Welcome to my last newsletter of 2011 and what a year it has been! Amidst all the economic gloom there were some moments of great celebration with the Royal wedding most notable, and in Worthing & Adur we joined in with gusto as usual. In my case that included a gunging as well!
Next year, we have the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics and Paralympics too look forward to. Again, we shall be doing our bit and it is great that the Olympic Torch will include Worthing and Lancing in its route.
I hope you have found these newsletters useful as the circulation has expanded substantially so that this is now a major way of spreading news amongst my constituents. The ‘How Parliament Works’ instalments seem to have gone down particularly well and the full selection can be found on my main website www.timloughton.com . If you think there are other subjects I still need to include in this series then do please let me know.
I will, shortly, be adding new video podcasts with accompanying surveys on my TellTim website. So please do use www.telltim.co.uk as well to feed me back your views on Europe and local developments in this case.
Westminster will be in recess from December 20th and returns on January 10th. My office will not be staffed between Christmas and the New Year but we will be monitoring emails if there are any urgent matters. The constituency office will also be closed over this period, returning on January 3rd.
As we remember our family members and friends abroad, particularly those serving us so bravely in the armed forces, can I also wish you all a very Happy Christmas and successful 2012.

With very best wishes

Tim Loughton MP

Scheduled (for appointment call 01903 235168)

23rd December- Lancing
6th January - Southwick
20th January- Shoreham
3rd February- Worthing

Street Surgeries with councillors (No appointment needed, just turn up)
14th January, Shoreham Farmers’ Market 10-12
21st January, Lancing Children’s Centre 10-12

The Ice Rink at Steyne Gardens is now in full swing and is waiting for you dust off your skates and refresh your skills.

A giant water bottle was among the first visitors to grace the ice when, sponsor, Southern Water’s Mr Drink-It joined us for the launch in Steyne Gardens.  The water company provided the 44,000 litres of water needed to make the 26-metre-long rink. 

I am sure you are all aware by now that the ice rink has been a hugely popular addition for Worthing and this year is open over the Christmas period.

It is a great place to have some fun and is open from 10am to 9pm every day, except Christmas day, until the 8th January. Advance bookings are well up on last year so get your skates on if you want tickets

For tickets call 01903 222 934 or buy them online at http://www.worthingicerink.co.uk/book-tickets/

At the end of last week I signed Age UK’s winter pledge, which is a great campaign to help fight save lives this winter. Last year, over 24,000 people aged over 65 across the UK died unnecessarily during the winter and I will be helping Age UK to bring this number down. The South East of England had the highest amount of excess winter deaths in the UK at 4280. The UK has also one of the worst levels of unnecessary winter deaths in Europe- with each day, on average, 200 succumbing to the effects of the cold weather. Furthermore, the number of older people who do not survive the winter here is far higher than in most European countries, including those where the weather is much colder.

By signing the Age UK pledge, I am committing to working with the charity to help ensure all my older constituents are prepared for winter by knowing the dangers of cold weather and how they can guard against them.

You can call Age UK Advice for free on 0800 169 65 65, where you can also order a free copy of ‘Winter Wrapped Up’, a guide funded by E.ON. Alternatively, you can visit www.spreadthewarmth.org.uk to download the guide, get more information about Spread the Warmth and find out where your local Age UK office or shop is. There will be lots of ways to help Age UK Spread the Warmth this winter. People can make a donation simply by calling 0800 169 87 87 or visiting www.spreadthewarmth.org.uk.

On Sunday 27th November, the crew of HMS Shoreham exercised their Freedom of Shoreham by Sea with a parade through the town. It was a celebration of the on-going relationship with the community as well as to wish the Ship and her crew the best of luck on their next lengthy deployment overseas.

