news bulletin from conor burns mp 114
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8/13/2019 News Bulletin from Conor Burns MP 114
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From: Conor Burns MP [email protected]
Subject: News Bulletin from Conor Burns MP #114
Date: 23 December 2013 12:23
In this edition:
Conor Burns MP’s Diary
Photo news:Bourne Acacemy teacher dicusses education reformwith Secretary of State for Education Photo news:MP's Christmas Cardcompetition winner 2013 Conor in Parliament: Conor questions EducationSecretary on grammar inthe secondary system Conor in the papers:Bournemouth MP backs
Legacy for Lucy bid to banblind cords Conor in the papers:Dorset MPs slam 11% payrise as "crazy" - but Draxsays they should acceptincrease Conor in Parliament:Conor quizzes Leader of Hosue of Commons onoffshore wind farms Conor in the papers: 'Abuseon Twitter is too hard toreport' says BournemouthMP Conor Burns Conor in the papers:Merger proposal was “bigdistraction” for RoyalBournemouth Hospital saysMP Photo news:Conor welcomes Turkishdelegation to Westminster Conor in the papers:BBC accused of 'losing allproportion' over Mandela'sdeath after dedicating 100
programmes about him in just one week Conor in the papers: BBCshow dropped feature onheritage awards 'for beingEnglish only' Photo news: Conor hostsGovernor Jeb Bush atHouse of Commons How to contactConor Burns MP
Issue 114 – Monday 23 rd December 2013
Conor Burns MP would like to wish allBournemouth, Alderney and Branksome East
residents a very Merry Christmas and aHappy New Year.
Artwork design by James Barringer, age 9. A pupil at Moordown St
John’s CE Primary School, Bournemouth. Winner of Conor BurnsMP’s Christmas Card Competition 2013.
Since the past edition, Conor has:
Attended a meeting of the Poole & Christchurch Bays’Association to oppose the Navitus Bay Wind Farm.Visited Moordown St John’s school to present pupil JamesBarringer with his award for winning Conor’s 2014 ChristmasCard Competition.
Answered questions at a meeting of the UK Arts and Design
Industry Association , chaired by Professor StuartBartholomew of Arts University Bournemouth.Met in Westminster with a delegation of parliamentary staff from Turkey, hosted by Bournemouth’s MLS LanguageSchool .
Answered questions from Bournemouth University PoliticsSociety students at an event in the House of Commons.Been featured in the Bournemouth Echo regarding MPs’ pay,the campaign to ban looped blind cords, the difficulty of reporting Twitter abuse, and the CQC report into the RoyalBournemouth Hospital.
Attended a meeting with a teacher from the Bourne Academywith Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, todiscuss the Government’s education reforms .Launched the first donor club for The Margaret Thatcher Centre at the East India Club.Hosted a meeting for Conservative MPs with Governor JebBush in the House of Commons.Been mentioned in the Daily Mail regarding the BBC’scoverage of Nelson Mandela’s death , and in the DailyTelegraph regarding the BBC’s decision to drop of segment of the One Show for being too focused on England.Held a surgery at the Triangle to help local residents with their problems.
Photo news:Bourne Acacemy teacher dicusseseducation reform with Secretary of Statefor Education
Conor with Bourne Academy teacher Kate Forbes and Secretaryof State for Education, Michael Gove.
Photo news:MP's Christmas Card competition winner2013
Conor with Christmas Card Competition Winner James Barringer,a pupil at Moordown St John’s CE Primary School, Bournemouth.
Conor speaking to the school assembly at Moordown St John’sCE Primary School, where this year's MP Christmas Card
competition winner goes to school.
Conor in Parliament:Conor questions Education Secretary ongrammar in the secondary system Tuesday 3rd December 2013
Click on the image above to watch Conor's question. The full text of the exchange was as follows: Conor Burns (Bournemouth West, Conservative): I thank my righthon. Friend the Secretary of State for yesterday meeting Kate Forbes,an excellent young English teacher from Bourne academy in myconstituency, to discuss her ideas for the implementation of grammar in the secondary system. It is people like Miss Forbes, who share hisdetermination that the child should come first, whom we should be
listening to in implementing his reforms. Michael Gove (The Secretary of State for Education; SurreyHeath, Conservative): I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It was apleasure to meet the teacher from his constituency, who is whollycommitted to implementing the reforms we have introduced, utterlycommitted to raising standards for every child and, to my mind,representative and emblematic of the idealistic and supremelytalented young people now entering teaching.
