December Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP and published in Online Diary on Mon 11th Dec 2006

Malcolm Bruce raises local Post Office concerns with DTI minister

********************Christmas cull of rural post offices********************

Christmas is approaching fast and the Government has chosen the time of the year when post offices and the Royal Mail are at their busiest to reveal its plans for a major cull of rural sub post offices.

Royal Mail claims that the majority of post offices make a loss and it could run a viable network if it reduced the number of branches from 14500 to 4000. This would mean under 40 offices through Aberdeen and the North East.

The Government hope to lessen the opposition by limiting the closures to far less than that but it will still be the biggest closure programme we have seen.

I have just carried out a survey of post offices in Gordon and it is clear that all are facing uncertainty, which they and the communities they serve would like to see resolved.

The Government say they are subsidising the network to the tune of £150 million a year and cannot sustain this.

They add insult to injury by claiming that business has moved away from post offices because they are not competitive or people have opted to have pensions and benefits paid into their bank accounts. The reality is that while many have chosen this option millions have been pressured into doing so.

While government business has been diverted away from post offices they have been restricted in what alternative business they can transact.

There are many communities in Gordon where people use the post office in significant numbers even though the value of their transactions is small. If the post office is closed people would suffer inconvenience and in some case hardship if they were forced to travel miles for services such as posting packets or making payments.

What is needed is not just a limit to the cull but a clear future for the network in terms of income and services.

********************Ellon produces winning design for my Christmas card********************

Like everyone else at this time of the year I am preparing my Christmas cards. I send out around 1000 to people and organisations across the constituency as well as friends and family.

For the last few years I have asked local primary schools for help in designing a card according to a suggested theme which this year was "Christmas around the world".

We got entries from schools all over Gordon many of which were really well produced and imaginative making the final choice difficult.

It is done entirely on visual appeal with no reference to the age of the pupil or the school they attend.

This year the winner was Hollie Weatherby-Boon from Auchterellon Primary with a design featuring a globe with different nationalities in Santa costumes drawn in beautiful detail.

The runner up was Sinead McLaren from Kellands and third was Amy Gregor from Balgownie who also came third last year - clearly a budding talent.

There is a certificate for the winner from every school, book tokens for the top three and the winning design is printed as my card and sent out all over Gordon and beyond.

Congratulations to the winners and my thanks to all those who took part and their teachers for encouraging them.

********************Hannah's talent strikes gold********************

Inverurie swimmer Hannah Miley was successful in winning two gold medals at the world championship trials in Eindhoven.

Speaking of talent I was delighted to learn of Inverurie swimmer Hannah Miley's success in winning two gold medals at the world championship trials in Eindhoven, Netherlands. This included a British record for the 400 metres individual medley.

I am following Hannah's progress with interest as I have been delighted to meet her and her father who supervises her training. She narrowly missed a medal in the Commonwealth Games and I know is determined to qualify for the British Olympic Team, which I am sure she has the ability and determination to do.

It is talent like Hannah's that has encouraged me to support strongly the bid for an Olympic pool for the North East which Aberdeen City Council is working hard to secure.

After all if the London Olympics is to be truly a British games then facilities need to be provided all over the UK.

It may not come in time for Hannah who has to undergo training in less than ideal conditions in the early hours for fitness and stamina and travelling long distance to get training in an Olympic sized pool for simulating large pool conditions to measure her progress and timings. Nevertheless I hope her success so far augurs well for medal winning in Beijing.

********************Plenty of room at the inn in Bethlehem this year********************

As North East towns and the city get busy for Christmas my thoughts turn to Bethlehem where just a few weeks ago I sat in a magnificent hotel that has sold only two per cent of its beds.

Malcolm Bruce visits the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem earlier this year.

I was given a small gold star with a keyhole in it a symbol for the campaign for an "Open Bethlehem" which is almost cut off by the completion of Israel's so called security wall.

Bethlehem traditionally had a large Christian population but many have now left. Christmas in Bethlehem in the past has seen the town thronging to celebrate Christmas in Jesus' birthplace.

I visited the Church of the Nativity which has a symbolic star to mark the birthplace and opposite it a manger.

Of course, no-one knows the precise spot where the stable stood but this is an ancient church dating back to early Christian times and with a mosaic dating to the time of Constantine who adopted Christianity as the Roman Empire's religion.

Now, visitors are few and the economy is on its knees because the Israeli authorities insist that their security requires suffocating restrictions.

Maybe this suffering suits Hamas but it does not suit the ordinary people of Bethlehem whatever their religion.

On the first Christmas there was no room at the inn. In 2006 the rooms are empty and the streets deserted.

********************Winning pupils to science, engineering and technology********************

I very much appreciated attending the Launch of Go4Set a project to encourage school pupils to consider a career in Science Engineering and Technology.

Nine schools form the City and shire took part including the Gordon Schools and Bankhead within the Gordon constituency and Kemnay and Alford which serve the constituency.

The pupils participated in groups of six and will work together on a sustainable development design project helped by mentors who are working in companies managing projects and using their technical and scientific skills.

The idea is to enable them to see how varied and rewarding such work can be and thereby to encourage them to stick with science subjects and consider a career in industry where these skills will be well rewarded and they will be able to tackle projects which will serve humanity and the planet.

There are huge opportunities in engineering, science and technology and there are too few pupils pursuing this.

I particularly welcome GO4SET's way of giving pupils a chance to work together on a project and have contact with a mentor who is working in these sectors

If we are to maintain our competitive edge in the world with alternative energy and sustainable energy technology then we need to recruit a lot more people in to these fields. I very much hope that this project will contribute to that.