Dear John,

I hope you are all enjoying the summer holidays.

The big news is that last week, I held my biggest ever jobs fair. 500 people were in attendance and many went away with job interviews and advice on what steps they can take to advance their careers. It was a great event and I want to thank all the companies who attended the event and had jobs to offer.

In the rest of my newsletter you can find out more about what I have been doing in the constituency and in Westminster in the last few weeks

As always, if you have any issues or concerns that you would like to discuss with me then please do not hesitate to get in touch by emailing [email protected].
 

Best wishes,



Andrew Griffiths
Member of Parliament for Burton and Uttoxeter

Biggest ever jobs fair
 

On Friday, I hosted my annual jobs fair at the Pirelli Stadium. With 50 companies and over 3,000 jobs on offer, it represented the biggest jobs fair I have ever hosted.

As you may know, I hold a jobs fair every September, but we brought this year's forward to hold it urgently after the news of the closure of Kerry Foods. 

Over 500 people attended the fair, including many Kerry Foods employees. The companies I spoke to were all really pleased with the high quality of the jobseekers and many of them had arranged interviews on the day

The fair also offered attendees one-on-one advice on interview techniques and tips, and information on where to get new skills training.

Given the Kerry news it was great to see record numbers of jobs on offer and companies attending, and I am positive that many, many people will find employment as a result of the event.

Businesses such as Hilton, Staffordshire Police and Russell Roof Tiles attended. Unilever were recruiting for the expansion of production at their Wellington Road site, and Inspired Gaming had lots of jobs on offer as a result of making Burton the home for their new headquarters.

Getting people into work is really important, I hope everyone who attended took something away and that they are able to put it into use soon.

Above and below are photos of me with two of the companies that attended the jobs fair. 

Nicola's Law
 

I had the honour of introducing my 10-minute rule bill to the House of Commons, which aims to ensure that women under 40 who have a family history of breast cancer are able to access cancer screenings

Following the tragic death of Nicola Morgan-Dingley, I wanted to continue her inspiring work. Nicola was passionate about making sure that women went to their screenings. These screenings can save lives and I want to make sure they are made available sooner to women who have a family history of the disease.

From my first meeting with Nicola it was not hard to get swept up in her enthusiasm. I hope now to get this Bill passed which I am calling "Nicola's Law" to honour her memory.

You can watch my speech introducing the Bill by clicking on the image above.

Charity Training Day
 

Along with the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), I held a training day for local charities, youth and faith groups. It was great to see so many people from various organisations receiving world leading training from members of CAF's team.

Key focuses of the session included how to improve websites and social media, thinking about how to diversify income and getting involved with Giving Tuesday in December.

It was a really interesting event and all of those charities attending took away something useful from the session

Thank you to Ashleigh and Bruce from CAF for coming to share their expertise. I hope that this helps local charities who are supporting local people go from strength-to-strength.

It was very moving to lead a debate in Parliament on mental health services for children and young people.

It was great to see so many of my colleagues join the debate from across the House. This is an issue that affects young people in all areas of the country and no matter what political party we are from, we all want to do what we can to help.

We heard so many examples of young people waiting far too long for the treatment they so desperately need, and parents who are worried about the future of those children. If we can come together and deliver the early intervention and support mechanisms that can make such a difference later in life, we can literally save the lives of those young people.

The Government has introduced some really positive measures such as the dedicated mental health teams going into local schools and helping students who are struggling with their mental health. But we need the help and the early intervention more quickly than it is currently planned for.

You can watch my opening speech to the debate by clicking on the image above.

Tammy Minshall Memorial
 

Tammy Minshall, the young Burton paramedic who tragically died whilst on duty has touched the hearts of many people across the town. A number of people have contacted me expressing a real desire to see a lasting memorial to Tammy and commemorate her work. Having discussed it with Tammy's parents, they fell it would be a very fitting tribute to her life.

I have agreed with them to form a small committee with the aim of erecting a suitable memorial to Tammy. There is no set idea yet as to what should be, or where it should be sited. We will of course need to fund raise to pay for it. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. The final decision will be made by Tammy's parents.

Anyone who would like to assist me on the project can email me [email protected]

Justice Select Committee election
 

I have had the great honour of being elected as a member of the Justice Select Committee and attended my first session as a member of the committee.

I am delighted to have been elected to join this important committee. I vowed that in Parliament I would be a voice for the victims, and this new role will allow me to do that. There is important and exciting work to be done.

In my first session, we questioned the then Prisons Minister, Robert Buckland MP, Dame Anne Owens (Chair, Independent Monitoring Board) and Peter Clarke (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons) on the issue of prison governance. I took this opportunity to question them both on the issue of suicide in prisons and what is being done to combat the culture inside prisons that may lead to this.

If you would like to learn more about what the Justice Select Committee does and its role in parliament you can do so by following this link. 

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/

 

Paulet School Visit
 

It was great fun giving a tour of Parliament to members of Paulet School Council. The students were well informed and asked some excellent questions about climate change, knife crime and the school curriculum. 

One of the best parts of my job is giving tours of Parliament to schools and community groups. If you would like to come and experience Parliament for yourself, please get in touch with my office.