Contribution to State of the Borough Debate from Andrew Stunell MP for Hazel Grove Constituency

Written by Andrew Stunell MP on Wed 19th Nov 2003

Thank you for the invitation to participate in the second annual State of the Borough debate. I am sorry that Parliamentary duties prevent me from attending in person, but hope that this written report can be taken into account in your discussions.

The Borough has clearly made real progress in the 12 months since the last Debate, with improvements in some important areas, including for instance both education and the environment. Residents have highlighted a wide range of other public services for praise in their correspondence with me during the year, often pointing out that caring staff working beyond the call of duty have been the key to meeting their needs. I believe all providers of services to the public deserve our thanks.

But there remain some significant concerns and challenges that need to be responded to in the coming year.

Traffic and congestion is one. Work on implementing the SEMMMS transport proposals is at a crucial stage. I hope that every concerned resident will take the chance to comment in the next few weeks on the recently published plans for the new road. The case for a by-pass round Hazel Grove is stronger than ever. The Borough also needs to reinforce the strong case for the Metro tram to be extended to the town centre and on to Bredbury and Marple. It would be very unfortunate if either the tram or the road were to be the subject of second thoughts by Whitehall.

Our Health Service is another area where the problems I drew attention to last year relating to Mental Health services have worsened, with a shortage of consultants leading to long delays in assessment and treatment. More recently there is now mounting evidence of difficulty in primary health care, where poor morale amongst GPs is leading to a spate of resignations, more dentists have opted out of providing NHS treatment, and ambitious plans to replace the town's network of health clinics and centres are under threat with competition for resources from NHS projects elsewhere.

I very much welcome the partnership between the Council and the Police service, and am looking forward to the impact that the new police recruits will have on both crime figures and public confidence in local policing. However, I am very aware of the community's concerns about public safety, and would urge that the newly established Community Support Officers, and the Town Hall's Neighbourhood Wardens are kept in place and expanded to additional areas of the Borough in the next year.

There will be plenty of other comment about education tonight. I will simply report that the battle for fair funding for schools has resulted in nothing better than a score draw, and Patsy and I will continue to argue Stockport's case on every occasion. We will also be doing our best to protect students from the town from the mountain of debt they would face if the Government's declared intentions on Top Up Fees for Universities were implemented.

Finally, I commend the Council on the work it has been doing on recycling and the environment, but would ask that consideration is given to extending that good work in the next year to consider how they might best support energy conservation and renewable energy sources, perhaps making more imaginative use of the planning system as some other towns are beginning to do.

I look forward to working with the Council and other agencies in the Borough to make progress on these and other areas in the coming year.

Andrew Stunell MP