What a wonderful change it makes to have such fantastic weather over a bank holiday. We had my parents visiting from Liverpool and we thoroughly enjoyed the delights of the area with the first race of the season at Goodwood and a day out at Dell Quay as well as shopping in Midhurst and Chichester which is my mother’s favourite pastime…..!
Last week in Parliament I spent a fair amount of time sitting on Bill Committees. This is something that goes on behind the scenes and involves a group of MPs from all parties making amendments to existing laws. Last week we extended the licensing hours across the country to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. This means we will be able to celebrate until 1am on the 18th and 19th May. We also amended the Council Tax Empty Dwellings Bill to enable local authorities in England to increase council tax payable in respect of a long-term empty dwelling and to ensure that business rates are applied fairly to businesses who have adjoining offices. Lastly an important change to legislation was passed to extend the powers of the Secretary of State to intervene in mergers which might give rise to national security implications.
We were delighted to receive another Royal visit to the Chichester area as HRH Countess Wessex came to officially open Sage House, the new Dementia Hub in Tangmere. This facility is the first of its kind in the UK and brings together all local dementia support services under one roof. The brainchild of a local charity, Dementia Support, the facility has been built with the support of voluntary and charity organisations plus the NHS Sussex Partnership and West Sussex County Council.
Significantly more people are living with dementia and this is only set to increase in the future. Most families will be affected in some way and it is estimated that one in three people will care for a person with dementia in their lifetime. The Dementia Support hub will provide support, information, advice and a range of activities to those living with dementia and their carers. The facilities are fantastic and I’m sure they will transform the lives of those caring for a person with dementia and provide much needed support at a time of great need.
We have a number of surgeries and open meetings coming up. Details can be found on www.GillianKeegan.com or to book an appointment contact Gillian.Keegan.mp@parliament.uk