Quentin Davies MP has teamed up with former Miss Great Britain, Preeti Desai, and pledged his support for Carers Week 2007* (11-17th June). Quentin Davies MP and Preeti are drawing attention to the UK’s six million carers – people who look after a loved one who is either ill, frail or disabled – to help them gain the recognition and support they desperately need.

‘My Life as a Carer’ is the theme for Carers Week, and a survey of 3,500 carers has revealed the immense impact caring can have on every aspect of their life including, health, finances, career and relationships.

Two out of every three carers (66%) admitted that their personal relationships had suffered as a direct result of caring, with 60% revealing they have little quality time together with their partners. Two thirds (67%) admitted to being financially worse off, with a quarter (28%) unable to support their family properly. An alarming three-quarters of carers had not had a break from their caring role in the past 12 months.

Quentin Davies has been campaigning for the past year to improve and to refurbish the facilities of Stamford Station. This campaign has included persuading the Chief Executive of Network Rail, John Armitt to visit Stamford Station last year (when I introduced him to Stamford Civic Society Chairman John Plumb), when he saw the problems for himself and undertook to take action. It has also included lengthy negotiations with Central Trains. Agreement on a £30,000 refurbishment has now been reached and work will hopefully be completed by the end of May.

Quentin Davies today said:

“I am delighted that we have finally got work started on Stamford Station. It is a vital asset for our town, and I have always been concerned to encourage as many people as possible to use the station, for environmental reasons, so as to reduce traffic congestion and because the station is an important economic benefit for Stamford, and must be used if we are to keep it as a working station. It is also an architectural gem in itself and must be properly cared for.

The decision by the executive of the county council to phase out the scholarships for Stamford children at the Stamford Endowed Schools from 2008 threatens disaster for future generations of the town’s bright children.

There is nowhere else for them to go in Stamford which offers a full academic secondary education if their parents cannot afford to pay fees.

I have written to the leader of the council, Coun Martin Hill, asking him to reconsider this decision, and I hope all Stamfordians who care about this will do the same.

On Friday 28 April, Quentin Davies MP had a meeting at Stamford Station with John Armitt, Chief Executive of Network Rail to discuss the need for refurbishment of the station. Afterwards Mr Davies said:

“I was very pleased that John Armitt, Chief Executive of Network Rail, accepted my invitation to visit Stamford on 28 April and see for himself the current state of the station. We had a useful site visit and discussion, at which I also introduced Mr Armitt to John Plumb, Chairman of the Stamford Civic Society, who joined me in pressing the case for the improvement.

Mr Armitt agreed that there was a case for expenditure on Stamford Station and he undertook to let me know in what timescale we might expect the funds to be made available.

11 September 2005

Stamford Mercury

There can be no better proof of the commitment of the people of Stamford to their hospital and of their determination to save it than the fact that several thousand people turned out on Saturday morning in the worst rain storm we’ve had for months. It was a magnificent and moving demonstration.

The Hospital Trust have given me new assurances that they have no plans to make further cuts. I have told them that we shall all be very cautious and sceptical for a long time, given their breach last month of identical undertakings made just before the election.