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You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Daily Hansard - Debate
28 Oct 2014 : Column 275
Under this Government we have had to fight off privatisation and the closure of fire stations and ambulance stations. We want a guarantee that the NHS will not be privatised and that our 999 services will still be there. Finally, we must look to the future. The 400th anniversary of the pilgrim fathers is coming up, and there is Sherwood forest, which should be a new national park. There are new kinds of industry, so will the Government help us to develop them into the future?
Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) (Lab): I will be as brief as possible. First, the "State of the coalfields" report published in June highlights major issues in coal mining communities, not just the closure programmes, but problems that have been there for decade upon decade and particularly concern jobs and ill health. It is all to do with income. Although the Government were right to say that unemployment is decreasing in mining communities, pro rata it is not decreasing half as much as it has done in the healthier south-east of this economy. That issue must be addressed and is highlighted well in that report.
The first intervention made by the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) was about who closed the coal mines in the last century, but it is a nonsense argument to say that Labour closed more mines between 1964 and 1974. The real question concerns who closed the coal mines, and when they closed, how much coal was imported into this country to replace it? Never under the Wilson Government did we bring coal into this country to replace coal lost as a result of the closure programme, which is what we had to do under the Thatcher Government. I came to the House in 1983, and I remember the coal miners' strike—I have Orgreave in my constituency. I had left the coal industry fewer than 12 months before to come to this place, and I remember what happened.
I want to say two things. One concerns policing, and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from that. A national reporting centre was set up during the miners' strike. Pro formas were handed out for police to charge people using effectively the same language. My constituency backed on to Nottinghamshire. People were prevented from leaving Yorkshire to go to Nottinghamshire, miles away from where there may have been a breach of the law. That was always going to be challenged, and it should have been challenged because the policing of the strike was wrong. In May 1984 the Police Federation condemned the use of pro forma charge sheets against miners.
Do not get me wrong: I and others in this Chamber criticised the police and the stone throwers. On several occasions I called for a public inquiry into the policing of the miners' strike and I still believe we should have one now, because this should never happen again in our communities.
I hope we have learned from what happened at that time, which was revenge for 1974. I was a striking miner at that time and remember it well. I joined the Labour party in the February of that year.
The hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) talked about regeneration and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which is regenerating communities by giving
grants to individual groups—a wonderful thing to do. The economic regeneration, like the advanced manufacturing plant that has been mentioned, began under the last Government through the regional development agency, which was abolished when this Government took office, and through objective 1 funding, because we were that poor that at the time we received European money. We should not forget that Europe did a lot to turn south Yorkshire round, although, as the report published in June this year showed, there is still a lot more to do on jobs and ill health in mining communities, which we have suffered for generations.
Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab): It has been humbling to listen to comrades who were involved in the miners' strike. I can confirm to my hon. Friend the Member for Midlothian (Mr Hamilton) that I was indeed one of the women who was brought into the Labour movement—and very proud to be so.
I agree with everything that has been said about justice for communities, but I want to make a specific point about the plight of my coalfield community. The bottom line is that to this day the coal industry remains important to our local area. The open-cast companies have been responsible for the worst environmental disaster imaginable, with two companies being placed in administration in 2013. The immediate result was the loss of more than 300 jobs, but the massive scale of environmental devastation left in east Ayrshire soon became evident: an estimated 2,000 hectares of unrestored and disturbed land, with almost a quarter of the area having 22 voids, 16 of which are filled with water more than 50 metres deep, and often unstable cliffs.
Independent mining engineers have estimated restoration liabilities in line with the original planning permissions and approved restoration plans at £161 million—money that we do not have. The total amount available, if we are lucky, is only £28.6 million. An independent report by the council highlighted problems with its operations and with companies reneging on their responsibilities. That is why the communities that I and my hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson) represent have been left devastated. Many failures, far too many to mention, are highlighted in the report. I strongly believe that, based on the findings of the report, there might be grounds for investigating the conduct of the directors of the coal operators, and I have raised this with the investigations and enforcement services of the Insolvency Service.
This remains a bruising experience for the communities of east Ayrshire and I have raised my concerns over the environmental devastation and lack of accountability numerous times and will continue to do so. I have raised this on the Floor of the House with previous Ministers and with this Minister. I look forward to the response. I know that in the past few days the leader of East Ayrshire council has raised it again with the Department. Responsibility is shared between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, but so far we have got absolutely no change from either.
I am a member of a coal taskforce—a cross-party initiative—that works closely with the communities. It is true that we have made some progress but, at the end of the day, we need funds to further the restoration.
Hargreaves, a new company, has taken over some of the mines, but there is no way it will deal with the whole issue. I ask for a response from the Government. What will they do to help us? The disaster is the equivalent of foot and mouth and flooding. It should not have happened, but that is not the fault of my constituents. I yet again make a plea for assistance with this devastating problem.
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth) (Lab): This has been an extraordinary debate this afternoon. The wisdom, passion and experience of millions of people have been distilled by Labour Members. Only three Government Back Benchers spoke, but they gave not a word of contrition. There was not even any body language, to show a sense of guilt, remorse or apology for what was done during those years of the miners' strike. The passion expressed exemplifies the feelings that still exist in the mining communities.
David T. C. Davies: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Jon Trickett: I am not giving way to any hon. Member because we are running out of time.
From time to time, passion leads hon. Members to say things—I am referring to the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Lanark and Hamilton East (Mr Hood). We recognise that there are ongoing investigations and it would be wrong to reference any particular individual. It would be wrong to prejudice those proceedings.
I was a plumber at the time of the strike. I was elected to the council in the middle of the strike in September 1984. I spent part of my time going round pro bono fixing the heating and plumbing systems of striking miners. I was repeatedly stopped by the police, both in the process of my election and going about my lawful business. That exemplifies the experience of many tens of thousands of people in the mining communities during that time.
There is a special dignity for those who work with their hands. The Tories simply do not share that belief. They have a different value system, one based on greed and hierarchy. They believe that the closed circle that runs our country—their spokespeople in the House—were born to rule, and that the rest of us were born to serve. That characterised their attitude during the strike. If hon. Members do not believe me, they can look at the Prime Minister's comments in Glasgow in 2008, when he said, effectively, that the poor are responsible for their poverty. He should tell the mining communities that they were responsible for their poverty. Hon. Members should look at the next leader of the Conservative party, Boris Johnson, who only last year when talking about inequality said in The Daily Telegraph that some people are too thick to get ahead. He should tell that to the mining communities after their experience.
The miners had a totally different set of values from those of the Tories. The Tories despised their values. Their values were of community, and of mutual support and solidarity. To this very day, there is an elemental sense of equality in mining communities. The miners did not know and never would accept the meaning of the word "deference", and rightly so. The age of deference should have died long ago, but the Tories hated the idea that working people—any working people, but in this
case the miners—should organise themselves around those values of community and solidarity and create the most powerful trade union this country has seen.
The 1984 Cabinet papers reveal the truth, the underhand tactics and even the lies of the Government of that time, both out in the communities and in the House. People talk about miners who continued to work, but they were lied to about the Government's intentions. That is what happened.
The Government launched a full-scale assault on the mining communities and, in doing so, destroyed the independence of the police force. There were trumped-up charges all over the coalfield communities. Criminal justice was reduced to a political instrument. There is even evidence that members of the armed forces were dressed in police uniforms by the then Government, all this to achieve Tory party political objectives.
