The week, designed to ensure that residents across the Fylde coast have access to the best possible free advice, takes place between March 5th to March 9th.

Advice Week, assisted by the Big Lottery Fund, will see sessions taking place across the region to help people with housing, employment, benefit and care issues.

Mr Menzies, Member of Parliament for Fylde, will also be holding a surgery of his own on March 9th.

He said: “Advice Week is a tremendous idea and I am sure people will seize the opportunity to look for help.

“There are a number of terrific organisations like Citizens Advice Bureau, Advice Link, the Welfare Rights Service, Age UK, Care and Repair, Disability First and Help Direct involved with MPs also keen to assist.

“Free advice is available and people should not suffer in silence.”

All the organisations listed will be available at various times and appointments and home visits may be available where needed.

Pam Cochrane Advice Link Coordinator added: “This annual event is possible thanks to The Big Lottery Fund and the goodwill and expertise of local advice agencies reaching out to local people.

“Even if you cannot get along to an appointment or drop in please get in touch and the Network will make sure you get access to the advice you need.”

More details on times and locations of advice clinics are available at www.advicelink.org.uk.

You can also call Help Direct on: 0303 333 1111 or Advice Link on: 01253 476843.

To book an appointment at one of Mr Menzies’ surgeries please call 01253 729846.

But, with important discussions in on BAE Systems’ deal to try to sell Warton’s own Eurofighter Typhoon to India, there was no time to think about that.

Along with my colleagues Nigel Evans, Jo Johnson, Priti Patel and Ben Wallace, I was there to urge the PM to do everything he could to support Warton workers, by ensuring the Government leaves no stone unturned in their diplomatic efforts.

A very professional and focused discussion took place and I left feeling confident that, while the French firm Dassault may have the upper hand at present with their Rafale aircraft, no deals have yet been done and this remains a competition.

Germany, part of the four nation consortium who have produced Typhoon, are the lead nation in the India bid, just as we have led the Saudi one.  I believe its vitally important we do everything we can to both offer them our support and, in turn, urge them to maximise what they can do to make the Typhoon attractive to the customer – the Indian Government.

This was one of the main points I tried to put across to the PM who, I must say, displayed a very detailed knowledge of the aircraft itself as well as the ins and outs of the bidding process.

Determined and resolute in his mood, he told us that both himself and British Ministers have made numerous visits to India since the coalition came to power and stressed that excellent diplomatic links were being formed. These will be put to good use in the coming months.

Defence Minister, Gerald Howarth, reiterated that promise when I met with him prior to the Downing Street meeting.

Price, of course, is a key issue and, if reports are to be believed, the French are ahead in that area.

But price alone must not remain the only factor under consideration, I stressed, and we must do all we can to point out the benefits of Typhoon, which experts tell me is the strongest aircraft in its class.

Following today’s meeting, I’m thoroughly reassured about the UK’s commitment. Now it’s up to the four nation consortium to step up their efforts and fight for the deal.

While this is just one of many export possibilities for Typhoon and may not directly impact jobs at Warton, we must strive to maximise the opportunity to promote Fylde’s flagship product

FOR MORE ON THIS STORY VISIT

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/business/pm_s_pledge_to_bae_s_workers_1_4268251

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/cameron_will_fight_for_lancs_jet_contract_1_4267189

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/303475/David-Cameron-fights-to-save-7bn-jet-deal-with-India-

Mr Menzies, and a number of colleagues, will be at Downing Street to stress the importance of the deal and Government trade support.

It follows announcements in India that the French jet, the Dassault Rafale had secured “preferred bidder” status with the Indian Government in the first round of bidding.

Mr Menzies, however, insists the Warton-built Typhoon is the best aircraft in its category and says the fight for the deal is far from over.

Mark Menzies MP said: “I am delighted the Prime Minister has agreed to meet with me and and my colleagues to discuss this important deal.

“As I have said on a number of occasions I feel there is still a great deal that can be done to push forward the case for the Typhoon.

“Military experts tell me the Typhoon is by far the best aircraft in its class thanks to the tremendous work of BAE employees in my constituency.

“I have, in the last couple of weeks, been talking to senior figures at BAE, in the Government and in the industry to press the case.

“It is clear the Prime Minister, who has visited India personally, is as keen as I am to help to secure a deal and we will discuss this in greater detail on Monday.”

Ben Wallace, Nigel Evans, Lorraine Fullbrook and Pritti Patel are also expected to attend the meeting.

But this week I have a personal nomination of my own – the group of A-level politics students I went to visit at Lytham St Annes High School last week – are my youngsters of the year so far.

As part of a question and answer session on the workings on Government they showed a detailed knowledge and great enthusiasm for the subject, asking about everything from the mysterious workings of the whips office to Scottish independence.

They were a great credit to their teachers and the school headmaster, Philip Wood, and certainly dispelled the myth that young people aren’t interested in politics.

In fact, their spirited campaign regarding 20mph speed limits outside the school, has led me to table a number of parliamentary questions to the Secretary of State for Transport, which will hopefully provide them with a positive response.

The session was part of a busy week which included meetings at County Hall with senior executives to discuss progress with the vital Enterprise Zone at BAE Warton and the work of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, a constituency surgery and a number of helpful briefings on defence and energy issues.

I have also continued my work on boosting retail following on from Mary Portas’ review into breathing life into the nation’s high streets.

Even before full details of the Portas review came to light, people from Kirkham Chamber of Trade contacted me to ask how they could become involved.  A successful bid to the Department for Communities and Local Government would allow the town to be one of the places selected to pilot some of the initiatives put forward by the review.

I have since been keen to hear from other Chambers of Trade who are interested in this great opportunity.

And finally, following a meeting with the PCS union which represents the thousands of DWP workers across the area, I am pressing the Government to urge them to consider locating the work created by the introduction of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment on the Fylde coast.

I believe we have a tremendously skilled civil service workforce here on the Fylde coast who could really help to implement some of the Government’s important welfare reforms and I will do everything I can to make sure they get the chance.

The meeting, on 16th February at HSBC’s Commercial Banking Centre on Caxton Road, Fulwood, Preston (PR2 9NZ) takes place between 11.30am -2.00pm and will feature a number of successful exporters who are willing to share tips and advice.

They include Michelle Clarke, head of Talent Dynamics, who has taken her coaching and profiling business across the globe and is currently working in territories such as Australia and Japan and Kevin Moseley of SwimFin.

A spokesman for North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce who organised the event, said: “There’s a huge support network available to potential exporters, you won’t be going it alone. Take a hour or two to see how we can help you sell more.”

And this week I got a taste of that firsthand at a little known facility in St Annes and at two special events in London.

Richard Peck House is the gleaming red brick building on the corner of Clifton Drive North and St Thomas’ Road. 

Like me you’ve probably passed it on a number of occasions but not known exactly what it does.

Inside it is a terrific place which provides welfare breaks for RAF families and others with Forces connections.

A tardis-like complex, the house has facilities to rival a good standard hotel.

However, it is paid for almost entirely by the RAF Association which, through its membership, provides outstanding amount of support for the home which can make an enormous difference to veterans, their loved ones and Forces widows.

It gives welcome respite and a holiday to deserving people who have served our country and I’ve offered to support and help promote their work in the future.

I was also privileged to host 10 soldiers from the King’s Royal Hussars in Parliament on Monday.

This was a huge honour and, again, the camaraderie of our Forces community came shining through.

The men told me about their work and said they were soon to embark on another tour of Afghanistan.

I’m sure you will join me in wishing them a safe and successful mission.

And finally, I’m not a regular theatre goer but a friend urged me to visit the Theatre Royal on Sunday to take in a show – The Two Worlds of Charlie F.

This was no ordinary show, however.

It was produced, acted and organised by the Bravo 22 Company, an organisation which puts on productions by injured or sick service personnel who are currently recovering from their injuries and another excellent example of the support network’s being created by volunteers for our armed forces personnel.

With no Local Plan – a key document setting out housing priorities – yet in place in Fylde, residents and parish councils in rural areas contacted Mark Menzies MP to express concern that developers could target rural, countryside areas for house building.

Many people told the Fylde MP that they wanted to be sure that countryside areas would be protected.

As a result, Mr Menzies wrote to planning Ministers to put forward their views.

But he has now gone one step further, asking planning minister, Greg Clark, to promise residents that they would not be unduly affected as they wait for Fylde’s local plan to be drawn up.

Speaking at Department for Communities and Local Government questions, Mr Menzies asked: “Given that the Fylde Borough Council local plan will not come into force for some time, what assurances can my right honourable friend give me and my constituents that we will not see a stampede of planning applications in the meantime?”

In his reply, Mr Clark urged the council to press on with their local plan and promised that transitional arrangements would be made for councils without a local plan.

More detail on the transitional arrangements is set to be revealed soon in guidance letters to local councils.

We’ve seen this in St Annes, Lytham and Kirkham with some prime shop units lying empty as businesses struggle to keep going.

But we have so many wonderful small businesses in Fylde that it’s important not to be gloomy.

