Earlier this month I attended the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. I’m always impressed by how many charities attend – and it’s always useful to meet them to hear what they are doing nationally and locally.
Amongst those I visited was the Cancer Research stand whose admirable ambition is to accelerate progress so that 3 in 4 people survive cancer within the next 20 years. I will do all that I can in order to help them achieve this goal.
I also visited Pharmacy Voice who gave me a sheet of statistics about the health and wellbeing of the people of Oxfordshire. One of their statistics which staggered me was that only 52% of at risk individuals receive the flu vaccine, well below the target level of 75%. At this time of year I would urge anyone reading this, who is in that at risk category, to have this jab as soon as possible. A further check I would also suggest to those eligible is the NHS Health Check at a GP’s surgery or Pharmacy. It appears that only 21% of those entitled to this free check in Oxfordshire are taking advantage of it.
This month, my mailbag has been dominated by emails and letters about adding mothers’ names onto marriage certificates. Currently, marriage certificates include the couple’s fathers’ names, but not their mothers. This is clearly outdated, and I would agree that mothers should be able to add their names. The Government is currently reviewing the marriage certificate system and will be looking at making appropriate changes. Others issues featuring this month are the TTIP free-trade agreement, changes to the Student Loan system and the Volkswagen emissions tests.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any pressing issues that you would like help with. Either myself or one of my team will get back to you as soon as possible and do what we can to assist. You can contact me on any matter at the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, 020 7219 6350 or dicksonce@parliament.uk. Email is the quickest and most reliable way to get in touch, as I keep a very close eye on my emails and can reply very quickly. I also send out occasional general interest emails about developments in the Wantage and Didcot Constituency. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please do email me at badyaljb@parliament.uk or sign up at www.vaizey.com.
Ed Vaizey MP