The parade left the Civic Centre at 1.45pm proceeding through the town centre. A salute was then given in East Street to the Chairman of the Council Brian Boggis, Lady Perowne (Ship’s Sponsor) and Lt Cdr Sarah West, (Captain of HMS Shoreham) before finishing up at the Sussex Yacht Club. The procession was led by the Royal Navy Volunteer Band, HMS Nelson and included representatives from the Sea and Army Cadets

HMS Shoreham received the Freedom of Shoreham-by-Sea earlier this year. The Royal Navy Sandown class mine countermeasure vessel is the 5th HMS Shoreham and has been affiliated with the district since 1998.

The Ship is not expected to make another home port visit for a number of years and the parade was a fitting send off to mark a great relationship over the last 14 years. It was also good to be able to pass on our best wishes to Lieutenant Commander Sarah West who is about to take over the command of HMS Portland, the first woman to command a front line warship in the British Navy.

East Street had its long awaited official opening on 7th December and there were plenty of people to revel in the new impressive layout. After a lengthy wait, local shops and businesses have been able to trade fully again.

John O’Brien, Deputy Cabinet Member for West Sussex County Council and Brian Boggis, Chairman of Adur District Council, were there to give their thanks to all those involved and to thank residents and traders for their support and patience whilst the work took place.

Although there were some glitches along the way, I think that local residents and traders will be happy with the end product and, to judge by the early results, ‘cafe culture’ is definitely thriving in Shoreham.

I had a great evening attending the Worthing Sea and Royal Marine Cadets’ carol service and award presentations along with the Mayor at TS Vanguard in Broadwater last week. It was really encouraging to see the enthusiasm and dedication of the young cadets even if the raising of the colours didn’t go quite according to plan. Well done to all the volunteers who make this branch of the uniformed youth services possible – something we want to see more of our young people enjoy. The Mayor has also ‘adopted’ two  cadets to join her at official functions and help raise the profile of the good work they do in the town. This week we are also publishing our new policy paper ‘Positive for Youth’ as part of the Government campaign to get young people more engaged in their communities and combat the tired negative stereotypical images we read about in the media. You can download a copy from the DfE website on
www.education.gov.uk

The Ropetackle is steadily evolving into one of Sussex’s most prominent arts and music centres once again after it was near closing for good just a couple of months ago.  The trust has announced a new community focused project, Thunkshop, which will see a cafe open throughout the week as well as creative workshops.

Set up and run by local resident, Sarah Carter, the first phase of the project has seen the opening of a simple yet elegant cafe based in Ropetackle's foyer. The food will be almost entirely homemade, locally sourced and seasonal along with freshly made bread, soup, cakes and coffee.

The second phase of the project will see a programme of creative workshops for all ages and skill levels developed, along with a concise range of kits and products available at Thunkshop to use in house or take away.

The launch party of Thunkshop took place on 5th December and is, therefore, ready for you all to enjoy. I can recommend the cakes from my first visit

http://www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk

I joined Schools from across the country for a service at Westminster Abbey on 24 November to mark the birth of one of the country’s leading pioneers in the field of education.

Pupils from all over England and Wales travelled to London to join over 1,000 staff and pupils from the Woodard family of schools. The service celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of The Reverend Canon Nathaniel Woodard (1811 – 1891).

Nathaniel Woodard founded eleven schools during his lifetime, the first of which was Lancing College in 1848, followed by Hurstpierpoint and Ardingly. Today, 46 Woodard Schools, including the Sir Robert Woodard Academy in Lancing form the largest group of independent Church of England schools in England and Wales. I also joined the local congregation when the morning service was broadcast live from Lancing Chapel for Radio 4 last month.

It was an excellent tribute to an educational visionary and we are lucky to have two Woodard schools in our area.

For more on the Woodard schools, visit http://www.woodard.co.uk/index.htm

Plans to renew Shoreham Footbridge have been slightly delayed to accommodate changes at the south end. A decision on the application was supposed to have been decided at the end of last month. However, there has been a change to the plans on the south side of the river at Lower Beach Road. The initial idea was to raise the road but, due to public realm, a ramp and step solution has been proposed instead.

