It is welcome news that Littleport firm Millrose Telecom has reaped the benefits of the new Destination Digital grant scheme, which offers free digital advice and grants for small and medium businesses across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and is run as part of the Connecting Cambridgeshire Scheme.
These schemes demonstrate the increasing importance of a reliable broadband connection and the determination of decision makers to ensure that rural areas such as ours are not left behind. I was pleased to hear that a new superfast broadband cabinet went live in Littleport. For more information on how you can benefit from Destination Digital visit www.destinationdigital.info
At the time of writing I am looking forward to opening the new Oncology unit at Littleport’s St George’s Medical Centre. It is the first Oncology unit in North East Cambridgeshire and a welcome boost to the area. Most importantly it will ensure that residents will not have to travel any further than necessary for life-saving treatment, which as well as saving on travel time and cost will allow family members and friends to play a larger part in patient recovery.
Schools funding in Cambridgeshire will increase by 7% per pupil, the biggest increase for any county in the country, after intense lobbying from Cambridgeshire MPs, schools, and parents. This is an important boost to our local schools and will help heads, governors and teachers to more fully unlock the brilliant potential of local students and although more still needs to be done it is a brilliant start. We must now work to ensure that this is not reversed when the funding is next assessed in 2016.
I recently held a flooding summit on water management in Fenland. I’m pleased that the summit was viewed by attendees as a success, drawing out a number of key priorities for Fenland, namely around identifying key maintenance work and strengthening communication between the Environment Agency and Internal Drainage Boards.
To find out more about my work in Parliament and campaigns locally, or to let me know your views, please visit my website at www.stevebarclay.net. Alternatively you can follow me on twitter at @stevebarclaymp or like me on facebook at www.facebook.com/stevebarclaymp.