and teachers can’t teach. The children who suffer most are the poorest and the country as a whole loses out when teachers’ authority is undermined.

“A Conservative Government will raise standards in schools, giving teachers in Norfolk the power to restore discipline. We need to mend our broken society by encouraging responsibility and backing those who do the right thing.”

Brandon Lewis made the pledge on The Royal British Legion’s campaign website www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk.

The website also features the charity’s general election manifesto, which sets out priorities for the next Government to improve conditions for Service Personnel and their families, the bereaved, veterans and dependents.

Kevin Shinkwin, the Legion’s Head of Public Affairs, said, “We’re really grateful to Brandon Lewis for pledging to do his bit.  The entire Armed Forces family needs the support of politicians from all parties, and our manifesto outlines practical ways the next government can help.  We hope all the parties will give it serious consideration and that every MP and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate will pledge to do their bit.”

Brandon Lewis said, “I was delighted to support The Royal British Legion.  They have an important role to play in highlighting the needs of the whole Armed Forces family.  I have pledged to do my bit and would encourage everyone to visit the website – www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk – to find out how to get involved in the campaign.”

Newtown Youth Centre has had a second arson attack in four months.  The centre in Jellicoe road was attacked early Monday destroying equipment, this comes at a time when work was to start on a new portable building funded by the Big Lottery fund.

Brandon Lewis said”  It is awful that so much hard work by so many people in the community is now ruined by a group who seem to want to destroy a community asset that helps so many families.  I have offered my support to the centre to help them move forward from this tragic situation and ensure that long term we continue to have a facility to support and help the community in the area.  The Conservative party support social action and youth provision is vital to communities and it is often a lifeline to many youngsters.”

Brandon has also met with ASDA and they are looking at advertising hoardings alongside the station which will welcome visitors and residents to Great Yarmouth.

Brandon Lewis said “ Every meeting I have had over the last week has been very positive with everyone offering help and support.  I will now be working to try and bring all of this together with the station owners and operators.    This is a good positive start to the campaign and I will continue to put pressure on the organisations involved to see results .   Please continue to support us by going online at www.fixourstation.com and sign the online petition. Also, please visit the Department of Transport website and add your thoughts www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-07/ .  You can join our Facebook Group by searching for Fix Great Yarmouth Station.”

Brandon and his team cleaned up the beach by Britannia Pier on Saturday and collected over 20 sacks full of rubbish.

Brandon Lewis said” It was great to see so many people helping out on Saturday and caring about the area they live in .  Our beaches need to be clean and safe so families can enjoy them.   We will definitely be organising another clean up in a few weeks time, so please come and join us and help keep Great Yarmouth tidy.”

Public sector workers across Great Yarmouth could become their own boss and deliver better services under new Conservative plans, backed by Brandon Lewis, Prospective Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth, this week. Under bold proposals, public sector workers would have a powerful new right to form employee-owned co-operatives to take over the services they deliver. This will empower thousands of public sector workers across Great Yarmouth.

The new right to form employee-owned co-operatives will apply throughout the vast majority of the public sector – including JobCentre Plus offices, community nursing teams and primary schools. Employee-owned co-operatives will continue to be funded by the state so long as they meet national standards, but will be freed from centralised bureaucracy and political micromanagement. They will be voluntary sector, not-for-profit organisations; any financial surpluses would be reinvested into the service and the staff who work there, rather than distributed to external shareholders.

Brandon Lewis said:

“Public sector workers should have the chance to become their own boss. Employee-owned co-operatives can help cut waste and deliver better services for everyone across Great Yarmouth. This could be the biggest shift of power from government to people since the right to buy your council house in the 1980s.

“This shows how Conservatives will give power to the public sector workers who are fed up with Gordon Brown’s top-down control of their working lives.”

Brandon Lewis said”  It was an honour to have Sir John Major speak at our fundraising dinner and it was a personal honour for me to introduce him.  He gave a superb speech which delivered a clear message for the future and he then took questions from the dinner guests.  It was a very successful evening for the Great Yarmouth Conservatives.”

Brandon Lewis said “  We are already seeing progress with the ‘Fix our Station’ Campaign.  Recently I met with representatives from Network Rail, National Express East Anglia and the Great Yarmouth Area Station Manager to discuss the ‘Fix Our Station’ Campaign. The representatives agreed that Great Yarmouth train station needs improving and this summer they have agreed to put in new plants and to see if they can find money to tidy up the weeds on the approach to the station.  The representatives have also agreed to meet with Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council to look at the mid-term and long term options for improvements.  This week the Council have started to improve cycle and pathways around the station and have also agreed to meet to discuss what all the stakeholders can do if they get together, so progress is being made, but this is just a start. “

“I  and the Fix Great Yarmouth Station Team want to see the station cleaned up and we will continue to put pressure on organisations to see the positive results we are looking for.  Please continue to support us by going online at www.fixourstation.com and sign the online petition. Also, please visit the Department of Transport website and add your thoughts www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-07/ .  You can join our Facebook Group by searching for Fix Great Yarmouth Station.”

