ANNUAL REPORT OF YOUR LOCAL MP TIM LOUGHTON

Dear Constituent,

Since I was elected as your Member of  Parliament nearly seven years ago I have tried my best to serve you regardless of any party political persuasion.

I try to be available at all reasonable hours to meet as many of you as I can and also play a full part in parliamentary affairs at Westminster.

As always I am very grateful for the friendship, well wishes and support that I have received from so many of you and I feel it a great privilege to represent the Constituency of East Worthing and Shoreham and its 72,000 constituents.

It is a most important part of my job to keep in touch with you, respond to what you have to say and to report back to you on what I have been doing.  This annual report is part of that process.

I hold surgeries every fortnight where people can seek help and advice concerning any matters, local or national. I continue to receive an average of 80 letters every working day and on most weekends I am out and about in the constituency knocking on doors, holding impromptu street surgeries, conducting public meetings and attending by invitation meetings of local organisations.

I’m kept very busy at Westminster as a front bench opposition spokesman for Health and was additionally appointed in November by Michael Howard as Shadow Minister for Children.

I am well aware that to many, the business of politics and the job of a politician is sometimes seen as confusing, remote or even irrelevant but I believe it is vital that people should engage in the democratic process rather than just opting out. 

This is particularly true of younger people, which is why I have spent a lot of time in schools, and with local youth organisations listening to their views and explaining my role.

Do not hesitate to let me have your comments on this Report, including any suggestions on the way in which I can improve my service to you as your MP.

With best wishes to you all 

 Tim’s New Role as childrens’ watchdog

When Michael Howard became leader of the opposition in November 2003 he gave Tim a new, tough, watchdog assignment.  He appointed him Shadow Minister for Children and asked him to make sure that the government fulfil their promises to produce a co ordinated system between social services, health professionals, police and teachers which will ensure early detection and prevention of cruelty to children.

Tim’s work in raising child abuse issues in Parliament and his efforts to implement the findings of the Laming Report into the horrific death of young Victoria Climbie three years ago made him an eminently suitable choice for the new post.

With 80 child deaths every year in the UK, at the hands of parents or carers, Tim is in no doubt about the constant vigilance necessary if the government and the various agencies concerned are to be kept up to the mark.

Tim is also continuing his work as a Shadow Minister of Health with responsibilities for mental health issues, children’s health and social services.

He has also been campaigning for improvements in the family court system in order to ensure that vulnerable children are protected and allowed to benefit from proper contact with both parents wherever possible.

EVERYONE KNOWS SOMEONE WHO’S BEEN HELPED BY TIM

Quality of Life 

We live in a densely populated area and value our green spaces, especially the Downs. That is why Tim spoke up in Parliament against damaging house building and joined with residents of Beeches Avenue, Worthing, to see off a developer trying to build at the foot of the Downs. He has also supported objections to other inappropriate proposed developments around Broadwater.

At Southwick, Tim worked with Adur councillors and local police to help residents in Butts Road deal with anti-social behavioural problems. He worked with residents and Southern Water in tackling flooding problems around The Green and officially opened new pumping facilities which were installed.

He also campaigned for major improvements in flood prevention at Widewater, Lancing and upgrades to the wastewater plant at Shoreham Harbour.

He was on hand for the planting of palm trees, which now enhance Lancing sea front.

Along with Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West Tim led an all party delegation of local councillors and business leaders to see the Minister of Transport about the worsening problems on the A27 which blights so much of the constituency. He will continue to work with any parties to achieve a long needed solution.

Worthing’s Forgotten Corner

Tim has spent a lot of time working with residents and businesses in neglected parts of East Worthing to bring help to what has been labelled ‘Worthing’s forgotten corner’.

With local councillors he has organised a series of public meetings at the East Worthing Community Centre and in Angola Road, bringing senior police, housing officers and council officials to address local people’s concerns.

Tim joined residents in objecting to the Rossetts development close to homes in Meadow Road and is making sure residents have a greater say when any future developments are considered. He is working with West Sussex County Council and local businesses to provide alternative routes for heavy lorries across that area. He has persuaded Southern Water to invest in further work at their East Worthing plant to combat recurring problems over smells and noise.

And he raised in Parliament the question of the blight caused by the presence of the Cannabis Café, helping to close it down eventually.

Pupils are constituents too

Tim particularly welcomes the opportunity to work with young people and regularly visits and consults with the staff and pupils of the 38 schools in his constituency as well as hosting tours of Parliament for them.

He has held a series of special open surgeries at local schools giving pupils an opportunity to raise the issues that concern them. This led him to launch a project for Worthing students to submit their ideas for the regeneration of town centre sites.

In Shoreham he helped launch the ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign to fund improvements at St Peter’s School. In Lancing, he brought Freshbrook School parents and councillors together to secure reduced speed limits in Grinstead Lane, thus helping to prevent further serious accidents.

Tim has also worked with parents concerned on plans to reorganise special schools in the constituency and has participated in the ‘Dads and Lads’ reading project in local schools. 

