The future of Lydiard House and Country Park is important to all of us, which is why I was very pleased to see that agreement as to the way forward has been reached between Swindon Borough Council and the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust. Lead Member Cllr Keith Williams has worked extremely hard and thanks are due to both him and the Trust for their positive approach. Both the local ward Borough councillor and Grange Park resident Tim Swinyard and I have worked to support this process.
Councillor Swinyard and I believe that it is vital that the trust and community are directly involved in shaping the future of Lydiard Park and I am glad that both the Council and the Trust have now made a clear commitment and agreed to work together to safeguard Lydiard for the people of Swindon and future generations. I hope that the scaremongering about Lydiard being sold off will now cease. It is not true and residents deserve better.
The question of repairs and future maintenance is a significant one and the Trust has worked hard to identify the opportunities and challenges they would face, so I am pleased that as part of the agreement reached, essential maintenance and repair work will be carried out on Lydiard House. This will be undertaken by the council within two years, with the first phase of works being completed this year.
I will carry on working hard to bring both parties together to make sure that decisions are made in terms of funding and a solution is reached for the long term so that Lydiard House and Country Park remains the much-loved place that very many of us in Swindon enjoy.
Following the serious incident in Salisbury on Sunday, 4th March, I am pleased to learn that DS Nick Bailey, the Wiltshire police officer who was part of the initial response, is conscious and is stable – but is no longer critical. This is very welcome news.
I am fully supportive of the strong but considered response our Prime Minister has taken to the unlawful use of force by another state or its agents right here in Wiltshire. Britain is a country which abides by the rule of law and the government has looked closely at the evidence before acting. We will continue to work closely with other countries, taking action to isolate those responsible.
Many of us will have experienced bogus emails, text messages and phone calls designed to steal our personal data. I have spoken to several local residents who have fallen victim to these crimes and many have not even been aware that they have been targeted until they realise their savings have been stolen. The need for all of us to be careful and vigilant when sharing our personal details on the internet has never been greater.
The government is taking this problem extremely seriously and as part of a five-year, £1.9 billion National Cyber Security Strategy, I welcomed the recent announcement by Minister for Digital and Creative Industries, Margot James MP, that manufacturers of ‘smart’ devices will be expected to build-in tough new security measures that last the lifetime of the product.
The Government will work with industry to implement a rigorous new Code Of Practice to improve the cyber security of consumer internet-connected devices and associated services while continuing to encourage innovation in new technologies.
Finally, I was delighted to learn that Swindon Carers Centre have received a legacy donation of £5,400 for young carers from the late Tony Martin and Zurich Community Trust. Tony was an inspirational figure whose work in the voluntary section was of national significance. He is sadly missed.