Stop Liverpool using taxpayers' money to grow its cruise business

I am urging people to sign the petition organised by local suppliers to Southampton's cruise industry to stop Liverpool using taxpayers' money to grow its cruise business. Click HERE for the petition.

On 15th September the Shipping Minister decides whether or not cruise ships will be allowed to start and end their cruises from Liverpool Cruise Terminal, taking advantage of a £20m taxpayer subsidy and allowing them to compete unfairly with Southampton.

If Liverpool is to compete with Southampton it should be on a level playing field and the subsidy should be repaid.

This decision is vitally important as thousands of local jobs depend on our local cruise industry. Sign today! Click HERE for more information.

Well Done Southampton Schools

Southampton schools are continuing to make fantastic progress! GCSE results this month show a 4.5% increase in pupils getting 5 A-C GCSEs including English and Maths. The figures mean that the city has met its target for 2011, with 52% of pupils hitting this standard.

There has been a step change in educational attainment in the city in recent years, with Southampton persistently out stripping the national average improvement in performance. Since 2007, on average, schools have improved by 13%; the most improved school being Upper Shirley High, which has improved by 26% over that period.

Standards need to keep going up. The government is quite rightly raising the bar for minimum standards in schools and with the improvements in performance we are seeing in our local schools I am very confident we will continue to push up results.

Click HERE for further details.

Update on Helius Consultation

Last month I wrote to Helius Energy seeking more information on their planned consultation in the Autumn. Whilst I wasn't able to get much more detail, their reply did provide some new information.

The consultation will last a minimum of 10 weeks. Helius plan to give at least 4 weeks notice of exhibition venues, dates and timings. It is planned that these exhibitions will be staggered over a 4 week period to maximum the opportunities for people to attend. I will post an update if further information comes to light.