This week, Parliament’s summer recess draws to a close, the House of Commons will sit on Monday and Parliament returns.

I am today in Rwanda on ministerial business but looking forward to a packed programme in the Royal Town when I am back next week.

Heritage week

I am very much looking forward to kicking off Heritage Week in Sutton Coldfield in a week’s time on Saturday at Holy Trinity at 11am.

I will be doing a double act with our wonder Royal Town mayor Tony Briggs at Holy Trinity.

There are plenty of events taking place in our Royal Town as part of the heritage week, with 3 open days this year all on 9th September:

The Town Hall from 9am to 5pm 

St Peter’s in Maney from 9:30am to 1pm

The Masonic Hall from 10am to 1pm

More information can be found here: Sutton Coldfield Heritage Network Events | Eventbrite and also in the ‘more info’ section of my message.

Licensing of new priest in charge at Holy Trinity - save the date

Further Holy Trinity news- the next day on Sunday 10th September I am looking forward to attending the licensing of Revd Canon Becky Stephens next week, more details below.

The Church of England has announced the appointment of Revd Canon Becky Stephens as interim priest in charge of Holy Trinity Parish Church Sutton Coldfield for a period of up to three years.

This is a half time role. Becky will continue as half time Vicar of neighbouring parish St Peter’s, Maney.

Here are the details below for those who would like to come to this important local occasion.

Internet scams, a briefing from Age UK

I received a briefing on Age UK on how my older constituents can become targets of scams on the internet and what advice I can pass on, since Sutton Coldfield has a sizeable elderly population.

Online scams are becoming increasingly common, and anyone can be a victim. Examples include fake websites, email scams or computer viruses. It can be very distressing, and the impact is often emotional as well as financial. It’s important to remember that if you have every been scammed or a target of a scam, then you are not alone and there is support available.

Advice on staying safe online can be found here: How to stay safe online as an older person | Age UK

Age UK also provide support through our free advice line on 0800 055 6112. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year.

RAAC School closures

I understand there is concern about school closures in light of recent news of schools affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

I have not yet heard of any Sutton Coldfield schools being forced to close so it is my understanding that none of our schools are affected, but I have written to the Secretary of State for Education to confirm this. I will report back on this as soon as possible.

Highway Issues in Wylde Green

A number of my constituents have written to me about issues surrounding speeding and ant-social driving in Wylde Green, particularly around Kempson Road.

Whilst this is a Birmingham City Council issue which our Sutton Coldfield councillors are diligently pursuing, I have also registered my concerns directly with BCC chief executive Deborah Cadman.

I am in Rwanda on a busy programme of ministerial business but looking forward to a packed programme in the Royal Town when I am back next week.

Every year, to celebrate the tremendous work Rwanda is doing on conservation and nature work which Britain strongly supports, I had the great pleasure - and privilege - of naming a baby Gorilla along with Idris Elba in a ceremony that takes place every year with tens of thousands of people attending in Musanze. I named mine Mukundwah - the Rwandan word for Beloved/ Loved.

Here is a picture of me with Geraldine from Mere Green - a constituent attending the baby Gorilla naming ceremony who kindly came up and introduced herself. She is also a regular reader of my Friday message! 

I later attended a Q and A session from schoolchildren at the Symposium for Girls’ Education.

Under the Girls in Rwanda Learn (GIRL) programme, the UK government’s partnership with UNICEF will keep Rwandan girls in school, for longer, and offer greater support to children living with disabilities.

In the Royal Town I am often in conversation with the churches, schools, and local charity groups on what we can do to support girls’ education in Africa, so it is a privilege to see progress like this first-hand.

Royal Sutton Coldfield Conservative Association Annual Dinner 2023

We are thrilled to launch the Royal Sutton Coldfield Conservative Association Annual Dinner 2023 this weekend! 

Our speaker this year is the infamous, lively and passionate Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP, my cabinet colleague and Minister of State for Veterans Affairs, who will be sure to provide us all with a phenomenally entertaining talk. 

Please do join us at 7pm on Friday 3rd November 2023 at Moor Hall Hotel for a wonderful three course dinner and a fantastic evening with local Conservative friends, supporters and neighbours. 

Tickets are £50 each, and tables of 10 can be purchased for £500. 

We have already pre-sold a number of tables, so please reserve your place quickly to avoid disappointment.

Tickets can be reserved by emailing ckhorrocks@yahoo.co.uk

Above: Last year our guest of honour was former prime minister Theresa May, seen here with senior royal town Tories, your Member of Parliament, and your brilliant regional mayor Andy Street. The former Prime Minister spoke to a full house in what was a very successful and enjoyable event.

Heritage Week in Sutton Coldfield

I have received the below from Sutton Coldfield Heritage Network (SCHN):

‘Dear friends

I am delighted to send links to both the programme for Birmingham Heritage Week in Sutton Coldfield and to an exciting photo competition running alongside it.

The programme has been co-ordinated by Sutton Coldfield Heritage Network (SCHN), a loose association of individuals and local societies with history or heritage interests.

SCHN has now adopted a constitution and is setting up a community group business account with Lloyds Bank.  We also have Facebook and Twitter accounts.

While this formalises the Network to a certain degree it changes nothing about the membership, which remains a non-subscription body.

As in 2022 SCHN has received a generous grant from Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust (SCCT) to support some of the events between 8th and 17th September 2023, for which we are extremely grateful.

Information about the programme for this year's Birmingham Heritage Week in Sutton Coldfield  is live on the main Birmingham site and the following link goes directly to the SCHN Eventbrite page for the Sutton Coldfield programme:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sutton-coldfield-heritage-network-50629663033

A brochure will shortly be printed for venues too.

We are also launching  a photo competition (link here: https://sites.google.com/view/schn-photo-comp/home)

We do hope you might consider participating yourselves and sending this information to your   your friends and contacts to encourage them also to take part in the competition and sign up for the events.  While some have quite limited capacity and are booking up fast, the big open days will have room for many visitors.’

#MYTOWNHALL

Your Town Hall requires donations to protect our heritage building for future use.

We are launching an APPEAL FOR £200k in order to continue to support Your Town Hall and protect it for the future community use, value and enjoyment. 

In this present situation of rising material prices, heating bills and social costs, why should YOU consider supporting your town hall? Because it is a precious historical building, an asset to the area, and the Trust needs support to keep it functioning. 

How to Support:

We are asking you to be as generous as you can, to enable the Town Hall to meet its present commitments. We are relying on your support. Every little helps ! 

Thank you! 

From all of the team at Sutton Coldfield Community Town Hall Trust and the trustees.

Donate with PayPal Giving Fund

You can read and subscribe to the Town Hall’s newsletter here: The Town Hall Presents: Summer is Here! (mailchi.mp)

UK Parliament Week

This year UK Parliament Week (UKPW) is taking place from 6-12 November.

Sign up for your free kit and explore @UKParliament and how to get involved on the issues that matter to you. 

UKPW is a great way to find out about UK Parliament and get a better understanding of the crucial work Parliament does.

#UKPW ukparliamentweek.org  

Strike Action – (26th August, 1st and 2ndSeptember) & Northampton Engineering

The RMT union has announced strike action at Avanti West Coast and 13 other train companies on Saturday 26 August and Saturday 2 September: