Your e-Newsletter from Stephen Williams MP

Dear resident,

Welcome to this edition of Bristol West eNews, a fortnightly update on my work as your local Member of Parliament.

This is the first edition of Bristol West eNews since the 2010 general election. Over the past few months, I have been busy updating my records to include the many new constituents in Easton and Lawrence Hill who are now part of the Bristol West constituency. If this is the first time you have received eNews, I hope you will enjoy reading it, though if you wish to unsubscribe, you can find out how to do this below.

This edition is slightly longer than usual, and includes information about two major national issues - the Comprehensive Spending Review and higher education funding. If you have any questions or comments about these, or any other issues, please do get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Comprehensive Spending Review

At every one of the more than 20 public meetings during the election I stressed that the next government was going to have to face tough decisions in order to bring our public spending under control. The Labour Government was over-spending on an epic scale. Put simply, for each £4 spent only £3 was covered by taxes and other revenues. A quarter of spending was being met by fresh borrowing, adding billions of pounds to the accumulated national debt every week. The banking crisis certainly made an impact but it was adding to an existing problem. The last time the nation's finances were close to balance was 2001. Interest payments on the accumulated debt will be £43billion this year. As my colleague Vince Cable warned for many years, this situation could not carry on.

The new Coalition Government has now outlined its proposals for tackling the problem. We aim to bring borrowing down from £149 billion this year to £20 billion by 2015. About 27% of this will be achieved by net tax rises and 73% by net cuts in spending. The last Labour Chancellor had suggested a 30:70 split - but he and his colleagues have failed to detail where the tax changes and cuts would have been achieved.

The Liberal Democrats have insisted that the budget cuts and tax changes are shared fairly, with the poorest being protected. As a simple illustration, child benefit is being removed from the richest 15% of families (where at least one person in the household is a higher rate taxpayer) while poorer families will receive an extra £150 a year in child tax credits. The NHS and schools budgets are not being reduced. Overseas aid is being increased. Welfare payments are going to be reformed over the next decade so that work always pays and the workless or poorly paid receive one benefit, the "universal credit." Lib Dem influence can also be seen in the reform of pensions and the introduction of the "pupil premium" - extra money for schools with children on free school meals.

If you want a more detailed note of my views on the Comprehensive Spending Review, please e-mail me.

March for Honour

At this time of year, our thoughts turn to Remembrance Sunday and the nation's tribute to our armed forces. Last Saturday morning I met with five soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Welsh Regiment. They were on the third leg of their march from Cardiff to London to raise a £1million for the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal. Along with Bristol's Lord Mayor and Lord Lieutenant we marched from the Council House to the Cenotaph. Next Sunday I will be with the city's other MPs and councillors at the Remembrance Sunday parade. Bristol has one of the largest ceremonies in the country, so if you've not been before please come down to the Centre at 10.30am. There will be serving members of the three forces on parade as well as veterans and cadets.

Working with Local Schools

Last week all three Year 6 classes from Bishop Road Primary School came on visits to Parliament. I enjoyed answering questions from about 90 children about current events such as the voting system and whether prisoners should be allowed to vote (I am in favour for most short term sentences) and how Parliament works. Lots of schools visit Westminster during the year - if you are a parent please encourage your child's school to arrange a trip!

In Bristol I visited St Nicholas of Tolentine School in Easton. The Year 6 children there had written to me about a range of local issues such as street drinking and litter. I met them after they had presented their views to the whole school assembly. I recently had the pleasure of opening the new classroom block for Years 5 and 6 at Barton Hill School. It will not be long now before the new school at Ashley Down opens. The reception class currently being held at the Cricket Club's education suite will then move across to their new school building. I continue to work with my Lib Dem colleagues at Bristol City Council to solve the shortage of school places in Bristol West.

Higher education funding

The last Labour government introduced tuition fees for students in 1998. In 2006 they tripled them but switched the payment to a deduction from earnings post graduation. In 2009 they set up a review chaired by former BP chief Lord Browne, in order to pave the way for the cap being raised on fee levels. Labour and the Conservatives went into the election supporting the continuation of fees. Liberal Democrats wanted to phase out fees over two Parliaments. As the Lib Dem shadow Secretary for Universities and Skills at the time it was my wish that the party would replace fees with a form of graduate tax. In all my speeches in Parliament and Bristol West on this issue I have stressed that I wanted to see a progressive contribution scheme for graduates and generous help for students from poor backgrounds during their time at university.

