Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

A busy day today. First I attended the opening of a new customer service centre for Tristar Homes at their offices on the Preston Farm Industrial Estate. The opening of the centre provides customers with excellent customer service by having one telephone number (called the golden number) for every enquiry, meaning customers will be able to talk to a member of staff who can direct their calls more efficiently. Not only is this great for customers but it will also provide more jobs and training which is fantastic for our area. I am confident that the new centre will be a great success.

Next Mary and I visited Prior's Mill Primary School in Billingham to listen to a presentation by children taking part in the Beat-it project and to give out certificates. This project has given around 230 children music lessons they would not normally have had access to, either for financial reasons or location problems. Some wonderful talents and gifts have been discovered along the way and Mary and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

Finally Mary and I attended an event at Thornaby Library for the Public Lending Right (PLR) Scheme who were celebrating 30 years of supporting British authors.  The PLR Scheme is the legal right that authors have to receive a payment from the government for the free lending out of their books by public libraries. Many authors reply on their annual PLR payment to help them continue writing. So every time you borrow a book you are helping an author somewhere earn their living.