But we are not simply speaking today about history. The Tory attitude to the miners and the former mining communities is symbolic of a wider view that they have of working people as a whole. We need only look at the explosion in the use of zero-hours contracts, temporary work and false self-employment to see that the Conservatives have not changed. They are still the same old nasty party.
Once again the Conservatives are turning their back on mining communities. In my constituency, and I guess elsewhere too, the same women who worked in the soup kitchens during the miners' strike, and their daughters, are now working in the food banks. How can that happen in one of the richest countries of the world in 2014? Nobody would believe it was possible. The Government have failed to understand that if society asks people to work with their hands in the bowels of the earth to help to create the wealth of our country, that society—our country—owes those people a debt of gratitude, which we might describe as a social contract. When mines are closed or industries die, we have a moral duty to look after the people who created the wealth of our country in such difficult circumstances.
The previous Government did much to honour the idea of a social contract. We spent billions of pounds compensating tens of thousands of former miners for miners diseases, from which many are still suffering today. In my constituency 12,500 miners or their families went through my office during those Labour years and received damages of over £100 million—in one constituency alone. The Labour Government invested £1.5 billion in coalfield regeneration, creating employment or training for 150,000 people. It was Labour that set up the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which assisted more than 400,000 people in finding jobs, accessing skills, getting education and improving their health.
Although much was done in those 15 years, the job is not finished. There are still high levels of ill health in my constituency and in all the coalfield areas, with 7.4% of people in the Yorkshire coalfield areas suffering ill health, compared with 5.6% nationally. Then, in mining areas with high levels of chronic diseases, we face the insult of GP cuts and hospital closures.
Unemployment is still 40% higher in coalfield areas than the national average. Deprivation levels in coalfield areas remain at 43%—
Lady Hermon rose—
Jon Trickett: I am not taking interventions.
Our society—our country—owes a debt to the miners and to all manual workers. Before I hand over to the Minister, I want to ask her four questions. First, will she on behalf of her party finally express some humility and apologise to the miners and the communities which it left devastated? Secondly, will she now authorise the release of all the papers held in the Government archives to find the truth about what happened in the mining communities, and will she authorise an independent inquiry into the events that surrounded the strike?
Thirdly, may we have a clear assurance that if the Government are still minded, even at this late stage, to find state aid to help the three remaining deep mine pits, that aid will not accelerate closure but will allow the pits to continue until the reserves are exhausted? Finally, will the Minister commit the Government to the full-scale ongoing process of regenerating the coalfield areas? Those people put themselves in harm's way for the health and wealth of our country. Do we not have a responsibility to make sure that those communities are properly remunerated and regenerated in the future?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Penny Mordaunt): As ever, I have come to the Chamber this afternoon in the spirit of being helpful and focused on the needs and ambitions of communities across the country. Usually, there are asks in Opposition or Adjournment debates—for more investment, greater freedom or support for public services and good causes—but there has been little of that this afternoon. Understandably, there is speculation about why the Opposition have used up their time on the Floor of the House this afternoon. I could continue to speculate about that, but I would rather focus on the needs of the communities that Opposition Members are supposed to be serving. In doing so, I wish to acknowledge the important role that our nation's mining heritage can play in that.
In that respect, this debate is timely, as this Thursday sees a ceremony marking the groundbreaking Betteshanger Sustainable Park development in Kent—Betteshanger, of course, being the last pit to close in Kent. I was fortunate enough to visit the site only last week, to see for myself how the landmark development will transform the former Betteshanger colliery into a 21st-century global laboratory for green technologies. This pioneering project, backed by £40 million of investment, with £11 million of public sector funding, including £2.5 million from the Government's coastal communities fund, has helped to trigger £29 million of private investment.
Betteshanger Sustainable Park is a major shot in the arm for east Kent. It will celebrate Kent's coal mining heritage, which is juxtaposed with sustainable technologies in a world-class, zero-carbon building. It will deliver new jobs and regeneration to the whole area, putting the local community right at the heart of the development and attracting significant private sector support. The development will also provide improved access to cycling and outdoor pursuits—important facilities for local people.
The centre, scheduled to open in spring 2016, will create a new national eco-tourism visitor destination, attracting more than 1 million visitors a year. It will showcase mining heritage and sustainable energy production. A bespoke green technologies enterprise
complex will provide space for companies in food security, environmental technology and green business. The Betteshanger sustainable education centre will support world-class research and development in environmental and countryside programmes, climate change, sustainability, and agro-ecology and production. The park itself, a gateway to east Kent, will provide lifelong learning, shops, public spaces and events, and create 1,000 jobs.
Mr David Hamilton: Will the Minister give way?
Penny Mordaunt: I am going to carry on.
That is just one example of how such communities are regenerating themselves—[Interruption]—although I am sorry that the Opposition do not want to hear it. The Government's approach, in Kent as elsewhere, has been to enable local people, businesses and organisations, who know better than anyone else what is needed and where, to make their own decisions and set their own priorities. That is as true for coalfield communities as it is anywhere else. As part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain's future, the Government have agreed a series of growth deals with businesses and local communities across England which will support local businesses to train young people, create thousands of new jobs, build thousands of new homes and start hundreds of infrastructure projects. There is an opportunity for local enterprise partnerships that cover former coalfield areas to play a major role in taking regeneration forward.
We have also created enterprise zones in former coalfield areas—for example, the Sheffield city region enterprise zone, which has sites on a number of former local collieries. The Orgreave colliery and coking plant has now been transformed into a centre for advanced manufacturing, while Markham Vale is benefiting from £14.2 million of capital grant funding to develop a sustainable business park, which has just announced the latest new occupier, Inspirepac, which is expanding its operation and creating hundreds of new jobs. Many Members have also mentioned the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which has created and safeguarded more than 4,000 jobs, helped more than 125,000 gain new skills—
Helen Goodman: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister who opened the debate said that unemployment in my constituency, and in several others, had fallen. I have checked, and the Office for National Statistics says that in June 2010 unemployment was 4,300, while the latest figures are 4,400. I wanted to give the Minister the opportunity to correct himself at the Dispatch Box.
Mr Speaker: The point is on the record, but that is not a matter for the Chair. The Minister will respond if she chooses to do so, and not if she chooses not to.
Penny Mordaunt: Not much has been said by Labour Members about the issues of concern to all our constituents, so I am happy to provide some balance. I can understand Labour Members not wanting to talk about growth or job creation in their own constituencies, but I had thought that at the very least they might wish to address some of the outstanding issues. Today, for example, there has been some sad news that a manufacturing plant in Barnsley has announced that it is going to close, with the loss of 120 jobs. I am pleased to see that those whose jobs are at risk are being properly supported,
but I was surprised not to hear about that in the opening speech of the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Michael Dugher).
As I say, I can understand the Opposition not wanting to talk about growth and jobs, but I would have thought that they would want to discuss the remaining challenges. That is our focus. It is we who are focused on getting people back into work and supporting businesses and helping communities to regenerate themselves and achieve their ambitions. Unfortunately, Labour seems to have different priorities.
The contributions we have heard this afternoon have fallen firmly into two camps. From those on the Opposition Benches, we have heard speeches that have made the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr Skinner) and his hybrid car look positively "with it"—speeches that have been focused on the past or on smearing members of the upper House. There was not a pipsqueak from the hon. Members for North West Durham (Pat Glass) or for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery) about the achievements of businesses in their constituencies and how they are reinventing themselves in rail manufacturing, to give just one example. No Labour Member has sought to explain this afternoon why they did not reverse any of the trade union reforms they have so vilified today, or why in its 13 years in government, Labour did not tackle any of the issues Labour Members have raised today.
