Eric Pickles MP for Brentwood and Ongar this week joined forces with major UK charities including Cancer Research UK, British Red Cross, Barnardo’s, Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation – as well as hundreds of local hospices and smaller charities – in a drive to generate more donations for charity shops.

Eric supported the Choose Charity Shops campaign, led by the Charity Retail Association, by making a donation of items to St. Francis Hospice.

The Charity Retail Association has said that charity shop popularity is at an all time high.

Charity shops now raise over £200 million every year for a huge range of charitable causes and they reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 3.7 million tonnes every year through reusing items. They also support 180,000 volunteering opportunities and 17,000 jobs.

But charity shops thrive on donations of unwanted items from members of the public, and many are struggling to get enough through the door. This week nearly 6,000 charity shops in the UK are coming together to ask members of the public to make a donation to a charity shop in their area and pledge to donate to charity shops for the coming year. Events are taking place across the country to support the campaign.

Warren Alexander, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, said: ‘Charity shops simply can’t survive without donations from the public, and we are delighted to have the Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP supporting the campaign in Brentwood and Ongar.”

Notes to Editors

·         There are nearly 6,000 shops participating in Choose Charity Shops. For further information on the campaign, the charities participating, or to find your local charity shop, visit www.choosecharityshops.org

·         The Choose Charity Shops campaign is led by the Charity Retail Association, the UK trade association for charity shops. The Association represents over 80 per cent of charity shops in the UK. Please contact Wendy Mitchell wendy@charityretail.org.uk  020 7255 4483 for more information or to find out about where events are happening in your area.

·         For further information from Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP please contact him on 020 7219 4428 or via email at picklese@parliament.uk.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01h6678

Risk of flooding despite continued drought

Environment Agency media enquiries: Laura Gottelier or James Bertin on 020 7863 8642. Outside normal office hours, please contact the National Duty Press Officer on 07798 882 092.

Keep in touch: For the latest news, images and videos follow us at www.twitter.com/envagency, www.facebook.com/environmentagency, www.flickr.com/environment-agency and www.youtube.com/environmentagencytv.

For the latest Environment Agency news visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/mediacentre

The heavy rainfall over the weekend meant that our rivers received a much needed top up of water.  In many places, the ground was very dry and compacted as a result of the current drought. This meant that rainwater flowed quickly overland, causing some rivers to fill up and over top their banks.

We opened our Area Incident Room at midday on Sunday so that we could closely monitor the situation and ensure our staff were ready to take action where needed.

Our Operations staff were out on the ground across Hertfordshire and North London – clearing trash screens and checking structures to ensure rivers were flowing freely.

Almost all of our flood storage areas were operating, holding back river water to protect properties from flooding.

Yesterday we issued flood alerts for the River Stort, River Roding, Cripsey Brook and River Ingrebourne – which affect your constituency.  In Brentwood and Ongar there are 1,225 properties at risk of flooding. Our flood warning service is available for 315 properties and a large proportion of these have signed up to receive free flood warnings. This is an excellent sign that your constituents are aware of their flood risk and are taking steps to protect themselves and their property.

Unfortunately flooding was reported to at least one property, but this was caused by drainage issues and not from flooding from the river.

Despite the recent rainfall, we are still in a drought.  The rain will help us get through the summer, and is good for the environment, farmers and gardeners.

It's unlikely, however, to be enough to recharge the groundwater after nearly two years of below average rainfall. As we move from spring to summer, most of the rain that falls is either evaporated as temperatures rise or taken up by plants as they grow.

If you would like any further information about floods, droughts or our work in your constituency, please contact me. In the meantime, if you or any of your local residents would like to sign up for flood warnings, then you can do so at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/38289.aspx or by calling Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or Typetalk 0845 602 6340.

Go ON UK is a radical new cross-sector partnership committed to boosting the digital capability of the 8.2 million offline adults (more than 5 million of whom are over 65 years old) and those with limited digital skills.

Age UK, BBC, Big Lottery Fund, E.ON, Lloyds Banking Group, Post Office Limited and TalkTalk will work together in an unprecedented collaboration, pooling resources and sharing expertise, reach and networks.

