Rt Hon Stephen McPartland MP
Working hard for you
in Stevenage, Knebworth, Codicote, Datchworth and Aston

News

Stevenage railway station is newly refurbished and with new passenger lifts which were opened by Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage.

Stephen McPartland MP said, “It has taken a little longer than planned but the newly refurbished train station looks a lot better and is a massive improvement. I am delighted that the goods lifts have been replaced by fully automated passenger lifts. This means passengers with pushchairs, suitcases and mobility problems will no longer have to struggle up the stairs or wait in the rain for a member of staff to open the goods lifts. I am very proud to open the new lifts and refurbished train station here in Stevenage, but this is just another step forward as I already have more plans for further improvements.”

The lifts, which were originally for goods and required assistance from station staff, were replaced and opened in March this year but can now be used by passengers on their own. They are part of a scheme to improve accessibility in Hertfordshire which will benefit passengers with mobility issues, prams and heavy luggage.

The station concourse has also been refurbished with new slip-resistant flooring, improved lighting and sleek slate-grey wall tiles, and new retail units will be opening within the station providing an array of food and snacks for passengers.

First Capital Connect Customer Service Director Keith Jipps said, “We are delighted to have completed the lifts at Stevenage station and are grateful to Stephen McPartland MP for doing us the honour of opening them. With lifts also being installed Hitchin, Hatfield and Letchworth stations, this is a massive boost for Hertfordshire passengers who use our services.”

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Stevenage town centre was full of well-wishers as the Royal Anglian Regiment paraded through on their return from tour in Afghanistan. The regiment have been given Freedom of Entry to the town and were marking this with the parade.

Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, said, "I was very proud the Royal Anglian Regiment paraded through Stevenage and exercised their freedom of our town.  They have done an excellent job for us overseas and hundreds of local people warmly welcomed them. I saw a few mums in the crowd waving signs to their children who were in the Regiment and they are rightly incredibly proud of them. It was a fantastic day and I felt very privileged to be the Member of Parliament for Stevenage and experience such a wonderful event."

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Stephen McPartland MP is delighted to accept the role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Trade and Investment.

Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, said, "Stevenage is helping to lead the economic recovery and I am delighted to accept the role, as backing business is the best way to increase jobs. In Stevenage, the number of local people claiming unemployment benefit has almost halved over the last four years and the figure now stands at 3%. There is still much more to do, as I want to help everyone locally, who can work, into work. I am looking forward to learning from and supporting the Minister in his role, so we can create even more job opportunities."

Lord Livingston is the Minister of State for Trade and Investment and leads on Foreign & Commonwealth Office relations with British Business. Lord Livingston was Chief Executive Officer of BT Group from 2008 until 2013.

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Stephen McPartland Member of Parliament for Stevenage, joined TV presenter Kate Bellingham and Nigel Fine, Chief Executive of the IET to officially open the Da Vinci Studio School in Stevenage.

Stephen McPartland MP said, "It is amazing to see the school develop from a concept on a letter into a fully functioning facility. I initially contacted the RT Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education to request we were given the first studio school in Hertfordshire. When he agreed, the plans began to take shape, then building works made great progress and now we have a fully functional school with a Good rating from Ofsted.

"I am so proud of the staff, parents and pupils for all their hard work, which will help thousands of local children over the next twenty years."

Stephen is pictured with Adrian Hawkins, Chairman of the Da Vinci Studio School.

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, was invited to officially open this year's Codicote Village Day and judge the floats and a variety of other events.

Stephen said, "I was delighted to open Codicote Village Day and really enjoyed the day which started with watching the floats going past in the High Street. It was fun to join the parade and then make the awards to the winning floats in the main area where there were lots of different competitions and displays. With many different community stalls and funfair rides there was something for all the family.

"My favourite part of the day was the floats which so many people took part in.  Everyone had amazing costumes and a lot of work had gone into decorating the floats with so many excited children. It was a fantastic day and my thanks go to the volunteers who organised it and all those who took part to make it such fun."

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, has successfully campaigned for a change in the law to allow spare emergency inhalers to be kept in first aid kits in schools.

Stephen McPartland, who is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Respiratory Health, initiated a campaign four years ago calling on the Government to change the law. Stephen wants the law to allow spare emergency inhalers to be held in schools the existing legislation prevented schools from  doing this because they are prescribed medication. This was putting children’s lives at risk.