By contrast, contributions from my hon. Friends the Members for Sherwood (Mr Spencer), for Warrington South (David Mowat), for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) and for Monmouth (David T. C. Davies) have been focused on the future, on growth, job creation and helping their communities to achieve their ambitions.
Let me put on record the achievements of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which now has a sustainable future, after its investment in property and other assets. There is also the work of the Homes and Communities Agency's coalfields programme, which was due to progress the physical regeneration of former coalfield sites. This
work is nearing completion, and the associated land assets are expected to form part of the HCA's up and coming programme to dispose of public sector land. The HCA has invested about £660 million in coalfield areas during the life of the coalfields programme. The DCLG's coalfields funds, the coalfields enterprise fund and the coalfields growth fund have also been investing in innovative small and medium-sized enterprises in deprived former coalfield areas. This will continue until 2016, when the investment phase is due to end. Other sources of investment for SMEs across the board are now available, and these funds have proved to be much more effective than the coalfield fundings, being directed through local enterprise partnerships. Much has been achieved, but there is obviously much more to do.
In closing, I will say sorry. I am sorry that Her Majesty's Opposition are stuck in the 1970s. Their constituents and their businesses are firmly in 2014, and I hope that for their sake, their Labour representatives join them in the 21st century some time soon.
That this House acknowledges the economic legacy of the pit closure programme in coalfield communities across the United Kingdom; notes that the recent release of the relevant 1984 Cabinet papers showed that the Government at the time misled the public about the extent of its pit closure plans and sought to influence police tactics; recognises the regeneration of former coalfield areas over the last fifteen years, the good work of organisations such as the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, and the largest industrial injury settlement in legal history secured by the previous Government for former miners suffering from bronchitis and emphysema; further recognises the ongoing problems highlighted recently by the report produced by Sheffield Hallam University on The State of the Coalfields, which revealed that there are still significant problems for the majority of Britain's coalfield communities, such as fewer jobs, lower business formation rates, higher unemployment rates, more people with serious health issues, higher numbers in receipt of welfare benefits and a struggling voluntary and community sector; and therefore calls for the continued regeneration and much needed support for coalfield communities as part of a wider programme to boost growth in Britain's regions.
A5 Trunk Road (M42/M69)
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Harriett Baldwin.)
Mr Speaker: When Members have toddled out of the Chamber, speedily and quietly, Mr Marcus Jones can rise to his feet to orate.
Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con): I am delighted to have been able to secure a debate about one of the busiest and most congested parts of our strategic road network. I am pleased to see that my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) is present—he, too, has a constituency interest in this busy stretch of the A5—and I thank my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for his time, and for the consideration that I hope he will give to the debate.
Let me explain why I am concerned about this stretch of the A5, and why I believe that there needs to be a fundamental rethink about the future of that busy highway for the sake of my constituents who live on the route, and for the sake of economic growth in the west and east midlands corridor.
The A5, or Watling street, which marks the northern boundary of my constituency, was built by the Romans, who originally built the road from Londinium to Deva—or London to Chester, as we know them today. I have not established the exact date when Watling street was built, but the fact that the Romans withdrew from Britain in 410 AD gives us a slight clue as to the longevity of the route. I am certain that the sheer volume of traffic that would use Watling street in the 21st century was never envisaged, even once the ownership of cars became commonplace after the second world war. That is why so many other sections of the busy road, which now stretches from London to Holyhead, have been substantially changed to reflect the volume of vehicles that use it.
Today, the A5 between junction 10 of the M42 and junction 1 of the M69 is one of the most congested routes on the strategic road network, particularly between the Longshoot junction and the Dodwells roundabout. That section is considered to be the 15th most congested section of road on the network. Many of my constituents live along Watling Street and on feeder roads such as the Longshoot, Higham lane, Weddington road and Woodford lane. They live every day with the imposition of queuing traffic, high levels of noise and massive pollution.
The pressure on the route is often compounded when traffic shifts from the M6 to the A5. There are regular closures on the M6. As my right hon. Friend knows, I have expressed concern in the House before about the safety of junctions 1 to 4 on the M6, where there are regular accidents. My constituents are affected by the way in which the traffic shifts from the motorway through my constituency to the A5 in order to reach the M42 and the M69. You probably think that that is a subject for a debate on another day, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I am sure that my right hon. Friend will give my comments some consideration tonight.
Over the decades, this section of the A5 has undergone numerous redesigns to deal with safety issues and to mitigate the growing number of vehicles on our roads. For many years my constituents have suffered from the
disruption of regular roadworks that are intended to improve the situation. At this very moment, work is taking place from the Dodwells roundabout to the Royal Red Gate junction, where the A5 meets the A444. Just tonight, I was interviewed on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire about the issue, along with a very disgruntled lady who was less than happy about the current disruption. I think that that disruption is extremely unfortunate, but it is quite necessary. Much of the work that is being undertaken between the Royal Red Gate and Higham lane junctions is facilitating the new Motor Industry Research Association technology park, which is creating more than 2,000 new jobs. As well as the new jobs, that part of the route will have a very positive effect on the local area because it is being turned into dual carriageway. Inevitably, that progress will put greater stress on the Longshoot junction and the Dodwells roundabout east of MIRA, but that will largely be mitigated by the current pinch-point scheme now under construction. The changes now taking place on the A5 will have a positive effect and there will be gain for the pain that my constituents and the many users of this busy route are experiencing.
I am also convinced, however, that we need a longer-term solution and we must seek it now. We cannot wait five, 10, 15 or 20 years before we consider the future. That would not be right for my constituents or the wider west and east midlands economy.
A substantial amount of development is planned along the A5 corridor both in my constituency and in that of my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth. As my constituents know, I do not agree with all the development plans being promoted by the local planning authority in my constituency. However, it appears from the approach it is taking that these developments will go ahead whether I or my constituents like them or not. We must therefore think about substantive solutions for this section of the A5 to deal with the future issues.
My right hon. Friend the Minister will also be aware of the significant partnership-working currently taking place on the issue between the Highways Agency, the Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership, the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP, Warwickshire county council, Leicestershire county council, and the Nuneaton and Bedworth, Hinckley and Bosworth and North Warwickshire borough councils. The Minister will know that those agencies have jointly started to conduct some very embryonic work on a strategic enhancement of this section of the A5. They are looking at the issues and constraints that affect that busy section of highway.
That work has been conducted by the partnership, which has been formed because there is a strong business case for a long-term solution to the problems we face on that section of highway. It is thought that a long-term solution for that section of the A5 could bring savings of £680 million through better travel times, lower vehicle operating costs and a reduction in the accident rate on what is a busy stretch of road. That proposal aligns with the strategic growth aspirations of both the public sector and the private sector in the area. This evening I am asking the Minister to look at the detail of the embryonic work that has already been conducted and that I am sure his Department has seen.
Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con): My hon. Friend is making a very strong case for the A5, which is an important route from the M1 at junction 18 to the
north-west, avoiding the M6. I wonder whether we might persuade the Minister to look at the southern part of the A5 as well, from the M69 down to the M1. There will be very substantial housing and commercial development at the junction 18 end, and we could use that as an opportunity to improve that thoroughfare.
