MPS in the saddle for Legion’s cycle challenge
THIS week is Remembrance week and in Parliament it is great to see the profusion of poppies on lapels. Every year there is a slightly embarrassing static bike ride for MPS organised by the Royal British Legion in Portcullis; with each MP cycling as far as they can on an exercise bike in five minutes and, in theory, trying to beat their colleagues to top the leader board. Given that I was in work clothing I am not too disappointed with my result, particularly as I was not expecting to be top of the leadership board! I managed 2.5 km and was in the middle of the board – perfectly respectable.
Every year I join different Remembrance services across South Derbyshire and I am looking forward to this year where again I will have the honour laying wreaths for our fallen. These are always solemn, beautiful occasions where we are encouraged to remember, as our American allies say, that “Freedom is not free” or as attributed to Pericles, the ancient Greek statesman, “Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it”.
On a separate note there have been various problems with the DVLA since the beginning of the pandemic with, for the first time since I became an MP, many constituents having to write in because their licence renewal was so delayed. The matter became so bad there has been an enquiry into what happened. They found that the pandemic had caused a backlog as staff worked from home, which was compounded when the PCS union chose to undertake six months of industrial action.
These strikes, which, actually collapsed due lack of support among DVLA employees, initially added 400,000 items to the backlog. At the peak in September 2021 the number of paper applications outstanding reached approximately 1.2 million. I am sure readers can imagine the impact this had on residents in South Derbyshire.
The backlog was eliminated in the summer with the Minister for Transport putting vast extra resources into new DVLA sites and many DVLA staff working overtime. I am now, thankfully, only receiving a trickle of requests for help from constituents on this issue.
This brings me to a new issue which has recently been raised with me – it seems 12,000 motorists have had their number plates cloned resulting in them receiving fines when they have not been there or being accused of driving off from petrol stations. The police are aware and I am raising the issue with the minister. West Midlands Police already have a helpful webpage up of what to do if it happens to you www.west-midlands.police.uk/ your-options/cloned-vehicles# which is useful. One problem solved on to the next – that is perhaps the true essence of being in Government!
Every year I join different Remembrance services across South Derbyshire and I am looking forward to this year where again I will have the honour of laying wreaths for our fallen.
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