Michelle Donelan Mp

The engineering sector and STEM careers fail to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds and women. We must challenge perceptions and stereotypes to address our productivity crisis. In September I am hosting Wiltshire's first Festival of Engineering, to inspire the next generation of designers and engineers from all backgrounds and genders. Yesterday I asked the Secretary of State for Education if she would be interested in attending the event http://festivalofengineering.com/

Yesterday I spoke in an Urgent Question asking about delays in the Government implementing Fair Funding for Wiltshire Schools. Last year I coordinated a petition signed by around 8,000 local residents who shared my concerns that the current way that schools are funded is ludicrous. The system has lasted for decades and led to a situation where Wiltshire pupils receive over £2,000 less than pupils in the best funded areas. I asked the Secretary of State to recognise the optimism that the schools in my Chippenham constituency felt when a fair funding formula was announced and to confirm that she remains committed to the pupils in Wiltshire who have lost out for too long. I am concerned that delays will cause uncertainty for local schools when it comes their funding and will work to ensure that there is clear information sent to schools as soon as possible.

WILTSHIRE Police have closed an investigation into Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan, having found no evidence that she broke General Election spending rules. An investigation was launched following reports by the Daily Mirror and Channel 4 that Conservative MPs failed to declare expenses regarding the party's Battle Bus, which visited constituencies during the General Election last year. Police concluded that the Battle Bus in question did not visit Chippenham during the election campaign, despite receiving a number of complaints from members of the public.

This morning I appeared on the Victoria Derbyshire show with two other members from my intake. I spoke about my excitement for us building on Cameron's legacy under Thersea May by tackling inequalities head on and helping improve life chances. I also addressed the speculation that she might adhere to a 50% gender quota for her cabinet. I must say that I find this suggestion preposterous and demeaning to women - capable and competent women. Theresa May herself is our new PM because of her determination, efforts and skills and I am sure she will promote a range of very skilled people including a large selection of very talented women. Maybe this will reach 50%, maybe more or maybe less. However as the party that has delivered the only two female Prime Ministers I do think we have proved that the answer lies in encouragement and quality, not in quotas.

Last week I once again raised the issue of Corsham station with the Rail Minister. I asked if the Department of Transport has looked into the potential impact on tourism and thus economic benefit to the region of re-opening the station. I will continue to ensure that this remains a priority and I have been working hard as part of the Corsham Town Station Team to get the station opened.

This week in Parliament I raised the issue of electric cars again and how important they are for our economy, environment and local businesses. A higher uptake of electric cars offers one way to help tackle Bradford on Avon's air pollutions problems from the traffic congestion. There are currently issues in terms of the initial high cost and having enough charging points and these do need to be addressed so they are more accessible and practical. The UK manufactures 1/5 of all purely electric cars sold across Europe. The sector offers massive economic opportunities for the UK and locks businesses so it is is vital that we are at the forefront of this technology. I pushed for the Government to invest in R&D in the sector and will continue to push for more.

Contributing to the debate on the policy that means parents can be fined for taking their children on holiday in term time. I want a smarter policy which places the trust in teachers and parents with the Head evaluating the child's age, stage of learning, absences to date and academic needs to assess if the holiday would be beneficial overall. Travel is an excellent source of education and a lot of families can not afford to go away during school holiday time, meaning that the policy often punishes the socially deprived. Teachers need to be trusted to grant a sense or not on a case by case basis after all we are trusting them to educate and safeguard our children everyday.

Yesterday a former member of my staff was verbally abused and attacked whilst out shopping in London, because of the colour of his skin. He was chased down the road by a lady shouting about how we had ‘voted out’ and that people like him ‘shoot others’ and ‘blow up people. I asked the Prime Minister to reiterate the committment he has already given this morning, to do everything in his power to eradicate this evil hatred and reiterate that leaving the EU should not be used to breed racism but infact the opposite and provide us with an opportunity to be much more international rather than just european. #pmqs

Today I spoke about the importance of raising the profile and awareness of carers. Fundamentally there is still a lack of understanding about the role of a carer and the support that is available especially for pensioners. I mentioned the fantastic local charities that we have including Carer Support Wiltshire, The Independent Living Centre and Fun For All. I also stressed my support to include young carers in the criteria for Pupil Premium. It is extremely hard to be a carer at any age but struggling to cope whilst trying to grow up and study must be unimaginably difficult and place a great deal of emotional pressure on young careers. The pupil premium aims to help level the playing field – it is time we made sure young carers are on the pitch too

Yesterday I asked the Chancellor about the importance of working with our business community, to tackle our productivity gap and especially to ensure that we have a skilled workforce in engineering and design & technology to further boost our economy.

#Queen #Speech

#MichelleDonelan #Parliament #DECC #AmberRudd

#bbcwiltshire