Cllr Tom Anderson and I met with Chris Grayling when he came to Liverpool to deliver a keynote speech to business leaders from the Wirral and Merseyside area.

He called for specialist help to be introduced to get young people out of gangs and into work and training, as part of a five point programme to start tackling the social gulf that exists between rich and poor in Britain’s cities. The Conservatives will commit to make job placements for 18-21 year olds in areas affected by gang crime a priority in the welfare system and to target welfare to work spending towards independent organisations that are working to tackle the problem.

Apart from enhanced programmes to tackle worklessness in the most deprived areas, the proposals being published tomorrow in a Conservative Strategy Document on Britain’s divided cities also includes action to tackle problem of children who are falling behind before they even reach school, tougher action against lawlessness in those areas, and better support for community groups operating in deprived areas.

 The Conservatives have also published figures showing that hundreds of millions of pounds each year is being spent supporting worklessness in each of our major cities despite the creation of large numbers of jobs in recent years and a substantial inflow of migrant workers. 

In a hard-hitting speech Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling warned that life in parts of Britain’s cities today have become a throwback to the nineteenth century of Victorian gangs and vast social divides.

Chris also spoke about the pilot programme he’d visited in London on Monday being run by the Metropolitan Police and the charity Tomorrow’s People which aims to move young men out of the gang culture in South London and into work and training and Mr Grayling acknowledged it is the kind of project that is desperately needed if the social challenges in many inner city areas are to be met.

Commenting Chris Grayling said:

“The only way to start to heal the huge social gulf that now exists in our cities is to demonstrate to those who are caught up in the gang culture that there is a better alternative – that they can build successful lives if they get the right opportunity to train and work. The trouble is that right now things seem to be getting worse not better. We desperately need that to change.”

Women across Wirral came together to raise funds for Wirral Women and Children’s Aid.

This is what the aid provides for Women

• Refuge for women and children fleeing domestic abuse
• Place of safety for women and children
• Counselling service
• Therapeutic programme for children
• Outreach service for women and children, to offer ongoing support
• Crèche based in the refuge for children 0-16 years
• Youth Club for 10-16 year old children who have experienced/witnessed Domestic Abuse.

As patron it is a great honour to be a part of this charity and to see first hand the wonderful work the helpers and assistants do for these women and their children

Myself, Tom, and parents of Children who’ll now be able to use the play scheme this summer

Due to the hard work of Tom Anderson – our new Councillor in Upton – working hand in hand with me and the local community, the Woodchurch will now have a play scheme during the summer holidays.

The Woodchurch play and community centre had been closed since January – due to staff sickness and as parents described it due to ’savings’ that left no provision for covering staff sick cover of filling vacancies.

However we’re pleased to announce that this much needed resource will now be open for the summer.

A popped into Melrose Hall to say hi, share some stories, grab a tea and biscuit and hand over a cheque to the Melrose Pensioners and Over 60’s Club.

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to The Albert Dock to see the Tall Ships, 60 of the world’s most beautiful rigged ships.

I was lucky enough to get an aerial view as thousands of people queued on the ground.

The official Start of the Parade of Sail was 2pm today. Thousands of people were watching from Otterspool, Crosby beach, and all vantage points on the Wirral shoreline.

The ships will then sail for the coast of Northern Ireland, with the 600 mile race to Norway starting on Wednesday.

If you want to keep up to date with the race go to www.sailtraininginternational.org

Wendy Clements our local candidate in Greasby, Frankby and Irby with a local resident.

Over the weekend I met with residents right across Wirral West all concerned with the soaring cost of living.

Since Gordon Brown took over as  PM

Butter has increased by 23p  /  Cheese 99p  /  Eggs 22p  /  Bread 14p  /  milk 6p

Many of the people I spoke to were on fixed incomes and can’t afford these spiraling prices.

Car owners too feel under siege with rising prices at the pump – taxi drivers telling me the price can in crease twice per day.  Not only that, if you live in the Wirral and travel to Liverpool, the recent increases in the toll really are taking a toll on people.

