Letter from Parliament

Jim Dobbin

I note that D Williams Ltd have renewed an application for permission to re-open excavations at Ding Quarry.  Ding Quarry is in Norden Ward and therefore is in the Heywood part of my constituency. 

This is the second time in 12 years they have attempted to re-open Ding Quarry.  The HGV traffic could number up to 130 movements per week day and up to 65 on a Saturday through the local community.  The route would either be down Ings Lane and parts of Rooley Moor Road or through Caldershaw Road and that area. 

I shall be sending in a letter of objection as Member of Parliament and I will declare an interest as I live in the locality and have done for the past 35 years.  I urge other local residents to do the same.  Your letters should go to the Planning Department at Rochdale Town Hall as soon as possible.

The campaign should include all political parties and I expect all the local communities affected will be joining forces to stop this application.  If given the go ahead it will be many years before normality returns to the local community.

The Prime Minister has announced the start of a national consultation on drawing up a new Bill of Rights and Duties.  He said that discussion would focus on how to “entrench and enhance” individual freedoms while also examining the rights and responsibilities “that flow from British citizenship”.  Earlier this year the Prime Minister signalled his desire to reform elements of British democracy, including the return of certain powers from the executive to Parliament.  He also wants to protect individual liberties of our citizens such as the right to protest and the right to privacy.

He believes in:

• Respecting and extending freedom of assembly and new rights of public expression of dissent.
• Respecting freedom to organise and petition and new freedoms that guarantee the independence of non-government organisations.
• Respecting freedom for our press and investigative journalism.
• Respecting the public right to know, new rights to access public information where it has been withheld.
• Respecting privacy in the home, new rights against intrusion.
• New rights to protect your private information.
• This may lead in the end to a written constitution for the British people. 

I have visited Estoril just outside Lisbon with a small delegation from the Commons and Lords to discuss with representatives from the 27 other EU Parliaments the Portuguese Presidency of the EU outcomes.  The other parliamentarians are envious of the success of the UK in negotiating a protected position in a number of areas. 

There will now be an intense debate in Parliament early in the New Year.  The Lib Dems and Labour are against a referendum on the new reform agreement.  David Cameron refuses to commit his party to calling a referendum to overturn any agreements.  Isn’t it a funny old world?

I understand there is agreement on devolved budgets for the Rochdale Townships after political agreement was reached to extend devolved powers to run services locally in Heywood and Middleton with devolved budgets.  It’s good to see that common sense has won in the end. This is proper devolution, something I have been advocating for many years.  I will give it all the support I can.

The Lib Dem cuts in Adult Care Services are coming at an inappropriate time when it seems primary health care is in the process of being developed more intensely just as the Council are reversing their adult care provision.  I always thought that Health care and Social care would be combining their spending powers to provide joint care packages. This decision could scupper joint plans. 

Last week my trade union Unite came down to London to lobby on behalf of the manufacturing industry.  They recognise that manufacturing is on the increase for the first time in some years but want the MPs to keep up the pressure on government and industry to continue the improvements.

On 19 October I led an all party deputation from the Commons and the Lords to Guernsey.  I am Chairman of the Channel Islands Group.  We met the Chief Minister and his team to discuss health food supplements, online gambling, VAT on goods and the general relationship on the UK City institutions and the Guernsey economy.  Discussion was positive and we returned satisfied with the deliberations.

Two representatives Barbara Leeming and her friend Carol from BreatheEasy came to my surgery to talk about the work they do locally to raise awareness of the work of their organisation.  Breathe Easy Rochdale, part of the British Lung Foundation, is holding an open day in the Rochdale Exchange on November 14 from 9 to 4,30 to find the missing millions of people who suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.  This is a chance to test your lung capacity and this small local charity needs your support for their worthwhile cause.  Many people are unaware that they have lung problems so come along and find out.  It could make a great difference to your quality of life.  

During the week I had a visit in Westminster from Mal McColl and her sister Christine and Mary Jennings, three constituents who are doing their best to promote Breakthrough Breast Cancer.  They all meet regularly at the Demesne Centre in Langley to support and advise people with breast cancer.  They do a superb job locally raising awareness of this disease and Mary has been to the USA to meet with international groups. I promised to contact a number of health providers locally and to write to the Secretary of State for Health. I was able to show them round the Houses of Parliament before they had to leave to catch a train back to Manchester.

I then chaired a Pro-life meeting which was well attended with Professor Joel Brind from the USA and Professor Patricia Casey from Dublin who were speaking on links between abortion and cancer and mental illness. 

On Wednesday 24th I started the day with a series of lectures on Marketing run by the Industry and Parliament trust of which I am a Fellow. 

Thursday I met Housing boss Paul Beardmore and Steve Bloomer who co-ordinates the Housing Market Renewal Langley programme to discuss the recent problems surrounding future long term plans.

On Friday we enjoyed dinner with the Middleton Lions at Rochdale Cricket Club to celebrate the 42nd birthday of the Lions in Middleton.  The President Peter Russell and his fellow members made us most welcome and it was a lovely evening. 

I then drove down overnight to London where I was due to speak at the Remembrance and Healing Rally on the 40th Anniversary of David Steel’s Abortion Act. Even David Steel himself now has concerns about the number of abortions, 6.7million since 1967 and running at 200,000 per year.

This legislation is long overdue for a review. 

Both my wife and I read a lesson after the rally at the ecumenical service that was held in a packed Westminster Cathedral.