Conor in the papers:Bournemouth MP backs Legacy forLucy bid to ban blind cords Alex Winter, Bournemouth EchoFriday 13th December 2013
An MP is backing the Daily Echo’scampaign to ban looped blindcords. Conor Burns has confirmed he will support initiative Legacy for Lucy,set up in the wake of the death of two-year-old Lucy Cutts five yearsago. The tot died after getting herself caught up in the blind cord in her bedroom, and heartbroken mum Annette Latimer is now calling onEcho readers to sign a petition calling for a ban on such cords in theUK. The MP, who represents Bournemouth West, met Annette at a surgeryin Kinson last week and has pledged to support her fight. He said: “If with a very simple measure, you can prevent an avoidabledeath, then we absolutely need to push that as far as we can.” Christchurch MP Christopher Chope is also supporting the campaign,and said that manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure their products do not put live at risks. Conor said: “Some of these products already have a device thatencloses the lower half of a blind cord in a sealed plastic unit. “However, a lot of people would choose not to attach it. These can bequite unsightly and you’d have to screw them into a wall, so it doesn’talways happen.” He added: “If there is a way to encourage manufacturers into takingresponsibility, then we must keep trying.”
Lucy is one of 27 children whose deaths have involved the cords since1999. Visit bournemouthecho.co.uk/legacyforlucy for all stories anddetails of the campaign. To sign the petition, visit epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/55067and see how to get involved on Facebook atfacebook.com/legacyforlucyban .
Conor in the papers:Dorset MPs slam 11% pay rise as "crazy" -but Drax says they should accept increase Arron Hendy, Bournemouth EchoMonday 9th December 2013 MPs in Dorset have slammed their planned 11 percent pay rise as“crazy” and “unacceptable”. Both Conor Burns and Annette Brooke criticized the proposed £7,600
increase and called for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to have a re-think before the next election. Mr Burns, MP for Bournemouth West, would not say if he wouldaccept the money but believes IPSA are making a mistake. “The bottom line is that at the moment an 11 percent rise is crazy,” hesaid. “I don't think it should happen. “I do think at some point there should be a grown-up debate.” But Mr Burns said that 20 years ago MPs' salaries were comparablewith GPs and head teachers and warned “people of quality” could beless likely to take public office if they have to give up a higher salary. Mr Burns believes IPSA has made a “cynical” decision to propose thepay rise while also looking to change the pensions in a way that hebelieves will see MPs lose out in total. IPSA is also looking to change MPs' pensions from matching their finalsalary to matching their career average, a move made elsewhere inthe public sector. On Thursday IPSA is poised to announce whether it plans to go aheadwith the proposals.
The 11 percent increase would see MPs salaries rise to £74,000 fromthe 2015 election. Future increases would then be linked to average pay rises.
Annette Brooke, MP for Mid-Dorset and North Poole, is standing downat the next election. “But I personally feel the rise should be phased in over five years after the general election,” she said. She added: “To talk about an 11 percent pay increase is just
unacceptable in these times of austerity, when people are being askedto make sacrifices.” Mrs Brooke said she is standing down with the understanding that theresettlement grant provided to previous MPs will not be available toher. This is another proposal which IPSA will make an announcementon, on Thursday. But Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, said MPs should accept therise as it has been proposed by an independent body. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Committee (IPSA), set upin 2009 in the wake of the expenses scandal, will reveal its proposalsfor MPs pay on Thursday. Mr Drax said: “I would abide by whatever IPSA recommends.“I think if some MPs accept it and others don’t there is going to beabsolute chaos. “If all the party leaders were to instruct MPs not to take it, then thatwould be something to be considered.” He added: “The point is that it’s an independent body, and if they arerecommending a pay rise then they must have looked at the matter and felt that MPs should be paid more.” He admitted the move may ‘stick in people’s gullets’. Mr Drax added: “I can understand why the public feel as they do onthis and I’m sure some are grieved that they are not getting a pay rise. “It feels as though we are getting one better. “But how can you set up an independent body to makerecommendations and then decide that these recommendations arewrong?” The proposals also include plans to change pensi ons for MPs frommatching their final salaries to matching their career average.