There are thriving, independent stores throughout the area with tremendous niches, loyal customer bases and, I dare say, very decent bottom lines.

So, with high streets in focus due to the recent findings of the Portas review, I spoke out last week during a debate on the review, to call for a number of measures which could help British high streets.

The suggestions I put forward were all based on feedback from Fylde businesses at surgeries and in my postbag and included tackling inflexible landlords by coming to arrangements whereby start up businesses are not tied in to long-term leases which could prove problematic.

This would give young entrepreneurs the chance to give their businesses a go without facing huge long term rent liabilities if things don’t work out.

Another proposal was bringing in sanctions to allow communities to deal with eyesore empty shops which damage our high streets; after all, imagine if your business was situated in the shadow of an abandoned, rundown shop – it doesn’t exactly help to pull in customers.

I also raised the issue of competition between charity shops and businesses.

Local business people from all over Fylde have suggested to me that they are having problems with direct competition with charity shops who, of course, benefit from favourable business rates and, often, the free labour of volunteers.

Businesses who sell similar products to charity shops nearby them will sometimes feel this puts them at an unfair disadvantage.

Now, I appreciate the fantastic work charity shops do. Indeed I recently spent time volunteering at a shop in Kirkham and was hugely impressed so this was not an attack on charities.

I simply wanted to highlight what businesses in our communities are feeling.

Finally I suggested that the recommendations of the Portas review, which can be found at www.bis.gov.uk, are trialled on high streets.

I’m sure Fylde shop owners would jump at the chance.

Mark Menzies, who spoke out against the cuts which were set to see around 20 per cent slashed from the budgets of stations such as BBC Radio Lancashire, said the move was “vital” to protect public service broadcasting and local journalism.

BBC Trust Chairman, Lord Patten, said on Wednesday a consultation over the proposal has raised “real concerns” over the effect they could have on local output.

Mr Menzies, who is Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the BBC, said: “I welcome this decision.

“As I said in my response to the consultation, the work of BBC local radio stations is vital, particularly on a public service level in terms of the community aspects they promote.

“I also felt the way the cuts were organised, with Radio 4 being protected while already stretched local stations were bearing the brunt, was disproportionate.

“I will continue to monitor this situation closely in consultation with staff at the BBC, who were very concerned about their jobs, and look forward to seeing more detail about how this decision will affect them.”

The trust has now asked that plans for local radio stations to share their afternoon shows with neighbouring areas are “scaled back”.

Staffing levels, which had been expected to be significantly reduced, may now be better protected.

Other BBC programming, such as the regional investigative programme Inside Out and current affairs broadcasting on Radio 5 Live, are also expected to see cuts in their budget reduced as a result of the consultation.

As well as personally submitting a response to the BBC’s consultation, entitled “Delivering Quality First”, Mr Menzies also raised his concerns with BBC Director General, Mark Thompson.

In his submission he highlighted the excellent reporting standards of BBC local radio journalists as well as their work in highlighting “Big Society” community and charity causes.

The BBC is looking to make savings of around £670m over the next five years as part of the corporation’s restructuring.

The 101 number is being rolled out across police forces in England and Wales to help members of the public contact the police when they need them.

Ministers and police chiefs hope the new number will help the police deal with calls more efficiently and cut down on non-emergency calls to the emergency 999 number.

Mr Menzies said: “In the various meetings I have attended with members of the public in relation to policing one of the recurring questions from members of the public has been: ‘What is the best way to get in touch with my local policing team about a non-emergency issue.

“People, and particularly those who do not have access to the internet, do not always know the number for their local station.

“I think the 101 number is a very good idea and I hope it will make it much easier for the public to pass on non-emergency messages to the police and leave the 999 lines free for vital emergency calls.”

At 15p per call from both mobile phones and landlines, no matter how long the call or what time of day, the public will be spared the cost of traditional 0845 numbers previously used by many forces which can cost up to 40p per minute.

With only 25 per cent of 999 calls to the police requiring an emergency response, ministers and chief constables are confident that the 101 number will also ease pressure on 999 services.

Police forces in England and Wales have gradually gone live with 101 on a phased basis. The last of the 43 forces have now adopted the number and it is already proving popular with more than two and a half million calls.

Nick Herbert, Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, added: “Previous plans for a national non-emergency number never materialised, but this Government has delivered a practical scheme.”

And Commander Ian Dyson, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead on contact management, said: “Having just two phone numbers – 101 for reporting a crime that has happened, to get advice or to raise local policing issues – or 999 if it’s an emergency, makes calling the police a lot easier and makes our services more accessible.”