All in all the meeting was very successful at highlighting the goverment’s national agenda but it highlighted to me the importance of partnership work in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in a very hands on manner. The visit followed on from a very successful visit by Alan Johnson to the Dee Park estate where he met a number of community activists to discuss how we drive down crime in a very localised manner.

Last night the campaign and all the residents’ hard work paid off. I would like to pay tribute also to the dedication of Joan Lawrie and the Save Calcot Action Group who have raised and publicised this issue providing detailed evidence of why this planning proposal should be rejected.

David Miliband talks to Naz Sarkar before his keynote address at Labour’s South East Regional Conference. David talks about the three myths that need to be addressed by Labour before the next election.

Naz Sarkar talks to John Prescott on a recent visit to Whitley in South Reading. John is an intrumental part of the the gofouth campaign, campaigning on Labour’s record at the next election and the clear divides on health and the economy between Labour the the Tory’s.

Recently Home Secretary Alan Johnson MP visited the Dee Park Estate to hold a meeting with residents and community groups to discuss anti-social behaviour. The meeting was very positive and productive and I will be following up what was discussed. I had a brief discussion with Alan after the event.

I had the opportunity of helping to raise money for Sue Ryder Care at the Reading Pancake Race. The Race is a fantastic yearly institution with businesses and groups from the centre of Reading in conjunction with Reading 107fm and the Reading Chronicle getting together having a bit of fun and raising money for charity.

Recently I met Lord Kinnock when he travelled down to Reading and was in a meeting with me, Anneliese Dodds, Tony Page, Deputy Leader of Reading Borough Council and Network Rail.

The station redevelopment represents significant  £800 million investment for Reading and is being driven by  a strong partnership between Reading Borough Council and Network Rail. The investment will provide

Afterwards I had an opportunity to catch up with Lord Kinnock and ask him how the meeting had gone and what his thoughts were on the up and coming election.

Ed Balls, said: “Prospect School’s vocational courses and new building are an example of how the Government has invested in young people. It was right to invest in young people through the recession. Our guarantee to offer 16 year olds a place in education or training has worked in Reading. It is great news that the NEET figures have reduced from just under 10% to 6.3% over this past year in the town.

“We need to continue supporting the economy to strengthen the recovery and promote growth and jobs. The Tories refused to match our school leavers guarantee. But we refused to abandon a generation of young people like the Tories did in the last recession.”

Naz said: “It was great to welcome Ed Balls to Reading West today. He saw first hand how Labour locally are working together with the community to secure jobs and training for Reading’s young people.

“Prospect is a fantastic school. The specialist vocational building offers Reading’s young people the opportunity to get the skills and qualifications they need to get on in life and get a good job.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, visited Prospect school in Reading. He visited the school’s new £3.5 million vocational centre to hear about the significant reduction in the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) in Reading over the last year. Highlighting the Government’s guarantee to provide a place in education, employment or training to every 16-year-old last year.

Ed Balls, said: “Prospect School’s vocational courses and new building are an example of how the Government has invested in young people. It was right to invest in young people through the recession. Our guarantee to offer 16 year olds a place in education or training has worked in Reading. It is great news that the NEET figures have reduced from just under 10% to 6.3% over this past year in the town.

“We need to continue supporting the economy to strengthen the recovery and promote growth and jobs. The Tories refused to match our school leavers guarantee. But we refused to abandon a generation of young people like the Tories did in the last recession.”

Naz said: “It was great to welcome Ed Balls to Reading West today. He saw first hand how Labour locally are working together with the community to secure jobs and training for Reading’s young people.

“Prospect is a fantastic school. The specialist vocational building offers Reading’s young people the opportunity to get the skills and qualifications they need to get on in life and get a good job.

“A huge amount of work has been done in Reading to deliver the guarantee for young people and I hope Ed’s visit has kept the government’s focus on jobs and employment. Labour government investment through the recession means that Reading’s unemployment figure is currently nearly half that of the last recession under the Tories.”

“A huge amount of work has been done in Reading to deliver the guarantee for young people and I hope Ed’s visit has kept the government’s focus on jobs and employment. Labour government investment through the recession means that Reading’s unemployment figure is currently nearly half that of the last recession under the Tories.”

 The claims were made in a detailed report prepared by the non-partisan, independent, research and policy institute the ‘Centre for Cities’.

 The report concluded that Reading, alongside four other cities, had a strong private sector, high levels of entrepreneurship, a highly educated workforce and a large share of knowledge-intensive jobs. This conclusion was based on a detailed index of economic indicators for Britain’s cities (and large towns).

 Anneliese said: “I am delighted to hear that Reading has been singled out as “one to watch” in the Centre for Cities’ outlook for 2010. This report shows how a Labour council working with a Labour government can help create, maintain and sustain jobs and businesses for local people, alongside a vibrant and diverse business community”. 

 And Naz said: “It’s no accident that we have so many quality new developments in Reading- this is due to the hard work of the Council engaging with partners to get the very best for the town. It is our top priority to make sure that Reading’s economy keeps on thriving in this way.

 This report is great news but Anneliese and I will carry on working hard with the council to ensure we have policies in place to help hard working families come out of the recession”

11,943 families across Thames Valley have benefitted from Labour’s car scrappage scheme, brought in to the car industry through the recession, said Naz Sarkar, Labour’s candidate for Reading West, praising the scheme also for helping replace older vehicles with more efficient modern models.

The scheme, funded jointly by the Government and manufacturers, gave consumers £2000 towards a new car or van when they traded in a vehicle ten years old or more.

Naz said: “The car scrappage scheme, with a national take-up of 318,000, has been a major success, and has now been followed by a boiler scrappage scheme to help householders get more efficient heating systems in their homes.   It’s been part of Labour’s successful strategy to get back to economic recovery, and has also contributed to the fight against climate change.”

Naz Sarkar is pictured with Ben Zielinski a resident in Minster who bought a new car using the scrappage scheme.

Ben said” I think the scrappage scheme has been a great success helping to save the car industry. I’m glad a Labour government  has bought in this practical measure to combat the effects of the recession”