Threatened Closure of Chiswick Day Centre

On Saturday I joined residents in Chiswick to highlight the threatened closure of Chiswick Day Centre in Bridge Street. At an event held at the Crown and Anchor pub on Chiswick High Road, round the corner from the Day Centre, I met with a number of residents who use the facilities currently offered by the Centre, as well as their families, carers and local volunteers.

The event was organised to show support for the threatened Day Centre by Laura Ware and Pauline Hart (who organises and runs Pensioners Alone At Christmas). It had a 1940's street party theme, including music performed by the "Swingtime Sweethearts." Residents enjoyed singing along to wartime favourites, as well as an old-fashioned "High Tea." The get-together gave me the opportunity to speak to local residents directly affected by the proposed closure and hear their concerns over what will happen in the future.

Many of my constituents have contacted me to share their grave concerns over the threatened closure of Chiswick Day Centre, while a number of local GPs have indicated that they are concerned that some vulnerable patients may not be catered for under the proposed new arrangements. The Centre is a vital local resource - not only for those who use it themselves, but for their families and carers, for whom the care offered at the Day Centre provides some much needed respite from caring for loved ones.

I am concerned that the closure of the Day Centre by Hounslow Council has not been properly considered and that the loss of this important part of the community will have a serious and detrimental impact on residents in my constituency.

The recent refurbishment of Chiswick Day Centre would indicate that the Council previously saw the value in maintaining the facilities at this location. If Chiswick Day Care Centre were to close, the nearest centre with comparable facilities will be in Heston - a long way to travel on a daily basis, particularly for the elderly and those without private means for transport.

Hounslow Council is consulting on this proposal until 30 April 2011.

Pot Hole Repair in Hounslow

In response to the abnormal damage to roads caused by the severe weather this winter, it was announced in the Budget last week that the Government has allocated a further £100 million to Local Highway Authorities to repair pot holes and other damage to roads. This is in addition to the £100 million already announced earlier this year. This £200 million of additional funding to Local Authorities is possible because of the savings the Department for Transport is making on its budget for 2010/11. The funding has been allocated based on the Department for Transport's existing formula, which takes into account road length and condition. Hounslow has been allocated £321,467. To promote greater transparency and accountability to local communities, all local highway authorities have already agreed to publish information on their website by 30 September 2011 showing how this additional money has been spent. I am delighted that the Department for Transport has been able to make such significant savings and that they are passing these savings directly on to the public. The maintenance of roads is an issue that local residents feel strongly about and I look forward to Hounslow Council using these funds to make a real difference to our local roads. I have written to the Chief Executive of Hounslow Council asking for clarification on where and when these funds will be spent.

Hounslow Chamber AGM

Earlier this month, I was asked to be the guest speaker at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Hounslow Chamber, at Fuller's Brewery. This AGM was apparently the best attended in recent years, with just under 100 members and guests. I used the opportunity to speak about the importance of entrepreneurship in boosting the economy and how the Government plans to support small and medium businesses.

I was delighted to meet so many businessmen and women and hear their concerns and aspirations for the future. Enterprise and growth are at the top of the Government's agenda and we want to support small businesses and encourage innovation. I have written to more than 600 businesses locally to call on them to take on young people for work experience and apprenticeships. This will benefit the businesses themselves and help equip the young people with the skills they need to secure long-term jobs.

The new President of Hounslow Chamber, Ela Grabinska-Raubusch, spoke of the exciting year ahead for Hounslow Chamber. Plans include the appointment of a part-time CEO to strengthen Hounslow Chamber's membership and improve the sector representing the Borough. 2011 has apparently started very well for Hounslow Chamber and membership is increasing.

Working closely with Hounslow Council, Hounslow Chamber hopes to re-establish the Hounslow Association of Tourism. One of the success stories of the last year is the revitalisation of the Women in Business group.