Conservation Area Consent has now been granted for demolition of the existing footbridge and detailed design is now moving into its final stages. Planning applications are being considered by West Sussex County Council and the Marine Management respectively with the application due to go before a planning committee on the 17th January.

There have been some logistical concerns raised by councillors and residents over access to and from the town centre once building work commences, as the existing bridge will not be useable. In order to minimise the period of time the crossing is closed, it is intended that the northern most span of the existing bridge will be removed early in the construction programme and a temporary link span onto Coronation Green will be installed from the footbridge.
The latest estimates provided suggest that the crossing will be closed for 14 days which is down from previous estimates of 4 weeks.

However, a free shuttle bus type service will be provided to footbridge users to and from Shoreham Beach. The details of this service, including pick up and drop off points, operating hours and frequency of operation are currently being discussed with local providers and WSCC and will be announced in the New Year.

For more information on the plans, follow the link http://www.timloughton.com/pdf/Connect%202%20Stakeholder%20Briefing%20Note%20No.8%20December%202011.pdf

At the beginning of the month, I was invited to witness the transformation that has taken place at the Community House on Dominion Road in Worthing, and jointly unveiled a plaque with Mayor Anne Barlow

When Leigh-Anna Barbet Corbett, the community house community development worker met Candice and Vanessa from Asphaleia at a recent forum run by Worthing Council for Voluntary Services, ideas started to fly about how they could work together.

Candice and Vanessa were looking for a project for their team of 16 to 25 year old Prince’s Trust volunteers who are on a 12 week programme of volunteering, work placements and education.

It was then decided that the best way that Asphaelia could help the community house at this time would be with some decoration of some otherwise dull looking spaces and essential equipment.

The Asphaleia volunteers fundraised for the project and Southern Water kindly agreed to match any funding. 

Before long, a team of 12, along with Candice and Ashley were at the house, ready to go and after a few days you could see a transformation taking place.  All the students worked hard to produce fantastic results both inside the house and outside in the garden.  They also had some artistic help from Elie Beall and Amanda Callis, 2 talented local artists.

The results are very impressive and much admired by everyone who comes to the community house.

As well as the decoration and garden improvements, the house has also benefited from a new sofa for the small room, which is used for 121 sessions and family contact visits, a new toy box and new notice boards around the project.

I was delighted to be asked to perform the official opening of another addition to Shoreham’s rich artistic heritage at the old Adur Boxing Club building, which has now moved to Lancing’s former Cannabis Cafe.

West Street Loft is located in Shoreham’s conservation area and offers a range of opportunities for individuals, groups and families including yoga and dance, art and craft classes and exhibitions.
You can also hire out some space there for your business as they have designed the loft specifically to cultivate ideas and build your business.

Contact them via email weststreetloft@mail.com / www.weststreetloft.co.uk / 01273 465656

The date for Worthing College’s proposals to move to the Warren site will now be reviewed by a Planning Committee until 25 January 2012 at the earliest. This is the fourth planning date that the college has tried to work out without success. Thus, this means that if given the go ahead they will no longer be able to occupy the Warren from the beginning of the 2012 academic year.

I have of course been liaising with residents, the College, local councillors and the Highways Agency to make sure that plans can be adapted to keep traffic congestion and other impacts to a minimum and I hope that most concerns have now been taken on board. If approval is not given in January it is possible that the whole move will have to be shelved and the site will be up for sale again. I will update residents after the Planning meeting.

I paid a visit to the hugely impressive Camelia Botnar Centre earlier this month. This charity behind the centre was established in 1979 by Octav Botnar and his wife Marcela, in memory of their only child, Camelia, who was killed in a car accident at the age of 20.  After a period of uncertainty over their finances, the centre is now under the new direction of Michael Kay and looking to put the finances back on an even keel.

