The Prime Minister has today refused to back a proposal from 130 Conservative backbenchers for Britain to opt out of the European Equal Pay Directive.   Earlier in the day, the Conservative Fresh Start group published a “Manifesto for Change” … More…

Figures published today by the Department of Health, in answer to a Parliamentary Question that I tabled, show that patients served by the new Vale of York Care Commissioning Group, will receive less funding than people in other parts of … More…

  Today I visited Morrell House, a residential care home run by City of York Council for dementia sufferers.   Morrell House provides a service for 29 people over the age of 65 including people with dementia.  The term ‘dementia’ … More…

Despite promising to deliver “fair pricing for rail travel” when the Coalition Government was formed in 2010, fares could rise by as much as 9.2 per cent in parts of the country.  And people in York have seen the cost … More…

I have been pressing the Government to introduce a statutory code to regulate pub companies’ relationships with their tenants.  Last year, the Government wrote to me to say they did not “consider it appropriate to make a statutory intervention in … More…

In response to a question that I asked in the House of Commons today, Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, admitted that 410 civil service jobs in York have been lost since the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats came to power.   … More…

  I visited the RSPCA home in Landing Lane, York today to learn how the charity coped with re-homing animals when some of their land was flooded during September and again in November.   The RSPCA were forced to put … More…

I met some of Royal Mail’s York postal workers today who work hard to collect, sort and deliver letters, cards and parcels, to wish them a Merry Christmas.   I thanked the staff for the enormous amount of work they … More…

I opened Glen Gardens Allotments Christmas Fair today in support of their allotments project for disadvantaged children.   The fair took place in Heworth Church Hall, Melrosegate.  The allotments project supports disadvantaged children of up to sixteen years of age, … More…

  My constituent Lesley Schatzberger has won the TalkTalk Digital Hero Award for Yorkshire and Humberside for her work using digital technology to help others.   Lesley is a music tutor who founded York based charity, Jessie’s Fund, in memory … More…