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Goole MP Andrew Percy and East Riding Councillor, Caroline Fox, have launched a petition against the proposed closure of Goole Magistrates. The move comes following a high profile campaign by local MP Andrew Percy who won a parliamentary debate on the proposed closure in early July.

The petition comes in the same week that Andrew Percy won a promise from the Justice Minister for a face to face meeting to discuss the closure in more detail. It is hoped that the petition will be available to sign in local shops. The petition is also available on-line and all responses will be submitted as part of the consultation process.

In a further move, Andrew has also written to local Parish and Town Councils to ask them, if they have not already done so, to write to oppose the closure before the consultation ends in September.

Goole MP Andrew Percy explains, "The idea for a petition came from Councillor Fox who has already spoken out against the closure at the East Riding Council. It seemed to me to be a great idea and that is why Caroline and I have jointly launched the petition. Our hope is that local people will sign the petition in sufficient numbers to show HMCS (Her Majesty’s Court Services) that we value our court and we won’t let it close without a fight.

"I am also delighted that I have been able to secure a meeting with the Minister to discuss the closure in more detail. In particular, I want to get to the bottom of the running costs for Goole and how much it will cost to transfer cases to Beverley. The last Government cut funding for the Magistrates Courts Service to the tune of 7.5% for each of the last three years and the new Government has been left to clear up their mess.
However, that does not mean that we can’t save Goole and I feel we have some very strong arguments in favour of retaining Goole."

Councillor Caroline Fox adds, "I have already spoken out against this closure of Goole at East Riding Council and I am hoping that the Council will also oppose this closure. The idea for a petition comes from our desire to get as many local people involved in this issue as possible.  If we can show HMCS that local people are concerned about this proposal then just possibly, people power may win the day."

Local MP Andrew Percy has demanded an apology from a senior Labour Shadow Minister for condemning the Coalition government’s help for port business as ‘pork-barelling’. The comments were made by Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government, John Denham MP, during questions to Local Government Minister Bob Neill MP.

Andrew Percy says, “I was absolutely disgusted at what John Denham said and his comments are a real slur on the hard working businesses and workers at the port. Labour’s port taxes threatened hundreds of jobs here in Goole and the fact that the new Government acted so quickly is something that has received nothing but praise from across the industry.

John Denham should come to Goole and apologise to workers for effectively telling them that he thinks they should have been put out of work. He has let slip that, despite the fine words of local Labour MPs in the run up to the election, Labour Ministers had no intention of ever doing anything about these port taxes.

The new Government has acted quickly and kept to its election promise to help port workers both here in Goole and across the country. It just goes to show that we now have a Government that is actually interested in Goole and in helping to protect local jobs.

I have been proud to be involved in this campaign at which Goole has been at the centre. I brought several Shadow Ministers to the docks before the election and since the election we have had the new Minister, Bob Neill MP, back to meet with port businesses and workers.”

Local MP Andrew Percy has written to the Secretary of State for Health to make him aware of local concerns regarding the loss of beds at Goole Hospital. Although the decision to reduce bed numbers is made by the local Hospital Trust and not Government Ministers, the coalition Government has recently announced one of the biggest restructurings of the NHS, aimed at involving local people more in the running of the NHS.

Andrew has also secured a meeting with the new Chief Executive of the North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital Trust later this month to discuss the situation at Goole in more detail. It is hoped that local Councillors will also be able to attend this meeting.

Andrew says, “The funding short fall facing the Hospital Trust is as a result of the previous Government who left the Trust with a more than £10 million black hole thanks to a new three year pay deal. Fortunately, the new coalition Government has committed to protect the NHS budget from cuts.

There is rightly a great deal of concern locally about the recent ‘flexing’ down of bed numbers at Goole and we now know that the Trust is undertaking a formal review of bed numbers. I will fight any changes which disadvantage local patients and that is why I have taken two courses of action.

Firstly, I have arranged a meeting with the new Chief Executive of the Hospital Trust for later this month when she takes up the post. I want to meet with her to make sure that she is under no illusions about the strength of feeling on this issue in Goole.

Secondly, I have also written to the Secretary of State for Health to alert him to local concerns. Although, Ministers are not involved in this decision I felt that, given the reorganisation of the NHS announced by the Government yesterday, it was important to make him aware of the frustrations local people have with the current arrangements.

The coalition Government has made a specific pledge to ensure that patients are better represented in NHS decision making and I have also asked the Minister to outline how this might impact on any proposals to remove beds at Goole should they emerge in the review.

I won’t sit idly by and watch our local services reduce and I will do everything I can to stop any proposals which would downgrade services provided at Goole. However, we must also recognise that as of yet there are no concrete proposals to do that and so we must wait until the review is presented by the Trust.”

Andrew has also agreed to attend the public meeting being held in Goole on July 28^th to discuss this in more detail.  

