News - Justin Tomlinson

Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 29th November

Dec 05, 2013

This week I co-sponsored a Parliamentary debate on the future of retail, with my fellow All-Party Parliamentary Group Chair for Retail, Ann Coffey MP. Growing up with my parents running shops, retail has always been a particular interest to me and it is also of particular importance to Swindon. Equidistant between Bristol and Reading and their big modern shopping centres, Swindon faces a challenge: the need to offer something different to stay ahead. There are people with influence in our Town...

Justin Backs Campaign To Get Local School Children Talking & Learning About Money

Dec 05, 2013

North Swindon MP, Justin Tomlinson, has called on local schools to get their pupils talking and learning about money, as part of a charity’s new campaign to help improve the financial capability of young people. Every primary and secondary school in Swindon has been sent free Get Money Smart posters and teaching materials by national charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), which wants to get children talking about money in the classroom. The charity’s Get Money Smart posters – for chil...

New Figures Show Start-Up Loans Supporting Entrepreneurs Across Swindon

Nov 25, 2013

Justin Tomlinson MP has welcomed new figures that show the Government’s Start-Up Loans Scheme has helped ten entrepreneurs in Swindon set up their own business. Across the country 10,000 Start-Up Loans have now been awarded, worth a total of £50 million. Of these 10,000 Start-Up companies, they have gone on to employ a further 10,000 people further boosting the growing economy. Justin Tomlinson MP, a Small Business Ambassador for the Conservative Party commented: "Because of the financial crisi...

Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 22nd September

Nov 22, 2013

It has been forty years since the principle of selective education was largely abolished in Britain, a move reinforced by the first Blair Government in the late 1990s. No doubt the motives were well intentioned, but I question the outcomes. Selection is not something to be ashamed of, but a reflection of the status of the individual, the fact we are all good at something, just not always the same things. The challenge is building an education system that reflects this, an education system tha...

Justin Delighted By Summer Reading Challenge Success

Nov 21, 2013

Justin Tomlinson MP has welcomed a report from The Reading Agency which shows that a record 810,089 children took part in the 2013 Summer Reading Challenge in libraries, a 9% increase on participation on 2012. 66,760 children joined the library to take part and 3.5 million children’s books were borrowed from libraries during the summer period. The Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s leading reading for pleasure programme for primary aged children; it runs in 98% of local authorities every summe...

North Swindon MP Welcomes New £6million Flood Alleviation In Haydon Wick

Nov 21, 2013

A multi-million pound flood defence scheme in North Swindon has been officially unveiled. The Haydon Wick Flood Alleviation Scheme has been designed to protect surrounding homes after many were flooded during heavy rains in 2007. More than £6m was spent on the scheme which will protect 118 houses, four businesses and electricity sub-station from heavy rain storms. Work has been taking place over the last 18 months, which has involved laying 4km of sheeting, rebuilding five footbridges and replac...

Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 15th November

Nov 21, 2013

Prior to becoming North Swindon’s MP, I ran my own small business right here in our Town. My office was in Stratton and I employed fellow local residents. I started with a phone line and a Yellow Pages but bit by bit, customer by customer, I built it up. This is why I was particularly proud to be appointed as a Small Business Ambassador for the Conservative Party by the Prime Minister. Led by businesswoman Karren Brady, the Ambassadors will cover the entire country. I will cover the West reg...

Justin Supports Call To Update Law For Most Vulnerable Children

Nov 21, 2013

North Swindon MP, Justin Tomlinson, is supporting a campaign to change an 80-year-old child neglect law which fails to protect children from emotional abuse. At an event held at the Houses of Parliament, Justin met victims of abuse and supporters of Action for Children, the children’s charity which is promoting the campaign. Action for Children has been working with senior legal and academic professionals to propose a new law which will make it illegal to emotionally neglect or abuse a child. Th...

Justin Donates To Charity Using New Smartphone Technology

Nov 15, 2013

Last week, Justin Tomlinson MP became one of the first people in the UK to use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to make a charity donation using a smartphone. NFC technology is a key part of the future for payments in the UK, with only a handful, to date, having had the opportunity to use the technology through a handheld device. To make this a part of consumers’ every-day lives, the card payments industry is working towards a world where payments by plastic card are complemented by the...

Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 8th November

Nov 15, 2013

Whether it is the silent pale sprawl of Tynecot, the weeping mother at watch on Vimy Ridge or the daily mark of respect at the Menin Gate, it is hard to visit the battlefields of northern France and Belgium without being moved by the sheer enormity of the destruction, sacrifice and courage that the First World War saw. A million British soldiers made that journey to fight, never to return. It was not just the fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers of ours, but men from Canada, New Zealand...