This is an excellent initiative and is the type of generosity that is needed to help the most vulnerable children in our society. If you can help the centre with fundraising or through volunteering then you can find more details here: www.camelia-botnar-childrens-centre.org

As Minister for Children, I have been working on our recently launched Action Plan to combat sexual exploitation of children and young people, which has been going on under the radar in many parts of the country. Whilst there have been some high profile cases brought to the courts involving Asian gangs in Derby and other cities in the north of England this is something which is happening in too many communities, rural and urban.
In past years, there has been a failure by local agencies to recognise and deal with this problem in many areas of the country. This is not acceptable and we have stated that it must be made a priority. Local Safeguarding Children Boards must now act to establish the severity of the problem in their areas and put in place robust preventative strategies. The Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation Action Plan brings together for the first time actions by the Government and partners to protect children from this largely hidden crime.
I was delighted to launch the Action plan jointly with Barnado’s who have campaigned on this issue for a long time and have a great experience in helping victims, many of whom I have met in preparing this work. We were also joined at the launch by Barnado’s patron, the Duchess of Cornwall, who has been very supportive. You can find more details of the plan on the DfE website at: www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/speeches/a0077355/tim-loughton-to-barnardos-event-on-child-sexual-exploitation

Shoreham Port has been enjoying another successful year despite the economic downturn. I went to see Chief Executive Rodney Lunn together with local councillors Julie Searle, Rod Hotton and Jim Funnell last week for an update on various issues. We were particularly pleased with the Port’s recent decision not to proceed with an application for a concrete crushing facility, which had raised a great many objections from residents.

I also thanked the Port for their continuing support of Shoreham Fort, which is on the Port’s land, and where they have backed Gary Baines and the Friends of Shoreham Fort with all the excellent restoration work they have done there. They hope that final permission to demolish the unsightly old coastguard tower will come through in January and they are keen to get on with it to reveal parts of the old Fort below. Gary gave a progress report to the community at a meeting at the yacht Club in Shoreham earlier this month.

Some residents and business owners have been also voicing concerns over dust from a woodchip plant in the Port. Stobart Biomass opened their Shoreham facility in March which shreds wood and sends it to Scandinavia. Local residents have claimed that the dust from the wood has been causing sore throats, burning eyes and ear infections.

Obviously, Shoreham Port and Stobart Biomass have taken the accusations extremely seriously and have had the dust from their site analysed. So far the results have shown that the dust originating from the site is not hazardous. They are continuing to have different samples analysed over the next six months. Furthermore, the Port Authority has acknowledged there is a dust issue and is working hard on reducing the amount produced by the Port.

Stobart Biomass is also in the process of obtaining a licence from the Environmental Agency to ensure that their Health and Safety is completely up to date. They are continuing to operate, but at a restricted level, until the licence is granted, which they hope to receive on the 14th January.

At the beginning of the week, I was invited to help launch the new Adur Community Clubs for senior citizens’ Christmas lunch at the Shoreham Centre, Pond Road. Age UK West Sussex has started a number of clubs for senior citizens in Adur with the backing of West Sussex County Council.

They include the Sompting Lunch Club on Thursday 29th December from 11am to 2pm. Lunch will be served at 12.30pm and costs just £3.50. Transport is provided.

They also offer advice and information every Wednesday 10.00 – 12.30, followed with Bingo 1.30 – 3.30 at the Shoreham Centre.

Mondays in the Garden Room at the Southwick Community Centre offers a whole range of activities to get involved with.
The launch was a great success with 100 people showing up and I am sure that the activities provided by Age UK will be greatly appreciated by a large portion of Adur’s community!

Find out more about the activities: http://www.ageukwestsussex.org.uk/activity-centres/15/adur-community-clubs

I had an email from a constituent who was very concerned with her car insurance. She informed me that because she was a voluntary worker, her insurer would not provide her with a policy. She also mentioned that she did not even use the car for her voluntary work.