Local MP Andrew Percy held a meeting on Potts Lane car park last Friday with residents and the Police to discuss on-going anti-social behaviour in Crowle. Andrew and Ward Councillor, John Briggs, were handed a petition signed by local residents calling for tougher action on anti-social behaviour and speeding in the Town. Andrew has also given his backing to a dispersal order in Crowle and has written to both the Police and the Council to support the proposal which could come in to force as early as July 19th. The order would give the Police increased powers to break up groups of youths engaging in anti-social behaviour.

Local MP Andrew Percy says, "Cllr John Briggs and I have held a number of meetings with residents and the Police since my election in May to discuss the on-going anti-social behaviour problems in the town. I was keen to meet with residents and the Police again this Friday to discuss progress on the proposed dispersal order. 

Sgt Michelle Garlick was able to inform residents that the dispersal order had already been signed off by the Police and was now awaiting approval by North Lincs Council, something I understand has now been done. This order will give the Police much more power to disperse groups causing trouble and residents were re-assured by Michelle's update.

One of the biggest issues however remains the problem of speeding vehicles around the Town and there is real concern that there is going to be a serious accident. The petition submitted to myself and Cllr Briggs demands action on this issue and the petition will now be submitted to North Lincs Council for consideration.

In the meantime it is vital that residents report all incidents of dangerous driving to the Police by taking down number plates if possible. This will help the Police a great deal and so I would urge residents to ring 0845 60 60 60 if they encounter cars being driven illegally.

It is also important that residents continue to report all incidents of anti-social behaviour to the Police. North Lincs Council and the Police have both made tackling anti-social behaviour in Crowle a priority and this will only remain if people continue to report incidents. As Michelle explained, even if the Police cant respond, the incident is logged and that in turn helps in the fight for more resources locally.

I will do everything I can to support the Council and the Police in tackling this problem. Local residents deserve better and it is about time we got a lot tougher on those who cause trouble locally. Boredom is no excuse for making other people's lives a misery!"

Local MP Andrew Percy has become one of Beating Bowel Cancer's Parliamentary Voices following a meeting with its Chief Executive Hilary Whittaker last Tuesday.

Beating Bowel Cancer is a leading charity working to raise awareness of symptoms, promote early diagnosis and encourage open access to treatment choice for those affected by bowel cancer.

Local MP Andrew Percy says, "Becoming a Parliamentary Voice will allow me to keep bowel cancer issues high on the political agenda. Together the Parliamentary Voice Group of MPs and Peers can table questions and raise issues for debate.

At times issues are raised by patients which warrant action at a higher level or even an intervention from their MP. Beating Bowel Cancer will communicate with me on any issues the people of Brigg and Goole are having so that I can act upon them.

I look forward to working with Beating Bowel Cancer on these issues that are important to me and my constituents."

Local MP Andrew Percy took the case for the retention of Goole Magistrates Court to Parliament last Wednesday. Andrew was successfully awarded a debate on the proposed closure, the first such debate on the proposals to close 103 courts across England and Wales. Andrew teamed up with neighbouring Selby MP Nigel Adams, who is fighting the proposed closure of Selby Magistrates, to put the Minister on the spot over the closure plans. 

Andrew received assurances from the Minister that nothing was yet decided and that the consultation that will end in September will be thorough and genuine consultation that would take into account submissions from local people and magistrates.

Local MP Andrew Percy says, “The beauty about a debate in Parliament is that the Minister responsible has to come to Parliament to answer your concerns. In my speech I made clear that the proposed closure of Goole and the transfer of all the work to Beverley was unacceptable.

I explained that I felt there were some serious flaws in the consultation document produced by Her Majesty’s Courts Service who are proposing the closure.  For a start, they point out that Beverley is 28 miles from Goole which is clearly not the case if you are relying on public transport. There is no direct bus to Beverley and therefore anyone wanting to get there will have to travel via Hull. This would increase the distance of the journey to something like 40 miles, as well as resulting in a trip of about 1 hour 30 mins.  I also pointed out the madness of requiring people from Goole to travel through Hull, where there is a magistrates court, onwards to Beverley.

The consultation document also failed to set out a full breakdown of the costs of running Goole versus the costs of other courts not threatened with closure. The Minister assured me he would try to get me a full breakdown and in any event I have now put down a Parliamentary question formally asking for these costs.

Another point I made to the Minister was that as we try to develop the heritage and history of Goole, it would be sad to put a question mark over the future of the court building.

In fairness to the Courts Service, they have been left trying to deal with the results of years of underinvestment by the previous Labour Government who cut the Magistrates budget by a massive amount in the past three years.

The important thing now is putting in a really strong case together as part of the consultation process. I know that the magistrates have done this and I would urge as many local people as possible with a view on this to make their opposition known. This can be done by dropping me a line at 83 Pasture Road, Goole.

This is clearly going to be a tough fight and I recognise that the new Government has some very tough decisions on its hands thanks to the mess the previous lot left. However, I think we have a strong case for saving Goole and I shall do everything I can to stop this closure.”

