Karl M^cCartney MP urges local Lincoln communities to apply for £6million available to mark the Centenary

On Wednesday 15 May, Heritage Lottery Fund launched the new small grants programme  First World War: then and now and are making at least £1million available per year for six years until 2019.  It will provide grants between £3,000 to £10,000 enabling groups right across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.

Karl M^cCartney MP urged his constituents to think about how they would like to mark the Centenary.  Successful projects will include:

• researching, identifying and recording local heritage;
• creating a community archive or collection;
• developing new interpretation of heritage through exhibitions, trails, smartphone apps etc;
• researching, writing and performing creative material based on heritage sources.

The new programme can also provide funding for the conservation of war memorials.

Karl M^cCartney MP said: “I’m delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is making this money available to local communities.  Like many areas across the UK, the impact of the First World War on the people of High Peak was extensive.   For those who want to find out more about its legacy or who wish to mark the Centenary, I would urge them to contact HLF.”

Sebastian Faulks CBE, broadcaster, novelist, author of Birdsong and member of the Government’s First World War Centenary advisory group, said: “HLF’s First World War small grants programme is an opportunity for every street, town or village to make sure they remember the cataclysmic events of a hundred years ago. It is a chance to learn and to commemorate in whatever way they choose.”

Welcoming the programme at the launch in the House of Commons, Culture Secretary of State Maria Miller said: “It is completely right that we mark the centenary of the First World War with a national programme capturing our national spirit and saying something about who we are as a people.  But what we do also needs to help create an enduring cultural and educational legacy for communities.  The HLF grant programme announced today will play a big part in this, and builds on the substantial investment they have already made towards the Centenary.”

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of HLF, said: “The impact of the First World War was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the UK and beyond.  The Heritage Lottery Fund’s new programme will enable communities to explore the continuing legacy of this war and help young people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has shaped our modern world.”

HLF has already invested £12million in projects – large and small – that will mark the Centenary of First World War. If a group have a project idea to mark the Centenary of the First World War, an online application pack is available http://www.hlf.org.uk/ThenAndNow.  If a group needs a grant of more than £10,000 for a First World War project, it can apply to HLF through its open programmes.

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…and learns what life is like for young people growing up in a military family.

‘It’s good to know he’s safe, but he could always go away again. When they’re in Afghan it’s like an empty space in the room.  When he comes back the house is whole again’ quote from the report

Karl M^cCartney MP met with young people from RAF families, including some young people who live at RAF Waddington in his constituency, at the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund’s annual Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 8 May, an event he sponsored, to hear about the realities of growing up in a military family.  The young people, who all live on RAF stations, spoke about what it’s like having a parent in the armed forces.

They also delivered a new report which focuses on the positive impact the Airplay programme – the RAF Benevolent Fund’s youth support programme for children from RAF families – is having on the young people and their parents.

The charity designed and launched Airplay in 2010 in direct response to research which found that keeping children and young people safely occupied on stations was serving parents’ foremost concern after housing. The charity continues to fund and manage this partnership programme, which is the first of its kind in the Service community and operates on all major RAF stations across England, Scotland and Wales including RAF Waddington.

Speaking after the event Karl M^cCartney MP said: “It has an honour to sponsor the RAF Benevolent Fund’s annual Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons.  While society recognises the sacrifices made by serving personnel, it is easy to forget the sacrifices made by their families. The RAF Benevolent Fund’s Airplay project is unique in that it is the first of its kind in the Service community and provides a safe and supported environment for children and young people to meet, as well as vital continuity for children re-locating between stations.   I will remain on hand to help the RAF Benevolent Fund in any way I can in the future.”

There are three elements to the Airplay programme: Airplay childcare centres, Airplay parks and games areas and Airplay Youth Support.  The youth support element of the programme, which is aimed at 8 to 18 year olds, is delivered by trained Airplay youth workers employed by national charity, 4Children, working in partnership with RAF Community Development staff.  It provides safe and supported environments for children and young people to meet and take part in organised activities.  By delivering consistent, high quality support to young people, the programme also helps to relieve some of the pressure on hard-pressed serving parents and provides vital continuity for children re-locating between stations.

Reece (17) from RAF Cosford said: “I’ve found some parts of being in an RAF family difficult, like leaving friends behind and the interruption to the school curriculum which means I sometimes missed important topics. Airplay has always been welcoming and friendly and has helped me through the hard parts. I feel like it’s really been there for me.”

Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon, Director of Welfare and Policy at the RAF Benevolent Fund said: “As the Royal Air Force’s leading welfare charity, the RAF Benevolent Fund’s Airplay programme demonstrates our commitment to providing support to serving families where it is needed most.  I hope today’s event, and the report we’re launching today, gives some sense of the scope and scale of the project and the hugely positive impact the programme has had to date, not only on the lives of the young people themselves, but also on their hard-pressed parents”.