Further to the latest limp explanation from the Parliamentary Team at HM Revenue and Customs as to why centralisation of the HMRC office in Norwich is a better option than in Great  Yarmouth, Brandon Lewis, Prospective Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth has written to the Rt Hon John McFall MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee for more answers.  (Please see letter below)

Brandon Lewis said “ I am dismayed at Labour’s willingness to blindly shed jobs in Great Yarmouth by shutting the local HMRC office. This latest response was just not good enough, I will keep putting pressure on the government to find out how they reached the decision to close the HMRC in Great Yarmouth.  To make matters worse I have been informed that no staff working at HMRC, Great Yarmouth have yet been offered posts at Norwich.  But, we will not give up. I still argue that Great Yarmouth would be a cost effective location for the offices and the Great Yarmouth office is right in the heart of the regeneration project area.”

 Cllr Barry Stone, Brian Jewell and Ken Lewis

Gordon Brown’s Government wants to impose a new £6 + VAT tax which will be levied on every fixed telephone line in all homes and businesses across the country. Homes with multiple lines might pay multiple times. The tax would be levied on homes with and without broadband access.

Conservatives have unveiled alternative proposals to increase competition and introduce superfast broadband across the United Kingdom. The action plan will:

·                Open up BT’s ‘local loop’ monopoly to other telecommunication operators, and review unfair business rate rules.

·                Investigate the use of sewers and other utility infrastructure to lay broadband cables.

·                Allow telegraph poles to be fitted with fibre optic cables, rather than old fashioned copper wire.

·                Ensure that all new homes are capable of receiving superfast broadband through a fibre to the home network.

·                Use money currently allocated to the digital TV national switchover to help establish a universal network, and after 2012, look at using this money to ensure superfast broadband reaches rural areas.

At present, 92% of homes in the East of England have a fixed telephone line, and 75% have access to some form of broadband internet access.

Brandon Lewis said:

“Great Yarmouth’s homes and businesses deserve access to the latest 21^st Century technology. It’s time to end the digital divide and deliver superfast broadband to all parts of the country, including rural areas.   I have already met with Babcock Networks to discuss the possibility of bringing wireless broadband to Great Yarmouth with no tax implications and will be meeting them again to further these ideas.  The Conservatives will open up the BT monopoly and increase competition, while Labour just want to hit homes with an unfair new phone tax. There is nothing that Gordon Brown won’t tax, which is why it’s time for change.”

·         A raised profile and an improved public image

·         Wider patronage

·         Increased expenditure

·         Lower crime and anti-social behaviour

·         A more successful mixed-use economy

As such the Great Yarmouth Police are very keen to gain the Purple Flag award for our town and at present the bad condition of the station could stand in the way of success.

Brandon Lewis said” A welcoming facade to Great Yarmouth station is going to be critical to the success of the Purple Flag award.  I have met with the police and we are looking at ways of getting volunteers involved in tidying up the station in the short term. We will continue to put pressure on the relevant organisations to see the results we are looking for.” 

“At present the franchise is up for renewal so only short term improvements can be made.  The consultation on the new bid can be found on the Department of Transport website www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-07/.  The consultation team want to know what you think about their plans – please send an email to GreaterAnglia@dft.gsi.gov.uk  or write to Greater Anglia Consultation, Department for Transport, 5/26 Great Minster Houe, 76 Marsham Street, Lodnon, SW1P 4DR by 19 April 2010 as improvements to Great Yarmouth Station need to be a priority on these plans.”

“Please continue to support us by going online at www.fixourstation.com and sign the online petition. Also please visit the Department of Transport website and add your thoughts.  You can join our Facebook Group by searching for Fix Great Yarmouth Station.”

The representatives agreed that Great Yarmouth train station needs improving and this summer have agreed to put in new plants and to see if they can find money to tidy up the weeds on the approach to the station.  Representatives have also agreed to meet with Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council to look at the mid-term and long term options for improvements.

At present there is an issue with the franchise as it is up for renewal and as such only short term improvements can be made.  The consultation on the new bid can be found on the Department of Transport website www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-07/.  The consultation team want to know what you think about their plans – please send an email to GreaterAnglia@dft.gsi.gov.uk  or write to Greater Anglia Consultation, Department for Transport, 5/26 Great Minster Houe, 76 Marsham Street, Lodnon, SW1P 4DR by 19 April 2010 as improvements to Great Yarmouth Station need to be a priority on these plans.

