Report Back: The First 100 Days

It's been a busy three months since I became MP for Harlow and the surrounding villages. I still have much to learn, but it's been a whirlwind so far:

ROADS AND REGENERATION

• Traffic in Harlow has reached gridlock, but there is some good news. Regular readers will know that I have campaigned for an extra M11 junction for over four years. At last, we are starting to get somewhere. Since the election, I have worked with Essex Council to secure a major investment of over £500,000 into planning this. They have also now said that a new junction on the M11 is now their "number one priority in Essex". Also, I successfully pushed for a Commons debate on the M11 junction in order to get this higher up the agenda. Although we won't get a new junction for many years, at least we have got the ball rolling.

• I was proud for Harlow to open our refurbished train station recently. The new painting and lifts are fantastic. I hope to see more regeneration later this year.

• I have met privately with Government Ministers to make the case for the Health Protection Agency moving to Harlow. I have also spoken publicly in Parliament about this, and the urgent need for regeneration in our town, to make sure that this is high up on the Government's agenda.

APPRENTICESHIPS

• I'm very pleased to say that from October this year, I will hire an apprentice from Harlow College in my office. The apprentice will study Business Administration Level 3, and will be part-sponsored by Mr Dean Barclay of Harlow Greyhound Stadium, and also by Essex Council.

• I will be the first MP in the country to hire an apprentice, and I hope others will follow suit. Mr Dean Barclay has also generously agreed to sponsor Harlow apprentices in the construction and building trade.

• After a sustained campaign, including 6 debates in Parliament, I was delighted to secure extra funding for lone parents and students from deprived backgrounds at Harlow College. As I said in my first ever speech in the House of Commons:

"If we give young people the necessary skills and training, we give them opportunities and jobs for the future. It is about helping people to help themselves."

BIG SOCIETY AND COMMUNITY GROUPS

There has been quite a bit mentioned about the Big Society recently. In essence it means power transported away from Government down to the community level.

• The Big Society is so strong in Harlow that the Minister, Nick Hurd MP, recently visited Harlow Council, Rainbow Services and the Harlow Multi-faith forum, to consider Harlow for the next wave of the Big Society project. It was a successful visit, and I'm glad that the new Government is starting to take Harlow seriously at a national level.

• Since the election, I have met with over 80 community groups in Harlow and the villages, and helped them with local problems and issues.

POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY

• Following many tragic fatalities on the railways near Harlow, I have called for more to be done to combat the loss of life. In Parliament, I have asked the Government to set up a new volunteer force of Special Rail Guards to improve rail safety, along the same lines as the Special Constables. They would be genuinely local people who help their community, by volunteering a few hours a month. I hope to meet with the Police and Government Ministers in the autumn to drive this forwards.

• I have also met with the Chief Constable of Essex, Mr Jim Barker-McCardle, to discuss how crime and anti-social behaviour can be reduced. Following this, the Home Secretary has agreed to meet with Mr Barker-McCardle and I to discuss the challenges of reducing crime and police reform in Harlow.

• I have championed Special Police Constables. Essex is an important county, because we have one of the largest force of Specials in England. I have asked the Government to look at transforming Special Constables into a Territorial Army-type force, to boost community policing in Harlow and across the UK.

CASEWORK

• In three months, I have sent over 5,596 emails and letters, helping local people with their problems or issues they raise. This is an average of 62 per day, including Saturdays and Sundays.

• I have held 11 surgeries in 3 months, and have seen 134 people individually.

• Major casework victories include securing a new Pelican crossing for Velizy Avenue, in the town centre, and £900,000 to improve our cycle ways along Southern Way.

P.S. If you would like to know more visit my website www.roberthalfon.com.

For my regular surgeries, please call 01279 311451.

For a tour of Parliament, please call 0207 219 7223.

Small Business Football and Table Tennis

Its a strange life being a Prospective MP. My day started meeting Colleen Morrison who runs a recruitment business in Bush Fair. Over poached eggs on toast we discussed local issues including the complex parking issue. I also chatted to the local butchers about the issue. Independent butchers are rare these days and I was sad to see Dewhurst shut down in Broad walk not so long ago - particularly since I was a great fan of their Roasted Lamb on a spit!

I then rushed off to Starbucks to meet a wonderful lady, June, Editor of the North Weald Village Life and the website of the same name. She has set up the magazine from nothing and it is now a profitable venture. I was meeting her to discuss Hastingwood issues as Hastingwood is new part of the Harlow Constituency for the next election.

After, loads of casework and correspondence, helped by my hard-working volunteer Assistant Ann Russell Day.

Then it was time for Pickles- of the Eric variety. The neighbouring MP for Brentwood and Conservative Party Chairman, was in Harlow visiting Harlow Football Club and the Norman Booth Centre.

Simon Morgan, HFC Chairman, is making the Club even better and is doing loads of work in the community. I was pleased that Eric could see the club. Later at the Norman Booth Centre, Eric and I played some young lads table tennis, and we lost 11-3!!!!!!

Eric then did a great dinner to Harlow Conservatives and spoke about love bombing- what he meant was that we should treat our opponents with respect and not rise to the bait if they do underhand tactics and try to provoke. He was right.

Today I am off to Harlow Writers Workshop and then its free time until Monday, Its my 40th birthday tomorrow! I am lucky to be celebrating it with my beloved girlfriend Vanda.