Newport East

Weekly Round Up 19 November 2007

There are always lots of events going on in the Constituency of Newport East every weekend, organised by community organisations, religious groups, charities, local authorities and individuals dedicated to making a difference in the area. I am very privileged to be invited to many of them, and try to attend as many as possible. In addition the weekend allows me the opportunity to meet constituents and constituency organisations.

I started my Friday by meeting with the Criminal Justice Department of Gwent Police in Newport. This meeting was organised as part of the Police Parliamentary Scheme which I am undertaking to give me a greater understanding of the breath of operational activity the Police undertake.

During the meeting the need for a new Court House for Newport was again highlighted. A purpose built building able to offer the services and surroundings expected of a modern justice system is vital to work effectively. I will be taking matter forward as a matter of urgency and will lobby the Ministry for Justice for necessary resources to be made available to Newport.

I also had a number of surgery appointments in the Community House Alway.

I like to make myself accessible to all my Constituents, to be available around the constituency to discuss issues with people face to face, Saturday saw me out and about in Caldicot and Beechwood. It was an early start but luckily nobody complained about me knocking on their door at 9am on a Saturday morning!

In the evening I attended a superb concert by Caldicot Male Choir at the Riverfront Theatre in support of St Ann's Hospice. The choir were joined by young local talent including Holly Hollyoake from Dyffryn who is certainly a star of the future.

Unfortunately due to the weather I was unable to get to the switching on of the Newport Christmas Lights. My daughter Mali was with me and it was just a bit too cold for a one year old to be outside for long. However I want to congratulate the organisers who battled through the weather to ensure the event went off successfully. Read the South Wales Argus article.

16th - 18th November 2007

Read about previous weekend activities - 9th - 11th November