I raised series concerns with the Prime Minister about Nottinghamshire Police and its organisation of resources. When I was out with them in November, our Division had only 14 police out on a Friday evening. Considering that the Notts Police employ 2380 police officers, there is a deep malaise at the centre of its organisation. The bottom line is quite simple: With the budget that our police have and the people they employ, I expect to see the police we need out on the streets of Bassetlaw. I have made this point privately for some time, but enough is enough. I want immediate action and more staff deployed onto our streets and I will not stop until we get them.

More police will help bring an end to the ownership of streets by gangs of youths. I am aware that this is a problem in some parts of this area. The houses that they are living in or basing themselves in can be easily identified by local residents and I call upon all the agencies as well as the police to use the full force of the law to flush these people out and bring an end to the misery that they cause.

I am pleased to see that when Bassetlaw Council works in partnership with their local MP, we win. I refer to the Connecting Communities money won by the Council in partnership with myself. This money is to be spent in Harworth and Bircotes. It required significant improvements to the original bid and I was delighted to help the Council by proposing the necessary amendments. I was then able to discuss the bid across Government and Bassetlaw won through. When we work together we win! Perhaps we can now sort out the cinema together?

The cash registers at the Town Hall provide a vital lifeline for both Worksop and Retford as do the County Contact Points. Who wants to speak to a call centre rather than someone who lives locally and knows the area? There is increasing anger at cutting these important front line jobs. Anger may mount further when people see the advert for a Communications Officer for the County Council to be paid more money than even MPs get paid. Obviously someone has some bad news that they want to massage away.

One important battle going on is to ensure that James Hince Court remains a specialist dementia centre, including its day care facilities. Many families rely on this lifeline. I oppose privatising the care homes - the private sector cannot make money other than by cutting corners on standards and pay. But a sneaky move would be to declare James Hince Court as an elderly care centre and downgrade its specialist dementia care provision. I have seen letters from the Council leadership which indicates that this is exactly the trick they intend to try to pull.