IPSA will announce on Thursday whether the propos als will go ahead.Mr Letwin said he would not be accepting the increa se. He said: “It is not appropriate for MPs to receive su ch a pay rise at atime when pay rises in the rest of the public sector are being cappedat one per cent.”
Conor in Parliament:Conor quizzes Leader of Hosue ofCommons on offshore wind farms Thursday 5th December 2013
Click on the image above to watch Conor's question. The full text of the exchange was as follows: Conor Burns (Bournemouth West, Conservative): My right hon.Friend will be aware of a proposal for a large offshore wind farm by theNavitus Bay company off the coast of Bournemouth. In the light of theGovernment’s announcement this week on onshore and offshore windfarm subsidy, my constituents are profoundly concerned that thedevelopment could go ahead. It has been shown that a third of summertime visitors would not return during the five-year period of construction and that 14% would never return. Will he provide anopportunity for the Government to reassure my constituents that someoffshore wind farms are, and remain, as inappropriate as someonshore ones?
Andrew Lansley (The Leader of the House of Commons ; SouthCambridgeshire, Conservative): My hon. Friend makes his pointstraightforwardly and forcefully. I will talk with my right hon. and hon.Friends at the Department for Communities and Local Governmentabout that, particularly the extent to which the points he raises arematerial considerations in relation to planning.
Conor in the papers:'Abuse on Twitter is too hard to report' saysBournemouth MP Conor Burns Bournemouth EchoMonday 25th November 2013 Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns has said Twitter makes it toohard for users to report abuse. The MP, who has more than 6,000 followers on the micro-bloggingsite, said none of his colleagues on the Culture, Media and Sportselect committee were aware of the company’s reporting system. Twitter faced questions about the way it handled a sustainedcampaign of abuse against Labour MP Stella Creasy and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez over the call for a woman’s portrait to featureon a banknote. Mr Burns questioned Twitter’s public policy director SineadMcSweeney about the procedure for reporting abusive comments. He said: “Does it alarm you that you have got three relativelysophisticated and regular tweeters and we can’t find it? “I wasn’t aware that it existed.'' Ms McSweeney said: “It was rolled out at the end of July. “The plan was to roll it out across all platforms by Christmas but, infact, we achieved that by t he end of September. “If you are saying to me that we need to highlight it more, that’ssomething that I can take away from here and we can ensure that wecontinue – we’ve done blog posts, we’ve tweeted about it, we’vespoken to various safety organisations who work in this space.”
Conor in the papers:Merger proposal was “big distraction” forRoyal Bournemouth Hospital says MP Bournmouth EchoThursday 19th December 2013 Christchurch MP Christopher Chope said the recent proposal tomerge Royal Bournemouth withPoole General Hospital had proved to be a “big distraction” for hospitalmanagement. The MP said: “I am glad that the merger business which was a big
distraction is out of the way and they can now focus on their responsibilities and issues. “We are very lucky this is a good hospital compared with many othersand we want to ensure that it continues to improve.” He added: “It is vindication for those of us that were concerned aboutthe weakening effect of the merger.” He also said a “knee-jerk reaction” in terms of resignations would notbe effective and that he would “concentrate on the directors and thetrust itself.” “I think it is a matter for the board chairman and board of directors. “Elected governors need to be encouraged to be more critical. “I think from speaking to some, there is an atmosphere that if they sayanything that is anything other than supportive they are guilty of treachery.” Conor Burns, Bournemouth West MP, said: “The local population willbe shocked at some of the instances of elderly people soilingthemselves before nursing staff or other staff could help them get tothe toilet. “Examples such as the patient who wasn’t fed because somebody had
failed to remove a nil by mouth sign for the previous occupant of thebed are particularly shocking. “Now that the CQC has identified these failings I think the trust isresponding in the right way by increasing numbers o f nursing staff andtargeting them on wards where there’s a high conc entration of elderlypatients and moving nursing sisters who oversaw t hose wards wherethose failings occurred. “When elderly people go into hospital they are very vulnerable and arequite literally putting their lives in the hands of the c linical and nursingstaff. These failings are entirely unacceptable and th e trust must movevery, very quickly as I think they are.”
Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, said: “ Whilst it's welcometo see the hospital's children’s care, midwifery, critic al care and end of life care services described as ‘good’, Bournemo uth residents willrightly be shocked to learn that two wards providi ng elderly medicalcare were described as ‘inadequate, not always safe or well led’.” “The trust’s board must now explain why the internal scrutiny processfailed so spectacularly in identifying two wards out of thirty were sopoor; how the 70 staff shortages will be filled; and how security in A&Ewill be improved. “I will be meeting with the Chief Inspector of Hospitals, MichaelRichards, to take his advice on whether he has confidence in thehospital's leadership to rectify these failings.” CQC demands CQC has told the Trust it must take action to improve in the followingareas: All patients need to have their needs assessed and caredelivered safely and in a timely manner by staff who are skilled to doso.
At all times, patients must be treated with the dignity and respect theydeserve and basic care needs must be met. The trust must reassure itself and stakeholders that all opportunities todrive quality improvement and quality assurance are taken. The trust must ensure that the required number of staff with thecorrect skills are employed and managed shift by shift, to demonstratethat there are sufficient staff to meet people’s needs.
Photo news:Conor welcomes Turkish delegation toWestminster
Conor with delegates from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey studying at MLS International College.
Conor in the papers:BBC accused of 'losing all proportion' overMandela's death after dedicating 100programmes about him in just one week Alasdair Glennie, Daily MailFriday 13th December 2013 The BBC has been accused of ‘losing all proportion’in its coverage of Nelson Mandela’s death after itemerged more than 100 programmes have beenbroadcast about him in the past week.
A total of 1,834 viewers and listeners have complained as theairwaves continue to be flooded with tributes disrupting radio and TV
schedules. MPs castigated the corporation for wasting money as it was revealedbosses spent thousands of pounds sending eight staff toJohannesburg for a special edition of Question Time. They even admitted splashing out on business class flights for onepanellist, Labour MP Peter Hain. Last night, Tory MP Conor Burns, who sits on the Commons culture,media and sport committee, said the programme added ‘preciselynothing’ to viewers’ knowledge of South African affairs, adding: ‘Thereis no doubt that Mandela’s death was an international event. ‘This was a man who was one of the great leaders of the 20th and
21st centuries. He taught us all about peace and recognition.But the BBC could have told us about these things without going tothe huge expense they have. ‘They have simply got carried away with the emotional importance of the event. Question Time might have been fascinating for a South
African audience. We knew everything they told us without having to pay for Peter Hainto fly business class.’ Earlier this week, it was revealed the BBC has flown a total of 140
journalists and production staff to South Africa since Mr Mandela diedaged 95 last Thursday, nearly three times as many as all its rivalBritish broadcasters put together. Sky News sent 15 staff, ITV and Channel 4 each sent nine, andChannel 5 sent four.
According to an analysis by the Daily Mail, a total of 104 specialprogrammes devoted to Mandela will have been aired on the BBC’smain radio and TV channels by the time of his funeral tomorrow. The news of his death has also topped almost every news bulletin for a week, dominated current affairs shows such as Newsnight, and has
been screened almost continuously on BBC News 24. Mr Burns said: ‘It has got to the stage where we are being told“Breaking News – Mandela is still dead”. They are losing all sense of proportion.’ Over the past week, BBC1 and BBC2 have carried a series of liveprogrammes – totalling more than 21 hours of screen time, coveringevery moment of every ceremony. On Tuesday, five hours were devoted to his memorial service, afurther four hours was allocated to coverage of his coffin being laid instate the following day, and today BBC2 will report on the transfer of his coffin to his childhood village.