Mr Jones: I thank my hon. Friend, who represents Rugby. I completely agree with his request in relation to the section further down the A5, which can only help the situation further up the A5, to the benefit of my constituents and the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth. I would also say in that regard that the work currently going on at the Catthorpe interchange, where the M6 meets the M1-A14, will have an extremely positive effect for our constituents in addressing, hopefully, some of the issues—not all, but some—that I referred to earlier: the A5 and Nuneaton get so clogged with traffic due to accidents on the M6.
This evening, I am asking the Minister to speak to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor about this issue, which is a matter of major concern for my constituents and many other people living in the region. He will know that the embryonic work has been carried out. I am now looking for a sympathetic ear in the hope that he will put forward my argument that funding for a further in-depth investigation and feasibility study of this busy stretch of the strategic road network should be made available. The investigation needs to include all stakeholders, particularly the people who live on and are affected by the current route.
I know how diligent the Minister is. He has helped me personally with other issues in my constituency, including the fallout following the closure of Daw Mill colliery. I remember the assistance that he gave me at that time, and I am confident that he will try to help in whatever way he can now. We have an autumn statement coming up, and I am sure that he will make a strong case to the Secretary of State and the Chancellor so that we can look at the long-term future of this busy section of the A5, which needs urgent consideration. I hope that the points that I have put on record tonight will go some way to enabling the case to go forward, so that we can do the right thing for my constituents. That has not been achieved under numerous Governments over the decades, and my constituents have had to put up with absolute mayhem on that section of this busy route.
David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con): I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) for sharing the debate with me. He has done a great job in representing Nuneaton in the House since his election. He has been a credit to his constituents and it has always been a pleasure to work with him.
The problem with this section of the A5 is a problem of success as much as of failure. The huge expansion of MIRA as well as of the business park that was agreed by my right hon. Friend the Minister's coalition colleagues, has created thousands of jobs. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton said, this is a unique stretch of road. Indeed, the section to which he referred, between Dodwells bridge and the Longshoot, actually consists of two roads: the A5 Watling street and the
A47. However, the one does not run above the other. Both are confined into the space of a narrow highway the width of an old-fashioned turnpike.
My hon. Friend has talked about the importance of the road generally. I should like to alert the Minister to a specific problem that is affecting my constituency at the crossing of the A444 and the A5 at the Royal Red Gate junction. I raise the matter because it reflects badly on the organisations concerned, including the Government, the Highways Agency, the county council and Hinckley and Bosworth borough council, none of which has properly consulted Witherley parish council about the matter.
I should like to say a few words about parish councils. The people representing their residents on parish councils are the salt of the earth. They are often very clever people such as the chair of Witherley parish council, who was the head of government and industry affairs at East Midlands airport. We have in this instance a complete failure of communication, in that the local people are under the strong impression that they are not being properly consulted. I ask the Minister to ensure that, when the roundabout at the Royal Red Gate junction is developed, clear signage is put in place to divert the long-distance traffic off on to the M42 and well away from the A5. Also, we do not want the problem of rat runs being blocked, or unblocked, without consultation. I am deeply grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton for raising this important matter, and I look forward—as I am sure he does—to hearing the Minister's reply.
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr John Hayes): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) on securing this debate on the A5 trunk road between the M42, junction 10 and the M69, junction 2. As has been said, he has been a tireless campaigner on the need for future investment in this road, and I recognise his continuing courageous determination in that respect. He has raised this issue on behalf of his constituents, local businesses and the local economy. C.S Lewis said that
"courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point".
My hon. Friend's courage has been in evidence once again tonight in raising these matters.
This Government recognise the crucial role that transport infrastructure plays in facilitating growth across the country and creating a more balanced economy, but that alone would not be justification, of itself; I take the view, and have increasingly evangelised it in the Department and more widely, that improving transport is also about well-being, communal opportunity, individual chances to gain employment and new experiences, and good civil society. I see transport and communications in that broader perspective, which I know my hon. Friend shares. In connecting communities and in enabling people to access jobs, services and leisure, transport can play a vital role in regenerative efforts. That is why we have been determined to reverse the effects of the previous Administration's neglect by securing significant levels of investment in our strategic road network.
All Governments make mistakes and all Governments do things well. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, I like to be generous in these matters, but one of the previous
regime's mistakes was to allow their approach to roads to be driven by the piecemeal, the ad hoc and the reactive. By contrast, this Government are taking a strategic, long-term, lateral view of the importance of investing in roads, which is why we have committed five-year funding to strategic road investment. Hon. Members will know that the detail of that investment in strategic transport infrastructure was set out by the Chancellor in last year's spending review statement. The Treasury Command Paper "Investing in Britain's future" set out that this Government will invest more than £28 billion in enhancements and maintenance of both national and local roads over the period up to 2020-21. That long-term vision, backed by funding, will build consistency and coherence into the approach we take to road development. It means that existing roads will be improved—we are resurfacing about 80% of the nation's roads— and we will invest £10.7 billion in major national road projects, as well as £6 billion in the maintenance of strategic roads.
On the future investment in the strategic network, my hon. Friend will be aware that the Highways Agency is currently conducting its route strategy process. Route strategies will provide a smarter approach to investment planning across the network, through greater collaboration with local stakeholders to determine the nature, need and timing of those investments. The process has been hallmarked by two stages, the first of which has been completed. It identified performance issues on routes, future challenges and growth opportunities, taking full account of local priorities and aspirations, with the finalised evidence made available on 23 April. The second stage is well under way; utilising the evidence, we are establishing outline operational and investment priorities for all routes on the strategic road network, and we will take forward a programme of work to identify indicative solutions, which will cover operational, maintenance and, if appropriate, road improvement schemes to inform future investment plans.
Mark Pawsey: Will the Minister acknowledge the importance of the improvement of such roads to the road haulage industry—many of its firms are based in my constituency—and the important part that logistics plays in our national economy?
Mr Hayes: Indeed, and it was for that very reason that I met the representative body of road hauliers just last week, in the spirit that my hon. Friend personifies. In congratulating and applauding the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton, I must also pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) and for Bosworth (David Tredinnick), who have been tireless campaigners in the defence of and, moreover, in their aspirations for their constituents. They have all taken a particular interest in the A5.
Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con): I am obliged to my right hon. Friend for giving way. May I say that, as a Transport Minister, he is also the people's friend? In support of my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones), may I pray in aid the A5, which is a very important route that my constituents use from the exit of the M42? One part of that exit, which is not dualled, is the exit going towards my hon. Friend's constituency
through north Warwickshire. The route is important for infrastructure and for my constituents. I urge the Minister to listen to what he says.
Mr Hayes: My hon. Friend follows in the tradition of his predecessor, Sir Robert Peel, who also represented Tamworth, in his determination to do what is right for those whom he serves. I prefer to be inspired by Disraeli, as perhaps my hon. Friend does too. None the less, that is an important tradition, and he makes, as always, a powerful argument in this Chamber.
The Government already recognise the importance of improving the A5. The Highways Agency pinch-point scheme for the M42 junction 10, which was completed earlier this year, along with the Highways Agency pinch- point scheme for the A5-A47 Longshoot and Dodwells junctions, which has recently started on site, are due to be completed by March 2015.
In addition, the MIRA enterprise zone, which is located adjacent to the A5 in Hinckley, was successful in securing regional growth funding with which it is providing A5 improvements. Those improvements include increasing the capacity at the A444 Red Gate junction as well as improving the access arrangements to the site itself. Those works are currently on site and are expected to be completed by March 2015.