Andrew Gardner, Chief Executive of Age UK Essex said:

“Our existing Silver Surfing service and computer club encourages older people to get online but with more than 300,000 people over 65 living in Essex our resources will not stretch to include everyone. However, through this initiative we hope that older people will be encouraged and supported to access the benefits that being online offers, including making savings, pursuing hobbies and interests and keeping in touch with friends and family. With more and more goods and services moving online, being able to use the Web is increasingly important to us all. Go ON UK offers a fantastic opportunity for influential members of the public, private and third sectors to come together and help get everyone online, regardless of age or experience of technology.”

For more information on Silver Surfing or to book a place contact Jeremy Anderson on 01245 346206 and for information on Go ON UK go to www.go-on.co.uk.

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For more information or to arrange a media interview contact:

Andrew Gardner, Chief Executive or Peter Bland, Deputy Chief Executive, Age UK Essex, 112 Springfield Road, Chelmsford, CM2 6LF

Tel: 01245 346106

Email: andrew.gardner@ageukessex.org.uk or peter.bland@ageukessex.org.uk

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Note to editors:

About Age UK

Age UK – the leading older person’s charity – provides support, services, information and products to people over the age of 50. It has more than 160 partners across the country.

Age UK Essex is a charity operating across Essex ‘Improving the lives of older people’ since 1949. Today it provides: information and advice, support in the home and in the community to enable people to live independently and avoid social isolation. It enables older people’s voices to be heard and supports more than 200 older peoples clubs and groups across the county. Further details on Age UK Essex and its products and services are available from www.ageukessex.org.uk

Key facts

·         Each year, about 650,000 people turn 65

·         There are 10.3m people aged 65 or over in the UK

·         There are more people in the UK aged 60 and above than there are under 18

·         The number of people aged 65+ is expected to rise by 65% to over 16.4m by 2033

·         Nearly one in five people currently in the UK will live to see their 100th birthday

·         About 3.7 million older people live alone. 70% of these are women over 65

·         One in three people over 65 will die with a form of dementia

·         There are 300,000 people above the age of 65 in Essex

·         Age UK Essex engages with 25,000 older people each year

The Easter Parliamentary Recess gives me some time to spend in the constituency over the next couple of weeks, visiting events, organisations and individuals. This time of year is always busy in the local political calendar in the run up to the May local elections, and I look forward to going out on the street  with local candidates as they canvass opinion and deliver leaflets.

I’ll be on Ongar on Thursday, opening a family fun day run by mums for the children in the area. I’m also hoping to pop in to see Zinc Arts’ new extension and have a long awaited catch up with the staff and users of this marvellous  local facility.

I’m also looking forward to having lunch with Cllr Jean McGinley, who is standing down from Brentwood Borough Council after a very successful term of office, which included an outstanding year as Mayor.

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to meet Age UK Essex, an organisation which provides support in the home to elderly people across Essex who need a bit of help in the home with cleaning and shopping. The group has just brought back the term ‘home help’ because it is best understood by all those who use the service.

I was very impressed by the dedication of all those I met, and especially by their rule that home helps never walk away from a home without seeing the client. On the day I visited a client had failed to answer the door, but could be seen lying on the floor. An ambulance was called, the family informed, and all was well.

Age UK Essex has five hundred workers offering cleaning and shopping support to more than three thousand people. There is a continuous need for more workers, with the minimum hours asked being two per week, with no maximum. As a result this appeals to mothers of young children who can fit in several hours work while the children are at pre-school or school. Male workers are also, I am told, very popular, despite some initial disbelief from clients that they can do housework!

Secretary of State 

Hosepipe bans and water restrictions

As you may well be aware, seven water companies have announced temporary restrictions on the use of water by their customers, following exceptionally low rainfall over the past 18 months.  The areas affected cover most of the East Midlands, East Anglia and the South East of England.   

We signalled to consumers earlier that hosepipe bans would be more likely after a second dry winter, as part of a broader strategy for conserving water resources following a period of exceptionally low rainfall. 

