Talking tots
John Whittingdale joined the mothers and children at Talking Tots at West Maldon Community Centre. A national initiative, Talking Tots is run in Essex by Amanda Smith and helps children to communicate with confidence. It also supports the Government’s Every Child a Talker initiative, which aims to improve language and communication skills in under 5s. […]
Barclays Southminster
John Whittingdale joined local residents and Councillors for a meeting with representatives of Barclays bank to urge them to reconsider the decision to close the Barclays Branch in Southminster. Attending the meeting from Barclays were Jon Clowes, Barclays Regional Network Area Manager, and Irene East, Corporate Affairs Manager, as well as the Branch Manager, Jo […]
Exclusion of Journalist
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con): I endorse the concerns expressed by the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant). Does my right hon. Friend the Minister agree that we in this House have always recognised that, although freedom of the press is sometimes uncomfortable, it is absolutely vital to a free society? Does he also agree that the […]
Localism
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con): I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s comments earlier about the Localism Bill. Can he confirm that its provisions will apply to applications for onshore wind farms such as those on the Dengie peninsula in my constituency? One of them has already been described as harmful to the local environment, […]
Military Vehicle Rally
John Whittingdale attended the Historic Military Vehicles Rally at the Millbeach, Heybridge. This was the 6th Annual Winter Rally and was attended by about 2000 people with 46 vehicles on display. The Rally raised money for the Help for Heroes fund. John is pictured with the organiser of the Rally, Shaun Morgan who lives in […]
Teachers
Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of shortages of qualified teachers in each region. [29422] Tim Loughton: The numbers of qualified and unqualified(1) teachers, by region, are published in table 3 of the School Workforce statistical first release (SFR). Tables 7 and 9 of the SFR provide further […]
Teachers
Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the number of fully-qualified teachers who are unemployed. [29421] Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply. The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. Letter from Stephen Penneck, […]
Ejup Ganic
Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total cost to the public purse was of the case brought against Ejup Ganic; and how much has been so spent on (a) counsel, (b) solicitors, including staff time, (c) all relevant court hearings, (d) the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Crown Prosecution Service,(e) Ejup Gain’s costs awarded out of public funds […]
Shoreline Management
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con): May I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) on securing the debate? She is a formidable ally on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and she is also a strong champion for her constituency. A lot of the issues that she has raised directly affect my […]
No ID – no sale.
John Whittingdale applauds Maldon shops’ adoption of ‘No ID, No Sale’ policy to stop children buying alcohol and tobacco John Whittingdale today (Friday 12 November 2010) called on local retailers to support the ‘No ID, No Sale!’ campaign which seeks to ensure that only adults can buy alcohol, tobacco and other age-restricted goods. John was […]