David Ruffley

David Ruffley will be meeting pensioners in his constituency at the invitation of Age Concern on Friday, 14 March. The meeting is being held at 12.00 noon in the Friends Meeting House in Bury St Edmunds.

The meeting was arranged as part of the 'Voice and Choice' initiative developed by Age Concern. This aims to develop the confidence, knowledge and skills to enable older people to play a greater part in decisions that affect their lives.

David Ruffley MP will speak to members of the Bury St Edmunds and District Christian Youth at 7.30 p.m. on Friday, 14 March at Garland Street Baptist Church, Bury St Edmunds.

Bury Christian Youth (BCY) has been in existence for over twelve years. BCY Staff are regularly invited to middle and upper schools in the area. Assemblies are a regular feature but they are also involved in many lessons and conferences about religious and ethical issues.

David Ruffley is meeting Steve Cook, Chief Executive of the Havebury Housing Partnership, together with Karen Mayhew, Director of Housing, David Hall, Director of Finance, and Mike Dawson, Acting Director of Environmental Health and Housing at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, on Friday, 14 March.

David will be briefed on Havebury's progress since the St Edmundsbury housing stock was transferred to Havebury last year.

Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley has thrown his weight behind the Rugby Football Union's bid to stage the 2007 Rugby World Cup and bring international rugby to the town's Southgate Green ground.

The RFU's innovative plan is for a 20-team World Cup and a simultaneous 20-team Rugby World Nations Cup for emerging countries.

Bury's The Haberden has been selected as a potential venue to host a game between two of the up-and-coming sides.

David Ruffley MP today warned that council taxes were soaring by four times the rate of inflation across St Edmundsbury and Mid Suffolk. Conservatives, nationally, have launched an online council tax calculator to allow the public to search by postcode how much council taxes have soared since 1997, and unveiled a 'virtual poster' for download on the internet. (www.conservatives.com/counciltax)

Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket MP pledges to fight to protect local environment

Responding to the publication of new 'Communities Plan' by the Government, David Ruffley MP warned that Whitehall-imposed building targets would lead to the loss of green spaces and Green Belt across the county. Research suggests that Suffolk already faces the dumping of 29,150 new buildings on green fields. On top of this, parts of the South East, East of England and East Midlands, now face additional house building targets, offset by communities in the North having housing torn down.

David Ruffley has today written to the Chief Executive of Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority, Mr Peter Houghton, to ask for information about how NHS Cancer Plan money is being spent in his constituency.

David said 'I have been involved in an ongoing campaign to ensure that Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket receive adequate funding for Cancer patients. Extra funding obviously is crucial but so are the practical steps that are introduced to ensure that the funding is spent properly.

David Ruffley is supporting the Rugby Football Union bid for the Rugby World Cup in 2007. He has signed Early Day Motion 137 in the House of Commons congratulating the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for submitting a bid that requires no government funding.

In parallel with the World Cup, the RFU proposes to run an innovative Rugby World Nations Cup which will involve 20 teams from developing rugby nations. Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club has been selected as one of the two clubs in the Eastern Region as a venue for this parallel event should the Rugby World Cup bid be successful.

David Ruffley MP will welcome Andrew Crawford MYP and his Deputy, Marcus Broughton, to the House of Commons on Monday, 24 February.

Andrew Crawford, aged 16, lives in Bury St Edmunds and is a student at West Suffolk College. He was elected MYP for the Bury St Edmunds area in the recent Suffolk elections for the Youth Parliament.

David Ruffley will be meeting members of the local clergy at Christ Church, Moreton Hall, on Friday, 28 February. It is being held there at the invitation of the Reverend Jonathan Ford.

David holds regular meetings with church leaders from all denominations in his constituency.

The main topic for discussion on Friday will be the war with Iraq