David Ruffley

David Ruffley MP has today added his name to Early Day Motion 2013 opposing the merger of Suffolk Constabulary with Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Constabularies.

David said:

'Charles Clarke is forcing these reforms through in the face of overwhelming opposition. I hope that this EDM will help again to show the strong opposition to the Home Secretary's attempts to force these unwanted changes through.

'In the light of the Soham investigation there is a clear case for greater co-operation between forces but this does not require costly wholesale mergers.

David Ruffley MP will be taking part in a sponsored walk from Icklingham to Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 13 May in aid of the Theatre Royal.

As part of the Theatre Royal's £5.1 million restoration appeal, board members Derek Blake and Simon Spence have been taking part in a 388 mile sponsored walk.

David Ruffley will be joining approximately 200 other supporters for the final leg of the walk setting out from the Plough Public House in Icklingham at 10.30 am on 13 May.

David Ruffley MP has today expressed concern at reports of the Government's secret plans to increase council tax bills on homes with attractive features and home improvements.

Government Ministers are this month revaluing local tax bills in Northern Ireland. Under their brand new system, from April 2007, local tax bills will be a set percentage of the house price and will be unlimited- like an annual stamp duty on every home.

Internal documents reveal:

HP brown sauce famously features the Houses of Parliament on its label and the announcement that its US owner Heinz wants to close the plant in Birmingham and move production to Holland has prompted an Early Day Motion amendment from Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley.

The sauce has been made in Birmingham for 103 years and the move will result in the loss of 125 jobs. As a consequence, David Ruffley MP is calling for HP to be removed from the Parliamentary Estate and replaced with a British sauce, made in Bury St Edmunds.

David Ruffley MP has today welcomed the news that St Edmundsbury Borough Council will be offering a £50 Council Tax credit to people installing cavity wall insulation via a British Gas scheme.

At present £1 in every £3 spent on heating is currently wasted by the 10 million British homes with insufficient insulation, according to the independent Energy Saving Trust (EST).

David Ruffley MP has today expressed his concern at the news that Suffolk has the second worst rape conviction rate in the whole Country.

In Suffolk only 1.6 percent of rape cases lead to a conviction. This compares to 5.39 percent in England and Wales as a whole and 13.79 percent in Northamptonshire, the best performing police authority area.

The figures were revealed in a report from The Fawcett Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System which was published this week.

David Ruffley MP has today as expressed his concern at the findings of the Mental Heath Foundation report 'Cheers?' which examines the relationship between alcohol and mental health.

The report reveals that nationally the number of hospital admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of 'mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol' has risen by 25 percent since 1995/96.

David Ruffley is the guest speaker at a meeting of the Stowmarket Chamber of Commerce on Friday, 21 April at 12.30 p.m. at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket.

David will speak to Chamber members about his vision for the future of Stowmarket and the local and national economy, including the effect of Gordon Brown's recent Budget on local businesses.

In turn, David will receive an update from the Chamber on the progress being made to regenerate Stowmarket.

David Ruffley MP is writing to all the headteachers in the Bury St Edmunds constituency asking for their feedback on the Ofsted report on 'Good School Libraries' published today.

In 2004/05 Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) visited 32 primary and secondary schools in order to 'identify and disseminate features of good practice'. The survey sought to evaluate the factors that had led to recent improvements in school libraries.

David Ruffley is keen to promote greater use of school libraries and sees their accessibility as key to promoting improved literacy.

David Ruffley MP has today spoken of his outrage at news that the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, has ignored the advice from his own department that the regionalisation of police forces will prove too expensive and disruptive.

The information has been disclosed in a leaked joint review of the options for police reform carried out by the Home Office and the Downing Street strategy unit in 2004. The report concedes that reforms are needed in the light of the Soham murder investigation but said that these are 'not necessarily facilitated by wholesale reorganisation'.