David Ruffley

'Issues vital to the future of Onehouse such as the environment, transport and future housing developments will be discussed and I anticipate a lively and stimulating dialogue with my constituents in the village.'

David Ruffley MP is to attend a special meeting of Onehouse Parish Council where the new Onehouse Parish Plan will be presented.

The meeting will take place at 7.30pm on Friday 3 March 2006 at Onehouse Village Hall and the local media are invited to attend.

David Ruffley MP today added his support to calls for new ways to tackle climate change by generating more energy locally, through small-scale and eco-friendly means.

This comes at a time when a series of power firms have announced sharp hikes in gas and electricity bills for local households. At present, most electricity comes from large power plants and transmitted over long distances, wasting two-thirds of the energy in the process.

David Ruffley MP has today expressed his concern that Suffolk's financially troubled PCTs and NHS Hospital Trusts may be facing fines for failing to balance their books by March 31 2006.

In Suffolk our region's health trusts are heading for being £45 million in the red and could face a fine of up to £4.5 million as a result.

The cause of these fines is an agreement made in January 2005 in which Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA deferred half the debt owed by PCTs until March 2006 providing the books balanced by then.

'These improvements were vital to road safety but when a project is completed six months late and well over budget questions have to be asked.'

David Ruffley MP has today written to Archie Robertson, Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, asking for an explanation as to why the vital improvements to the A14 Rookery Crossroads arrived six months late and £2 million over budget.

David has also asked for assurances that future projects on Suffolk's major trunk road will arrive on time and on budget.

David Ruffley said:

'These figures show that Pension Credit overpayment has trebled in the last three years - from £40 million in 2001/02, to £50 million in 2002/03, £100 million in 2003/04 and now £130 in 2004/05.

'This is 2.1% of Pension Credit payments.

'Many elderly claimants potentially face a clawback of overpaid money. Government rules say 'Repayment may be waived if it would cause hardship, but hardship must not be confused with inconvenience.' (see note 2 below)

David Ruffley MP has urged his constituents to show their support for Fairtrade produce during Fairtrade Fortnight which runs until 19 March.

To mark Fairtrade Fortnight David has ensured that Fairtrade Tea, Coffee, Sugar and snacks are available to his Constituency Office Staff and has encouraged other workplaces to do the same.

• Sales of products with the Fairtrade mark are now running at £200million a year.

• Over 1500 Fairtrade products are now available, an 80 percent increase on 2005 when 850 were available.

David Ruffley MP has today requested quarterly updates from the Highways Agency Chief Executive, Archie Robertson, on the Haughley New Street improvements to the A14.

The most recent agency project on the A14, at the Rookery Crossroads, has arrived six months late and £2million over budget. David Ruffley is determined to see better management of the Haughley New Street improvements to Suffolk's major trunk road.

David Ruffley MP will be speaking at the official reopening ceremony of Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre on Saturday 18 March.

Since the Leisure Centre opened in 1975 it has twice closed due to fire damage. In 1980 it burnt down in a suspected arson attack and it was badly damaged again in 2004 in a fire caused by an electrical fault.

David Ruffley MP will be visiting the St Matthew Housing (SMH) Malthouse Project in Elsey's Yard, Bury St Edmunds on Friday 17th March 2006.

SMH provides housing and support for homeless people or the inadequately housed across East Anglia.

'This merged monstrosity will move police resources from rural areas to the region's city crime hotspots'

David Ruffley MP has reacted with concern to the news that Suffolk Constabulary is to be merged with Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Constabularies.

In December of 2005 Suffolk Constabulary declined to volunteer for amalgamation and instead submitted that, if force to merge, they would prefer to join with Essex and Norfolk rather than with all six counties in the Eastern Region.