Overall, these schemes show Government investment of around £15 million into improving this section of the A5. However, I recognise that my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton is concerned that the scale and potential economic and housing growth along the corridor will place increasing pressure on the A5 and that—he has made the case tonight—further investment in the route is necessary. To that end I commend the efforts made by—
Mr Marcus Jones: Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Mr Hayes: Let me finish what I was saying, as I am about to commend my hon. Friend and I know that he would not want to miss that.
I was about to say that I commend the efforts made to date by my hon. Friend, along with the relevant local stakeholders, to engage with the Highways Agency through its route strategy process. I recognise that concerns over the capacity of the A5 were raised by a number of local stakeholders during the Highways Agency's route strategy stakeholder event, with a particular reference to the notable economic and housing development planned along the corridor.
Mr Jones: I thank my right hon. Friend for his kind words, which will, I am sure, be matched with action by him to support my constituents in relation to this important route. May I also impress on him the importance of consultation with the public in relation to any changes to the A5? Over many years, there have been lots of different reconfigurations, particularly at the Red Gate and Longshoot junctions, on which, unfortunately, my constituents have not been consulted. Many think that, as a result, they have not seen the best outcomes.
Mr Hayes: At this point, to the distress of my officials no doubt, I will detach myself from the prepared brief and say two things. First, if that is the case, then I will give this guarantee to the House tonight from this
Dispatch Box that we will improve the way in which we engage with local stakeholders to ensure that any omission or error is not completed. Secondly, as my hon. Friend mentioned that the A5 was a Roman road, I will draw on G.K. Chesterton's poem, "The Rolling English Road". I am inspired by the following words. Chesterton talked about walking with
"clearer eyes and ears this path that wandereth."
I assure my hon. Friend that with that clear sight, this listening Minister in this listening Government will ensure once again that local people's views are taken fully into account.
David Tredinnick rose—
Mr Hayes: I will give way briefly to my hon. Friend, because I want to then say some other exciting and exhilarating things.
David Tredinnick: I am not seeking a commendation such as that given to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton.
There has been poor consultation on the Red Gate junction. If the Minister is going to put up barriers on these major roads, they will have to be concrete to make sure that no one can break through them when they are not supposed to.
Mr Hayes: I am mindful of what my hon. Friend says and I want to pay particular attention to those remarks and his earlier remarks if I have time in a few moments. He raised some important concerns that are particular but deserve full consideration.
As I say, I commend the partnership working between local authorities along the corridor, with the relevant Government departments, including the Highways Agency, and the efforts that have been undertaken recently to carry out an initial study of the potential substantive options for the route. My hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton paid attention to that in his remarks. Although this is only an initial step, as he acknowledged, I understand that the embryonic work indicates that a very significant scheme to improve the full length of the route between the M42 and the M69 to dual carriageway standard may be an appropriate long-term option.
This proposal is being considered by the Highways Agency through the route strategy process. At this stage I cannot guarantee that funding further to progress the
study work for such a solution to the A5 will be included in the upcoming roads investment strategy, but I will guarantee this evening that it will be actively considered, along with other proposals for the strategic network, and mindful of the remarks of my hon. Friend and other hon. Members who have fought this brave campaign, I will reinforce those concerns when I return to the Department tomorrow morning.
I want to say a particular word to my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth, because he has raised some specific doubts about some of the road closures that have taken place. This is not the first time that he has raised them in the House. Again, his diligence speaks for itself. I want to give him this assurance. I understand that the road closures in their current format meet safety and access requirements and though the disruption is significant for some, I know he welcomes growth across the network. As a result of his intervention tonight, I will ask the Department to look again at the impact of those closures, what more the Highway Agency can do to make sure they are as minimal as they can be, and to take any further measures to ease problems that may arise from that disruption.
I said at the outset of the debate that my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton has done the House a service. It may be unconventional, but I take the view that Government policy should be framed and shaped through debates such as this. It is not sufficient for a Minister to stand here and not respond to hon. Members' concerns, on whatever side of the Chamber they sit. I will ensure that in all the work we do as a Government, and our agencies do on our behalf, the considerations of hon. Members, representing and articulating as they do the concerns of the people they serve, are at the very heart of what the Government do.
C. S. Lewis also said:
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
I know that my hon. Friend's goal, and that of other hon. Members, is that the A5 serves its purpose in delivering the well-being that I described and fuelling the economic growth that we all seek. This debate has taken that dream one step further.
House adjourned.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are described as an important immune modulator in the tumor microenvironment and are associated with breast cancer (BC) outcome. The spatial analysis of TILs and TIL subtype distribution at the invasive tumor front (ITF) and the tumor center (TC) might provide further insights into tumor progression.
We analyzed core biopsies from 87 pre-therapeutic BC patients for total TILs and the following subtypes: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ and CD68+ cells in correlation to clinicopathological parameters and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in the bone marrow.
TILs and TIL subtypes showed significantly different spatial distribution among both tumor areas. TILs, especially CD3+ T cells were associated with the tumor status and tumor grading. BC patients responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy had significantly more TILs and CD3+ T cells at the TC. The presence of DTCs after NACT was related to CD4+ infiltration at the TC.
The dissimilar spatial association of TILs and TIL subtypes with clinicopathological parameters, NACT response and minimal residual disease underlines the necessity of detailed TIL analysis for a better understanding of immune modulatory processes.
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant tumor and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide . Due to significant progress in early diagnosis and individualized treatment options, the clinical outcome of BC has improved in the recent decades . The main goals of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) are the reduction of tumor burden and monitoring tumor response to NACT . However, a pathological complete response (pCR) after NACT can be achieved in 46 to 60% of the patients and 20% experience a metastatic relapse [4–6]. This might be explained by micrometastatic spread of tumor cells, preferentially to the bone marrow (BM) as disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) [7, 8]. The presence and persistence of these cells as well as their prognostic relevance has widely been shown [9–14] which indicates a rationale for testing alternative or secondary treatment options. In this regard, some efforts, including chemo-, antibody- or bisphosphonate therapy, have already been published [15–20].
There is evidence that inflammatory mediators released by cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes foster the development of a tumor microenvironment (TME) favoring tumor proliferation, migration, invasion as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) [21, 22]. Therefore, the composition and balance of anti- and pro-tumorigenic immune cells interspersing malignant tissue play a critical role for disease outcome . Tumor-infiltrating immune cells are frequently observed in cancer, but the immune cell subtype composition differs among tumor entities . The association of increased TILs with favorable prognosis in BC is widely accepted, however the role of different TIL subtypes remains controversial . The predictive and prognostic significance of TILs was validated in large clinical studies, especially in triple negative (TNBC) and HER2 positive BC [26, 27]. Overall, a high density of TILs was described to be associated with a favorable outcome in NACT treated BC patients. However, subgroup analysis according to different molecular BC subtypes reported a correlation between high TILs, a poor outcome but a higher pCR rate [28, 29]. In a T cell subtype analysis, high levels of infiltrating CD8+ T cells were associated with a prolonged overall survival. CD4+ T helper cells were described to be a favorable prognostic factor with regard to overall clinical outcome [30, 31], while the influence of immunosuppressive regulatory CD4+ T cells still remains controversially debated [32–35]. B cells have been less extensively investigated, but are described to be associated with favorable disease outcome . CD68+ macrophages were associated with worse prognostic features [37, 38] as well as shortened disease-free survival [38–40].
