Dr Phillip Lee, MP for Bracknell has welcomed the news of a 10-year deal between Royal Mail and the Post Office, securing the future of services without resorting to the failed closures programme which dominated Labour’s time in government.

The deal follows the Government’s other measures to protect Post Office services including additional funding, new local and national contracts, a successful piloting scheme to transform many local post offices and improvements in the services offered. The Post Offices in Bracknell include: High Street Post Office, Windlesham Road, Harmanswater, Great Hollands, Birch Hill, Priestwood, Easthampstead, Crown Wood, Binfield, California Sub, Sandhurst Street and Crowthorne Station Post Offices.

 Dr Lee commented: “In opposition Conservatives campaigned tirelessly to overturn Labour’s cuts to our Post Offices, which saw them close over 6,500 in a decade. The Government’s announcement means the future of the Post Office is secured guaranteeing this valuable service for the people of Bracknell constituency.”

Constituents can quiz Dr Phillip Lee MP for Bracknell when he holds his third public question and answer session on Thursday, 2^nd of February 2012. The meeting will take place in Sandhurst at the Town Hall and will start at 7.45pm. It will be followed by a trip to the pub, of which the location will be announced at the event.

Dr Lee holds quarterly meetings, rotating around the entire constituency Bracknell, Crowthorne, Sandhurst and Finchampstead. The aim of these sessions is to increase the opportunities for his constituents to come along and engage in political debates.

Dr Lee commented: “Both of my previous public question and answer session were very successful and I am hoping that more people will attend this time in Sandhurst. I would like as many people as possible to engage in politics.”

Dr Phillip Lee MP for Bracknell spoke at the Future of Town Centres and High Streets Debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday 17^th of January 2012 about the ongoing town developments in Bracknell.

Bracknell is at the geographical heart of Berkshire. Bracknell Forest Council and Bracknell Regeneration Partnership are jointly working on ensuring the town centre regeneration occurs as quickly as possible. The new 36,000 sq ft Waitrose store build by the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (jointly owned by Schroders and Legal & General) opened in November 2011 and is the perfect first evidence of this. Waitrose is already acting as a catalyst attracting much interest from retailers in coming to be part of the new regeneration which is planned for the town centre.

The next phase of the regeneration will include new office, residential units and car parking and the £2m transformation of the existing entrance to Princess Square Shopping Centre. Dr Lee also pointed out the importance of attracting cultural activities such as a theatre, cinema or museum. For a sustainable town regeneration plan, Dr Lee pointed out the need to consider public transport, including links with Crossrail.

Dr Lee commented: “The debate gave me an opportunity to speak about ongoing town developments in Bracknell, which I celebrate and support. [...]In the next couple of months there will be a presentation by the Bracknell regeneration partnership announcing the next stages of the town development. Originally it was going to be a £1 billion development to happen in one go, but economic reality means that it has been broken down into a series of developments. I have every confidence that it will be completed by the end of this decade.”

He added: “The town’s sustainability and its contribution to the long-term health and happiness of all my constituents are of paramount importance to me.”

See full debate from Hansard here
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120117/debtext/120117-0002.htm#12011754000178

The long parliamentary campaign to bring mobile coverage to rural areas ended in victory today, as OFCOM finally announced proposals to increase broadband coverage to an estimated 98% of the UK population.

Traditionally, up to 6 million people in Britain have been excluded from good mobile coverage, particularly in rural areas. (Mobile phone companies were only obliged to cover 95 % of the population, 90 % of the time). Dr Lee was one of the leaders of the campaign to increase the coverage. He signed a back-bench business committee debate urging OFCOM to increase the coverage to at least 98 % of the population.

Dr Lee then spoke in the debate, in the House of Commons on 19 May 2011 saying: “I represent Bracknell, which is part of the Thames Valley, where 10% of the world’s information technology businesses are based. [...] And yet, until very recently, part of my constituency only six or seven miles away still had dial-up internet. I wonder why that is. [...] There will be a combination of solutions to provide broadband for everybody. It will include wireless and mobile, and fibre optic, but I suggest that for the difficult-to-reach places, space provides the solution. [...]Let us have a system that provides the very best broadband for all our constituents.” The motion was carried unanimously at the end of a 3 hour debate.

In October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer responded to the debate by committing an extra 150 million pounds to build thousands of new mobile phone masts to cover rural areas. In November the Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee slammed OFCOM’s coverage target of 95% as ‘unambitious’ and backed Dr Lee’s call for a 98%  coverage obligation. In today’s announcement, OFCOM proposes options which should ensure that 98% or more of the population receives 4G mobile broadband coverage. This means that millions who currently do not have a mobile signal will now receive one, and that millions more will have their signal upgraded from a 2G ‘voice’ signal to a 4G signal, capable of carrying broadband data.

This investment will transform the fortunes of thousands of small and medium sized businesses, currently hamstrung by inadequate mobile phone and internet coverage. Hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, farms and businesses will get access to decent mobile and internet coverage for the first time.

Dr Lee commented: “I am delighted to see that our combined efforts have finally been approved and I would like to thank OFCOM, the Chancellor and DCMS for taking action on rural broadband. Investing in a proper rural broadband solution such as satellite will transform our businesses and economy; transform health through telemedicine, and education through distance learning. Finchampstead, in particular, is crying out for better broadband coverage.”

Dr Phillip Lee, MP for Bracknell, visited BMW’s Marsham Street car sales facility for diplomats and authorities in Westminster. The meeting provided BMW the opportunity to give Dr Lee an overview of their extensive UK business and manufacturing operations and importance as a major UK employer, manufacturer, investor and exporter.

BMW is market leader and a pioneer in innovative approaches. BMW will be providing vehicles for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The group also recently announced record sales in 2011 for all three of the BMW premium brands – BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce and reported a rise of 8.78 per cent in its 2011 sales against a market which has seen overall sales fall by just over four per cent. 

Dr Lee commented: “BMW Group in the UK is a fantastic company with very strong sales growth exceeding 166,000 vehicles.  The group secured its position as one of UK’s leading car manufacturers and brands in 2011. BMW also has their marketing offices in the town. So good news for BMW is good news for Bracknell.”