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Hello from Mims!
As we gear up for August, I wanted to look back on what has been another busy June and July! Many of you will have been along to the Eastleigh Mela over the weekend and as always Team Eastleigh had a fantastic time at this brilliant local event celebrating the cultural diversity in our area and exploring the market place. Having so enjoyed attending the Mela - including alongside Romsey MP Caroline Nokes last summer - I know that Moss and the whole Asian Welfare and Cultural Association team do a fantastic job organising the event and bringing our community together and they again have my sincere thanks!
As always there was plenty of wonderful food at the Mela and July has certainly been a fantastic month for us local foodies with many opportunities to celebrate our local producers starting with a visit to Parliament by Steam Town Brew to see and taste their delicious brew on tap in Parliament's famous 'Stranger's Bar'. This month also played host to our inaugural Hampshire Day while local food and drink producers from across our county came to Parliament for a 'Taste of Hampshire' which I organised alongside fellow Hampshire MPs Steve Brine, Ranil Jayawardena and Kit Malthouse . Read more - and see the photos! - below!
In this month’s business, Parliament introduced a landmark Domestic Abuse Bill. These new measures will introduce new definitions of the many forms of abuse, protections and support for survivors and stronger punishments for offenders. As the former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in Parliament and having met with local survivors of domestic abuse, I really welcome the introduction of this key Bill to the House and will closely follow its progress in the coming months as we work towards better protections for victims of domestic abuse.
And in my mailbox and postbag, as well as plenty of e-mails about the Mental Health Act, I've also had lots of e-mails regarding protecting our rivers, the abortion amendment brought forward to the Northern Ireland Bill and support for pubs. I’m posting regular updates on my website, and so please visit: www.mimsdavies.org.uk.
Please get in touch if you’d like to be added to my mailing list or do contact me if there’s anything else you would like to have a chat about.
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Celebrating Hampshire Day
This month, I joined with MPs from across our county ahead of celebrating the first annual Hampshire Day. The celebration, which took place on Monday 15th July, is part of a wider Government strategy to celebrate our historic counties. It was fantastic to be joined by MPs from across Hampshire, as well as Councillor Keith Mans, Leader of Hampshire County Council, to celebrate our incredible county.
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Taste of Hampshire
This month top food and drink producers from across Hampshire, nominated by MPs, came in to Parliament to showcase their produce for our ‘Taste of Hampshire’ event.
We had Overton buffalo mozzarella, Test Valley Gin and beer brewed in Botley plus much, much more all in the historic surroundings of Parliament’s ancient Westminster Hall.
It was absolutely brilliant to welcome everyone to a Taste of Hampshire and I was so pleased that Meg from the Botley Brewery made the effort to come up to Westminster.
A HUGE thank you to everyone that made this event a succulent success!
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“Mims’ Taste of Hampshire event in Parliament was a brilliant day showcasing some of the best Hampshire has to offer. It was an opportunity too good to miss, and a reminder of just how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful county with so much local choice!” - Meg from The Botley Brewery
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Blue Cross Rehoming Centre Visit
I receive hundreds of emails and letters about animal welfare regularly and I know protecting animals is a key concern in our area. That's why I was delighted to attend the Blue Cross Rehoming Centre in West End. With over 100 volunteers, including those that work at the centre and others that foster in their own homes, the Blue Cross Rehoming Centre in West End is a haven for animal lovers.
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'Big Cream Tea for elderly folk’ event
Eastleigh HOPE 19 is about Churches Together in Eastleigh (CTiE) coming together and jointly offering a series of events across the week. It was fantastic to visit the All Saints C of E Church in Eastleigh and be a part of their 'big cream tea for elderly folk' event which is just one of the many streams the organisation offer.
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Eastleigh College Visit
We are so lucky to have excellent schools and colleges in Eastleigh and I'm incredibly proud of the achievements of students across our area. That’s why it was good to have one of my regular catch-ups with Eastleigh College Chief Executive and Principal Jan Edrich this month to discuss a variety of issues including T-levels, skills, opportunities, vocational training, adult learning, improving life chances & working with schools.
