Mini Police Cadets

I was delighted to join the award ceremony at the launch of Kent Police's first ever Mini Police Cadets scheme at Temple Hill Primary Academy.

This scheme was introduced in Kent by Police and Crime Commissioner, Matt Scott and is an innovative police engagement programme aimed at 8-11 year olds.  It is not about looking to recruit future police officers but giving young people a chance to be heard, whilst supporting their community and developing new skills in a fun, friendly and exciting way.

If you are a primary school interesting in joining the scheme, please contact Kent Police.

The Leigh UTC

Nine years on from supporting the creation of a University Technical College in Dartford, I was pleased to pay a visit to The Leigh UTC to catch up on their latest achievements.

I met with Principal, Mr Stephen Leahy and saw the pioneering work the UTC is doing in engineering and other STEM subjects.  

The Leigh UTC is now firmly embedded in the Dartford community and its engagement with business provides financial support and apprenticeship opportunities for students who study there.   

The innovative use of technology to support learning, during the pandemic, along with a focus on STEM education, is enabling students at The Leigh UTC to have the necessary skills to be successful in a rapidly changing market whether that be in engineering, digital or sciences. 

The Leigh UTC plays a vital role in ensuring that Dartford has a diverse range of educational establishments on offer for local children.
 

Fleetdown United Football Club

Fleetdown is one of Dartford's most successful football clubs and was formed from a junior side of under 11's leaving Fleetdown Primary School in 1971.  The club has grown over the years and is now based in Heath Lane, where changing rooms and a clubhouse have been added.  In recent years it has also added an all-weather pitch and floodlights.

The club has lots of teams including, seniors, youth teams, mini soccer and girls' football.

I was delighted to visit Fleetdown UFC and meet with Kevin Webb (Chairman), Paul Hordon (Honorary Life President) and Ian Gould (Business Consultant) and learn about the club and the challenges it faced during lockdown.

I have committed to working with the club to help improve the available facilities there so that it can continue to be a valued asset for the local community.

The Green Man

Located in the most southern part of the constituency is the beautiful hamlet of Hodsoll Street, where the Green Man public house has stood proudly overlooking the green for generations.

Tragically, in the early hours of Thursday morning last week, fire tore through the much-loved pub, following a suspected lightning strike.

You can see from the photos the devastating impact which almost certainly means the building will need to be demolished.

I have met with the landlord, Alex Brooks, who is determined to rebuild the pub as soon as possible.  I will continue to work with him to assist in doing this so that Hodsoll Street can continue to have a pub at the heart of its community.

External view of the Green Man pub after fire destroyed most of the building.

Royal Mail introduces more electric vans in Dartford

Royal Mail is introducing 10 electric vans to its fleet of delivery and collection vehicles located at Dartford Delivery Office. This is in addition to the 18 electric vehicles already collecting and delivering mail in the Dartford area.

This comes as Royal Mail announces a ten-fold increase in the number of electric vehicles it runs across its UK fleet with plans to introduce around 3,000 additional, low-emission vans throughout the UK. The new vans, liveried in traditional Royal Mail red, are specially designed to help postmen and women deliver letters and parcels in a secure and environmentally friendly way.

With the UK's largest "Feet on the Street" network of over 85,000 postmen and women, Royal Mail already has the lowest reported CO₂e emissions per parcel amongst major UK delivery companies. 

Australia Free Trade Agreement

The UK has secured a trade deal with Australia eliminating tariffs on all UK goods and boosting jobs and businesses across the country, in the first major trade deal negotiated from scratch by the Government since we left the EU.

The main elements of the deal were agreed by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, at a meeting in Downing Street on 14th June. 

The new Free Trade Agreement means iconic British products like cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics will be cheaper to sell into Australia, boosting UK industries that employ 3.5 million people across the country. The UK-Australia trade relationship was worth £13.9 billion last year and is set to grow under the deal, creating opportunities for businesses and producers in every part of the UK.

British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, using tariff rate quotas and other safeguards. We are also supporting agricultural producers to increase their exports overseas, including to new markets in the Indo-Pacific.

Vaccination programme accelerated as Step 4 is paused

Step 4 of the Roadmap has been paused for four weeks whilst the vaccination programme is accelerated following a significant rise in the number of cases of the Delta variant. After two weeks the Government will review the data to see if the risks have reduced.

Second doses for over 40s have been brought forward to eight weeks to provide the strongest protection sooner.

Our successful vaccination programme is weakening the link between cases and hospitalisations but the latest evidence shows that two doses are needed to provide effective protection against the Delta variant.

Nearly 32 million people (3 in 5 adults) have been fully vaccinated and over 43 million people have had at least one dose.

By 19th July, all adults will have been offered a first dose and around two thirds of all adults will have been offered two doses of the vaccine.

There have, however, been some changes to current restrictions including weddings.

COP26 pack for schools

COP26 has launched an environment education pack for UK schools to make sure we are all part of the conversation on climate change.  COP26 is the 2021 United Nations annual climate change conference.

To access the pack, please click on the link below.