The crosstalk of tumor and immune cells located at the invasive tumor front (ITF) with the cells from the TME is essential for tumor progression and metastasis development [41, 42]. It has been demonstrated first in colorectal cancer (CRC) that CD3+ and CD8+ lymphocytes are spatially differentially distributed between the tumor center (TC) and the ITF and that the density and pattern of these immune infiltrates were associated with CRC patient outcome . This led to the development of the so called Immunoscore assay to qualify and quantify the local host immune reaction to cancer cells, based on the numeration of two lymphocyte populations (CD3+ T cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells), both in the core of the tumor (TC) and in the invasive margin.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the clinical impact of differential spatial distribution of TILs in primary BCs at baseline from NACT-treated patients in correlation to prognostic and predictive parameters as well as minimal residual disease. Here we evaluated densities and infiltration patterns of TILs and TIL subtypes separately in the TC and at the ITF from 87 pre-NACT BC core biopsies and correlated these findings to i) clinicopathological parameters, ii) response to NACT and iii) DTC status in the BM pre- and post-therapy.
This retrospective, single-center study comprises 87 women with histologically proven primary invasive, non-metastatic BC who were diagnosed and treated between 2009 and 2012 at the Department for Gynecology and Obstetrics and the Institute of Pathology of the University Hospital Essen, Germany. Further eligibility criteria included: availability of bone marrow samples for DTCs at baseline and post-NACT, no severe co-morbidities, no further malignancies and surgical therapy after NACT with postoperative evaluation of the pathological response. Treatment decisions and follow-up were in accordance with international recommendations included in the German guidelines at that time. Indication for and composition of NACT regimens were described in detail previously . The clinical response to NACT was graded on a three-tier scale as i) no change (pNC), ii) partial remission (pPR) and iii) pathologic complete remission (pCR) with no residual invasive or noninvasive tumor cells in breast and lymph nodes (ypT0,ypTis0, ypN0) . Tumor type and stage were assessed according to the WHO-Classification of malignant tumors of the breast  and the sixth edition of the TNM Classification System . The histopathological tumor grading pre-treatment was performed according to the Nottingham system elaborated by Elston and Ellis . The histological regression grade post-NACT was determined using the four-tier classification of Sinn et al. . Patient and tumor characteristics are listed in Table 1. All patients gave written informed consent for use of their tumor tissue for research purposes. The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee (16–6915-BO) and fully conforms to the principles outlined in the declaration of Helsinki.
BM was aspirated from the anterior iliac crests from BC patients prior to and after completing NACT (pre-NACT: n = 61, post-NACT: n = 72, matched samples: n = 47). All samples were obtained after written informed consent and collected using protocols approved by the institutional review board (05/2856). Isolation and detection of DTCs was performed according to current guidelines  and were described in detail elsewhere .
Routinely formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) pre-NACT core biopsies were retrieved from the archives of the Institute of Pathology. An average number of 5 biopsies (range: 1 to 20) were procured per BC patient with a median size of 0.6 to 1.5 cm. Based on the availability of sufficient remaining tissue, core biopsies obtained before NACT were pre-screened on hematoxylin and eosin stained (H&E) sections for the presence of at least 30% tumor tissue and representative areas of TC and ITF within the biopsy. The TC was defined as intra-tumoral areas comprising malignant epithelial glands and desmoplastic tumor stroma with no direct connection to the peri-tumoral non-tumorus breast tissue. The ITF was restricted to a narrow band-like area at the tumor/host interface with a width of approximately 1 mm between the invasive edge of carcinoma tissue and the adjacent non-tumorus fibro-adipose stroma of the mammary gland . The finally stained samples contained in average three biopsies (range: 1 to 4) per slide. In detail, one biopsy was on the slide in 10 cases, two biopsies in 34 cases, three biopsies in 37 cases and four biopsies in six cases. One slide per TIL subtype per patient (in total 6 slides per patients to evaluate) was stained as follows. Two μm thick serial tissue sections were cut and mounted on SuperFrost® Plus slides (Menzel, Braunschweig, Germany) for IHC. After deparaffinization and antigen retrieval (95 °C; 20 min citrate buffer), IHC was performed using the automated staining system BenchMark Ultra (Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, USA) according to the manufacturer's instruction. Staining was performed simultaneously on all slides with each antibody to avoid intersection variability. The following primary antibodies were used: CD3 (clone: SP7, DCS Innovative Diagnostik-Systeme, Hamburg, Germany; dilution: 1:400), CD4 (clone: 1F6, Zytomed Systems, Berlin, Germany; dilution: 1:40), CD8 (clone: C8/144B, DAKOCytomation, Glostrup, Denmark; dilution: 1:150), CD20 (clone: L26, DAKOCytomation, Glostrup, Denmark; ready to use), CD68 (clone: PG-M1, DAKOCytomation, Glostrup, Denmark; dilution: 1:500). Visualization of primary antibody binding was enabled using the OptiView DAB detection kit (Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, USA). Positivity was defined by membranous staining of immune cells, irrespectively of the staining intensity. Human tonsil tissue sections served as routine positive control in each run and the staining quality was verified by the study breast pathologist.
One biopsy per patient was semi-quantitatively evaluated using a light microscope (Axioskop 2, Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany) at 100x. The densities of the total TILs (H&E) and IHC-determined TIL subtypes were evaluated separately in the TC and at the ITF in the core biopsies, based on the recommendations of the International TILs Working Group and adapted with some practical modifications [23, 51]. Scores were defined as the percent proportion of the area infiltrated by the immune cells in the TC and at the ITF according to recommendations of Denkert et al.  and Salgado et al. , irrespective of intraepithelial or stromal localization. The quantity of TILs infiltration was classified into three categories: low (L) = 0–10%, moderate (M) = 11–30% and high (H) ≥ 31% infiltration. For binary statistics, low infiltrations were defined as "TIL-poor", while moderate and high TILs were combined into "TIL-rich" categories.
In accordance with the Immunoscore (IS)-concept of Galon et al. [43, 53], two-marker immune profile estimations were also performed in situ by assessing the relative density of CD3+/CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, CD68+/CD8+, CD3+/CD20+ and CD68+/CD20+ immune cell populations in the TC and ITF regions [38, 54]. The dual scores were graded as follows: IS-G1 [high densities of both markers in both localizations (4xH)], IS-G2 [heterogeneous densities (3xH, 2xH, 1xH) for both markers and localizations] and IS-G3 [low densities of both markers at both areas (4xL) .
To minimize intra-observer variability, each staining was analyzed twice: (i) all slides from one immune cell subtype staining, (ii) all stained slides from one patient. The results were randomly re-checked by the study pathologist. A good inter-observer agreement was found (κ = 0,767). Figure 1 shows representative H&E staining (A) as well as CD3 IHC (B) for each infiltration category and for both tumor areas. IHC staining images for CD4, CD8, CD20 and CD68 are provided as supplementary material (Additional file 1: Figure S1).
All statistical analyses were calculated using the R i386 statistical programming environment (v3.2.3). Before starting the literal statistical analysis, the Shapiro-Wilks-test was applied to test for normal distribution of the data. Subsequently, either a parametric or non-parametric test was applied. For dichotomous variables either the Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney rank sum test (non-parametric) or two-sided student's t-test (parametric) was utilized. For ordinal variables with more than two groups, either the Kruskal-Wallis test (non-parametric) or ANOVA (parametric) was used to detect group differences. Double dichotomous contingency tables were analyzed using Fisher's exact test. To test dependence to ranked parameters with more than two groups the Pearson's Chi-squared test was applied. Correlations between metric or pseudometric parameters were tested by using the Pearson's product moment correlation test for linear and the Spearman's rank correlation test for non-linear regression, respectively. Due to the multiple statistical tests the p-values were adjusted by calculating the false discovery rate (FDR). Minimal sample size for each distinct group has been calculated using power calculation with Type I error probability of 0.05 and Type II error probability of 0.1. On a basis of a two-sample, two-sided t-test (SD = 1, delta = 1), the minimal sample size has been calculated as 23. The level of statistical significance was defined as p ≤ 0.05 after adjustment.