The Government has been actively working with suppliers and consumers to mitigate the impact this would have on homes and businesses, and I thought it would be useful to set out the action Water Companies and the Coalition Government are taking.

Temporary restrictions in the areas affected are expected to come into force from 5th April.  The water companies involved have been coordinating closely the precise terms of those restrictions as they recognise that a single set of measures is easier for customers to understand. But they also have to reflect their local circumstances and the detailed intentions of each company are set out, in advance, on their websites and in local newspapers.

In order to ensure the action taken is coordinated and strategic, Richard Benyon and I have been convening drought summits with the sectors most affected.  These have been taking place since May 2011 and at the most recent summit we confirmed that Paul Leinster, Chairman of the Environment Agency, will chair a small high level cross-sector group to lead coordination of measures needed to manage the drought and to plan ahead for the risk of continuing drought.  At the same time we are working across central and local government and with our stakeholders to manage the effects of the current drought.

Tackling water leakage is also a clear priority for the Government.  Water companies have cut leakage rates by over a third since the mid 1990s, but we have recently agreed with water companies that extra efforts would be made to tackle leakage and we shall be keeping progress under review.  This would be in addition to the leakage reduction targets already set by Ofwat.

In addition to measures which will help in the short-term, we have also set out the action we are taking to address the challenge of maintaining secure and plentiful water supplies in the longer term.

In our Water White Paper, published last December, we set out how interconnecting pipes between different parts of the country would help to build a new national network.  Interconnectivity is not new but more can be done to deliver more flexible and efficient networks and we are committed to making that happen.  The idea of a new north-south pipe has been raised, but it is the case that smaller-scale inter-connections between water companies are both more cost effective, and more resilient given the uncertainty over the impact climate change may have on water resources in areas of the country we currently perceive as ‘water-rich’.  An example of this approach was the connection made last year between United Utilities in the North West and Welsh Water, at a cost of £120m.

We have also pledged to reform the abstraction regime which governs how we take water out of our rivers and water sources.  It will mean that in future we have a system that is more flexible and enables us to use available water to meet the needs of households and businesses, while protecting the environment and water levels in our rivers. 

One solution that is occasionally raised is the scope for increasing desalination capacity.  Desalination is energy intensive and ultimately expensive, but in some circumstances the right answer which is why Thames Water has activated its desalination plant at Beckton with the capacity to serve one million customers.

I shall of course keep you and the House updated as the situation develops, but if you have any further questions please get in touch with me, Richard or my PPS Mark Simmonds.

·         Taking place from 14-20 May next year

·         Week will see Scouts across the country volunteer in local area

12 March 2012: The well-known “Bob a Job” Week of old is to relaunch as Scout Community Week this year after a seventeen year break and scouts in Brentwood and Ongar will be taking part.

Scout Community Week is taking place from 14-20 May this year across the UK and I am proud to support it, particularly as scout groups in the Brentwood and Ongar area are heavily involved. Scout Community Week will see Scouts from across the UK taking part in an array of tasks and projects to make a positive impact on the lives of local people. The Scout Association want your help in bringing these benefits to our community.

The Scout Association wants your suggestions for projects you think Scouts in our area could do to make a difference. This could be creating a garden for a hospital or care home, litter picking in a local park or making useful individual items such bird boxes or bike racks.

To submit your ideas please email community.week@scouts.org.uk or visit www.scouts.org.uk/scoutcommunityweek for further information on this great initiative.

Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the Environment, announced this week that the south east of England is in drought.

Why have we declared a drought?

Our evidence shows that nine of the past 16 months (from October 2010 to January 2012) have seen below average rainfall in the south east. There is a continual decline of water resources (groundwater levels and river flows), and an increasing risk to public water supplies and the environment. Many reservoirs are also much lower than normal for this time of year.  It’s important that everyone is aware of, and manages, their own water use.

What does this mean for Brentwood and Ongar?

Your constituency falls into the catchment of the River Roding.   The lack of rainfall across the catchment has left river levels below average.  The River Roding currently only has 29 percent of its average flow through Redbridge.  This lack of water can have a huge impact on wildlife in our rivers.  There is also less water available to dilute any pollution that enters the river, which could severely affect urban catchments like the Roding .  We need people to be extra vigilant when out and about near rivers.

