I am so proud of the brave and smart pupils at Westlea Primary School who dealt with a serious incident in West Swindon recently, by alerting adults and the police. It was a pleasure to see Headteacher Mrs Sumner and the staff, and to hold a special assembly at the school last Thursday, to thank the children and talk through what to do in an emergency. Thanks to local Councillor Suresh Gattapur, for supporting the school, and to the police in West Swindon for coming and answering the questions of children and parents.
I am also extremely proud of Tim Allen and Hannah Rogers, our Admiral Nurses at Great Western Hospital here in Swindon. They have won the regional south west Parliamentary Award in the Nursing and Midwifery category.
Tim and Hannah specialise in dementia care, operating an acute and community-based model so that patients and families can be supported in the hospital and in their own homes.
It is fantastic that their invaluable work to provide life-changing care and support hundreds of patients and families here in Swindon every year has been recognised and rewarded.
A huge congratulations to Tim and Hannah, who I am looking forward to seeing at the national awards ceremony in London in July.
Continuing with the good news, I would also like to congratulate local business Nanogreen, who I nominated to represent Swindon as the Constituency Responsible Business Champion, as part of my Local Business Support Campaign. This introduction to the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Responsibility Group, who are responsible for promoting debate and understanding of corporate responsibility in the community, environment, marketplace, and workplace, is reflective of the work that Nanogreen has been carrying out here in Swindon for several years now. I am delighted to be joining them and representing Swindon at the National Responsible Business Champions Awards in Westminster next month.
Like many of us here in Swindon, I am glad that the first phase of regeneration work at the Health Hydro has been approved, after Swindon was awarded £19.5million as part of the Government’s Town’s Fund, I am also pleased that Swindon Borough Council has announced that a further bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund will be submitted to help the efforts to get Swindon’s Oasis Leisure Centre reopened. Swindon Borough Council will also make a similar bid to fund the next phase of the Health Hydro’s restoration.
I am fully supportive of Swindon’s bids for further government funding, and I will be sending a supportive letter to accompany these bids to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities. When it comes to government funding, I will continue to work hard to ensure that we receive our fair share here in the town.
We are lucky here in South Swindon to have many brilliant pubs, which are truly at the heart of the communities they serve, and after what has been a challenging few years, I am calling on local residents to join me in supporting our local pubs this summer.
I have launched a competition to find ‘South Swindon’s Favourite Pub’. The competition will run from Friday 22nd July until Friday 19th August, and I am pledging to do my best to visit all of the pubs who sign up for the competition, as well as encouraging local residents to join me on the visits, buy a drink and have a chat.
During the final week of the competition, I will be calling on local residents from across South Swindon to vote in a poll to help crown South Swindon’s Favourite Pub.
Residents can keep up to date with the competition and find out how to vote by following https://www.facebook.com/robertbucklandofficial on Facebook and https://twitter.com/RobertBuckland on Twitter
If you run a local pub and would like to get involved, please contact Robert by emailing [email protected] or ringing 01793 533393.
Finally, you may have heard of The Platform Project. This excellent non-profit organisation works hard to help disadvantaged and vulnerable young people develop the skills, confidence, and experience they need to launch their career or business. As part of The Platform's 5th Birthday celebrations, they are hosting a fashion show fundraiser. They are calling for donations of old or unworn evening dresses, as well as auction or raffle prizes. If you can donate an item, please contact The Platform Project by emailing [email protected]
