Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Beith MP

To celebrate the launch of Carers Week, 10-16 June 2013, local MP Sir Alan Beith has joined forces with actress Lynda Bellingham, to recognise the contribution that carers in Northumberland make on a daily basis.

In a photocall in Westminster, Sir Alan pledged his support to carers across Northumberland as part of the national awareness campaign, Carers Week. The week is an opportunity to celebrate the 6.5 million carers across the UK and raise awareness of the impact that caring has on people's lives.

Local MP Sir Alan Beith is urging communities in Berwick and the surrounding area to apply for the new £6m First World War: then and now fund, which the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has launched.

HLF is making at least £1m available per year until 2019 to provide grants of between £3,000 and £10,000. The money will enable groups across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.

The Justice Select Committee will hold a one-off evidence session on the work of the Crown Prosecution Service on Tuesday 21 May when evidence will be heard from:

At 9.30 am

Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions

The session will take place in Committee Room 15, Palace of Westminster.

Members of the public are very welcome to attend the meeting. There is no system of tickets or advance booking for seats in the public part of the committee room, but there is normally no problem in seating all members of the public who wish to attend. Please advise security staff that you are attending a committee meeting and they will direct you. You should allow at least 20 minutes to go through security.

Liberal Democrat Sir Alan Beith MP has welcomed today's figures which show a fall in the number of unemployed people in the Berwick upon Tweed constituency.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show the number of unemployed claimants in Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency in April 2013 was 1,391. This represents a rate of 3.9% of the economically active population aged 16 to 64, compared to the North East rate of 9.8% and the national rate of 7.8% of the economically active population. The number of claimants in the Berwick upon Tweed constituency is 17 lower than in April 2012 and 220 lower than in March 2013.

The Justice Select Committee, chaired by Berwick's Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith, will publish its First Report of Session 2013-14, Sexual Offences Guideline: Consultation, at 11.00am on Thursday 16 May as HC 93.

Copies of published reports may be obtained from the Parliamentary Bookshop and the Stationery Office (details below) and the text will be available via the Committee's website, www.parliament.uk/justicecttee upon publication.

Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick upon Tweed, Sir Alan Beith, took the opportunity to keep up the pressure on the Government to back businesses in the North East during yesterday's Treasury Questions in the House of Commons by providing funds to dual further stretches of the A1 in Northumberland.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Greg Clark MP told the House he would be visiting Newcastle soon to discuss the implementation of the North East Economic Review. Sir Alan responded by asking:

The Coalition Government scheme that has already created or safeguarded 72,000 jobs in the North East opened a new round of bids this week, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has announced.

Round four of the Regional Growth Fund will be worth £350m of investment to create jobs and growth across England.

Local Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith has warned NHS commissioners that maternity services in Berwick must be restored and enhanced to win back the trust of the community.

In his submission to the Commissioners responding to two porposals for the future of Berwick's maternity services, Sir Alan said:

Berwick's Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith has welcomed the passing of the Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill into law as giving "real support for Northumberland's farmers.".

The Groceries Code Adjudicator Act received Royal Assent last Thursday and creates a new body with the power to name and shame the ten biggest supermarkets if they mistreat their suppliers, with ultimate powers to impose fines.

Local MP Sir Alan Beith has welcomed news that the Funding for Lending scheme is being extended. Funding for Lending was brought in by the Coalition Government to help businesses and boost job creation, by enabling them to grow and access the investment that they need.

The scheme is now being expanded to specifically target small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), helping to ensure that SMEs get the finance they need and continue to play a vital part in generating growth across the UK.