If the drought continues we expect more water companies to apply for drought permits. These permits allow them to abstract more from the environment for public water supplies. We are having formal pre-application discussions with Thames Water about four possible permit applications. We are also meeting regularly with Veolia Water Central to review their water supply situation and help them put plans in place, should this dry weather continue.  So far, they have not sought additional water supplies.  As we move into the spring, however, we could be seeing Water Company wide restrictions on water usage to customers.

What are we doing?
It is our job to balance the water needs of people and the environment, and we will be working with others to find the best way to achieve this balance. Our drought plan for the south east sets out how we will manage water resources during a drought and our response to incidents. We are monitoring water levels in the environment and sharing this information with local water abstractors (water companies, farmers, etc) so they can understand the full picture and take action.

What can your constituents do?
We want people and businesses to use water wisely every day, not just during a drought. Information on ways to save water can be found on our website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/drought

We also want people to be our eyes and ears on their local rivers.  If people see any fish in distress or pollution incidents, they can call our Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.  We can then get officers out to investigate and take action where necessary. 

High Court judgment and town hall prayers

On 10 February, the High Court ruled in a case against Bideford Town Council, banning the practice of prayers at the formal beginning of council meetings. The basis of this ruling was a narrow interpretation of section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972. In short, the Court asserted that councils do not have an explicit power to hold prayers as part of the formal business at council meetings.

I do not believe it was ever the intention of Parliament when it passed that Act forty years ago to prohibit council prayers, which are a common-day practice that dates back many centuries. It is my view that this judgment was another example of the public sector marginalising faith by promoting an illiberal and intolerant secularism.

Christianity continues to play an important part in the culture, heritage and fabric of our nation, especially given we have an Established Church, governed by The Queen. As the Prime Minister asserted in his speech in Christ Church, Oxford, in December: “we are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so”. This judgment was also an attack on faith in all its forms – councils which hold prayers often feature those of other faiths, not just Christianity.

In this country, we should respect those of other faiths, and those with none. The right to worship is a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty, and the fight for religious freedom in British history is deeply entwined with the political freedoms we take for granted.

Localism Act and the general power of competence

While Parliament’s prayers are protected by the Bill of Rights, local councils have no such shield. Last week, I decided to fast-track the commencement of the general power of competence in the Localism Act 2011. Previously local authorities have only been able to do those things that the law specifically empowered them to do or which are incidental to those things. The new general power of competence turns the current situation on its head. Rather than looking to Whitehall to hand down specific powers, it enables councils to do anything that an individual could do unless it is specifically prohibited by law.

These new flexibilities for councils include the freedom to pray and hold prayers at the start of council meetings, should they wish. This power is also a major constitutional innovation in itself, opening the doors to greater innovation in local government and will help councils make savings through greater joint working and sharing of services.

Following the signing of a commencement order on 17 February, the power is now in effect for all principal local authorities in England (i.e. district, county, London borough, metropolitan and unitary councils). I intend it should be in force by April for parish councils in England meeting the necessary requirements, following the ratification of necessary (affirmative resolution) orders in both Houses of Parliament.

To assist parish councils, my Department has also published an advice note on how the general power of competence will relate to parish councils and practical steps that parish councils can take in the meantime. This is available at:

www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/prayeradvice

I am also considering if further steps need to be taken to remove legal obstacles to town hall prayers.

Application to Wales

The underlying 1972 Act, on which the judgment was based, applies to England and Wales. The new general power of competence does not apply to local authorities in Wales, as the Welsh Assembly Government declined the offer of the Coalition Government to include Welsh local authorities in this part of the Localism Act. However, the Welsh Assembly does have the power to legislate in this area.

Conclusion

By returning to local councils the discretion on whether they want a moment of religious reflection at the beginning of their meetings, I believe we are striking a blow for localism over centralism; for freedom to worship over intolerant secularism; for long-standing British liberties over modern-day political correctness; and for Parliamentary sovereignty over judicial activism.

