David Ruffley

David Ruffley today released a letter he received from the Chief Executive of Mid Suffolk District Council regarding car parking charges in Stowmarket.

Vitamin and mineral tablets used by local residents across Suffolk are under threat.

David Ruffley MP today signed the Conservative Party's online petition and also called on Suffolk residents to sign the petition to save the vitamins and mineral tablets used by millions of British people.

David has, in addition, signed Early Day Motion 892 in the House of Commons entitled: Implementation of the Food Supplements Directive which supports the campaign. The full text of the EDM is attached.

David Ruffley is continuing his campaign for a Onehouse school bus service.

The bus which took children from Onehouse, Harleston and Shelland to schools in Stowmarket was axed recently by First Eastern Counties following Suffolk County Council's termination of their contract with the bus company for children who are entitled to free school transport. This left many children with no bus to take them to school.

David Ruffley explained:

'The blackspot at Great Barton calls out for a camera solution. It has now come to my attention that the figures for the Great Barton area do after all meet the guidelines of four killed or seriously injured in the three previous years on a 1km stretch of road. I have written to the Suffolk Safety Camera Partnership to ask them to confirm that this data is correct, and that it is not the case, as has been claimed, that there have not been enough serious accidents to justify a camera in this area.

David Ruffley is holding a new style 'mobile' surgery in Stowmarket on Saturday, 15 May between 10.00 a.m. and 12.00 noon in the Combs Ford area.

Leaflets will be delivered in this area on Thursday and Friday this week announcing David's presence in the area on Saturday, 15 May and asking residents to display the leaflet in their front window if they would like David to call on them personally.

Bury St Edmunds MP, David Ruffley this week launched an attack on the growing transfer of powers from local councils- such as from St Edmundsbury- to regional tiers of government- like the Government Office for the East of England and the Regional Chamber. He warned that powers over housing, planning, transport and fire were being shifted to a regional level, silencing the say of local communities and local councillors.

The Central Suffolk PCT area- which includes Stowmarket and Needham Market - has been shown to be the fifth worst area in the whole of the United Kingdom for access to NHS dentists. New research says that there is just one dentist for every 5,000 people in central Suffolk.

David Ruffley is seeking confirmation from the leader of the Post Office National Consultation Team that St Olaves Post Office in Bury St Edmunds will remain open. This follows concern expressed to him by his constituents in the St Olaves area of the town.

Local residents collected nearly 200 signatures on a petition protesting against the continued cutting back of Post Office services which could lead to more post office closures. They are worried that Mr Neil Clarke, the sub-postmaster at St Olaves may be forced to close if his business becomes unviable.

Rail commuters living in Bury St Edmunds, Thurston and Elmswell who travel daily to Liverpool Street station have been told that they cannot use their tickets to travel via Cambridge while the Ipswich Tunnel is closed for engineering works from mid July.

A resident of Bury St Edmunds who has commuted to London for twenty years on Anglia Railways alerted David Ruffley to the inflexible attitude of the Greater Anglia Rail Franchise which goes by the name of 'ONE' to indicate that there is now only one operator for London's Liverpool Street station.

As a result of his campaigning and lobbying of ONE (Greater Anglia Rail Franchise), David Ruffley has received the following statement from Peter Meades, PR manager at ONE:

'We will arrange for tickets to be valid for travel to/from London Liverpool Street on services via Cambridge during the tunnel closure period.'