Brandon Lewis said “ I understand that at present we can only talk of short term improvements but I was very pleased with the outcome of our meeting today.  I  and the Fix Great Yarmouth Station Team want to see the station cleaned up and we will continue to put pressure on organisations to see the positive results we are looking for.  Please continue to support us by going online at www.fixourstation.com and sign the online petition. Also please visit the Department of Transport website and add your thoughts.  You can join our Facebook Group by searching for Fix Great Yarmouth Station.”

 “I am dismayed at Labour’s willingness to blindly shed jobs in Great Yarmouth by shutting the local HMRC office. This latest response to my demand for a justification of the Government’s decision is just not good enough.“Many local people have joined me in campaigning to keep this office open and this decision is deeply disappointing. But, we will not give up. I still argue that Great Yarmouth would be a cost effective location for the offices and the Great Yarmouth office is right in the heart of the regeneration project area.”

Notes to Editors:

The Government last month announced that The Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices at Havenbridge House in Great Yarmouth will close next year.  This decision will result in redundancy for many workers.   

This week Brandon Lewis received a letter from Anne Fuller, PF ER&A Parliamentary Team at HM Revenue and Customs outlining the reason behind centralisation in Norwich. But the letter and documents do not outline why Great Yarmouth was not considered as a viable option. 

The letter says HMRC does not hold this information, but the decisions on which buildings to retain or vacate were based on which buildings best meet future business needs.  It also says that the efficiency savings that HMRC will achieve by moving to new business operating models, most of which depend upon bringing larger teams together in a smaller number of offices, will be realised across the business and cannot realistically be broken down to individual building level. 

Decisions on whether to close or retain a building have not been made on that basis, but on the basis of what buildings best meet HMRC’s long term business needs.

·                New statistics show that 1.4 million households had bailiffs knocking at their door for unpaid council tax last year – up nearly 70 per cent since 1997. Another 1,517 people were made bankrupt by the courts for their council tax debts. In Great Yarmouth 3,422 households had bailiffs knocking on their door and 12 people were made bankrupt.

·                Whitehall guidance issued by John Prescott in 2004 encourages the use of bailiffs by town halls. It even recommends that in-house town hall bailiffs remove the official council branding from their bailiff demands.

·                New official figures also reveal that that a record 3.1 million households are now in severe council tax difficulties and face liability orders for unpaid council tax.  In Norfolk there are 41,269 households in severe council tax difficulties.   Liability orders allow councils to seize money from wage packets/benefits or commence bailiff proceedings.

·                Conservatives have pledged to work with councils to freeze council tax bills in England and provide additional central funding to keep bills down for the next two years. Scotland has already benefited from a council tax freeze, making bills almost £300 a year less on a comparable home north of the border. Labour Ministers have ruled out introducing such a policy in England.

Brandon Lewis said:

“Thanks to Gordon Brown doubling council tax bills, a record number of families in Great Yarmouth and across the country are struggling to make ends meet. More people now face the threat of menacing bailiffs knocking at their door. This is a crisis of Labour’s own making.

“The fact that Labour Ministers have blocked a council tax freeze for England shows how out of touch Gordon Brown is with the plight of hard-working families and pensioners. Only a Conservative Government will work with Great Yarmouth Borough Council to help fund a council tax freeze and bring real help to low and middle income families. Only Conservatives can deliver the change our country needs.”

The Fix Great Yarmouth Station Team this week sent a letter to station staff outlining the details of the campaign and asking them for their support.  The letter also referred to how hard it must be for the staff working at the station in pretty poor facilities and explained how in no way do Brandon Lewis or the Fix Great Yarmouth Station Team blame the staff for the condition of the station.

Brandon Lewis said” Tourism in Great Yarmouth provides almost £500 million to the local economy a year.  Many of these tourists come by rail and our station does not welcome them and the station does not reflect what Great Yarmouth has to offer.    We want to welcome people as they arrive not put them off.  I am disappointed that National Express East Anglia have yet to arrange a meeting to discuss the campaign.  I will, along with the Fix Great Yarmouth Station team, put pressure on National Express East Anglia to endeavour to get these improvements done.  You can show your support by going online at www.fixourstation.com and sign the online petition, or there will be volunteers at the station with petition forms.  You can also join our Facebook Group by searching for Fix Great Yarmouth Station.”

New Conservative proposals would:

•                 End Labour’s practice of pushing thousands of businesses into bankruptcy over small amounts of unpaid taxes. Jobs would be saved and entrepreneurs would be given the support they deserve. The statutory threshold over which the Government can petition to make a business insolvent would be raised.