Another extended programme will cover his funeral tomorrow. Meanwhile, Radio 5 Live commissioned more than 48 hours of programming, there was another ten hours on Radio 4, and 27 hourson the World Service. Thursday’s Question Time – hosted by David Dimbleby – wasoriginally scheduled to be filmed in Swansea, but was moved toJohannesburg instead. The BBC refused to reveal the cost of flightsfor him and eight staff. Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘It just proves how overfunded the BBC isif they can spend money on this kind of largesse. The BBC isspending other people’s money and that is why it doesn’t matter tothem. ‘They are spending the money of many people who are struggling to
pay their licence fee.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘Nelson Mandela was a hugely significantworld leader. His death has been of considerable interest to millions of people watching and listening to the BBC at home and across theglobe.’ He added: ‘Peter Hain was an integral part of the panel, bringing the
UK government’s involvement into the wider story. We felt hisinclusion was important and so we did pay for his flights but we keptcosts as low as we could.’
Conor in the papers:BBC show dropped feature on heritageawards 'for being English only' Sam Marsden, The Sunday TelegraphSunday 8th December 2013
A flagship BBC television programmepulled out of plans to feature awardscelebrating local efforts to save England’s historic buildings becausethey did not represent the whole of Britain. Producers from The One Show, which is broadcast on BBC1 onweekday evenings and often draws more than five million viewers,were said to have been “very keen” to make a film about last year’sEnglish Heritage Angel Awards. However, the item was later dropped on the grounds that the awardsonly related to England and so did not fit in with the programme’s UK-
wide remit. An English Heritage spokesman said: "The One Show was very keenand did consider it very seriously, but they felt that because their particular remit is to cover the whole nation, it wouldn't be appropriatefor them."
A BBC source said the decision to drop the item from The One Showwas a “routine” editorial judgment. Conor Burns, a Conservative MP who sits on the Commons culture,media and sport committee, said there was a misunderstandingamong BBC executives about how people outside the “metropolitanLondon elite” viewed their national identities. He said: “It always strikes me that the BBC’s output hasdisproportionate coverage of the cultures and national identities of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. “The one aspect of our national story that people seem to be scared of is a discussion of England and Englishness. “I think it is born out of a misplaced paranoia and a desire not tooffend. My feeling is that people from Wales, Northern Ireland andScotland have no problem with other people celebrating their identityin the way that they celebrate their own.” Mr Burns, who was himself born in Northern Ireland, also suggestedthat the BBC was “absolutely paranoid” about issues of nationalidentity in the run-up to next year’s Scottish independencereferendum. Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, said: “There isalmost deep embarrassment about anything that is English. I think thatorganisations that behave like this are very out of touch with publicopinion. “There’s a growing awareness and pride in being English. They shouldhave been on The One Show. The One Show and the BBC have gotEnglishness wrong. It’s time they grew up and realised that there is
nothing wrong with being English.” The English Heritage Angel Awards were founded by Lord LloydWebber in 2011 to recognise the efforts of people around the countryin conserving and rescuing local historic buildings and sites. In their first year the awards, which are supported by the Telegraph,were the subject of six short films broadcast by BBC2’s The CultureShow. English Heritage commissioned its own films about the projectsshortlisted for the awards last year and this year, which can be viewedon its website. Organisers have been contacted by several production companiesinterested in making programmes about next year’s awards, but theyneed a broadcaster to get involved as well. The English Heritage spokesman said: “We would love a channel toget behind this and commission a proper series on the Angel Awardsbecause we feel that these wonderful stories about people restoringthe country’s heritage deserve to be celebrated.” The role of English Heritage is fulfilled elsewhere in the UK by HistoricScotland, Cadw in Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment
Agency.
A BBC spokesman said: "The One Show was in talks with EnglishHeritage about this but on this occasion decided not to proceed. “We have referenced their excellent Angel Awards on air in the pastand would be delighted to do so again.”
Photo news:Conor hosts Governor Jeb Bush atHouse of Commons
Conor with Governor Jeb Bush on the Terrace at the House of Commons.
Conor and fellow Conservative MPs listen to Governor Jeb Bush.
Three ways to contact Conor Burns MP:
By Phone: 020 7219 7021By email: [email protected]
By post: Conor Burns MPHouse of CommonsLondon SW1A 0AA
www.conorburns.com
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