Introduction - This month’s newsletter will focus on the work i’ve been involved in during the Parliamentary Recess. Whilst I'm not in Parliament, it’s a great opportunity to spend more time in the constituency, running surgeries and engaging with local businesses and activities.
During the recess i’ve continued to work on my key objective of securing greater employment and opportunities in the Drone industry.
Munin Dynamics
I visited Munin Dynamics in Swindon. Another drone company seeing the potential I’ve envisioned for Swindon as a Drone hub. I met with their founder Magnus Freyer, an impressive person, former Parachuter in the Norwegian Special Forces with a Masters in Mechatronics from Stamford University. He’s developed an innovative personal anti-drone technology for use on the frontline. It’s an innovative solution to keep individual soldiers safe on a battlefield full of emerging drone technology. Magnus’ passion for building this technology comes from the invasion of Ukraine, he initially hitchhiked into the country and saw firsthand the challenges they’re facing.
Whilst Munin is currently a small company, I know their aim is to grow and deliver for the future of NATO, keeping soldiers safe on the battlefield. I’ll be interested to see how Munin grow and adapt their products moving forward. On a side note, I also learned Magnus had developed an interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and unbeknownst to me had been visiting my old gym, 10th Plane Jiu-Jitsu. We agreed to do a training session together and I had a great time re-visiting my old gym.
Hindu Temple
During the recess I visited the Hindu Temple in Swindon to celebrate Raksha Bandhan, a ceremony honouring the important bonds between family, both blood and non blood related, and especially brothers and sisters. With Raksha meaning 'protection' and Bandha meaning 'to tie'. I’m really thankful to the temple for including me and inviting me to be a part of such an important ceremony.
Penhill Surgery & office surgeries
My team and I recently ran a surgery at John Moulton Hall in Penhill to support residents. The Penhill Cafe is open every Tuesday from 13:00 - 16:00 and offers a range of support from housing advice to meeting local Police officers and is a fantastic community initiative. Over the course of my time at the cafe we took on 9 new cases, which my team and I are now working hard to sort. These cases covered a range of area from housing, universal credit and benefits and local utilities. I’m really pleased that my team and I can be there for people.
It was also great to chat to the Chronic Pain Awareness Group. This group meet in the Deers Leap function hall every Friday from 10-12pm and hold a mental health drop in on the first Tuesday of every month from 11am-1pm. They also have an online group. If you or someone who know may be interested, feel free to send an email on chronicpainawarenessgroup@gmail.com.
Seetec
I had the opportunity to visit Seetec and see first-hand the fantastic work being done to support local residents into, and back into, employment. The majority of the people they meet face challenges or barriers that make finding work more difficult, and it was inspiring to hear how tailored support is making a real difference. Through programmes like RESTART and the Work and Health Programme (WHP), they are helping people build confidence, develop skills, and move closer to sustainable employment. A huge thank you to the Seetec team for taking the time to show me around.
VJ Day
on the 15th August, I was honoured to have been invited to Downing Street for the VJ Day commemorations and meet some of the veterans who fought in the Pacific theatre. Whilst to many much of the Second World War took place in North Africa and Europe, it’s important that we remember the soldiers who fought in the Pacific and Indian theatres of war. Soldiers from across the UK, the Commonwealth, the Republic of China, Free France, the Soviet Union and the US all fought in the Pacific and Indian theatres of war after Japan launched their surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on the 7th December 1941. The reception honoured the veterans who fought in the Pacific as well as honouring the over 4 million allied soldiers who fell in the line of duty between 1937-1945 in the Pacific, approximately 100,579 of which were from the UK and wider commonwealth. The event reminded all of us of the strength and awe-inspiring bravery of the greatest generation.
August casework
This month we created over 540 cases. Of these 425 of these were Campaign & Policy cases whilst the extra 115 cases related to individual circumstances. During this month we closed 450 cases and are still working to support residents as their own cases progress.
Case Highlights
This month my team supported a resident working through their housing options with the Council. The resident’s application to bid on two-bed properties hadn’t been able to bid for approximately 7 months due to asbestos and other issues present in her current property, and she’d been growing increasingly concerned it would never be resolved. Thanks to the intervention of my team the resident’s asbestos issue was managed by the Council and they allowed the resident to begin bidding on two-bedroom properties.
A separate resident had also been charged over £600 by Thames Water due to a leak below the path beside their property, they were concerned not only with the increased cost to themselves but also the water waste of the leak itself. Throughout this leak period the resident had attempted to get Thames Water to come out and fix the leak but the company had failed to do so. Due to my teams intervention Thames Water apologised and sent someone to fix the leak whilst also deducting the entire charge from the resident, as well as providing credit to the account that would’ve covered their water costs throughout the leak period.
How to reach out for support:
Email me and my team on Will.Stone.MP@Parliament.UK if you need support from me or my office.
That’s it for this month’s newsletter, it’s covered a few of the major things i’ve up to in the recess and I look forward to keeping everyone updated in the future and would appreciate any comments on content you enjoyed/would like to see more of.
Until the next newsletter, I hope you have a fantastic month.
Will
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