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For more information please contact: Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221
or Fiona Ferguson, RAF Benevolent Fund PR Officer, on 020 7307 3339 or at fiona.ferguson@rafbf.org.uk

Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl M^cCartney MP, has given a warm welcome to news that recorded crime in Lincolnshire has fallen over the last twelve months. Latest figures from the independent Office for National Statistics show that recorded crime in Lincolnshire fell by 14 per cent.

Commenting, Karl said: “The news that crime is falling in Lincolnshire will be warmly welcomed by local people. Our hardworking police officers in our County can be proud of their success.

“Because Conservatives are on the side of people who work hard and do the right thing, we are reforming the police so they can cut crime and make our communities safer. These figures are clear evidence that those reforms are working.” 

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

Karl M^cCartney MP, Member of Parliament for Lincoln, has welcomed the new Technical Baccalaureate designed to help young people find the high-quality vocational education they deserve.

The TechBacc, announced by the Government this week, will combine three key elements – a rigorous vocational qualification, a core maths qualification and an extended project to text literacy skills.

This new measure will finally give vocational education the high status it deserves — putting it on a par with A-level study and recognising excellence. It will give young people a first-class vocational alternative to academic routes, ensuring they have the technical ability employers want, and giving Britain the skilled workforce it needs to compete in the global race.

Karl M^cCartney MP said: “This announcement is fantastic news for young people in Lincoln who want to work hard towards a technically skilled job or apprenticeship.

“For too long, too many students haven’t had the chance to study for high-quality vocational qualifications that are recognised by employers. This measure will ensure that young people receive a rigorous education in the skills employers value and help them find the jobs they deserve.”

Skills Minister, Matthew Hancock MP, said: “The TechBacc will be a mark of achievement for young people who successfully study three key elements – a rigorous high-quality vocational course, maths and literacy. We are being clear to our young people about the skills they need to succeed and get good jobs. We want an education system in which everyone can reach their potential.

“Our reforms to post-16 qualifications, including the introduction of the new TechBacc will do that. They will incentivise the development of high-quality courses and incentivise schools and colleges to offer the courses that get young people on in life.”

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl M^cCartney MP, is calling on parents across Lincoln to check for warning signs of possible heart problems experienced by their children and follow life-saving guidance issued by the UK’s leading children’s heart charity.

The Lincoln MP is supporting ‘Think HEART’ the Children’s Heart Federation which aims to increase early diagnosis of children’s heart conditions.

Think HEART provides parents with five easy signs to help to spot a heart problem:

• H – Heart Rate (Is their heart rate too fast or too slow. Normal rate is between 100 to 160 beats per minute)
• E – Energy (Are they sleepy, quiet and too tired to feed)
• A – Appearance (Is your baby a pale, waxy, dusky, blue or grey colour)
• R – Respiration (Are they breathing too fast or too slow. Normal rate is between 40 to 60 breaths per minute)
• T – Temperature (Are they cold to touch – particularly their hands and feet)

Karl M^cCartney MP says: “Every year, 5,000 babies are born with Congenital Heart Disease, however only a third are detected before birth. Delays in diagnosis cause uncertainly, distress, physical harm and can even lead to risks to life for these young children.

“I urge parents across our City to look out for the five Think HEART signs to ensure that any problems are quickly identified and managed effectively”.

Anne Keatley-Clarke, Chief Executive of CHF says: “We are grateful for Karl M^cCartney MP’s support for our Think HEART campaign. We hope their encouragement alert’s parents to the importance of checking the health of their children’s heart condition and it gives them the confidence to raise the issue with their doctor or health professional.”

To get involved with the Think HEART campaign visit www.chfed.org.uk/thinkheart

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

Karl M^cCartney MP has welcomed news that prisoners across England and Wales, including at HMP Lincoln, will in future need to make real progress towards their own rehabilitation and work hard in prison before they can receive privileges, such as access to television sets and being able to wear their own clothes.

Under the new policy, the mere absence of bad behaviour will not be enough to earn perks, as is the case at the moment. Other changes include:

• All convicted adult male prisoners will have to wear prison uniform whilst in the new Entry-level in prisons;
• In-cell television sets will not be provided for prisoners on a basic level and no prisoner should be allowed to watch television when he should be working or engaging in purposeful activity;
• Prison regimes will change so that convicted prisoners will work a longer day and bad behaviour will lead to a downgrade in status.

Welcoming the new measures, Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl M^cCartney MP said: “Like many people in Lincoln I think our prisons should be places of hard work and serious rehabilitation.  Any privileges that convicted criminals receive should be hard-earned, and there should be rewards for taking real steps towards rehabilitation and reform.  They certainly should not come as a right.”

