• North Northamptonshire Council have been in touch following the recent consultation on the proposed 'Corby Station Link' route as part of the ‘Town Deal’. As a result of this engagement, I understand that there will be changes to the route and you can find more information about this, here.
• Parliament’s wonderful Education Centre – who provide unforgettable experiences for schools, free of charge, including touring Parliament and participating in a range of activities and workshops in line with the curriculum - have been in touch to let me know that their dates for the Autumn term have been released. If you’re a teacher in a school here in Corby & East Northamptonshire and haven’t already signed up to their newsletter, you can do so, here, and will be notified when booking slots go live. Booking slots are in high demand and operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that bookings can only be by teachers via the Education Centre’s online booking portal and schools will need their postcode and URN to register. This is a great opportunity not to be missed!
• Wednesday 17th May was 'National Numeracy Day', which aims to inspire people to improve their number confidence and skills. The National Numeracy Leadership Council has a number of resources for schools and individuals to get involved, which you can find, here.
• May is 'Melanoma Awareness Month'; an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of sun-safety and to encourage people who have noticed changes in their skin to come forward to their GP, so that they can be diagnosed early. 86% of Melanoma cases are preventable, with simple steps to take to reduce your risk.
• Age UK have been in touch to highlight the resources they have available on their website, here, for advice on pensions and the cost of living. They also provide support through their free advice line on 0800 055 6112. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year.
• During Knife Crime Awareness Week this May, we reflect that needlessly carrying knives has devastating impacts, with lives senselessly lost, and too many families devastated forever. But there are steps that can be taken to prevent it. For more resources, please see here.
• I would like to congratulate the young people in Corby & East Northamptonshire starting their DofE Award, which helps build resilience, teamwork and problem solving, while helping young people realise their potential. There's a record-breaking number of you taking part in the award over the last year - now, more than ever, you're making a huge difference. Thank you!
• Royal Mail have been in touch to let me know that, following a successful trial, they are changing the way they handle items that cannot be delivered at the first attempt. For Royal Mail customers across Corby, as of Tuesday 2nd May, items that cannot be delivered, left in a safe place, or with a neighbour, will be scheduled for automatic re-delivery on the next working day. A card will be left to advise the customer of the attempted delivery and advising that a second attempt to deliver will be made. If the second delivery attempt is unsuccessful, all the pre-existing redelivery options will still be available, including requesting a delivery on a more convenient day, which can be arranged via telephone, online, or on the Royal Mail app. Full details can be found on Royal Mail delivery cards.
Royal Mail also wanted to outline that all Customer Service Points (CSP’s) serving the constituency remain open at all local delivery offices. For the most up-to-date opening times for your local CSP, please see: www.royalmail.com.
• I was very pleased to hear from the National Lottery that in Corby, Hope For Families have been awarded £8,489 of funding by the Community Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. I know this funding stream continues to provide a huge boost to some of the brilliant grassroots projects in our communities and this will be a great help in boosting Hope For Families' important work here in Corby - well done to all involved and I’m looking forward to visiting some of these projects to see the great work being done first-hand!
• The Environment Agency have been in touch following the recent publication of the Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) storm overflow data for 2022, which allows everyone to easily identify the location of overflows and understand which waterbody they impact. This data is vital in meeting the targets published by the Government last year in the 'Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan', which aims to improve the performance, and reduce the operation, of storm overflows - something I know is an issue, rightly, of local concern. This plan sets stringent new targets to protect people and the environment and will require water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history. The Environment Agency expect to see water companies work towards achieving the targets set out in this plan and EDM will be essential for ensuring that these targets are met. Localised data from East Anglia, which includes Northamptonshire, shows that 1058 of storm overflows have now been fitted with monitoring devices – up from 842 in 2021 and now covering 68.2% of storm overflows in the region. You can read the press release and further details, here. There is undoubtedly more to do, but this is important progress.
• Sadly, someone dies of bowel cancer every 30 minutes in the UK. It's the second biggest cancer killer, but this shouldn't be the case, because it's treatable and curable. Nearly everyone diagnosed at the earliest stages will survive the disease. To find out more about the symptoms and for support, please see, here.
• Royal Mail would like to remind its customers to ‘swap out’ their non-barcoded definitive stamps. Following the introduction of a six-month grace period, customers now have until 31st July 2023 to use up their old, non-barcoded definitive stamps. Following this period, the use of such stamps will be liable to a surcharge. After the six-month grace period, customers will still be able to swap their old style stamps for barcoded stamps using Royal Mail’s simple and free ‘Stamp Swap Out’ scheme, which opened on the 31st March 2022. It currently has no end date. Do check your purses, wallets and drawers to use or swap non-barcoded definitive stamps before the July deadline!
If you have anything you would like to be featured next week, please email all the details to pursglovet@parliament.uk.
Also, if you have taken any photos of constituency landscapes or landmarks, which could be featured in my ‘Community Notices’ headers, please send them in and I will try to use as many of them as possible (and credit them accordingly!), as a celebration of the fantastic place we live and work in. I know we have many budding photographers in our community and it would be great to showcase their work!