Lancaster & Fleetwood MP, Eric Ollerenshaw, joined Baroness Sayeeda Warsi on the recent ministerial delegation from the UK to Vatican. The visit was reciprocal, following the momentous State Visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the UK in September 2010.

The visit also commemorated the decision taken 30 years ago to restore full diplomatic relations between the two countries. The relationship between the UK and the Holy See is actually the UK’s oldest diplomatic relationship, first established in 1479.

The delegation met with Holy See officials on Wednesday to discuss issues including human rights and international development. Later they held an audience with Pope Benedict XVI — an honour not normally accorded those who are not heads of state or government.

Baroness Warsi’s  address to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy represented one of the most strident defences of the importance of religion by a serving British minister. It comes days after the High Court ruled that local councils could not hold prayers during meetings and recent cases of public sector workers being banned from displaying Christian symbols at work.

Eric commented,

“When I was elected as an MP back in May 2010, little did I know that it would lead to this. As a History teacher for 27 years I was familiar with teaching the history between our Country and the Vatican, however seeing and being involved with it first hand was inspiring. It was truly an humbling experience to meet his holiness and I took the opportunity to send him the best wishes from people in Lancaster & Fleetwood.”

“The message we were taking from the trip was that when we look at the deep distrust between some communities today, there is no doubt that faith has a really important role to play in bridging these divides. If people understand that accepting a person of another faith isn’t a threat to their own, they can unite in fighting bigotry and work together to create a more just world.”

“All the major religions ask their followers to stand up for their neighbours. Doing so doesn’t make you less of a Christian, less of a Jew, less of a Muslim – it makes you more of one. I hope this is something we can share in and I hope it reinforces this extraordinary relationship between the UK and the Vatican.”

Eric Ollerenshaw MP

The Home Secretary announced this week that cash payments for scrap metal will be banned and penalties increased, as the Government steps up its action against metal theft.

In a statement to Parliament Theresa May said the Government would:

• create a new criminal offence to prohibit cash payments when purchasing scrap metal
• introduce unlimited penalties on those who break the law.

In November last year the Government announced that a dedicated metal theft taskforce would be established.

These changes are part of a wider plan to tackle all stages in the illegal trading of stolen scrap metal and further measures to crack down on rogue dealers will soon be outlined.

Commenting on the announcement, Lancaster & Fleetwood’s MP, Eric Ollerenshaw, said:

‘This is a really serious problem, already local farms, churches, magistrates courts, school buildings and numerous private businesses have  been hit. People across Lancaster & Fleetwood are disgusted by metal thieves and the criminals who deal in stolen metal.”

‘We need to protect business, the public and our national heritage from metal theft and that’s why I’m pleased to back the Government’s action. It’s right that the Government is stopping cash payments and introducing tough penalties to clamp down on the illegal metal trade’

Eric joined with local residents and Councillors to call for action on Ashton Road

Last year I met up with a number of residents and local Councillors in Lancaster, who were extremely concerned about the dangerous speeding along Ashton Road between Ripley St Thomas School and the turning onto Bridge Road.

There had been a number of serious accidents on this stretch of road, many caused by motorists speeding up as they passed over the railway bridge.

Eric commented, “After I met with the residents, I brought Tim Ashton, the Cabinet Member for Transport at Lancashire County Council, to the site, to see for himself how dangerous this stretch of road is. ”

“I’m pleased to confirm that work is underway to install a new speed activated warning sign, with new road markings. Hopefully this will force drivers to slow down as they cross the bridge, making this section of Ashton Road safer.” 

Eric Ollerenshaw, the Lancashire born and bred MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, spoke out at this week’s Prime Minister’s question time to ask David Cameron about the Government’s plan for a cap on the amount of benefits that can be claimed by one household.

“I wanted to bring to the attention of the PM that the average household income in Lancashire is only just over the proposed benefits  cap of £26,000 which is in fact the equivalent to someone earning £35,000 before tax.”

“This is an income that many working families across Lancaster and Fleetwood would be only be too happy to receive and underlines the point that the whole system has got out of balance.”

“There will be  exemptions, such as for those who are making the right efforts to get back to work – those on Working Tax Credit – and those who are disabled, as well as for widows and war widows but it cannot be right that we end up paying for a benefits system that can make some people better off than working.”

