Nick Brown MP

Nick Brown has welcomed today’s announcement of a £580m government grant to modernise the Tyne and Wear Metro network. Transport Minister Sadiq Khan visited Tyneside to confirm the plans, saying the Metro was “an iconic transport system and the lifeblood of the local community”.

Up to £350m will be spent on modernising stations, installing new escalators, renewing track and refurbishing rolling stock. The remainder will pay for maintenance and running costs until 2019.

Nick said: “Today’s announcement safeguards the future of the Tyne and Wear Metro for a generation. The Metro is the envy of other cities and the Government’s commitment reflects the importance of the Metro to our region.

“The Government’s package of over £300m of capital investment will be focussed on what passengers want, transforming the Metro and renewing its world class status resulting in a better service, securing hundreds of jobs and delivering value for money to the tax payer.”

Nick at Seven Stories with some of those honoured for their work and dedication to the arts

Nick today spoke at an event at Seven Stories in celebration of the Region’s Cultural Champions.

In a scheme run by national body Arts & Business, 20 Cultural Champions were nominated by 15 arts and heritage organisations across the region. They ranged from business figures who sponsored various cultural initiatives to dedicated individuals who volunteered their time.

The success of the arts and the cultural sector across the UK is underpinned by a combination of private and public sector support.  Last year that private sector support totalled some £650m. The North East has a rich history of talented and enterprising individuals enhancing the region, but the arts cannot survive without the support of thousands of people who are generously giving their time and support.

Nick said: “Today’s event recognises everything that is good about the arts in the North East. The work that Arts & Business do to support local artists is to be applauded.  I’m really pleased to be at Seven Stories today to see the real diversity of our region’s cultural talent. Thank you to everyone for their enthusiasm and encouragement.”

Nick with members of Newcastle's emergency services

At Nick’s constituency surgeries at the weekends, one issue that is raised over and over again is Anti Social Behaviour. When people are causing trouble in their area it has the potential to make the lives of the majority of law-abiding citizens a misery. People in East Newcastle rightly want to live in neighbourhoods free from unnecessary noise, intimidation and harassment.

It is for this reason that Labour introduced Anti Social Behaviour Orders in 1998. The latest statistics bear out the effects this policy can have. 65% of people issued with an ASBO desisted from further anti-social behaviour after the first intervention, 86% after the second and 93% after the third. It’s clear that ASBOs can make a difference.

The Government has worked hard to tackle wider criminal activity. Since 1997 overall crime has fallen 36%, and domestic burglary is down 54%. Car theft has fallen by over 50%, and household crime is down 36%. Despite the “Broken Britain” rhetoric of some, you are now less likely to be a victim of crime than at any time in the past 25 years.

This is thanks to a police force that is respected and well resourced. Labour has invested more than £3.7bn in policing, putting an extra 16,000 police officers on our streets, alongside 16 000 further Community Support Officers. This is the first Government since the 1940s to see an overall fall in crime. All these measures will contribute to people feeling safer going about their day to day lives in our city.

Nick with the Prime Minister at the Nissan plant last year

With the scheme closing soon, Minister for the North East and Newcastle East MP Nick Brown encourages the North East’s motorists to take advantage of the car scrappage scheme if they wish to do so, or risk missing out.

Figures released show that more than three quarters of the budget for the Labour Government’s hugely successful scrappage scheme has been used up by individuals and families, boosting UK car sales and helping the car industry through the downturn. Funding for less than 82,000 new vehicles orders is left for consumers to take advantage of under the scheme, as it nears its end.

Nick said: “Labour’s car scrappage scheme has kept our car industry going during these tough times. These figures show that time is running out for people in the North East to get a great deal on a new car by trading in their old one. If people have been thinking about taking advantage of the scrappage scheme then now is the time. 

“Unlike the Tories who left the motor industry to sink or swim during the 1990’s, the Labour Government is investing through difficult times to give real help to people and protect jobs and businesses. Nowhere is this clearer than in the North East, where Labour Government investment in Nissan will see the birth of the electric car and the underpinning of a new industry for decades to come.”

Nick with Stockton MP Dari Taylor

Nick today spoke at an event to celebrate the North East’s heritage in glass making.

The Glass North East exhibition features the work of lecturers, professors and graduates of the University of Sunderland, whose glass work rates among the best in the world. The collection of works highlights the range and quality of glass research being carried out at Sunderland and explains why there is a large demand to study at the university from students across the globe.

Among the artists whose work will be on show are: Cate Watkinson, whose work includes the iconic glass sculpture on roof of the Red Mall of the MetroCentre and the popular Grainger Town public seating artworks; and Byker-based glass jewellery artist Kathryn Wightman, who has been called “the Stella McCartney of glass”.

Nick today welcomed the news that thousands of families in the North East would get £75 extra towards the cost of their heating, as the Government pays out millions in Cold Weather Payments.
Around £200 million in payments has been racked up so far this winter, with just over £70 million of this over the cold [...]

Nick today welcomed the entry of the newly strengthened Northern Rock to the savings and mortgage market after the restructuring of the company came into effect on 1 January 2010.
Nick said: “This is an important milestone for Northern Rock and its staff.  It signals a fresh start for the new, strengthened bank and is a [...]

Labour’s plans for a new National Care Service are a good start towards putting right a long-standing injustice. It’s not right that some older people should have to sell their homes to pay for care as they grow older.
The new plans are based on the same principles as the NHS. It will be a simple, [...]

In September, Nick went to Walker Technology College to see their new Cadet Centre. Walker Tech was one of only six schools across the country to be awarded the scheme two years ago, and, together with the Walker Councillors, Nick fought hard to get the original funding for it. That’s not the only way the [...]

Sarah Brown paid a visit to Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books on Friday, visiting the region as a guest of Minister for the North East, Nick Brown.  The Prime Minister’s wife was given an exclusive tour of the museum’s exhibition galleries and Bookshop by Chief Executive Kate Edwards.
The visit was Sarah’s only cultural [...]