My Staffordshire Update

I do hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to you all. I did wish to update you on my constituency activities as we proceed with 2025.

I welcomed the opportunity to meet with members of Tixall and Ingestre Parish Council to discuss a number of issues affecting the villages. One of the main areas of concern is persistent outages affecting telephone and internet access. I am committed to enabling the rollout of full fibre access in rural areas which is extremely important for residents and businesses alike.

Elsewhere, I held a positive meeting with the Chief Executive and Leader of Stafford Borough Council. I am keen to support elected representatives deliver the services that residents deserve, and to hold the Council to account where I believe that decisions are made to the detriment of our communities.

Moreover, I was delighted to meet with the wonderful volunteers at Stone Alzheimer’s Club. The dedicated team provide such a welcoming environment for those living with Alzheimer’s and their carers. I look forward to supporting the club to enable them to continue providing such a fantastic service.

Lastly, I am delighted that the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) recognised inaccuracies in articles published by the Daily Mail and Birmingham Live which were highly disparaging about Featherstone. IPSO concluded that both news organisations must publish a clarification after they inaccurately reported that a bus stop had been “torched”, where in reality the fire occurred owing to a lorry transporting bales of hay. I will always stand up for our villages and challenge misconceived opinions which only serve to distress residents and damage the reputation of our area.

Meanwhile, as ever, my office and I are always hard at work helping constituents, so please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to be of further assistance. I can be reached via gavin.williamson.mp@parliament.uk or by calling the office on 01785 847027.

Meeting Tixall and Ingestre Parish Council

In an ever-increasing digital age, it is absolutely vital that rural areas have access to full fibre. This is essential for businesses, those who work at home, and indeed all residents to enable them to access digital services uninterrupted.

Therefore, I have great sympathy for residents in Tixall who were without internet and telephone access for prolonged periods last year. This was due to two separate incidents in which vehicles collided with the communications box. I was deeply disappointed to hear of stories of elderly and vulnerable residents without access to services that are so important for communication purposes. It is stated that full fibre will not be rolled out until December 2025 or early January 2026.

Following a very productive meeting with the Parish Council, I have called for the Chief Executive of Openreach to investigate the possibility of bringing forward the date for the installation of full fibre, and to meet with myself and the Parish Council to visit the village and look at measures to protect the communications box that will hopefully minimise disruption to services. I will continue to work with the Parish Council and others to ensure greater connectivity for rural communities.

Raising Concerns with Stafford Borough Council

The Borough Council are responsible for a number of key local services including planning and waste collection. I am privileged to represent several areas that fall under the jurisdiction of Stafford Borough Council including Stone, Walton, Great Haywood, Little Haywood, Hixon, Brocton, Milwich, Hilderstone, Hopton, and other surrounding villages.

As your local representative, I am committed to challenging the Borough Council to ensure that residents are getting the best services that you pay for. As well as this, I raised issues including overdevelopment on our green spaces, parking provisions within Stone, and the potential restructuring of local Councils. I look forward to continuing to work with local leaders on the issues that matter most, and if there are concerns that you would like me to raise with the Borough Council, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Supporting Stone Alzheimer’s Club

Prior to Christmas, I had the pleasure of visiting Stone Alzheimer’s Club to see how volunteers are making a positive impact on the lives of those with Alzheimer’s and their carers. The club has been running for 18 years and provides a safe social space with activities including games, singing, bingo, and much more. The ‘drop in club’ takes place every Thursday from 10am until 12pm at Christ Church Centre, Stone, ST15 8ZB and no fee is charged. Further information can be found by visiting: http://stonealzheimersclub.mywebcommunity.org/

There are almost one million people with dementia in the UK and this is projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. Therefore, it is essential that we do all we can to support those diagnosed, their carers, their friends and family.

Standing Up for Featherstone

I was incredulous when in April last year, the Mail Online and Birmingham Live published disparaging comments about Featherstone. The tone of the article was appalling, and whilst I will always support free speech, I believe the articles were purely sensationalised and caused great distress to residents.

Claims that a bus stop in the village was “torched” were highly inaccurate. The real cause of the fire was a lorry transporting bales of hales which subsequently caught fire and fell on top of the bus stop. I also object to descriptions of the village as ‘grim’ and feel that language used to describe the prisons conveyed lawlessness and high levels of criminality which are not substantiated by official statistics.

As a result, I complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation, and was pleased that the Mail Online voluntarily agreed to remove the article. Birmingham Live added a correction regarding the comments about the bus stop and I am pleased with the resolution of the complaint.

Featherstone’s residents are hard-working and proud of the area they live in – I will always stand up for my constituents and work to improve the communities I am fortunate to represent.

Meanwhile, as ever, my office and I are always hard at work helping constituents, so please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to be of further assistance. I can be reached via gavin.williamson.mp@parliament.uk or by calling the office on 01785 847027.