At the heart of the community

Tim has been very involved in two major campaigns to save services provided by local sub-post offices and our community pharmacies which are threatened by proposed Government changes. 

Despite correspondence and meetings with Postwatch, local councillors and personal visits to all the threatened branches, some nine sub post offices out of the 31 in the constituency are to be closed down, making a mockery of the so-called ‘consultation exercise’ which had been announced.

Tim presented to the Department of Health, a petition signed by over 7,000 customers of pharmacists whose future now looks a little less threatened.

In Shoreham Tim continues to chair the Ropetackle Community Facility Working Party whose work should be translated into bricks and mortar in 2004. In Kingston Buci he has been working with parishioners to save the historic St Julian’s Church from closure. Among Tim’s regular visits to local NHS facilities he spent a day shadowing nurses at Southlands Hospital.

Supporting good causes

One of the most rewarding parts of Tim’s job is working with the excellent voluntary organisations that help to make a difference to so many people’s lives across Adur and Worthing.

As a patron of St Barnabas Hospice he was delighted to be at the opening of the Chestnut Tree House and joined in many fund raising events. He opened the newly refurbished community garden in South Street, Lancing, brought about by the hard work of Joan Turner and the Alzheimer’s Society. 

He continues to work with Adur Special Needs Project to find a permanent home and even resorted to Ceroc dance lessons to help raise funds for them! He was delighted to become a patron of the Worthing Holiday Club which helps adults with learning disabilities.

Tim also gave his support to a number of local aid groups supporting trade justice for developing nations during abortive world trade talks.

 Working for you at Westminster 

Tim spoke in numerous debates and tabled more than 750 parliamentary questions to ministers and the Prime Minister on a wide range of subjects including anti-social behaviour, Sussex policing, NHS land sales, illegal meat imports, asylum seekers, child abuse, child obesity, local government finance, and cannabis cafes.

He made one trip abroad on parliamentary business in March 2003 when he joined other MPs in Tunisia to meet Arab ministers ahead of the Iraq War.

Here are a few of the parliamentary activities in which Tim was involved in 2003:

* Produced Private Member’s Bill to require registration of private foster carers and tougher penalties for parents killing children. These last measures are now to be taken up by the Government.

* Led for the Conservatives on the Dealing in Cultural Objects Bill clamping down on pillaging of historical sites.

* Inaugurated debates on excessive house building in Sussex; and the lack of progress on the Child Rescue Alert scheme to combat child abduction;

* Worked with Chichester MP Andrew Tyrie to lobby Government and the Health Authority to secure the future of the excellent Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst.

* Organised summits at Westminster on Child Abuse and Children’s Health and Mental Health affairs.

* Brought together at Westminster, train operators, Railtrack and rail safety experts to revise practice in the use of noisy train horns in built-up areas which has been causing annoyance on the Worthing-Shoreham stretch of the South Coast line.

* Spoke at the Federation of Small Businesses national conference on the need for less red tape and less bureaucracy.

Tim was also re-elected Treasurer of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare; as Vice Chairman of the All Party Regeneration Group; as Vice Chairman of the All Party Autism Group; as Treasurer of the Parliamentary Maritime Group; as Treasurer of the All Party Archaeology Group and he became Vice Chairman of the new All Party Group on Wholesale Financial Markets Group. He has also been active as a trustee of the Charity Community Service Volunteers.

“Tim again had the best voting record in Parliament of all Opposition Sussex MPs in 2003”

 Constituency Surgeries

Constituents can discuss problems and issues with Tim Loughton in confidence by booking an appointment at one of his fortnightly surgeries (Telephone 01903 235168)

These are normally held on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings at five accessible locations across the constituency.

TIM LOUGHTON is your MP and may be able to help with problems you may be having locally. He is always willing to listen to your views and explain the issues on national matters. He is here to serve you regardless of any political affiliation.

Some of the most common problems he has dealt with over the last year include anti-social behaviour; housing conditions; oversubscribed schools; child tax credit payment delays; disability benefits; local policing and visa issues.

 Parliamentary accountability

Full details of how MPs have voted and speeches and questions they have raised are available on the Parliamentary website, together with helpful information on how Parliament works:www.parliament.uk. The Hansard Parliamentary record is usually available the following day on the website or in hard copy.

In 2004 details of how MPs use their allowances will also be published. This Annual Report is paid for out of Tim’s Parliamentary Office Costs Allowance but mostly distributed by local volunteers.

If you have a complaint about an MP or any elected representatives, and have failed to resolve the problem with them first you can contact The Standards Board for England, First Floor – Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane, London, SE1 2QG.  (E-mail: referrals@standardsboard.co.uk)

As Chairman of the Conservative Disability Group Tim has been closely involved with disability issues. In June he organised MPs to join the London leg of the Special Olympics Torch run en route to the international disabled sporting event in Dublin. Pictured here with Speaker Michael Martin, Chancellor Gordon Brown and athletes.

Tim’s photos from his humanitarian trip to Ethiopia in 2002 were featured at the annual parliamentary photo exhibition and he has used them to illustrate talks in the constituency to raise money for an Ethiopian hospital.