One such debate that I took part in was to do with the Local Government Finance Bill. It might not sound the most exciting bit of legislation, however, for our part of Lancashire, it’s a very important one

The point I wanted to raise, was that I welcomed the changes that  local Councils will be able to raise more money from encouraging the growth of local businesses, and, importantly, will be able to decided what to spend that money on.

We have been waiting years to try and reopen the railway line to Fleetwood and only last week the Council in Lancaster reaffirmed their desire to see another bridge across the Lune. I believe that these plans could help make schemes such as these happen sooner rather than later.

I’ve also had another very useful meeting with Fleetwood Town Council about a number of matters including Fleetwood Beach, the return of the Trams and plans for this year’s Diamond Jubilee. I was also really pleased to hear that we now have 23 new litter bins in the town – so let’s hope they are used properly.

I also popped down to the prom to see the progress being made on the Marine Gardens, which are undergoing redevelopment. I joined many other locals in peering through the railing to have a look at the changes taking place. There is already a huge difference, and the gardens should look stunning once completed!

Back up in Lancaster, I had my regular surgery at the Library in Market Square where the work on the “Square Routes” project is now well underway. The square is a bit of a building  site at the moment with all the work being done, but at least we’ve got rid of that fountain, which will really open up the square once the development is completed.

I also had a useful meeting with Stepping Stones Nigeria, a Lancaster based charity, who work to transform the lives of less privileged children in the Niger Delta.  2012 marks 400 years since the trial and execution of the Lancashire Witches here in Lancaster, yet in Nigeria today, there are children who suffer horrific abuse, as they are believed to be witches. The work of this Lancaster based charity does an enormous amount to help them and I would like to put on record my thanks for everything that  Gary Foxcroft and his team at Stepping Stones Nigeria, have done.

As always, please contact me if I can be of any help. I represent everyone that lives in Lancaster, south of the River Lune, Fleetwood, the Lower Lune Valley, Wyresdale, Pilling, Preesall and Knott End, regardless of how or whether you vote.

My contact details are below.

 Email: eric.ollerenshaw.mp@parliament.uk Phone: 0207 219 7096 or 01995 672975

Write: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or 59 High Street, Great Eccleston, Lancs, PR3 0YB.

Eric with Russell Walsh from Potts Pies, Lancaster and the Rt Hon Lord Strathclyde

Eric Ollerenshaw, the Lancashire born and bred MP for Lancaster & Fleetwood, organised a celebration to mark “Lancashire Day” at the Houses of Parliament.

Lancashire Day commemorates the 27^th November1295, the day the first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what later became known as “The Model Parliament”. The celebrations will be launched by the Rt Hon The Lord Strathclyde, Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who will read out the “Lancashire Day Proclamation”. 

The aim was to  promote Lancashire and showcase some of our great regional produce. A great range of local food was on offer including: Potts Pies from Lancaster, Dewlay Cheese from Garstang, Drinkwater Mushrooms from Lancaster,  Uncle Joes Mint Balls from Wigan and even Lancashire chocolate from Ramsbottom.

 No event to celebrate Lancashire would be complete without a traditional local tipple, and courtesy of the Lancaster Brewery and Fleetwood’s Fuzzy Duck Brewery there was also some award winning ales available for sample.

 Eric commented:

 As a proud Lancastrian, born and bred in the Red Rose County and the elected Member of Parliament for the city of Lancaster, I feel it is almost my duty to help everyone in Westminster understand how great Lancashire is. We’ve got some beautiful countryside and coastlines, fantastic award winning food and drink and the friendliest folk across the country. I am always frustrated when some of my southern colleagues think that the North West of England only consists of Manchester and Liverpool, hopefully this event will help to promote all that is great about our County and its people.

 All 650 MP’s were invited, although Eric did request that any Members of Parliament from the County of Yorkshire were required to provide a written reference of suitability from a Lancashire colleague before entry was admitted.

 Chameleon Pub Company, which owns Greaves Park and for whom Anthony works, invested £100k in bringing the pub up to group standards when it purchased the freehold in February 2010. Since taking over the running of Greaves Park in August 2010, Anthony has significantly turned around business at the imposing Grade II listed venue by improving customer service levels, introducing local produce to the menu and serving only top quality, excellent value food. Previously part of a national chain, the pub/restaurant was serving just 700 meals a week. Now it averages 1,000 per week and this is increasing week by week.

 Anthony, a keen political campaigner in his previous hometown of Leeds, invited Eric Ollerenshaw MP in to see for himself how Greaves Park has changed and to keep him abreast of planned future developments and improvements. Whilst there, Eric popped behind the bar to pull a pint of local brew Lancaster Blonde and serve it to Anthony!