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International Plastic Bag Free Day
It is vital that we protect our environment for generations to come. International Plastic Bag Free Day – which is marked on the 3rd July each year and is now in its ninth year - is a unique opportunity to spread the word that a plastic bag free world is possible and that sound environmental alternatives to single use plastic bags are available.
Read more about how I'm doing my bit for the environment here.
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The Churchill Fellowship
Founded as a national memorial to Sir Winston Churchill, a Churchill Fellowship is a life-changing opportunity to expand professional and personal horizons. The Fellowships support UK citizens from all backgrounds to travel the world, meet the world’s leading experts and projects to bring back innovative ideas for their professions and communities.
That's why this month I encouraged my constituents to apply for a fellowship through the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust!
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Increasing the National Lottery Scratch Card Age
The National Lottery raises vast sums for great causes, supporting so many charities, but we also need to make sure that the National Lottery is fair and safe.
The current age limit for all National Lottery games is 16, but the government will now consult on whether it should be raised to 18 for some or all National Lottery games and products.
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Bees Needs Week
As pollinators bees play a key part in every aspect of the ecosystem. They support the growth of trees, flowers and other plants which serve as food and shelter for creatures large and small. That’s why it was fantastic to brush up on my bee knowledge and visit local bee-keeper, Jerry Hall.
Read more about my visit here.
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Stream Town Brewery comes to Parliament
Each week Members of Parliament are able to nominate a local brewer from their constituency to provide a beer for the members bar ‘Strangers’.
It was wonderful to welcome David, John and Duncan from Eastleigh’s Steam Town Brew Company to see their brew on tap in the member’s bar in Parliament, pull a pint and give it a taste!
The 3.8% Stoke Pale beer was on sale at the Palace of Westminster for the week and had five star reviews from many of my colleagues across the House!
I’d like to thank the team for joining us to celebrate their success.
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QE2 Centre Visit
This month I visited The Queen Elizabeth 2 Centre at River Hamble Country Park to meet Manager Phil Oates, staff, volunteers and service users and see the newly opened Gold Day Service building.
The QE2 Activity Centre provides activity sessions, day services and holiday opportunities for people with disabilities, their families and carers. The new building includes a state of the art sensory room, extensive changing facilities and a large multi- purpose room complete with kitchen, which is where I met with a group of people for a coffee and a chat.
Find out more about the visit here.
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Adoption Barometer report
Families who adopt often face hurdles which many of us simply wouldn’t think about. This month, I attended the launch of Adoption UK’s new report to hear about the work that is being done to improve outcomes for those who are adopted as well as for those families who decide that adoption is for them.
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Congratulations to the ICON Preventative Programme!
The ICON Preventative Programme supports parents to cope with a crying baby, reducing the risk of Abusive Head Trauma. An inability to cope with a crying baby is one of the key reasons that caregivers can lose control and shake a baby causing lasting damage or death.
I am delighted to announce that having nominated the local team behind this initiative - which has played a key role in our local area - the programme won the regional award for ‘Excellence in Primary Care’ at the NHS Parliamentary Awards.
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Step for Strep campaign
Group B Strep is the most common cause of serious infection in newborn babies in the UK and the leading cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis.
As part of July’s Group B Strep Awareness Month, the Group B Strep Support charity challenged MPs to walk 62,000 steps between Monday 1 July and 15 July 2019, that's 1,000 steps for every baby who will develop a group B Strep infection this July (and 4,429 steps each day) and I am thrilled to have taken part.
Read more about the campaign here.
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25 Years of the National Lottery
The National Lottery has helped local projects across Eastleigh to the tidy tune of £80.1 million. This month I dropped in to meet with members of the National Lottery team to mark their 25th Birthday and celebrate all those that the National Lottery has supported.
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School Sport and Activity Action Plan
This month has been a truly fantastic month of sport for the UK and as the Sports Minister I am already looking ahead to ensuring that we are giving our sporting heroes of the future the very best start! That's why I recently launched the School Sport and Activity Action Plan. The new Plan means that children will have a greater opportunity to access 60 minutes of daily sport and physical activity whether that be in school, after school or during weekends and holidays.
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