Many car insurers used to insist that motorists inform them of any voluntary work when taking out a policy. From here, prices for volunteers were often inflated, as some insurers defined voluntary driving as ‘business miles’ rather than ‘domestic or social’.

There is a group of insurance companies that have signed up to an Association of British Insurers (ABI) commitment not to charge any extra for voluntary car insurance.

However, it is very important that you still advise your insurer, even if they are part of the ABI commitment, that you do use your car for voluntary work as it could void your contract if you do not.
There are several insurers listed under the commitment that require customers to do so.

There are 54 insurance companies that have signed up to the ABI commitment and they are listed here: http://www.abi.org.uk/information/consumers/general/volunteer_driving_.aspx

The Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) is a free, not-for-profit phone line to help people who are struggling to pay their energy bills and keep warm. People can also access the service online by visiting www.homeheathelpline.co.uk

In total 3.5 million, or one in ten, households in the UK are eligible for some form of help. That help is worth an average of £250 for each household.

The Home Heat Helpline's trained advisers provide callers with advice on claiming support such as:
free or discounted home insulation, discounts and rebate schemes, the Priority Service Register, which can provide extra services for people who are elderly or disabled (including bills in large text or Braille, security passwords and an annual gas safety check), flexible payment options and benefits entitlement checks.

Help is not just available for the elderly, as many people think, but all sorts of people on low incomes, including: families with young children, people with disabilities and people with long term health conditions

The Helpline is open 9am-6pm Monday to Friday

Adur Council, working with Brighton & Hove City Council, West Sussex County Council and the Shoreham Port Authority, are preparing a Draft Joint Area Action Plan to set out the future vision and planning policies for the harbour area over the next 15-20 years.

As part of developing the plans, local people living and working in the Shoreham Harbour area – which stretches from Hove Lagoon through to East Street/Ferry Road in Shoreham – are being asked how they would like to see the ‘street scape’ around the Harbour look in the future.

Consultants BDP have been appointed to prepare a Streetscape Guide which will be used to shape the ‘character’ and ‘look’ of public realm in the Shoreham Harbour area and will be used to assist in determining future development.

If you would like to view the exhibition boards and complete the survey on the Streetscape Guidance visit the ‘How to Get Involved’ page of www.shorehamharbour.com. The Draft document will be placed on the website for comment during January 2012. If you would like to register your interest for future news updates visit: www.shorehamharbour.com

After months of consulting, Worthing council has decided that its three theatres will continue to be run in-house as none of the other bidder’s proposals were offering the savings required.

The theatre’s management team has been asked to prepare a business plan that delivers substantial savings and reduces the current high subsidies levels necessary to keep the venues open.

The business plan will look into offering a substantially improved and more attractive theatre experience. This will include upgrading the buildings, particularly the Connaught and Pavilion Theatres, using council funds and by introducing a small ticket levy; creating a more modern dining experience; offering more options to the customer, such as buying tickets and booking meals on-line and possibly installing 3D in the Connaught. It is anticipated that a substantial increase in income from running the theatres could be achieved which would be put towards any improvements.

The Theatres Working Group will remain in place to ensure the targets set out in the business plan are met.

The full report can be found on www.worthing.gov.uk

The Centre for Social Justice is generously donating £10,000 to poverty fighting charities at their 2012 awards.

Eligible contenders are local independent charities working to tackle:

• Family breakdown (strengthening and supporting families and relationships)
• Education failure (academic support, alternative education or training etc)
• Worklessness (training, mentoring and/or support for long term unemployed or other groups that are far from work)
• Debt (debt advice, support, financial education, financial inclusion etc)
• Addiction (recovery-based programmes leading to independence)

If you are a charity, or know of a charity, that helps those in poverty, then you can put yourself forward for a prize.  Follow the link below to download an application- the deadline for applications is 4th January 2011.  www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk

For more information, call 020 7340 9650.