 British Pub Week is a nationwide initiative, organised by the pub industry to raise awareness of the wealth of excellent pubs we have in Britain. One of the objectives of the campaign is to invite MPs into pubs to remind them of the unique and valuable role that pubs play.

Eric commented: “It’s great to see Greaves Park booming. Anthony and the team here are doing an excellent job, providing employment opportunities, a draw for tourists to Lancaster and a lovely meeting place for the local community. Long may the success continue.”

Eric Ollerenshaw, MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, has warmly welcomed today’s announcement that thousands of extra seats are to be made available on the West Coast Main Line from April next year. This follows an announcement by the Government that it has signed an extension to Virgin Trains’ existing contract to operate services on the line.

 Passengers will now benefit from three new 600-seat Pendolino trains, in addition to the new Pendolino which entered service in July this year. Crucially, the deal will also see 31 existing Pendolinos lengthened from 9 to 11 carriages. Taken together, these measures will see 106 new carriages operating on the West Coast Main Line, giving and extra 28,000 seats each day, an increase of almost 50% on standard class seats and 25% on overall availability.

 Eric said:

 “There has been talk about extending carriage lengths for about a year and I had thought it might take a little longer for this to happen. So I am delighted that these 28,000 extra seats will now be available from next April. This should help to improve significantly the travelling conditions for West Coast Main Line passengers, including those who journey from Lancaster.

 “However, this expansion of capacity of the West Coast Main Line is not going to be enough a decade or so into the future. That is why I also support plans for a new High Speed Rail network, HS2, which will provide an additional north-south route servicing Manchester to Birmingham to London. HS2 will increase capacity still further, as well as cut journey times to London.

 The extra carriages announced today are a good first step and I will continue to press the Government to invest in infrastructure that will help Lancaster and Fleetwood, and the North West more generally.”

Examining the situation at Broadfleet outflow, Pilling

Local MP, Eric Ollerenshaw,  met with Pilling Parish Council, United Utilities, Environment, Natural England and local residents, to look at a number of issues  with water and flooding issues in the Pilling area.

The first task was to visit the outflow at Broadfleet, to see first hand the problems caused by the channel silting up on the seaward side. This makes it difficult for the outflow doors to open, causing water levels to rise in Pilling, putting farmland and property at risk of flooding.

Eric commented,

“The local Parish Council here in Pilling, are doing a great job in keeping up the pressure on all the various agencies to try and resolve the local flooding problems.

“I am pleased that the Environment Agency have now agreed to carry out several flushes of the channel before Christmas, to clear out the silt. This was successful earlier this year, reducing the water level by around 12 inches.

The Environment Agency confirm that if this is does not remove enough silt by the middle of January, they will dredge the channel to remove even more , and hopefully reduce the water level again.”

Other areas of the village that were discussed included Bradshaw Lane, Wheel Lane, Carr Lane, Pilling Lane, Stakepool Drive and St John’s Avenue.

 Eric is due to have further meetings this month with both the Environment Agency and Natural England to keep the pressure on to resolve this problem once and for all for everyone that lives in Pilling and the surrounding area.

The news that over 800 jobs could be lost at BAE Systems in Warton, together with a further 565 from Salmesbury is devastating for this part of Lancashire. Many of these BAE employees are highly skilled and have contributed massively to the UK defence sector and to the country’s economy over the years. They still help produce top quality products but, unfortunately, the level of orders for the Eurofighter Typhoon have been slowed, which has led to the company making this decision. I hope that as many of the redundancies as possible will be made on a voluntary basis but, given the numbers cited, I do not believe that will be possible in all cases.

I know that there are many people in the Lancaster & Fleetwood constituency who either work for BAES, or who have family and relatives that do. The job losses are of course bad but I am particularly disappointed at the way the news leaked to the media before staff were told of the news. That was simply not good enough, treating valued employees like that.

This shows that we need to continue taking co-ordinated action to boost growth in the economy. I am due to meet with the Council in the next week to discuss the jobs situation in our area and, among other things, I will be raising the issue of what more can be done to try and locate an Enterprise Zone in Lancashire, preferably on the Fylde coast.

I will also be speaking with all other agencies to make sure that those who lose their jobs receive all the advice and retraining they need to help them find alternative employment as quickly as possible.”