On Friday, I had the honour of officially opening Abbeywood First School in Church Hill.

The new school, formed by the amalgamation of Marlfield Farm and Ravensbank First SchoolS has inherited the best of both schools.

Improved facilities, such as a refurbished nursery, will give pupils a good start in their educational journey.

I was very impressed with the headteacher and staff I met and by the enthusiasm of the young pupils.

They had done excellent drawings and sung special songs to celebrate the opening of their new school.

Good luck. I am sure Abbeywood has a great future.

I also visited the new cinema in Redditch town centre on Friday too.

Redditch has been without a cinema for too long and with this exciting new development, I hope new restaurants and other outlets will come to the area too.

Last week, I followed up my 16,000-name petition against the maternity changes at the Alexandra Hospital by writing to health chiefs again.

I wanted to point out I had not been persuaded by the independent evidence the trust had been given about maternity services.

First, the independent advice included the mistaken notion that no other changes were being considered in the region's maternity units.

Secondly, there was an inference there may be recruitment problems for specialist posts in the future and yet no vacancies exist at the moment.

Finally, the report says that while staff called for firm, certain and clear management (in interviews with the report's author), there was no staff comment supporting the changes on medical grounds nor any clear idea about the financial implications.

Well, I want certainty too.

I want mums in Redditch to be able to have their babies at the Alex - full stop.

I have seen no justification, financial or medical, that comes close to persuading me otherwise.

That's what I told the health trust last week.