I had the huge honour this week in congratulating Fullhurst Community College after they were awarded a Silver Pearson Teaching Award for the School of the Year – Making a difference category.
I am thrilled that Fullhurst has been awarded this prestigious prize. It’s a real testament to the dedication, passion and hard work of the teachers, who always go the extra mile.
This week they have been nationally recognised for making a huge difference to young people’s lives – I could not be prouder of them all.
As we celebrate the 70th birthday of the NHS, I was delighted to join Macmillan this week to recognise the vital role they have played in our NHS since its creation in 1948.
Macmillan was founded in 1911, before the NHS was born, and was a vital source of help and information for patients and doctors on how to recognise, treat and prevent cancer.
Since the creation of the NHS in 1948, Macmillan have invested millions of pounds and played a vital role in our health service. There are now over 2,000 Macmillan nurses supporting cancer patients and their families right across the country.
I recently visited Leicester’s Royal Infirmary where I saw first-hand how vital the partnership is between Macmillan and our NHS.
Over the coming years our NHS and social care services will face huge challenges and more must be done to ensure they last for another 70 years and beyond. However, today is a day to celebrate our NHS, be proud of what it stands for and all the people who work in it.
On Friday 22nd June I held a public meeting with local councillors, Annette Byrne and Vijay Riyait, the Deputy City Mayor for Environment, Public Health & Health Integration, Adam Clarke, as well as representatives from Leicester City Council, the Environment Agency and Biffa to discuss the smell produced by the nearby Biffa plant.
My office has recently received a number of complaints regarding the smells which have been an ongoing problem for a number of years, and I find that local residents are having to put up with it completely unacceptable.
I will be holding meetings with both Biffa and Leicester City Council before meeting residents again in September to provide an update.
I recently visited the team at Beaumont Lodge Neighbourhood centre. During my visit I heard about their community garden, the plans for their summer fair and their community cafe.
I also met with Beth and a group of young people taking part in E2 Strike Out Programme which offers vocational courses to help young people who have difficulty accessing mainstream education provision to overcome their barriers to learning.
I also heard from Martin about the difficulties they are facing due to cuts to their budget. If they are unable to source additional funding, the centre may not be able to survive putting all these projects and more at risk.
I will continue to do all I can to support the team at Beaumont Lodge Neighbourhood Centre.
On Friday I met with Izzy and Ant from the fabulous Graffwerk – the team behind Leicester’s bring the Paint Festival.
They told me all about their exciting plans to move into new premises on Frog Island which will enable them to expand on the work they do in the community. Their new premises will include a workshop space where schools can come along and take part in graffiti workshops, a cafe area and studios as well as space for resident artists. They will also be taking over responsibility for the canal which runs alongside their new premises enabling them to bring the area to life with new art installations!
Graffwerk works with the local community to identify legal graffiti areas for artists to establish their craft and open up Leicester as a key city in street art culture.
I’m campaigning for more affordable housing in Leicester West – including building more social housing – and a fair deal for people who are private renters.
I’m campaigning for better services and support for older people, carers and their families, and a sustainable system for funding our NHS and social care in future.
I’m working to help your family by pressing for faster progress in local schools, more improvements in our NHS, and continued investment in children’s early years.