Yours truly,

Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Nigel Clarke, has today crossed the floor to join the Conservative Group on Brentwood Borough Council. 

Cllr. Clarke said: “Since being elected as a councillor for Brentwood West in 2010 I have found that it has become increasingly difficult to work for the good of the residents of the ward as a member of the Liberal Democrat Group.

It is for this reason I have decided to join the Conservative Party, and work more closely with the two other Brentwood West ward councillors, Joan Holmes and Will Russell.

I firmly believe that, as a Conservative, I can help my residents more effectively with the issues they raise with me.  I have become increasingly aware that I agree far more often than not with the Conservative proposals for the borough and it is for this reason I am resigning from the Liberal Democrat Party and joining the Conservatives today.”

The move is welcomed the Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar, The Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who said:

“I am very pleased that Nigel has decided to join the Conservative Party.   As a local businessman and resident, Nigel knows only too well what needs to be done for the good of Brentwood and I very much look forward to him becoming a valued member of the team.”

Leader of the Council, Louise McKinlay, who confirmed she had been in discussion with Nigel for some weeks about him becoming a Conservative, added:

“I am very pleased to be welcoming Nigel into our Group today.  He is a very hard working Councillor with whom I and other members of the group have worked with on several projects and his involvement and ideas have always been constructive.   In particular, the proposals he put forward to be included in the town centre parking initiative were excellent.  I am now looking forward to working with him as a member of our group.”

Andrew is an old Brentwoodian and was delighted to visit his old school and meet with Headmaster, Ian Davies and talk with some of the sixthformers.  Following the tour, Andrew addressed the Anthony Browne society in Old Big Schoolwhere the pupils engaged in a lively and interesting discussion.

Eric said: "It is a real accolade to those who have persevered and brought Fair Trade to the forefront of shoppers' minds in Brentwood.  The top food companies are now engaged and I congratulate everyone involved."

You will find details of slip road closures required to complete the gantry installation on the Highways Agency website: http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/ pressrelease.aspx. An Executive Agency of the

Award-winning housebuilder Linden Homes has welcomed the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to its prestigious new Burntwood Square development in Brentwood.

The Minister was given a tour of the development, where Linden Homes is undertaking a meticulous restoration of the former Highwood and Little Highwood hospital buildings on the 17 acre site. The refurbishment of the iconic Victorian buildings will transform them into stunning new homes, ensuring they continue to play a positive role in the Brentwood community for many years to come.

Speaking on site, Mr Pickles said:  “This is a fantastic development which is close to the town centre and which offers local people a sense of space and a very real community. I think this represents the very best of modern planning.”

Demonstrating the strength of local interest, and the huge demand within the community for quality new housing, buyers at Burntwood Square have all come from within a seven mile radius of the development. As many as 100 house-hunters have visited the site each week since its late September launch, and around 90 per cent of the homes in stage one have already been sold.

Mr Pickles was given a tour of the site by Gareth Jacob, Linden Homes Eastern sales and marketing director, and Mick Laws, managing director of Linden Homes Eastern. He later discussed a number of local planning and housing topics with Stuart Gibbons, divisional managing director - including the recently passed Localism Act and how the company is already engaging with local people in the areas it operates.

“We are delighted that the Minister took time out of his busy schedule to come and visit Burntwood Square to see first-hand the work Linden Homes is doing in providing quality new homes that genuinely connect with the local community,” Mick Laws said. “The Minister was particularly complimentary of the quality of the refurbishment, and the green open space which lies at the heart of the scheme.

“This project is not only creating a number of jobs for local construction workers, but is also providing much-needed new homes in an area where demand remains high. We hope local people continue to enjoy watching Burntwood Square take shape over the coming months.”

Burntwood Square is located off Geary Drive in Brentwood. The development will comprise 105 luxurious new homes, with a diverse mix of home sizes and styles to suit every type of buyer. These include one and two-bedroom apartments as well as two and three-bedroom bungalows and a range of three, four and five-bedroom houses.

For more information on this exclusive development, phone the sales centre on 01245 494849 or visit www.lindenhomes.co.uk