“Conservatives are on the side of people who work hard and do the right thing.  These tough and sensible reforms show that our prisons are becoming places of serious rehabilitation.  That way we can break the cycle of reoffending and make our streets and communities safer.”

Conservative Justice Secretary Chris Grayling MP said: “It is not right that some prisoners appear to be spending hours languishing in their cells and watching daytime television while the rest of the country goes out to work.”

“For too long, there has been an expectation that privileges are an automatic right, given simply as a reward for staying out of trouble.  This cannot continue.  Prisoners need to earn privileges, not simply through the avoidance of bad behaviour but also by working, taking part in education or accepting the opportunities to rehabilitate themselves.”

“We have reviewed the scheme fully, and I believe it is now something the public can have confidence in.  Only by tackling bad behaviour and taking part in education or work programmes as well as addressing any alcohol or drug issues can we cut reoffending.”

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl M^cCartney MP, encourages local children to turn their ideas into real-life products!

Karl M^cCartney MP is proud to be launching the We Made It! competition in Lincoln working with local schools and businesses to help young people appreciate the exciting opportunities that a career in engineering can offer and understand that manufacturing is about design and creativity as well as hands-on making of products.

The competition invites 11 -14 year olds to submit their design for a product, gadget, gizmo, toy or tool they would like to see made into a real-life prototype.

Mr M^cCartney is also asking local business to help judge the entries to choose the student who will represent Lincoln in the national competition rounds. The best entries nationwide will be invited to one of the UK’s Fab Labs, where they will use the very latest high-tech fabrication methods and find out how to bring their ideas to life with the Lab’s experts.

At the end of this year, Mr M^cCartney will invite the winner of our local competition to the awards ceremony in parliament where they will have the opportunity to meet the heads of the manufacturing organisations involved in the project and learn how to take their career further.

Commenting on the competition Karl M^cCartney MP said: “I’m very proud to be supporting this great project to inspire young people to turn their designs and ideas into real products. I am looking forward to seeing the innovative ideas of our students here in the City of Lincoln and I’m excited about choosing our winner to put forward to the national rounds.

“The UK desperately needs more young people who aspire to engineering and high-level manufacturing careers and I welcome this initiative to help students gain a better understanding of how the industry and businesses involved in manufacturing and engineering actually work.”

To find out more on the competition pupils can visit the competition’s website: www.wemadeituk.co.uk.

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

Around 39,386 people in the City of Lincoln are benefitting from the biggest Income Tax cut in a generation this April.

On 6^th April, Conservatives in Government  increased the amount of money people can earn before paying any Income Tax to £9,440.  Now, 24 million people across Britain will pay up to £600 less Income Tax this year than in 2010.

An estimated 3824 people who live in Lincoln will have been lifted out of income tax altogether by this Government. Together, with our previous tax cuts, we will have taken 2.2 million people across the Country out of Income Tax altogether which is an admirable achievement considering the state the last Labour Government had left our nation’s economy and finances in after 13 years of mismanagement.

Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl M^cCartney MP, commented: “This is fantastic news for people in our City – this tax cut means tax bills have been cut by £600 since the last General Election.

“Conservatives have prioritised hardworking people – rewarding those who want to work hard and keep more of the money they earn.”

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

More disadvantaged new parents in Lincoln will benefit from one to one help and support from a specialist nurse.

Around 11,000 families are already benefitting from personalised support from family nurses and Conservatives in Government will extend this to a further 16,000 of the most disadvantaged parents by 2015. This follows initial research showing support from family nurses helped boost mothers’ self-esteem and their ability to return to education and employment when their children are old enough for them to do so.

Commenting Karl M^cCartney MP, the Member of Parliament for Lincoln, said: “Parents across our City could benefit from this extra support. Family nurses do a great job helping new parents give their children the kind of start in life they need to succeed. This announcement again shows our commitment to helping people who do the right thing and want to achieve in life.”

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221

Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, the Member of Parliament for North East Somerset, has agreed to be guest speaker at the Lincoln Conservative’s President’s Dinner on Thursday, 11th April.  The event will be held at the Old Palace, Minster Yard between 7.30-8.00pm.  Attendees will include the President, Mr George Ashton, and Cllr Yvonne Bodger, the Chairman of Lincoln Conservative Association and Lincoln’s Member of Parliament.

Lincoln’s Member of Parliament, Karl M^cCartney MP, said, “It was kind of my Parliamentary colleague, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, to accept my invitation to address Lincoln Conservatives at our President’s Dinner, and especially as Jacob is renowned for his superb oratory skills and knowledge.  I know my colleagues at the Lincoln Conservative Association are looking forward to what will be an informative and entertaining evening every bit as much as I am.”

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For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk / 020 7219 7221