•                 Boost social mobility by ending the unfair restrictions on people starting a business in social housing. Social tenants could become entrepreneurs, creating new jobs and opportunities. Measures to prevent noise and nuisance would remain in place.

•                 Make it easier for people to set up new enterprises by cutting the time it takes to open a new business. Britain should become the fastest place in the world to start a business. Under Labour, it takes twice as long to start one in the UK as in the USA, Denmark or Hong Kong. The number of forms needed to register a new business will be cut, moving towards a ‘one-click’ registration model.

These changes come on top of Conservative plans to reduce small company corporation tax rates to 20p; to make small business rate relief automatic in England, saving small firms up to £1,260 per year; and to abolish tax on the jobs created by new businesses in the first two years of a Conservative Government.

Brandon Lewis said:

 “To move out of recession, local firms in Great Yarmouth need a strong helping hand to help create new jobs and expand their business. Conservatives will remove the obstacles in the way of new firms and stop the taxman kicking local firms when they’re down.

“But the message from Labour Ministers is ‘don’t start a business, don’t buy your home, don’t try and leave money to your children, don’t try and get on’.  They’ve made it so difficult to employ people, so difficult to start a business.  We can’t go on like this, and it’s time for change.”

Great Yarmouth train station is the welcoming point to many tourists but the station is run down with grotty toilets, dirty floors, broken windows, dying plants and minimal facilities.   Brandon Lewis and the Fix Great Yarmouth Station Team want to see the station cleaned up, they aim to put pressure on National Express East Anglia to make drastic and immediate changes to our town’s train station.    

Brandon Lewis said “The amount of people joining this campaign in such a short time shows how important it is to Great Yarmouth that we improve our station.  I have now spoken to National Express East Anglia and will be meeting them soon.  Please continue to support us by going online at www.fixourstation.com and sign the online petition, or there will be volunteers at the station with petition forms.  You can also join our Facebook Group by searching for Fix Great Yarmouth Station.  Please join the campaign, I will keep putting pressure on all the organisations involved to see the positive results we are looking for.”

Their importance is underlined by new analysis revealing that there were 8674 violent attacks on people across Norfolk in the last year, a rise of 36% per cent in the last decade. Under the manifesto plans, a Conservative Government would:

·         Give Norfolk’s citizens greater protection if they have to defend themselves against intruders in their homes, or if they stop a crime being committed in the street.

·         Create fifteen new rape crisis centres across the country, and give all existing rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding.

·         Grant local council’s new powers to fight booze-fuelled antisocial behaviour in Norfolk, and stop supermarkets selling alcohol at below cost-price which is destroying law-abiding local pubs and fuelling low-level crime.

·         Replace Police Authorities, making the police properly accountable to a directly elected person who will set priorities for local policing.

·         Publish detailed street-by-street crime statistics online every month, in an open and standardised format, so people know the real level of crime in their neighbourhood.

·         Make it clear that anyone caught carrying a knife in a public place can expect to be prosecuted and sent to prison.

Brandon Lewis said:

“Labour have launched endless initiatives and top-down schemes which have made little difference. Their broken promises have undermined people’s trust. We can’t go on with the police filling in forms instead of fighting crime.

“Our hard-working local police officers deserve the highest praise. But many people across Norfolk are hugely frustrated with our criminal justice system. They feel that it’s just not on their side anymore. These major Conservative proposals will help put the law back on the side of local people in Norfolk and give our police the full support they so richly deserve.”

Compulsory accreditation and an easy to understand accreditation system

A Minister for Tourism

Improvements to the station and transport system including parking

Funding to maintain the area and to regenerate

And that they would like to see a system where a qualification is needed to open a Hotel or Guest House.

Brandon Lewis said ”Tourism brings in nearly £500 million a year to the economy in Great Yarmouth and it is vital as it drives the economy here with employment.  We cannot let the tourism trade suffer we need to support them. The Conservative Party are looking carefully at Coastal Towns and how they can be helped and the coastal towns draft manifesto is entitled ‘no longer the end of the line’, which is how the Labour government has seen coastal towns over the last few years.”

Eric Pickles said”  Our coastal towns are one of the most iconic and popular features of our country and very important to the economy. Every year thousands of people visit these places on day trips and holidays and the Conservative Party want to see these towns prosper again.  We have produced a draft manifesto which includes measures that will help small businesses and encourage enterprise.  We also want to maintain and restore the iconic buildings in coastal resorts.  Many coastal towns have attractive Victorian and Edwardian properties as well as welcoming public spaces, including piers, parks, proms and bandstands. It is vital that our seaside resorts are maintained and enhanced, not only to attract visitors, but also to make them pleasant and attractive places to live all year round. The Conservative Party  want to re-invigorate our coastal towns and ensure they are no longer ‘the end of the line’.”