In total, 73 (84%) of the 87 tumors studied were infiltrated by TILs. The dominant TILs subtype across all BCs included CD3+ T lymphocytes, which were detected in 64 (74%) tumors, followed by CD8+ T cells in 59 (68%) and CD20+ B cells in 57 (66%) of the cases. Half of the tumors (50%) were infiltrated by CD68+ macrophages and 27 (31%) BCs had a CD4+ T cell infiltration (Fig. 2).
At the ITF, the majority of the tumors [n = 69, (80%)] were infiltrated at high and moderate levels by TILs. Regarding the quantity of infiltration by different cell types, high and moderate subtype density was observed most frequently for CD3+ lymphocytes [n = 60, (69%)], followed by CD20+ B cells in 55 (63%) and CD8+ lymphocytes in 48 cases (55%). CD68+ macrophages and CD4+ T cells were mainly present in low concentrations or lacked completely (Fig. 2a).
The TC was predominantly moderately infiltrated by TILs [n = 42, (48%)] and 27 (31%) of the tumors showed low level infiltration or were completely negative for TILs. 18 tumors (21%) were highly infiltrated by total TILs at the TC. CD3+ T cells represented the predominant subtype with high and moderate infiltration of the TC in 45 tumors (52%), while all other TIL subtypes were mainly present in low levels or lacked completely (Fig. 2b).
Both intratumoral localizations showed a significant positive correlation between total TILs and immune cell subtype infiltrations. However, the composition of the immune cell infiltrate was significantly different in the two regions. At the ITF, the amount of total TILs was positively associated with all TIL subtypes, except CD68+ macrophages. In particular, the presence of CD3+ T cells was significantly correlated with CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes (p = 5.35 E-5 and p = 0.0054) as well as with CD20+ B cell infiltrations (p = 1.39 E-5). The presence of CD20+ B cells was significantly related to infiltration with CD3+ T cells and CD8+ T lymphocytes (p = 1.39 E-5 and p = 0.0178). An additional association between CD8+ and CD4+ T cells was found (p = 0.0112). CD68+ macrophages were not associated with any TIL subgroup at the ITF (Table 2A).
In the TC, total TILs and TIL subtypes were related to each other in a similar manner with some differences. Remarkably, CD68+ macrophages were here significantly associated with total TILs infiltration (p = 0.0011), whereas no correlation with T cell subtypes and B lymphocytes was found (Table 2B). Furthermore, CD 8+ T cells were not associated with CD4+ T cells in the TC.
The comparison of total TIL infiltration between the two areas revealed, if more total TILs were infiltrating the ITF, more were present in the TC and vice versa (p = 0.0005). Similarly, highly significant correlations were observed for CD3+ T cells (p = 0.0005), CD4+ T cells (p = 0.0012) and CD68+ macrophages (p = 0.0026) between the infiltration densities in the two different regions. The combined analysis of TC and ITF demonstrated a high proportion of total TILs in the TC significantly related to an elevated infiltration of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.0023), as well as to CD20+ B cells at the ITF (p = 0.0251). A high amount of CD3+ cells at the TC was significantly related to high infiltrates of CD3+ (p = 0.0005), total TILs (p = 0.0013), CD4+ (p = 0.0011), CD20+ (p = 0.0013) and CD8+ cells (p = 0.0086) at the ITF. CD20+ B cells as well as CD8+ T lymphocytes differed between the two regions (Table 2C).
Overall, the composition of the immune infiltration was significantly different between the TC and the ITF regions. There was a highly significant accumulation of total TILs (p = 6.666 E-7) and all immune subsets at the ITF. Of note, CD20+ B cells were predominant at the ITF compared to the TC (p = 2.299 E-11). Higher densities of the T cell subsets with main subtypes of CD3+ (p = 1.109 E-6), CD8+ (p = 0.0031) and CD4+ T cells (p = 0.0073) were also present at the ITF. The difference for CD68+ macrophages was less significant (p = 0.0103) (data not shown).
Among the clinicopathological characteristics examined (Table 1), only tumor grade and tumor size pre- and post NACT were significantly associated with immune infiltrates in the pre-treatment core biopsies. The tumor grade was directly correlated with the degree of total TILs and CD3+ T cell infiltrations. Less differentiated tumors had significantly higher levels of TILs at both tumor areas (p = 0.047, respectively) and increased amount of CD3+ T cells at the ITF (p = 0.0407) (Table 3). Tumor size pre-NACT (cT-stage) was inversely correlated with the density of total TILs, CD3+ T cells and CD4+ T lymphocytes in the TC; they were highly present at early stages (cT1) and then decreased along with tumor progression (p = 0.004 for total TILs and CD3+ and p = 0.011 for CD4+ T cells). Tumor size post-NACT (ypT-stage) showed an inverse correlation with the degree of total TILs infiltration at the ITF (p = 0.0069) and in the TC (p = 0.0014) as well as with CD3+ T cells at the ITF (p = 0.001) and at the TC (p = 0.0069). Likewise, high levels of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as well as CD20+ B cells at the ITF were significantly related to smaller tumors post-NACT (Table 3). An inverse correlation between post-NACT tumor stage and the grade of the Immunoscore-like dual marker combinations of CD3/CD8 and CD3/CD20 (p = 0.0254 and p = 0.0144) were observed, indicating that higher level infiltration of CD3+ T cells either with CD8+ T cells or with CD20+ B cells in both tumor regions was associated with a reduced tumor size after therapy.
Response to NACT was primarily evaluated with regard to the pathological response rate (pCR) and secondly to the histological regression grade . An improved response rate to NACT was observed with increasing amounts of total TILs and CD3+ T cells in the TC (p = 0.0204 and p = 0.0235) (Table 3). Higher histological regression grades were significantly associated with increased total TILs in the TC (p = 0.0007) as well as with elevated levels of CD3+ and CD8 + T lymphocytes and CD20+ B cells at both intratumoral regions. CD4+ infiltrates were only associated with tumor shrinkage after therapy when localized at the ITF (Table 3). It is of note, that the IS-like dual marker combinations CD3/CD8 and CD3/CD20 were directly related to the histological regression grade (p = 0.0093 and p = 0.0481) post-NACT (Table 3). There were no significant associations between TILs and the different NACT regimens applied.
Overall, 19 BC patients showed DTCs in the BM at one time point, while 28 patients did not have DTCs before and after NACT. In average, one DTC was present before (range: 1–14) and after (range: 1–7) NACT. While no association with DTC presence before NACT was found, the presence of DTCs post-NACT was significantly associated with a higher incidence of CD4+ T cells at the TC (p = 0.0296) (Table 3).
Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the tumor immune microenvironment is becoming increasingly important with the emerging role of immunotherapy in breast cancer .
In the present study, we confirmed that pre-treatment TIL infiltration pattern significantly differed between ITF and TC in primary BC.
