Extract from Fiona’s Speech to Sandbach Air Training Corps Annual Dining In Night, The Chimney House Hotel, February 2012“I want to be serious very serious for a moment, Air Cadets.There is a war on.  Not a physical war. You can’t even see it. But it is a very real war.  It is a war to steal the heart and soul of our nation.  It is a war to steal and waste the lives of our young

7 Feb 2012 : Column 266 9.32 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): As a member of the all-party group on combating metal theft, whose offices initiated this debate, I welcome and support the motion. We must address the widespread and growing problem of metal theft, and ensure that together we deliver a robust approach to fight this crime, which is blighting so many lives and communities. My constituent,

12.3 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Given the shortage of time, and in order to give other Members the opportunity to contribute, I will restrict my remarks to one of the topics on which I wished to speak. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) on securing this timely debate. She has made the case well for the need to address excessive drinking, particularly among the

RSA Parliamentary ReceptionWednesday 1st February 2012My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.I am delighted to be sponsoring this Reception in Parliament, today, which celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Raynaud’s and Scleroderma Association – a charity which I am delighted to have based in Alsager within my Congleton Constituency. This function was the first, which I booked with the Banqueting Office,

Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I welcome the Bill and propose to speak chiefly to clause 94, which amends section 71 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and improves ATOL protection for consumers, as I believe that these are the provisions that are of most interest to my constituents. To clarify why the proposals are so welcome, I will briefly outline the current ATOL scheme’s inadequacies that require

Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Thank you for this opportunity to speak on food poverty, Madam Deputy Speaker. Members have mentioned with concern a lack of knowledge among many people today about what constitutes a healthy diet, and a lack of the skills to create healthy meals. I share those concerns, but in the time that I have, I would like to concentrate on another skill that is less prevalent today

Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I support all that has been said by those hon. Members who have spoken today. I want to touch particularly on the importance of how we can develop the excellent hospice care that already exists in our country today. Dame Cecily Saunders has been quoted. She said that the hospice movement should have three components: care, research into good care and education of professionals

Video of this debate can be found in full at http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9674000/9674265.stm Westminster HallWednesday 11 January 2012 [Philip Davies in the Chair]North Korea Motion made, and Question proposed, That the sitting be now adjourned.—(Mr Newmark .) 9.30 am Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Davies,

4.34 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I apologise to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and to the Minister if it turns out to be necessary for me to leave the Chamber before the end of the debate.It is almost a year to the day since I spoke in this Chamber about the need for better financial education in schools. I talked about the patchy or non-existent current provision in so many schools and about the sad

25th November 2011 Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): May I, too, pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White) for the foresight, diligence and perseverance with which he has brought forward the Bill? He has already achieved much by influencing mindsets and stimulating public debate, and those involved in the commissioning of and bidding for public services have

15th November 2011 – 4.40pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): The high cost of fuel is impacting detrimentally on families, pensioners and businesses in my constituency, comprising as it does rural areas interspersed with market towns. I want to concentrate particularly on the small businesses in my constituency and the impact that it is having on them.In my constituency there are just a handful of large

Sex and Relationship Education – 25th October 201112.1 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom) for raising this important issue. I congratulate her on an excellent speech on a subject that is of great concern to parents in my constituency and across the country. I welcome her positive contribution and her constructive ideas, as

Rural Broadband (Cheshire East)4 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I will first speak about the need for rural broadband, particularly of the superfast variety, in Cheshire East. I will then go on to describe the benefits it will provide for that area and the wider region, to talk about the gaps in coverage and funding, and to ask for reassurances and a response from the Minister.Cheshire East council

5.16 pm Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): As a north-west MP, I wish to represent the concerns that my constituents have expressed to me both in correspondence and at 13 Oct 2011 : Column 584meetings. The area of Cheshire that my constituency covers lies some 25 miles south of Manchester. Over recent years, journey times to London by rail have improved and the area is now well served, with a journey

Westminster Hall17th May 2011Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I am privileged to raise the role of religious education in schools under your chairmanship, Mr Brady. A number of colleagues have joined me for today’s debate; I thank them.First, may I state that I know that the Secretary of State for Education takes very seriously the issue of enabling every child—whatever their background—to achieve

Westminster Hall4th May 2011Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Meale. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Jessica Lee) on securing this important debate. I thank her and my other hon. Friends in Westminster Hall today for all the excellent contributions that they have made.This debate on family policy comes at a particularly auspicious

Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of advice for professionals, managers and those in skilled senior roles who face redundancy and seek re-employment. A number of letters and surgery attendances from constituents in that position have highlighted common themes about how we support those who approach jobcentres for help, and they have led me to raise

28th February 20119.26 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I welcome this debate, highlighting as it has the excellent community work done across constituencies that are represented on both sides of the House. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke), who has recently returned to his place, on securing the debate and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister who has remained

20th January 2011Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Hon. Members have highlighted the importance of ensuring that we improve the life chances of children growing up in underprivileged circumstances. This is a timely and important debate, and I am glad to be able to contribute.I shall highlight two issues. First, we should recognise, encourage and support the good work that already takes place in local

17th January 2011Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I welcome the Bill as a catalyst to support, release and empower the vibrant and often untapped resources in our local communities. In recent years, many individuals and community groups have been hindered in making valuable contributions to community life by impenetrable bureaucracy and the centralised setting of priorities, or simply by a sense of disconnect

Treasury21st December 20103.10 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to highlight the need for a more co-ordinated approach to the teaching of financial capability to ensure that no young person leaves school without the benefit of that critical life skill.Financial capability can be briefly described as the ability to manage one's own finances

19th November 2010Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): It gives me great pleasure to support my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White) and his Bill. One of the main features of the debate has been the contribution of social enterprises to our local communities. We must interpret as broadly as possible the organisations that can fall within the ambit of the Bill. My hon. Friend mentioned

Westminster Hall12th October 201011.24 amFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I congratulate the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds) on securing this timely and important debate on the trafficking of human beings, and forced prostitution. I can see that it is an issue that she cares about deeply, and I share that with her. We need to recognise the fact that human trafficking, and, by

26 Oct 2010 : Column 63WHIncinerators1.30 pmFiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I am pleased, Mr Dobbin, to address this subject under your chairmanship. It is a serious one for my constituents, and my focus today is on localism.I appreciate the Minister making time to respond to the debate. I hope that he will clarify Government policy on incineration and say how it relates to empowering local communities

Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): It is an honour to make my maiden speech as Member of Parliament for Congleton. I recognise that I have much to learn as I succeed Ann Winterton who, over 27 years, conscientiously, consistently and courageously represented the interests and values of its people. I will endeavour to do the same, at least in my commitment to my constituents. My length of tenure I leave