Liberal Democrat MP first to adopt youth-led quality mark

Phil Willis MP was today recognised as an internship pioneer by youth organisation Internocracy, and awarded the I.SIP (Internocracy Star Internship Programme), a youth-focused quality mark. The first parliamentary office to gain such accreditation, Phil Willis’s internship programme allowed for fair recruiting practices and a worthwhile experience for interns. The I.SIP mark will enable young people to identify internship schemes which give them great opportunities and support them in learning about their chosen workplace.

BULLYING: Helpline boss must quit, says Willis

Former headteacher, Liberal Democrat education spokesman Phil Willis has called on bullying helpline chief Christine Pratt.

Mr Willis, a longtime campaigner against bullying in schools, said she had to go because she had betrayed the trust of the No 10 staff who had allegedly complained about bullying in Downing Street.

He said that at the very least the Charity Commission should step in and hold a formal inquiry.

Politicians, anti-poverty groups and churches unite against vultures funds.

Phil Willis MP (LibDem, Harrogate and Knaresborough) has signed up to the campaign to stop so called “Vulture Funds” at a reception held in parliament this week. Vulture funds are where a small number of firms buy up the defaulted debts of the world’s poorest countries, often at low prices. They then take countries to court to aggressively recoup the debts at full value for immediate repayment, often in UK and US courts.

Harrogate Heart Support Group Chairman, Mel Clark, joined a group of campaigners from across the country at the Houses of Parliament recently. They were demanding a renewed commitment from all political parties to tackle heart and circulatory disease – the UK’s biggest killer – during the next decade.

Mel met with Phil Willis MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough who is supporting a planned and published approach to protect the heart health of the nation. The calls are backed by a 150,000 signature petition from people calling for a new heart plan (1).

Phil Willis MP questions Prime Minister on cuts in local stroke services.

Phil Willis MP and Claire Kelley, Liberal Democrat PPC for Harrogate & Knaresborough, have been shocked to learn that North Yorkshire County Council is to cut the funding for the Stroke Association's Family and Carer Support Service in Harrogate and Craven. At the same time, the County Council is commissioning similar services in the other parts of North Yorkshire.

Phil Willis asked the Prime Minister today:

Phil Willis, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has gone ‘back to the floor’ to experience life as an apprentice in support of a national campaign aimed at encouraging more employers to provide Apprenticeships in the region.

The ‘back to the floor’ initiative devised by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to support National Apprenticeship Week 2010, saw Phil Willis MP roll up his sleeves to tackle life as an apprentice in the hospitality industry.

Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Phil Willis has hit out at North Yorkshire County Council’s plans to add what has been dubbed a ‘snow levy’ on council tax payers.

“People in Harrogate and Knaresborough were trapped in their homes for weeks because pavements and minor roads were blocked. Businesses lost millions in sales. Now local residents are expected to pay an increase in tax to pay for road repairs.” said Phil Willis.