BEWDLEY Carnival last Saturday was a great success with, I believe, more visitors than last year.

The field was crammed with stands and although, because of insurance difficulties, there were few large floats, the parade was spectacular with excellent marching groups, superb classic cars, and a flotilla of luxurious, cacophonous, potent three-wheelers complete with leather-clad passengers and drivers.

The support of the Bewdley Festival Committee was welcome and the hard-working carnival committee will be thoroughly heartened for the future of this event after such a success.

I am continuing visiting schools and hear repeated disappointment about the way the changes are being handled.

The news of the county Director of Education's retirement is a surprise and his successor will have the urgent task of restoring confidence among staff members in Wyre Forest.

Dedicated middle school staff appear to me to face the greatest difficulties and so in the limited time available before the end of term I am concentrating on visiting these schools.

Young people are incredibly resilient and provided the staff are well looked after so that morale remains high or recovers where needed, then I do not think the children's educational experience will be adversely affected during the transition.

In London we had the Second Reading of the National Lottery Bill and although there is resistance to the use of lottery funds for purposes for which they were never intended - supplementing Government funding - there was no significant revolt in the House of Commons and to my disappointment the Government maintained a majority of 93 for the Second Reading.

NHS National Service Frameworks (NSFs) that refer to specific problems, for example diabetes or renal disease, are crucial as they influence priorities for health service spending.

Thus conditions that have such a framework have an advantage in funding terms over those which do not. The Government is not prepared to consider further NSFs but a powerful campaign by groups representing families that have suffered the saddest of bereavements from the loss of apparently fit young family members from unrecognised abnormal heart conditions or rhythms have persuaded the Government to add an extra chapter on abnormal rhythms to the existing NSF for coronary heart disease.

This is a major and deserved victory for this group but it raises the whole question of health care prioritisation.

Is response to a deserving vocal group the correct method? The Health Select Committee in the last Parliament attempted, without success, to engage the Government in an open debate about prioritisation.

I attended a meeting of West Midland MPs with representatives of the MG Rover Task Force.

We heard that 649 workers have found full-time jobs so far and that training plans have been developed for a further 2,510 ex-employees.

The task force is also attempting to help employees of suppliers. It was good to hear of some progress.