Mansfield MP to press Government for best deal for emergency services

I know we all appreciate the work that the police, fire and ambulance services do to keep us safe, often putting themselves at risk on our behalf.

There was good news in the Budget with an announcement of new money for Air Ambulance services in particular which was very welcome.

And with new funding settlements due in December I thought this was a good time to make a case for Mansfield, and Nottinghamshire.

Last week I met the chief fire officer and the chairman of the Fire Authority, where we discussed the changes that they have made to make the service more efficient.

That includes plans to share premises with the police, and work more closely together around the county.

We’ve seen recently with high profile incidents of fires in Mansfield just how vitally important it is to secure this service and maintain standards, and I’ll be pressing Government to support them when they look at long-term budgets next year.

I also met with the Home Secretary regarding policing.

I emphasised the importance of law and order to the people of Mansfield and I want to rectify the formula that sees Nottinghamshire receive local funding that is below the national average.

I also repeated my call for the reclassification of drugs like mamba and spice.

Finally, I’ve been co-ordinating local stakeholders to look at the creation of a technical college focussed specifically on health, which has been used in other parts of the country, to help train new ambulance technicians and paramedics.

With a variety of staffing needs across the NHS this could be a huge boost to local recruitment.

We all appreciate the hard work that our emergency services do and I’ve been putting the case to Government for local services here in Mansfield as it reviews the situation in the coming weeks and months.