View from the House: Wera Hobhouse MP

The Parliamentary recess has given me the opportunity to visit a number of Bath schools. They are doing their utmost to deliver their best for our children and young people in the face of central government’s crippling school funding cuts. I spent time at Roundhill Primary’s after-school STEM Club. I was so impressed by the activities available over the year, from robotics and coding, to programming video games and drones. The 8 to 10 year olds were enthusiastic about what they had learned, and keen to show me what they were doing. It is so important that our education system produces young people whose skills match the needs of our tech companies in Bath, a sector that we often overlook. I hope more primary schools embrace this kind of after-school activity. Well done to The STEM Factory for this. I attended the launch of the new Stay in Bath website. This excellent initiative has been put together by Bath’s independent hotels, guests houses, self-caterers, and businesses, and if we’re talking to anyone about where to stay in Bath, this is where we should direct them. I was pleased to see that Stay in Bath and Visit Bath are working well together, with Visit Bath taking on the overarching marketing role for the city and Stay in Bath taking care of the bookings, and the visitor agenda. This looks like a really positive step for tourism in the city and the surrounding area. This month has seen the future of one of Bath’s oldest shops, Jolly’s, thrown into doubt. Whilst I appreciate that the council are in a tricky position, I hope they find a creative way to prevent a Jolly’s-sized hole appearing on Milsom Street. It’s integral to Bath’s city centre experience, and also benefits the independents near it. The Weston Ex-services Association was the venue for my latest ‘Meet Your MP’ event. It was a lively session with good attendance from local residents. It was a pleasure to be able to meet so many of you, and listen and engage with you on topics that are close to your hearts. Excellent to hear about your local community projects, too! The response we’ve had to the petition asking for the return of a proper police station in the city has been excellent. We’ve had more than 1,300 signatures so far. This is a clear indication of the will of the people. A city of this size needs the visual presence of police officers. Crime is rising and residents and visitors alike must feel safe. Please keep sharing the petition. We need as many signatures as possible. I look forward to marching alongside many of you on the People’s Vote March in London on October 20 to send a clear message to government: the people must have the final say on the Brexit deal.