Happy New Year and welcome back to the first Westminster diary of 2008.  Although I had a couple of engagements myself between Christmas and New Year it was nice to be able to close both my constituency and Westminster offices and give the staff a well-earned break.  Apart from seeing the family and eating too much I did manage to indulge my twin passions of fishing and football over the holiday period.  The light rain and reasonably mild weather meant that the Thames and Kennet were in good condition and I enjoyed several productive trips out with some of my angling friends.

The Royal’s performances were something of a mixed bag with a well deserved win against Sunderland, even if the winning goal was somewhat controversial, followed by an excellent ten man draw away at West Ham.  Like most Reading fans I fully expected to get something out of the league games against Spurs and Portsmouth but the team contrived to twice throw away the lead at White Hart Lane and then throw away the whole game against Portsmouth with yet another pointless red card.  I hope that one of Steve Coppell’s new year resolutions includes doing something to plug our leaky defence otherwise 2008 is going to be a nail biting relegation battle for the Reading faithful.

On the political front I have been pressing hard on the issue of police pay and what steps can be taken to reduce the loss of experienced police officers from the Thames Valley to the Metropolitan Police.   I have organised, a delegation of MPs representing areas surrounding London to meet the Home Secretary next month, to discuss the police pay issue and the problem of retaining experienced police officers in the South-East. 

I have received many representations from serving police officers angered at the decision not to implement the recommendation of the Police Arbitration Tribunal and I am concerned at the impact of the pay decision on retention levels for police in the Thames Valley.

I recently circulated a letter from Sara Thornton, the Chief Constable of Thames Valley, which illustrates the loss of 1,000 officers in the South East from forces adjoining London over the last five years with 75% of them transferring to the Metropolitan Police to take advantage of the extra £4,393 salary and free travel for up to 70 miles. This already serious problem could be exacerbated by the pay deal if police officers start transferring to the Met in increasing numbers.

I was pleased with the announcement by Gordon Brown at the weekend that the NHS will be giving more priority to preventative treatment in the future.  The Prime Minister wants to see a national screening programme to tackle some of Britain’s biggest killer diseases including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and kidney failure.  It is estimated that early screening could help prevent 200,000 deaths a year among the 6 million people who suffer from these diseases.   There have been huge improvements in the NHS in the last 10 years and things are a far cry from the parlous state we were in under the Conservatives with over 120,000 patients waiting 9 months or more for an operation.  There has been a massive increase in investment with record numbers of nurses, doctors and new hospitals but it is right that there is increased focus on preventing illness and diseases as well as treating them.