The full debate can be read at - http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2010-07-07a.127.0&s=speaker%3A24832#g127.1

Local MP Andrew Percy has taken up the fight on behalf of disabled users of the new toilet facilities at Estcourt Street. The new toilet have been criticised by wheelchair users for a string of failures, making them unusable to many disabled people.

Andrew and Cllr Caroline Fox met Goole resident Sharon Sanderson at the toilets on Saturday afternoon to see the problems for themselves.

Andrew Percy MP says, “It’s important to remain positive about these new toilets as the facilities are generally fantastic and I pay credit to the East Riding for undertaking the project.

However, there are some very serious flaws in terms of the disabled toilets and it is clear that something must have gone wrong during the design phase. Sharon demonstrated many of the problems for me on Saturday, some of which have serious safety implications.

For a start, the ramp is very steep and there are no safety rails along the ramp which could be very dangerous in icy or wet weather. So far as the toilet cubicle is concerned, I was very concerned to see that once inside the toilet, it is impossible for anyone in a wheelchair to actually close the door as there is no bar on the inside of the door. In addition to this, the toilet flush button is impossible for anyone in a wheelchair to reach once you have left the toilet seat and the wash basin is at a height which is unusable by anyone in a wheelchair.

I went into the gents toilet to compare and it would appear that the hand washing basin is at the same height in both toilets. Sharon also had great difficulty in manoeuvring her wheelchair around the cubicle and it is clear that anyone requiring the assistance of a carer would find it almost impossible to receive assistance in the toilet.

Following my meeting with Sharon I made contact with Cllr Ros Jump, Portfolio Holder at East Riding Council, seeking her urgent intervention. Ros assured me that some of these concerns have already been put to her and she asked me to write to her formally listing all of the problems.

Hopefully, the Council will look into these serious design floors and set about rectifying the problems. I shall certainly continue to push them until we have the first class facilities that these toilets can be.”

Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy has won a parliamentary debate on the closure of the Magistrates Court in Goole. Having raised the issue during questions in the House of Commons last week, Andrew applied to the Speaker for a debate. The debate has been scheduled for Westminster Hall on Wednesday July 7^th. 

The Ministry of Justice last week announced the start of a consultation on the proposed closure of 103 courts across England and Wales. Goole and nearby Selby Magistrates are on the proposed list.

Andrew Percy MP says, “I am delighted to have been selected for my first debate in Westminster Hall. I will now have the opportunity to put some of the issues surrounding this closure directly to a Government Minister. The Minister is obviously going to be bound by fact that we have an on-going consultation. However, I shall be seeking assurances about the nature of this consultation and I want a specific pledge that, if a strong case can be made to keep a particular court open, the Ministry will spare them.

My concern about the closure of Goole and nearby Selby is that it will leave a justice black-hole in the local area. The work of Goole Magistrates will be sent to Beverley which, apart from being about 25 miles away, is neither cheap nor convenient to get to. This could result in witnesses choosing not to bother.

The last government underinvested in our courts, actually cutting their budgets by 7.5% per year for the last three years. It is a real shame that the new Government has been left having to deal with this underinvestment.”

Local MP Andrew Percy recently met with the developers of the Keadby Wind farm, RES Ltd, to discuss progress on plans to open up an access for construction traffic off the A18.  

Andrew Percy says, “Getting this alternative route agreed seems to be taking for ages but I am assured that progress is on-going, even if the wheels are moving a little more slowly than we would like. The main issue of course is securing the agreement of Network Rail for the construction of a bridge over their railway line. Network Rail gave clearance for these discussions back in March, since which time we have been waiting for the completion of the report and valuation of the wayleave that is required to construct the bridge.

I have written to Network Rail to ask them to complete this report as soon as possible so that we can move on to the next stage. We are all very grateful for the involvement of Network Rail as without them we could end up with thousands of vehicles coming through local villages. However, I am keen that there are no delays and so I hope Network Rail will respond positively to my letter.”

Local MP Andrew Percy pressed the new coalition government on adult education last week during questions to the Business, Skills and Innovation Department in the House of Commons.  Andrew asked the government to confirm its support for community adult learning and pressed the Minister to look at reversing the previous governments cuts to adult education courses not leading to formally recognised qualifications.

Andrew, who is a former school teacher, said, “We all remember a few years ago when the previous government decided to change the goalposts on the funding of adult education courses. These changes led to the loss of many worthwhile courses simply because they did not lead to a formal qualification.

I am sure this was not an intended consequence of the change in policy but it was nevertheless regrettable and I wanted an assurance that the new government would not view adult education in the same way. Whilst it is always desirable for people to gain new qualifications, sometimes learning is just as valuable even if it does not result in a certificate at the end. I am pleased to say the Minister said that the new government would take a different approach.”

Responding to Andrew’s question, Skills Minister, John Hayes MP said, “I welcome my hon. Friend to the House. I know of his rich experience in learning as a former teacher, and he, like me, understands that learning has a value for its own sake ... it has to be said that the dull utilitarianism that permeated the previous government’s thinking on this subject has now, thankfully, come to an end.”