Every week I make it my mission to talk up our borough, as well as working to make it even better. This week I got to do that again, but this time alongside some of our brilliant businesses.
The week began with a spotlight on our engineering prowess, as Safran showcased their contributions to the aerospace sector. At an event in Parliament the Safran group demonstrated the breadth of what they do across the UK, including the Nacelles business that we are all so familiar with. This business plays a pivotal role in keeping our area at the forefront of aerospace technology, offering highly skilled and well-paid employment that I am always proud to support.
Keeping this level of expertise in our part of the world is about getting behind these businesses and working with them on opportunities to do more. Something I’ll continue to do.
But it’s also about ensuring we equip the next generation with the skills needed to keep us at the forefront of the aerospace industry. That’s something our businesses locally do a brilliant job with, working alongside Burnley College and Themis apprenticeships.
So, on Tuesday I was delighted to welcome Grace, an apprentice from HycAero, Stephen the Operations Director, and Neil from Burnley College to both Parliament and Downing Street. At Number 10 we were hosted by the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, who spoke about her passion for technical education, and thanked businesses and colleges for the work they do. And of course, we couldn’t let her get away without promising to come up to Burnley to see our new Institute of Technology taking shape at the College.
On Wednesday I met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, and Levelling Up Minister Jacob Young, to ensure our voice and our priorities are heard at the highest level.
With the Chancellor I raised vacant properties and how we should be using these as part of our mission to increase home ownership, offering ways to bring these back into use; the Colne to Skipton railway line; levelling up funding; and ways to tackle unemployment locally – getting more people into work.
And with the Levelling Up Minister we spoke about the devolution deal being negotiated for Lancashire. This could see major powers and funding being transferred from Whitehall departments to our county, and it’s an essential part of ensuring we’re not left behind as other areas get ahead. The work goes on!
