May I send my best wishes to you and your loved ones for Christmas and the New Year.
We always knew it would be tough to turn the country round after the damage done to it by the last Labour government, but my sense is that the public understand that as a nation we have to take the medicine and our economic policy is on the right track. We have cut the deficit by a quarter and private sector jobs are growing. The Government has also capped benefits to ensure no-one gets more than the average family can earn by working and we are bringing higher standards and discipline in our schools.
As we look ahead to 2013, we can take heart from the success of local firms like Jaguar Landrover who are leading the way in our economic revival by exporting to emerging markets which are growing fast.
There is a lot of pressure for development locally and the council has tried to accommodate the need for housing with protection of the green belt in its local plan . The proposals for a high speed railway cut both ways bringing economic growth but also a threat to the countryside.
I am full square behind a deep bore tunnel to mitigate the impact beneath villages like Berkswell, Balsall Common and Hampton. The fact that the journey time between Birmingham I nternational and London would be cut to 31 minutes means we get both the gain and the pain.
The airport also sees the opportunity to benefit from better connectivity by lengthening the
runway to enable more long haul routes to be served, but I am aware that this brings concern to those who live under the flight path . There has been a big change in the organisation of the NHS locally where GPs have been out in charge of commissioning which seems to have gone smoothly, and Solihull Borough is set to be a beacon of integrated healthcare. Our schools are performing well as always but I want to single out for praise the Academies in the north of the borough whose results are showing really significant improvement and are a credit to their staff and pupils.
Yours ever,
Caroline