General matters

Kris Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 20th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Kris Hopkins (Keighley) (Con)]

I want to spend a few minutes celebrating some of the achievements in my constituency and highlighting some of my constituents’ concerns.

This has been a very difficult year for many of my constituents, particularly those in business. I want to recognise the extraordinary efforts of organisations such as Ilkley Business Forum, which has been offering leadership in bringing businesses together to try to support each other, and in ensuring that other partnerships work effectively in delivering the success of these businesses. I have two messages. First, I would say to constituents: “Buy local and support your local high street and local businesses. Unless you use those services, you might, as people often say, lose them, so please go and support them.” All levels of government have a responsibility to support business, including local government, so I would say, secondly, to Bradford council, of which I was once leader: “Ignore businesses in Keighley and Ilkley at your own peril.” At this time of economic difficulties, raising taxes by putting fees on car parking in those towns is wrong. As one business man said to me recently, “The local council thinks the streets of Ilkley are paved with gold.” Local businesses do not need to have these charges put against them; they need to be supported, and the council needs to reconsider.

We need to increase our capacity in the north. The north wants to make a positive contribution to the economy of this country and to change the dependency on the public sector and promote businesses. I therefore fully support the high-speed train link and want it to expand to Birmingham as soon as possible and then up to the north. Councils and MPs of all parties very much support this, and I give it my 100% backing.

The public sector is undergoing some of the greatest changes in Britain. Cuts to the public sector, particularly in the north, are having a real effect on services and staff. In my last role as leader of the council, I saw the enormous commitment by public sector workers in delivering key services. I know that these are difficult times, and despite the many issues raised, I welcome the positive response by the majority of the trade unions—a response that I have come to respect, as will many other people.

In my constituency, the jewel in the crown is probably Airedale general hospital. I want to acknowledge two “Highly Commended” national awards that the hospital has received and pay tribute to two members of staff, in particular. Senior audiologist Alan Walshaw has been recognised as audiologist of the year 2011, and Jane Downes, the hospital’s company secretary, has become company secretary of the year in a not-for-profit organisation. It is extremely important to recognise that.

Educational attainment and skills are low in the constituency, and if we fail to address these issues, the town will fail. Keighley First locality achievement partnership has already, in its first year, made a significant impact on attendance at schools, and I applaud its efforts. Parkwood primary school and Long Lee primary school have been judged to be outstanding schools by Ofsted.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit Project 6, which is a drug and alcohol treatment centre in town. Such a place is not always the most popular location in anybody’s town, but an enormous amount of important work is done there. Three ambassadors talked about their struggles in dealing with drug and alcohol abuse and the effect that it has had on their families. We all, in our towns and constituencies across the country, need to take some responsibility in addressing this. Many of these people want to make a positive contribution to society and not to be a burden. I pay tribute to the staff and volunteers at Project 6 for the work that they do.

The measure of any nation is how it addresses international development. We put an enormous amount of money into international development, and that is important. With other countries, we have helped to vaccinate a quarter of a billion children against diseases that our children do not suffer from; we have saved the lives of very many people in the horn of Africa; and we have put money into schools in Gaza, where 12 new schools are helping 24,000 children.