Westminster Report - Leigh-on-Sea

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Leigh On Sea News: Westminster Report – BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

Westminster Report – BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

The Shrimpers fantastic performance at Wembley did our city proud.

Although the result of the playoff final wasn’t what we’d hoped for, it’s been an incredible journey this year and a testament to the determination of the team, the club and all its fans.

Not even a year ago Southend United nearly went bankrupt. Now they’ve made it to Wembley for the National League play-off finals. Despite being narrowly beaten at the 11th hour by Oldham Athletic, to see them playing at Wembley was like a phoenix rising from the flames.

I urged the Prime Minister when I asked him at Prime Minister’s Questions, to make sure that everything possible is being done by the government to ensure that no club has go to through what we have.

He too congratulated Southend United for this fantastic turnaround. We can be assured this government is doing all it can to prevent other clubs suffering like our club, through the Football Governance Bill.

The Shrimpers are an important part of our community and command a special place in all our hearts. Their continued success is key to the identity and community spirit of the area as well as bringing a great deal of economic benefit.

Under the former owner we nearly lost our club, it was put up for sale and creditors queued up at the door waiting to be paid. The club was taken to court, had point deductions imposed and faced a winding-up petition, due to debt.

The club is an established community asset with a long history going back to 1906. It’s a place where people come to share a common purpose and a place for community engagement.

Fans are not customers, they are key stakeholders in football clubs and football clubs are not businesses, they are cultural heritage assets born of and represented by their communities.

I am proud to see that the Football Governance Bill tackles these issues head on. It will establish the independent football regulator and a new set of rules to protect clubs, empower fans and keep clubs at the heart of their communities. Just what we need! And I wish the Shrimpers every success for next season.

On another note, I am delighted to be appointed to the Mental Health Bill Committee to help scrutinise the measures line by line for this very important piece of legislation. This government has pledged to give mental health the same priority as physical health, aiming for parity of esteem.

This commitment includes modernizing the Mental Health Act to provide patients with greater autonomy and rights.

The Mental Health Act provides the legal framework for the detention of people when their mental health means that they are at risk to themselves or others, so that they can get the treatment they need to get better. It is designed to bring the existing law into the 21st century and is long overdue.

Among the things I will be looking at, are the gaps in mental health provision for children and young people, who are not receiving the mental health care they need; ensuring support for

people with learning disabilities and autism; suicide prevention, which has a devastating impact on families and friends, as I know only too well.

It is an honour to be working on such an important law that will make such a difference to many people’s lives.

In parliament it was great to meet up with Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, to mark our Bus Services Bill, which puts control over routes and schedules back into local hands. Of course, in Southend West and Leigh we have two new routes: the 3A running from Southend to Leigh via the Hospital and the new 26 service from Westcliff to Leigh. Britain’s buses were broken but Labour’s plan for better buses is fixing them.

While in the constituency, I enjoyed a visit to the Southend campus of the University of Essex where they train nurses and dental assistants, visited the Highlands Surgery Patient Participation Group and helped open Southend Hospital’s new radiotherapy wing, where I’m delighted that a second brand-new linear accelerator (LINAC) machine will be installed by March next year.

Good health news all round, especially given the government has recently awarded more than £6 million to Mid and South Essex NHS Trust for estate repairs to our hospitals!

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