Page 41 - Phonebox Magazine December 2007

Out and About with Mark Lancaster
Our local MP
Mark laying a wreath in Newport Pagnell for Remembrance Day.
Time to Honour the Covenant
A busy month but with record attendances at our Remembrance day services across the constituency this year, I would simply like to take this opportunity to highlight an area of particular concern to me that I know is shared by many others in the constituency, namely the Royal British Legions campaign to Honour the Covenant.
At a time when the UK continues to deploy thousands of service men and women to Afghanistan and Iraq I find my thoughts increasingly turning to the welfare of those service personnel who have committed themselves to serving the nation.
Having been a soldier myself for 19 years I have had the opportunity to work closely with many of these brilliant men and women and can vouch that their job is certainly not an easy one. Our Armed Forces are repeatedly put through intense periods of service during which they are away from their families for months on end and are in constant danger; all in the name of our country. So in light of the huge commitment and sacrifices that come hand in hand with the job one must wonder exactly what support is being given in return for doing this service? And more to the point what support is available to them and their families when, or even if, they return home?
Unfortunately, we are becoming all too
familiar with stories such as that of Lance
Bombardier Ben Parkinson who was badly
maimed in Afghanistan and was offered an
offensively low level of compensation in return for his valiant service. Soldiers like Ben Parkinson as well as veterans from past wars are
routinely being let down by the MoD when they are most in need of its support.
I am therefore in total support of the British Legion in their recent calls for the Government to honour the life long duty of care to Service men and women who have dedicated their lives to their country. The Honour the Covenant campaign calls for the 85 year old Military Covenant, which outlines a series of responsibilities that the Government must honour, to be taken up as the central tenet of Government’s attitude to the Armed Forces. These
responsibilities include providing a just and decent compensation scheme for the injured; providing care for the mental and physical health of Service people and giving support to bereaved Service families.
There is no doubt in my mind that those in active service and veterans alike should be honoured for the fantastic contribution they make to the security of our nation, precisely the reason why I and many others make a point of attending Remembrance Day services each year and will continue to support
our local British Legion branches in their efforts for the Military Covenant to be honoured once more.
Mr Jonny Coleman
Whilst we are honouring the achievements of others, and just to prove what young people can achieve with the right motivation, it was also a particular pleasure this month to meet my constituent, 19 year old Jonny Coleman.
Jonny by his own admission used to be a 'bit of a toerag', Unemployed, with a heart condition, suffering from depression, a smoker and a drinker, his young life was going nowhere.
Yet this month he was the centre of attention when I met him at a swish ceremony in the House of Commons where his achievement in turning his life around by successfully studying and completing his NVQs was recognised when he was announced as a winner of one of just four
national awards presented annually by Avanta, one of the UK's leading private sector employment-focused training and enterprise companies.
Still with the heart condition, but no longer a drinker or smoker and with a full time job and great career prospects, Jonny has really turned his life around by becoming a star nursery assistant at Tender Loving Care nursery in Milton Keynes Hospital. Having met him in the Commons it was then a special pleasure to be able to go and see just what a success he has made of his life by visiting him again at the nursery, he really is an inspiration for us all.
Queens’ visit
Finally as I write these words I am off to a ‘protocol’ meeting ahead of the Queens’ visit to the city at the end of the month. Having had sight of the programme I am simply amazed at just how much is being packed in to her brief trip, but more of that and a full report next month. q
Jonny Coleman and Mark at Tender Loving Care nursery in Milton Keynes.
J. G. Southall
For all your general odd jobs and property maintenance
Please call Jon on
01234 721886
07986 601273 (Carlton)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Mark Lancaster TD MP, 13a High Street, Newport Pagnell, Bucks MK16 8AR Tel: 01908 615757 Fax: 01908 618433