Lighting for Kitty’s Field Park in Dominion Way, Worthing has been given the go ahead by Worthing Borough Council. Initially, the application had been added to the Capital Bids Group 2012 by Worthing Borough Council with the intention of Viridor funding the lights. However, due to the complicated process, Councillor Vicky Vaughan battled hard together with local residents associations and managed to secure £33,000 from the Council budget to do it in house.

This is an excellent outcome as it will increase the park’s use for young people in the evenings as well greatly enhance security for park goers.

Vicky’s next fight is to gain funding to rejuvenate the rusting play area at the back of the park.

The Stop Loan Sharks Campaign is part of the work of Trading Standards and aims to eradicate the activity of illegal money lenders across our communities.

Loan sharks are people who lend money without a licence from the Office of Fair Trading; they are often well known individuals in a community and tend to source their customers by word of mouth.

There are an estimated 165 000 households (OFT Figures 2010) in the UK using loan sharks and they tend to be the most deprived households in society, and often reside in social housing which is why Adur Homes is keen to become involved in the campaign and protect their tenants from these individuals.

Loan sharks use a variety of illegal and unpleasant means to obtain money from those they have leant to and it is not unusual for them to harass, intimidate and threaten the whole family, and there have been cases where they have physically attacked those who have been unable to pay.

The Stop Loan Sharks Campaign aims to do two things: 1) Find and prosecute loan sharks and 2) help their victims rebuild their lives. To help bring the illegal money lenders to justice and get them out of our communities, your help is needed. If you have any information about a loan shark who maybe operating in your community you can report them confidentially by the following means
• phone 0300 555 2222
• text LOAN SHARK and your details to 60003

At a time when around one household is repossessed, and around 35 more are issued with County Court judgements in Sussex each day, it is understandable why it can be tempting to borrow money from any source available, especially when the high street banks will not help those most in need of assistance.
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However, there is an alternative, and there are people who can help with debt. Any household finding themselves experiencing financial difficulties should get help from other sources such as Citizens Advice Bureau and consider using the West Sussex Credit Union.

A credit union will consider lending to those who have little or no borrowing record, and will look after the welfare of their customers by helping those it lends to with budgeting and charging an affordable rate of interest.

Together with Peter Bottomley I helped to set up the West Sussex Credit Union which is based in Worthing and has been very successful. If you would like to contact them their details are below:

  01903 237221
  enquiries@westsussexcreditunion.co.uk

  129 Montague Street, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 3BP
 
http://www.westsussexcreditunion.co.uk

On 10th November, the Government launched a national initiative to boost the number of exporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs); setting a target of up to 100,000 companies over the next four or five years to begin exporting for the first time, or enter a new market.  This is crucial to drive growth in the UK economy as a whole, and will also help improve performance of the individual companies concerned.  

The Government is now bringing this message to the South East, with an event on 10th January at Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, for key regional intermediaries and potential exporting SMEs.  Hosted by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and sponsored by HSBC and PwC, it will include an introduction to the support available for new exporters and workshops on UKTI services, financing exports and Intellectual Property rights.

The South East Regional Event takes place at Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, Surrey on 10th January 2012.  If you are an SME and would like to attend the event please contact the Event Support Team on 0115 947 5666.

After the great success of the 2011 competition, Rock the House 2012 is being launched on the 18th January.

Once again, I invite all solo artists and bands, who are under 18, as well as live music venues in my constituency to write to me and nominate themselves.

Musicians and live music venues within my constituency can find all forms and information on the competition at www.rockthehouse2012.com and can send in their nominations to me at loughtont@parliament.uk

Prizes include music equipment and a chance to play at high profile festivals. Successful nominees will go forward to the national competition which will be judged by a panel of international music industry experts and musicians and the finalists will be announced on Friday 18th May. The finalists will take part in a battle of the bands to determine the winner on Wednesday 30th May and the winner in each category will perform live at a final competition reception on the Terrace at the House of Commons in the evening.