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Member of Parliament for Amber Valley

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May Newsletter

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Dear Constituent,

Welcome to my latest newsletter to keep you updated on my work in Parliament and around Amber Valley.

As always, you’ll find a selection of what I’ve been up to over the last month and details of upcoming events. You’ll also find the usual information about my columns and surgeries, and how to get in touch.

As the summer recess approaches, I’m planning a constituency tour to meet more businesses, community groups and sports teams around Amber Valley. Please do get in touch if you’d like me to come and visit.

Queen’s Speech 2016:

Last month saw the Queen attend Parliament to perform the official State Opening of Parliament. This marks the formal start of the Parliamentary session and includes the Queen’s Speech –which sets out the Government’s legislative agenda over the coming year. This year’s speech built on the important measures this Government has already introduced in our first year as a Conservative majority Government and I welcome the Government’s renewed commitment to strengthening our economy to provide security for working people and improving life chances here in Amber Valley.

I was particularly pleased by the inclusion of a Digital Economy Bill as I know slow broadband speeds affect a number of my constituents and their businesses every day. This Bill affirms the Government’s commitment to ensuring we can compete globally, introducing new obligations on broadband providers to give everyone the right to high-speed broadband.

I know many of my constituents will also be pleased to see the inclusion of a Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill which will give local communities more power and control to shape their own area. Planning issues are frequently an area of concern for my constituents and I remain committed to ensuring that the planning system works in the interests of local communities.

The Queen’s Speech also provided clarification on future plans for encouraging educational excellence through the Education For All Bill, as well as helping people to save with the Lifetime Savings Bill, increasing consumer choice through the Better Markets Bill, and ensuring the NHS works in the interests of local people through the NHS (Overseas Visitors Charging) Bill.

You can read more about these, and some of the other Bills included in the Government’s agenda for the coming year here.

Anti-Corruption Summit:

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s Anti Corruption Summit last month, I held a Westminster Hall debate on the Anti Corruption Summit to call on the Government to make further progress on tackling multinational tax avoidance, by introducing public registers of beneficial ownership across the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependences, which would be open to inspection by the public.

Tax avoidance deprives governments of tax revenue and undermines public confidence in tax systems. It is therefore important that this information is made publicly available, and I believe such measures are imperative in restoring public confidence by increasing scrutiny in this area.

You can read the full text of the debate here and find out more about my work as Co-Chair of the APPG on Anti Corruption here.

Public Accounts Committee:

As you will know, I serve on the Public Accounts Committee which is responsible for scrutinizing the value for money of public spending and generally holds the government and its civil servants to account for the delivery of public services. Most recently we have been looking at the BBC’s Critical Projects and Free Entitlement to Early Years Education. You can find out more about upcoming inquiries and evidence sessions here.

Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee:

The Committee has recently finished an inquiry and report into Northern Ireland and the EU Referendum, exploring the potential impact of a Brexit in key areas such as the economy, agriculture and the border with the Republic. You can find out more about the inquiry and read the report here.

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Don’t forget you can also sign up to receive notifications of my appearances in Parliament by clicking here.

EU Referendum Event:

I recently spoke at a cross-party EU Referendum event with Peter Bone MP and Tom Pursglove MP from the Grassroots Out! EU Referendum campaign. It was fantastic to see so many people at the Codnor Castle Inn and such huge support for the campaigns.

I will be speaking at more EU Referendum events in the coming weeks, and I’ll keep you posted on the details.

GO! Campaign Event

Alfreton Nursery School Visit:

I was pleased to recently visit Alfreton Nursery Teaching School to meet the children, staff, governors and head teacher, Angela Stanton. The Nursery is going from strength to strength, and I’m delighted that they’ve been awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating by OFSTED five times.

It was great to see the Nursery’s Forest School site, which includes a new pond, where children can watch and learn about tadpoles, newts and other creatures as they grow through the life cycles.

You can read more about my visit here.

Alfreton Nursery

Heage Windmill update:

I’m delighted that the ‘Trouble at the Mill’ appeal to raise funds to repair the wet rot in the timbers of the Mill is going well, and that over £54,000 has been raised so far. The parts have been fixed, and so the sails are nearly ready to go back on. Dependent on some sunny (and not windy) weather, the sails will be put back on in the next few weeks, allowing the sails to turn over Heage and flour to be milled again. Congratulations to all those involved with the Mill for their fantastic efforts to secure the future of this historic and loved local landmark.

To celebrate their success to date, and try to raise the remaining money needed, there will be many events throughout the year at the Windmill, as below. More events will be added soon: you can also find details of these, and of their Holiday Raffle, here.

Heage Windmill 2016 Events

Local Bus Services – Let me know your thoughts:

Many constituents have recently contacted me about changes to local bus services and routes. I know how important these routes are to help people get around, from going to work or shopping. I’m meeting with trentbarton soon to discuss the changes, so please get in touch to let me know your views on the changes and how they could impact you.

Street Watch:

If there are any street repairs in your area, such as potholes, pavement repairs or broken street lights, you can report these issues and concerns to me quickly and easily here so I can ask for the repairs to be investigated and addressed.

Latest Columns:

You can read my latest Derby Telegraph column, analysing the Queen’s Speech, here.

My latest Ripley & Heanor column is also available to read here.

Surgeries:

I regularly hold surgeries to give you the opportunity to meet with me and discuss any concerns or problems you may have. These are held on Friday evenings between 5pm and 7pm.

If you would like to meet me and discuss any issues, the dates of my upcoming surgeries are:

  • Heage Surgery – 10th June 2016
  • Heanor Surgery – 24th June 2016

Please contact my office on 01773 744341 to book an appointment for any of the above, or to arrange an alternative meeting.

Get in Touch!

As always, you can contact me by hitting the ‘reply’ button on this email, or you can ring my office on 01773 744341.

Twitter and Facebook

You can also follow me on Twitter @NigelMillsMP and like me on Facebook here to stay up to date with news and events in Amber Valley throughout the month.

Yours sincerely,