At around 2.30 am this morning, Michael Fabricant argued for Lichfield andother small District Councils to be exempted from rules forcing new Cabinet style local government and "Best Value" procedures which will cost Lichfield District Council around £200,000 to implement. In a deal done in the House of Lords, the Government recognised that their package […]
In a series of written answers to Parliamentary Questions tabled by Michael Fabricant, he has been assured that there are no immediate plans to close the Whittington Barracks. There has been some question as to its future as the Government is reviewing the Army Training Regiment. As well as Lichfield, it currently has bases at […]
Residents of Burton Old Road West have won a partial battle with Railtrack over noise and disturbance on the cross city line. In a letter to Michael Fabricant, Richard Fearn (Director, Railtrack Midlands) says ‘The enhanced maintenance, which includes some track replacement, is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. It is […]
Michael Fabricant is questioning the proposed closure on 1st September of the last ward with inpatients (Trent Ward) at St Michael’s Hospital in Lichfield. Under procedures laid down, he believes that such closures have to be the subject of formal consultation with local G.P.s but this seems to have been ignored. Michael will be taking […]
Michael Fabricant is co-sponsor of a Bill, with support from all main Parties, to establish an Age Equality Commission. Like the Commissions on sex and race, it would advise the Government on discrimination occurring against older people. The Age Equality Commission received its first reading in the House of Commons today. "We still see discrimination […]
Michael Fabricant today unveiled new proposals from the Conservative Party to transform the planning system in Lichfield and elsewhere. He says: "Planning is an emotive topic, generating a vast amount of correspondence for MPs and councillors alike. The current planning process is weighted against local communities and residents. The system is centralised and bureaucratic, and […]
The letter (July 4) from Willard Workman at the US Chamber of Commerce and others makes the case that the "EU, not America, is best for Britain". But it is clear that the argument is presented with the American interest at heart. Its transparency is laudable though its logic is fallacious. The penultimate paragraph states […]
Commenting on the ‘Common Sense on Schools Policy’ launched by William Hague today, Michael Fabricant says: "This will go a long way to redress the balance whereby Staffordshire schools get far less money than those in mostother shire counties. Furthermore, parents in Kings Bromley, Burntwood and elsewhere will no longer have the mental anguish caused […]
Michael Fabricant has slammed the latest report from the South Staffordshire Health Authority Strategic Services Review (Community Hospital Provision, June 2000) as "saying very little and reassuring no-one while putting many existing local services under threat". "The Review is 65 pages long plus Appendices. We were all told that we would know the future of […]
"The much heralded Government Statement today on local Post Offices won’t help in Lichfield", says Michael Fabricant. "Stephen Byers (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry) has said that it will only protect Post Offices with 6,300 clients or over. That will do little for smaller Post Offices like that in Kings Bromley. Moreover, all […]