Sharp increase in everyday things like petrol, heating and fuel are leaving local families less well off. With wage rises limited and jobs under pressure, this is worrying for many people.

Above friends from school and business colleagues who organised the event

I went with my dad to support their hard work.

A total of 170 people attended the New Hope Charity Ball at the Hillbark Hotel, Frankby, Wirral, raising just short of  £9,000 for New Hope Ministries Charitable Trust.

The money raised will help New Hope Ministries Charitable Trust in its overseas missions to take medical aid to the poor and needy.

The charity, which was formed by Heswall couple John and Myra Sloan in 1997, has already enabled tens of thousands of people across Guyana, Uganda and the Philippines to access medical care.

Debbie Black, Principal of DGB Solicitors, a  dynamic lady and member of my business women’s group Winning Women, sponsored the event, said: “It was a truly wonderful evening. New Hope Ministries Charitable Trust works tirelessly to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. John and Myra’s dedication to helping others is infectious and DGB Solicitors is very proud to have supported the event.”

The money raised from the event will go towards funding health workers based in rural Uganda.

Hoylake Cottage welcomed hundreds of visitors to its new care home at the weekend.

Lord David Hunt, president of Hoylake Cottage and I went to the open day to meet with staff, volunteers, trustees, supporters and local residents to tour the new building, specially designed for the care of older people, including those with dementia.

Lord David Hunt, former Conservative MP for Wirral West led the campaign to reopen Hoylake Cottage after it closed as a cottage hospital in 1983, declared he was delighted to witness the opening of a new chapter in the life of the organisation.

“This is a wonderful way to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the reopening of Hoylake Cottage. It continues the tradition of providing the highest standards of care; but with these state of the art facilities Hoylake Cottage is also moving forward and providing a modern, much improved setting for its residents.”

Hoylake Cottage Trust Board Chairman Michael Taylor added:  “It is very exciting to finally open our new care home. All the reactions from our visitors have been very positive, they are amazed at the attractiveness of the building, its spaciousness and the natural light which pours in at every level.

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years and I hope the local community can feel part of Hoylake Cottage as we move forward with our plans for continued improvements.”

Residents will begin moving from the old building into the new care home in the week starting 7 July, with new residents moving in shortly afterwards. 

The centre offers a 22-bed specialist unit for people with dementia and 38 beds for the 24-hour care of older people.

Fundraising by the local community has contributed around £1 million towards the new building.

Yes and I’m that person who’s gone back to school! – well John Moores University to be precise, to do a part time MSc in Corporate Governance.

Click here to read the article I’ve written for the JMU Faculty of Business and Law News

I popped into the local community radio station on Sunday – 7 Waves 92.1FM – Host for the day was Ken Eaves.

What a successful radio station it is and what a wonderful outlet for local talent – Jake to my left writes and performs music - he gave us an impromptu rap - thoughtful, insightful and genuinely passionate he rapped his way around world news.  In rhythm and rhyme he exposed the brutality of Darfur, child labour in China and the drug problems in Peru. Phoebe to my left is a local college student getting work experience on the station and having fun being interviewed too.

From there I went to the Wirral Show and the Wave FM stand to say hello to the rest of the team.

And what a sensational weekend we had at the Wirral Show – approx 200,000 people attended the free event.

 There was plenty to thrill the crowds  with from talent shows, a range of military displays, the UK’s largest traveling fairground, a circus and a large range of food, gardening, charity and other stalls and marquees.

Tom and his Team Tidy up.

Tom, me and the team helped tidy up the local wooded area off Weybourne Close on Saturday. Local residents came out to help too and  nearly 15 bin bags of rubbish were collected – bottles, cans, papers, packets, boxes, old chairs, carpets and ceramic tiles…. you name it, we bagged it, binned it and had it safely removed. Geoff Gubb acted as team leader and got the round of drinks in afterwards ….