Iain Wright congratulated the winner of this years Christmas Card competition today.

Mia Costello won the competition to design the parliamentary Christmas card for Hartlepool's Member of Parliament. The Ward Jackson Primary School pupil beat entries from hundres of children to design the card that will have 1,500 copies printed and sent to dignitaries in Hartlepool, as well as the Prime Minister, the Chancellor Alistair Darling, Cabinet Ministers and Ambassadors across the world.

The tough decision of choosing the winning design was the task of Hartlepool Mail editor Joy Yates.

Mia was presented with a bundle of fantastic prizes during an assembly at the school that saw visits from Mr Wright, Hartlepool United mascot H'angus and Joy Yates.

Iain said

"I am really proud because it is a nice design and shows Hartlepool at it's best.

I think it's great that the Prime Minister will have this on his mantelpiece. There are 1,500 copies being printed and will be sent to people in Hartlepool and around the world.

It is a way of showing all the best of the town."

Mia won an art set, an ipod Nano, a book on Parliament, and she will be a mascot at Hartlepool United's Victoria Park ground for their game on 4 April, next year.

On Saturday night and Sunday morning I did a night shift with Hartlepool Police around the town centre.

I’ve done this a couple of times since I became Hartlepool’s MP, the last time about eighteen months ago. But in that time, so the Police tell me, the going out habits of many Hartlepudlians on a weekend have changed. A combination of special offers on booze from the supermarkets, later drinking licenses in pubs and nightclubs and a resurgence of Saturday night telly has transformed a night out for some people. Many people I speak to get a couple of cans or a bottle of something from the supermarket, get ready whilst watching Strictly Come Dancing and then go out around the pubs and clubs about midnight, staying out until the early hours of the morning.

This certainly was seen to be the case on Saturday night, when it was relatively quiet up until about 11.30, when it then got a lot busier. The Police told me, however, that it was a relatively quiet night. A combination of the credit crunch biting and the run up to Christmas meant that not as many people were on a night out than would otherwise have been the case.

Having said that, it was still a vibrant night. I don’t think I have ever been so cold in all of my life, and I had as many layers on as an onion. Quite how people wander about Hartlepool on a cold Saturday night in December with barely a stitch on is beyond me. Is this a sign of my age?

I knew a lot of people who were out, and the tone of the night was very good natured. One lad was out for the first time in 13 months, as he and his partner had had a new baby. Others said that they came out every week. The vast majority of people were out for a good time and then wanted to head off home.

However, you do get a mindless minority who either can’t handle their drink or actively go out looking for trouble at the start of the night. There was one lad who had apparently been drinking a lot of shots. He was being held up by his two mates, but I have never seen anybody look so ill. When the Police officer shone a torch in his eyes his pupils were unresponsive. An ambulance had to be called to take him to A&E because there was a fear he would choke on his vomit in the night.

Despite the fact that it was a relatively quiet night, the Police cells at Hartlepool station were full for much of the night. This indicated to me that we need to focus on the hardcore element of people who can’t handle their drink or who go out to cause trouble. The new ‘Direction to Leave’ notices, recently brought in by the Government, are a good tool, Police say, for getting somebody to leave an area in order to minimise or stop trouble. I’m keen to see what else should be done to assist the Police in their job and for people to feel safe whilst they are having a drink. I’ll be having a chat with Vernon Coaker, the Police Minister, about this.

I just want to end by paying tribute to the Police. I particularly want to thank Tony Green for having to put up with me until 5am on Sunday morning. They do a fantastic job on behalf of the town, too often taken for granted.

The Community Network together with HBC Neighbourhood Development Workers hosted a Neighbourhood Action Plan celebratory lunch today at the Belle Vue Centre, Hartlepool. Iain was more than happy to give an introductory address about the good work of all those involved in improving public services at the Neighbourhood level.

In January 2001, the Prime Minister launched 'A New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal: A National Strategy Action Plan'. This strategy set out the Government's ideas about how to narrow the gap between deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of the contry so that within 10-20 years no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live.

The Government wants local residents and community groups to have a central role in turning their neighbourhoods around and stressed that NAPs are important in encouraging local people and organisations to work together to narrow the gap between the most deprived wards and the rest of the country. The objective of the NAP is to integrate policies at a local level to improve the way services are provided.