The Coalition Government agreement clearly means that both Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are having to compromise on many issues. I have been working with Lib Dem and Conservative ministers in order to influence the government's response to Lord Browne's report, which advocated a complete lifting of the cap on fee levels. The broad details of the government proposals are now agreed. The changes will start for new first year students in September 2012. Current students and graduates are not affected.

Fees will be capped for most institutions at £6,000 with some being allowed to charge up to £9,000 as long as they meet strict conditions. The fee rise is a direct result of the spending review cuts. I am deeply uncomfortable with the sharp reduction in state funding for university teaching. This has to be set against the decision to preserve the funding for science and research and to protect funding for FE Colleges and apprentices. The student maintenance budget is actually being increased at a time when many other people are seeing benefits and pay freezes or even cuts.

The better news is that the graduate contribution is being made much more progressive. The salary threshold for the commencement of payments will rise from £15,000 to £21,000 meaning every new graduate will make smaller repayments. Graduates earning more than £41,000 will have a 3% interest supplement on their repayments, making the system more progressive. I am also pleased to see a new National Scholarship Scheme for students from poor backgrounds. Details are still being worked out - I would like to see full fee remission for say the first year with universities being required to fund fee waivers for a subsequent period. I want to review all the details before deciding whether to support the government.

So far the deal is much fairer due to Liberal Democrat influence. But Labour and their friends in the NUS leadership are demanding that the Liberal Democrats deliver a freeze in fee levels, or even their abolition. This is unrealistic. It fails to recognise either the need to control spending or the fact that the Lib Dems did not win the election outright! Ask yourself whether you think Labour would roll over and allow the Lib Dems to have their way on all the issues if a coalition had been formed with them…

Social Enterprise Awards

I've spoken many times about the great future that we could have with social enterprises. These are companies that don't work to enrich their shareholders, instead having a wider community purpose while still making a profit. The Watershed Media Centre is perhaps the best known social enterprise in Bristol. It's been my pleasure to present social enterprise "marks" to the Pierian Centre in St Pauls and to the Bristol Wood Recycling Centre near Temple Meads. Last week it was the turn of Aspire, a social enterprise that employs ex offenders and homeless people on tasks such as window cleaning and grounds maintenance. See http://www.aspire-bristol.co.uk

Supporting local charities

I also work closely with a variety of Bristol charities and local branches of national campaign groups. Recently I have supported The Prince's Trust in their campaign to tell "the truth about youth" in their work with young people and previously I have met a group of young single mothers being supported by the Trust. I've also recently supported a campaign to highlight the ongoing problem of people trafficking - a modern form of slavery. Branches of the Body Shop in Bristol have been hosting a petition on child trafficking - you can read more here http://www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/values-campaigns/stop-trafficking-select-country.aspx

Promoting Bristol at Westminster

Whenever I can, I cite my Bristol experiences when debating national policy. I see it as a vital part of my role to promote Bristol on the national stage. Recently I jointly hosted a reception with Liam Fox, MP for North Somerset. We were launching a booklet and new branding to promote Bristol and the West of England. This is the area covered by the old County of Avon. We were joined by the Leaders of the four councils in the area and by many local business leaders. I also spoke at the reception of the Great Western Partnership, alongside MPs from Cardiff and Swindon. Together with the local councils we are working to improve our main line and local rail services.

Wallace and Gromit

One Bristol West famous name I was delighted to see being promoted at Westminster was Aardman Animations. The Royal Mail held a reception to mark the latest issue of Christmas stamps. This annual tradition started in 1966 and a child called Nick Park was apparently an early entrant in design competitions. Nick is now of course world famous as the creator of Wallace and Gromit who will be adorning millions of Christmas cards this year. It's great to see another success for a Bristol company.

Keeping in Touch

The coalition government has changed the face of British politics. I know that it is a time of upheaval but I also think it is an opportunity for renewal of the way we run our country and services. I also know that now more than ever it's important for me to keep in touch with you and for you to let me know what you think. Please email me or meet me in person at one of my weekly surgeries. You can follow what I'm doing via my blog at http://stephenwilliamsmp.wordpress.com or in a more informal way via Facebook. I'm always keen to come to Bristol West events and gatherings - so let me know if you want me to come along to any group that you support.

Get in Touch

You can contact Stephen Williams by e-mail at stephenwilliamsmp@parliament.uk. Please ensure you include your full postal address in your e-mail, otherwise Stephen will not be able to reply. Alternatively, you can write to either of the addresses below. If you wish to make an appointment to meet Stephen at one of his Friday advice surgeries, please call the Constituency Office on 0117 942 3494.