MPs have clashed over possible job losses in the fire service. A host of Labour MPs questioned ministers from the Department for Communities & Local Government. Teesside MP Alex Cunningham said Cleveland fire service has to deal with the highest industrial risk in Europe. 180 jobs are at risk there.
Labour Party members, councillors and MPs have paid tribute to former Stockton Borough Councillor Maurice Frankland who died last week.
Maurice worked as a councillor until just before his 80th birthday. He was one of the oldest people ever to be elected.
– Alex Cunningham MP“I will miss the man who epitomised the role of a gentleman."
Councillor Bob Cook, Leader of the Council, said: “Maurice was in many ways an example to us all – he knew not just the community in Norton that he represented, but people across the Borough.”
Alex Cunningham MP said: “I will miss the man who epitomised the role of a gentleman who had a deep interest in how he, and the rest of us, could make life better for the most needy and vulnerable in our society."
Northern MPs have pressed ministers to do more to support research and development into new clean coal technologies. Chi Onwurah, The Newcastle Central MP, claimed there were billion of tonnes of coal in reserves under the North Sea.
Carbon capture and storage technology and underground coal gasification could together create a multi billion pound industry with up to 50,000 high quality jobs nationwide. The Blaydon MP Dave Anderson praised the pioneering work being done in this area by researchers at Newcastle University….
The Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah will lead a special Commons debate at lunchtime looking at the potential for clean coal technology.
She says that millions of tonnes of coal reserves lie untapped beneath the North Sea.
– Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah“The economic potential of clean coal extends further than the direct jobs it creates in industry and the supply chain. "
Newcastle University has been at the forefront of looking at new technologies for underground coal gasification.
In today's debate Ms Onwurah will call on ministers to clarify their approach to clean coal