David Ruffley

David Ruffley MP has today written to Licensing Services at St Edmundsbury Borough Council in support of local residents' objections to a licensing variation application from the Queen's Head Public House in Churchgate Street, Bury St Edmunds.

The Queen's Head has applied to extend its licence for alcohol on sales until 2.30 am every day and until 5.00 am for alcohol off sales.

In addition the Queen's Head has asked that the compulsory provision of doormen on certain nights of the week be removed from their licence.

David said:

David Ruffley MP has today expressed his concern at the growing number of home repossessions in Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk county courts.

New House of Commons figures revealed in David Ruffley's written question to Harriet Harman, Minister of State at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, show that since 1997 the number of mortgage possession orders has shot up by 58 percent in Suffolk and a colossal 77 percent in Bury St Edmunds.

David Ruffley MP has renewed his calls for Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to be abolished on the day of their public board meeting which will discuss an overspend in excess of £100 million.

Based on draft accounts NHS bodies across the area overspent by a net £101 million in 2005/06.

The role of the SHA is to give financial advice, training and support to health trusts in the region.

David Ruffley MP has voiced his support for those protesting yesterday as part of the Alzheimer's Society national day of action.

The protestors were voicing their anger at the decision taken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), following a cost cutting move, to force people with dementia to wait for their condition to deteriorate into a state of confusion and fear before being prescribed drug treatments.

David Ruffley MP has today written to Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, demanding the immediate investigation into a leading surgical hand scrub, widely used by surgeons prior to operating, after test results showed it had very little effect against MRSA.

Suffolk based company Clinimax, a company specialising in infection control products, tested the leading hand scrub against their own Cleankill at two independent UK laboratories. The leading brand failed 3 of the 4 tests, using the current NHS test (PR EN 12054), while Cleankill passed all 4 tests.

David Ruffley MP has today expressed his concern at the level of business start up failures in his Bury St Edmunds constituency and across Suffolk.

David Ruffley's latest parliamentary question to Margaret Hodge, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, has revealed that over a quarter of all business start ups that began trading in the Bury St Edmunds constituency since 1997 ceased trading by 2004. Across Suffolk and the East of England the figure is even worse with 30 and 32 percent closing respectively.

Riverwalk School's play equipment, which was opened by David Ruffley MP nine years ago, has been vandalised twice in recent months.

David Ruffley has donated two much sought after tickets to Prime Minister's Questions to Riverwalk School so that they can be auctioned off to raise money to repair the recent vandalism.

David was so moved by the plight of the School that he decided to step in and offer the Prime Minister's Questions tickets which should raise a good sum of money for the School's annual summer playscheme.

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David Ruffley MP has today called on Bury St Edmunds police to issue retailers in the town with photographs of repeat shoplifters to help them prevent theft form their stores.

Local retailers used to be issued with photographs of repeat offenders as part of the Shopwatch scheme which ceased to exist over a year ago.

However, some local shop owners and managers are frustrated that the police no longer provide them with photographs of the criminals that pose a threat to their livelihoods.

Two dedicated local health campaigners, Richard Spring, MP for West Suffolk and David Ruffley, MP for Bury St Edmunds met the Rev Jonathan Ford outside Parliament yesterday to collect a petition of 1001 signatures. The petition was protesting about the unfair funding from the Government for the local NHS in Suffolk.

David Ruffley MP has today written to Chris Bown, Chief Executive of West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust, seeking assurances on the quality of healthcare at the West Suffolk following the publication of a Healthcare Commission report.

For the first time NHS Trusts in England have been asked to issue a public declaration on how they have performed against the Government's core standards for healthcare.