Women On Boards

Following the publication of Lord Davies' report on Women On Boards, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to put a question directly to the Prime Minister during last week's Prime Minister's Questions. I asked the Prime Minister: "Yesterday was International Women's Day, and today great trade figures and export growth were announced. Does the Prime Minister agree that we would have even better figures if we managed to get more women on the boards of companies across the UK?" The Prime Minister responded: "My Honourable Friend is right to draw attention to today's trade figures, which show a big increase in exports, which is exactly the sort of rebalancing that our economy needs. It is absolutely right that we need to get more women involved in the work force and at board level. In addition, in terms of entrepreneurialism, if we had the same rate of women setting up small businesses as in America, we would have tens of thousands of extra businesses creating wealth and jobs." As a strong believer in the value of having more women at senior levels in organisations, I welcome the report on Women on Boards from Lord Davies. This report summarises neatly the growing body of evidence that points to the fact that companies with women at the senior levels perform better. However, according to a report by the Cranfield School of Management, only 12.5% of directors of FTSE 100 companies are women, and only 7.8% of directors of FTSE 250 companies are women - but there are 52.4% that have no women on their boards. I fully agree with the Lord Davies report that has stopped short of recommending quotas for the number of women on boards - we must promote on the basis of merit and skills. The approach recommended requires companies to consider and report on their policy for promoting women to the senior levels and I believe this is the right way to address the current situation.

Marking International Women's Day in Westminster

On Tuesday 8 March I gathered together female MPs and Peers from all parties in Westminster to mark the centenary of International Women's Day.

We were joined in Westminster Hall by the Speaker of the House of Lords, Baroness Hayman, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Dawn Primarolo.

Since its launch in 1911, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike.

I was eager to mark this important day. International Women's Day was founded even before women in Britain were given equal voting rights to men and has been a symbol of women's rights for one hundred years.

We have come a long way since then, but the fact remains that of the 649 MPs currently sitting in the House of Commons, only 144 are women. This is something that I hope will change and I have set up an All Party Parliamentary Group on Women In Parliament to champion this.

We are fortunate in this country that girls and women have good access to education and indeed are outperforming their male counterparts at all stages in the education system - but I believe there is more we can do to encourage and increase uptake of science and technology subjects by women in the UK, both of which are extremely important to the future of the economy.

The global picture is of course quite different. I welcome the role that the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals have played in defining global aims on key issues including access to education for women. In many countries in the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia and North Africa, women do not have easy access to education, particularly beyond primary level. It is right therefore that we use International Women's Day to focus on this issue for girls and women across the globe.

International Women's Day

On Saturday, I helped mark the centenary of International Women's Day (IWD) by speaking at an event at Hounslow Civic Centre. The event brought together women from across the Borough, giving them an opportunity to celebrate achievements and diversity in the community.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to address more than 900 women who had gathered to celebrate the fantastic wealth of female talent locally. This year's theme for IWD is about 'providing equal access to education, training and science and technology' which in turn will 'provide pathways to decent work for women.'

We are fortunate in this country that girls and women have good access to education and indeed are outperforming their male counterparts at all stages in the education system - but I believe there is more we can do to encourage and increase uptake of science and technology subjects by women in the UK, both of which are extremely important to the future of the economy.

The global picture is of course quite different. I welcome the role that the Millennium Development Goals have played in defining global aims on key issues including access to education for women. In many countries in the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia and North Africa, women do not have easy access to education, particularly beyond Primary level. It is right therefore that we use International Women's Day to focus on this issue for girls and women accross the globe.

We have made significant progress in increasing the number of female politicians but the reality is that it is currently a male-dominated world. There are areas, such as the treatment of women in the justice system and the issue of domestic violence in this country that may not always have been given sufficient focus.

Last week, Lord Davies published a report about Women on Boards. Having worked in the City for a number of years, I am keen to address the issue of giving more women the opportunity to take on senior roles in business.

I have organised a debate in the House of Commons on Thursday in the main chamber to debate women's issues and to celebrate women's achievements to date.