Activity snapshot
As regular readers of my newsletter may know, I like to write an occasional retrospective snapshot of my activities.  I mostly do newsletters about the legislative part of my job in Brussels and Strasbourg but I thought one on my work in the constituency is overdue. 

Casework
A major part of my role in the constituency is answering correspondence and looking after constituency casework.  We receive a large number of inquiries on diverse subjects ranging from pesticides legislation, animal welfare and foot and mouth disease to the French Foreign legion; from carbon emissions to directory mis-selling; from problems experienced at airports to childcare in Bulgarian orphanages; from Equitable Life to anti-semitism; from drivers’ hours legislation to abuse of the internet; from timeshare scams to problems with neighbours in Spain or buying a car abroad; from customs and border control matters to UK planning issues and wind farms.  The list goes on!  This all makes for a challenging and sometimes very rewarding aspect of the job for me and my team of helpers.  

Good news = happy constituent
For example, I was recently able to intervene successfully with the Austrian tax authorities to help rescue a self-employed opera singer from Cornwall from being double taxed. (Click here for photo [1]) 

Cross Party Hot Air!
One constituent raised the issue of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions with South West MEPs.  I was able to set in motion the tabling of a cross-party joint parliamentary question and written declaration asking the European Commission to set in place regulations to stimulate voluntary carbon markets to reduce deforestation of tropical forests.   

Regional Visits
For example, I visited GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Aerospace) at Bishops Cleeve in Gloucestershire (Click here for photo [2]) and narrowly missed being caught in the July floods.  I chaired a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ seminar on energy in Wimborne, Dorset (Click here for photo [3]).  I attended Cornwall Conservatives meetings at Kingsley Village.  I spoke at the Conservative European committee dinner in Marlborough, Wiltshire (my old childhood haunt). 

I attended the Exeter Flotilla Trafalgar Day Service at Exeter Cathedral, Devon.  I was speaker at the EUW annual lunch in Wells, Somerset.  And I participated in a small businesses conference held by Plymouth Chamber of Commerce (Click here for photo [4]).

Well done Plymouth Marine Laboratory
As a member of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change I was particularly interested to visit the Marine Laboratory at Plymouth to see first hand the ground breaking work they are undertaking in the fight against global warming (Click here for photo [5]) and I am delighted that their contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been recognised in the IPCC’s joint winning of the Nobel Prize for Peace.

 Meeting Students
I am regularly asked to visit schools and colleges to speak with students about European Politics.  I thoroughly enjoy these visits and remember some particularly lively debate at Exmouth Community College! (Click here for photo [6])  Lower down the age range I also visited two primary schools which gave me the opportunity to hear the younger students’ perspectives on European issues. 

Voluntary causes
During a visit to the Calvert Trust, Exmoor which specialises in outdoor adventure activity courses and breaks for people with a wide range of disabilities, (Click here for photo [7]) I met up with Ruth Bateman.  Ruth completed a charity cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and World Society for the Protection of Animals and I was happy to hand over my personal contribution to the money she has raised.  (Click here for photo [8])  

Personal effort
I enjoyed walking a 14 mile stretch of the Dorset coastline in the summer as part of the Great South West Walk in support of Macmillan Cancer Support, Wooden Spoon and the RNLI (Click here for photo [9]).  I enjoyed finishing the most!   

Go online
To know more please visit work album on my website.  www.gileschichestermep.org.uk