Following a long fought campaign together with Asthma UK, Stephen McPartland is delighted that the Government is changing the law and from the 1 October children will be able to access a spare emergency inhaler when having a potentially life-threatening asthma attack.

Stephen McPartland MP said, "I am absolutely delighted we have bee successful and I would like to thank Asthma UK and their supporters who helped make this happen. It was completely ridiculous that children's lives were being out at risk simply because of a technical point of law. It has been a four year campaign, but we have won and thousands of children will now have access to an emergency inhaler during an asthma  attack in school. I am very proud that we have made this difference and believe it will help save children's lives and reduce hospital admissions due to severe asthma attacks."

Kay Boycott, Chief Executive of Asthma UK, said, “With the support of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Respiratory Health and its Chair Stephen McPartland, as well as thousands of Asthma UK supporters, we are delighted to have secured this vital change in the law to help keep children with asthma safe at school. Asthma kills the equivalent of a classroom of children every year in the UK and every single day 84 children are admitted to hospital for emergency treatment for asthma. The Health Minister acknowledged that there is overwhelming support for this change, and it will undoubtedly be a huge relief to millions of parents across the UK.”

There are over 1 million children with asthma in the UK and every two minutes a child has a potentially fatal asthma attack. Previous research by Asthma UK highlighted that 86% of children had been without their own inhaler because it was lost, forgotten, broken or had run out. That will mean that more than 900,000 children will benefit from this change in the law as they will now have access to a spare emergency inhaler. Previous legislation meant that it was illegal for schools to hold a spare emergency inhaler in their first aid kits; even though exemptions existed for organisations like the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the armed forces.

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When Iona Kelso was a toddler she contracted a severe strain of meningitis and her parents were warned to prepare for the worst. However, thanks to the Children of St Mary's Intensive Care, COSMIC, where Iona spent several months battling against the disease, she pulled through. Iona wants to give something back and will be having her head shaved at the end of term to raise money for the charity that helped her so much.Iona, is also profoundly deaf and has problems with her balance and lives in Stevenage with her family.

Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, met Iona and her family recently to congratulate her on the commitment she is making.

Stephen said, "It was great fun meeting Iona, but also quite emotional as she will be donating her hair to The Little Princess Foundation, which makes wigs for sick children. It is a big commitment for Iona to make and is a fantastic example of someone wanting to give something back to those people who helped her so that they can help other children."

Iona will be having her head shaved on July 17th and to find out more or to donate to her cause visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/IonaKelso

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Aston St Mary held its annual Village Fete on Sunday, opened by local Member of Parliament, Stephen McPartland, who also judged the "Great Aston Bake-Off" cake competition.

Stephen said, "Judging the cake competition was great fun but difficult as all of the cakes looked good and tasted delicious. The Fete was a lovely family event and it is always great to see so many people coming together to have some fun and raise funds for local community groups. The volunteers who made it happen, deserve all our congratulations for creating such a wonderful community event."

The Aston St Mary's Village Fete and Dog Show was organised by Graham Ellis and his team. Hundreds of people attended and were able to enjoy a variety of traditional stalls and rides.

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Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, opened the Dementia Discovery Week at the Lister Hospital. They are hosting a road show about dementia, its impact and the support available to families, with the public invited to come along all week and find out more.

Dementia already affects 800,000 people across the UK – including many local people and those who care for them.  It is most often seen in older people – although this is not always the case.

Stephen McPartland MP said, "Dementia affects so many people in our area and the impact on the family is also incredibly difficult. I have heard so many heartbreaking stories and believe we must try to make our area more dementia-friendly, so we can improve the lives of those affected by dementia.  A little more understanding could make a huge difference and Dementia Discovery Week can really help with this."

The team at the Lister Hospital will be running information booths for the public to come along and find out more about dementia and the support available to them. The stalls will include the Trust's volunteers, Age UK, the Alzheimer's society, Carers in Herts and Kissing it Better, a charity devoted to making a difference to the care of patients in hospital. Staff, patients and visitors can enjoy dance displays, hand massages and the public are also invited to daily teaching sessions about the need for empathy with dementia patients and to try on an ‘age suit’ – a body suit designed to help people understand what it feels to be elderly.

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