In line with the most published studies, TIL infiltration was found in more than 80% of all tumors and the overall predominant TIL subtype included CD3+ T cells, with CD8+ T cells being the main subset. The infiltration of CD4+ T cells was lower in our patient cohort than in the study of Garcia-Martinez et al. . CD68+ macrophages were present in about the half of all tumors which is in concordance with other studies [54, 57]. The heterogeneous spatial distribution of TILs and TIL subtypes between the ITF and the TC has also been reported by Mani et al. . Likewise, they found CD3+ T cells as the predominant TIL subtype in both tumor areas. Our finding of a significant accumulation of total TILs and all immune cell subtypes at the ITF provides evidence that the ITF represents an immunological hot spot area of communication between tumor and host. This phenomenon was also described for CRC [43, 55, 59] as well as in other solid tumors, including breast cancer [24, 38, 60, 61].
The positive correlation between total TILs and especially CD3+ T cells at the ITF and TC confirmed the observed TIL infiltration pattern with T cells as the dominant subtype while CD20+ B cells were predominantly located at the ITF. The concept of a time sequenced infiltration, B cells following the primarily responding T cells, provides an explanation for the spatially different subtype presence .
The correlation between TILs and immune cell subtypes with regard to chemotherapy response and survival has been investigated in various studies [25, 28, 35, 63, 64], but the association with clinicopathological parameters remains controversial [27, 28, 54, 65, 66]. Significantly higher TILs and CD3+ levels at the ITF in less differentiated tumors confirmed previous findings of others . In contrast to other groups, we observed an association of smaller tumors post-NACT with a higher infiltration level of pre-treatment TILs and CD3+ cells at the ITF . This may be explained by chemotherapy triggering or enhancing an anti-tumor immune response, thus, contributing to tumor remission .
Regarding the relationship between immune cell infiltration and clinicopathological patients' and tumor characteristics, we did not find any association with the hormone receptor status, BC subtypes and any other parameters tested, in contrast to other studies [27, 66]. These divergent results might be explained by our separate spatial analysis of total TILs and immune cell subtypes at the ITF and the TC, whereas all other groups assessed the entire tumor.
Enhanced TILs and CD3+ T cells levels were found to be associated with a higher rate of pCR in BC patients in several studies [25, 27, 28, 35, 54, 63]. Besides the significant role of CD3+, CD8+ and CD20+ lymphocytes at both intratumoral regions in pCR, our results revealed that the infiltration of the TC with total TILs and CD3+ T cells was also significantly associated with NACT response and the pathological regression score  and was also described for entire tumor analyses in other neoadjuvant BC TIL studies [28, 29, 54, 63, 68]. Further, neoadjuvant BC trials investigating TNBC and HER2 positive BC subgroups [GeparQuattro , GeparQuinto , GeparSixto  and NeoALLTO  trials] confirmed this finding. This underlines again the clinical significance of the heterogeneous spatial distribution of TILs. In comparison to these trials we did not observe a relation of TILs to different NACT regimen [28, 69].
One of the novelties of the current study was the in situ analysis of different IS-like dual marker combinations. We demonstrated that higher CD3/CD8 and CD3/CD20 scores significantly correlated with advanced histological regression grades and reduced tumor size post-NACT. These findings support the central role of cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes within the CD3+ T cell subset and the potential regulatory role of CD20+ B lymphocytes on T cell function during tumor cell elimination .
The International TILs working group defined recommendations for TILs analysis and suggested the inclusion of the spatial differential analysis at TC and ITF [23, 51]. The good inter-observer agreement in the present study was in line with others and proved this TIL evaluation method as independent from the observer [71, 72]. Commonly, TILs are analyzed from pre-NACT core biopsies or primary tumor tissue evaluating hematoxylin and eosin stained sections (H&E) and TIL subtypes were assessed by using immunohistochemical staining or immune gene signatures . It has been demonstrated that the TIL distribution in a single biopsy of a tumor is representative of the whole tumor . We are aware of the limitations of our study, as we were retrospectively analyzing a small cohort of early primary breast carcinomas. Besides described BC specific eligibility criteria, the availability of DTC analysis was mandatory and the investigation of the correlation to TILs was a main aim in this study. However, these stringent study criteria did not allow a differentiated BC subgroup analysis, which was a primary aim in the BIG 02–98 and the FinHER trial. Currently, there is no standard TILs evaluation method defined and used throughout all studies, which might explain the diverse results between the huge numbers of studies.
To the best of our knowledge, we are the first group investigating DTCs, which reflect pre-treatment tumor cell dissemination into the BM and minimal residual disease after NACT, in correlation with the cellular immunity in the tumor microenvironment. The presence of DTCs after NACT was significantly associated with higher levels of CD4+ T cells located in the TC pre-NACT. In this context, DeNardo et al. demonstrated metastatic spread into the lungs upon CD4+ T cells regulating pro-tumorigenic macrophage activity. However, a high CD4+/CD8+ ratio was not related to tumor cell dissemination in our study . Regulatory CD4+ T cells can prevent the differentiation and expansion of cytotoxic T cells as well as DC maturation [74–76] and therefore prevent tumor elimination. The initiation of the pre-metastatic niche, e.g. in the BM, can be realized by CD4+ Tregs as well . Remarkably, the CD4+ T cells in the TC, but not at the ITF correlated with DTCs. This leads to the suggestion that tumor cell dissemination may not depend on a direct physical interaction at the tumor-host interface, but rather on a communication via secreted cytokines/chemokines. It is conceivable, that CD4+ T cells facilitate dissemination of tumor cells exhibiting stem-cell character or an EMT phenotype. For BC, DTCs with stem cell character have already been detected [78, 79] and the molecular characterization of circulating tumor cells in this patient cohort identified tumor cells with a stem-cell phenotype or in EMT after the completion of NACT . However, although the prognostic significance of DTCs has been demonstrated in a variety of studies, not all patients with detectable DTCs have a higher risk of relapse. The group by Falck et al., could not confirm the negative prognostic impact of DTCs in a cohort of 401 primary BC patients . On the one hand, this might be explained by the use of immunofluorescence for staining of DTCS which is not the standard method that has been recommended after a consensus discussion . Immunofluorescence is critical because of BM auto-fluorescence and endogenous immune cell properties as well as BM matrix components that can generate false-positive staining results which has been demonstrated very recently . On the other hand, not all of the detected DTCs have metastatic potential. Pantel and Hayes, 2018, proposed an interesting model postulating that only patients who harbor DTCs with stem cell character with full metastatic potential of self-renewal and immortality among all other tumor bulk cells will develop metastasis years after first diagnosis . Thus, before using DTCs as a diagnostic tool, a more precise characterization of the cells is necessary to identify patients who might have a higher risk for relapse.
BC was considered a non-immunogenic tumor entity before analyzing TIL infiltration  At current, the application of T cell-mediated immunotherapy of CTLA-4 [84, 85] and PD-L1 inhibitors  in combination with standard of care BC therapy in BC patients is quite promising . However, the possibility of offering immunotherapies to BC patients depends on the tumor infiltration by certain immune cells. Our results contribute to increasing the knowledge about the complex interactions between BC and its inflammatory microenvironment with putative prognostic and predictive value.
We demonstrated that dissimilar immune disposition at the ITF and TC is differentially associated with pro- and anti-tumor immunity, tumor cell dissemination and tumor response to contemporary NACT regimens in this cohort of early primary breast carcinomas. Further studies with comprehensive morpho-molecular evaluation of abundance, type and intra-tumoral location of tumor infiltrating immune cells might help to unravel their clinical relevance in the tumor immune microenvironment as well as their potential role as biomarker for or target of future treatment of breast cancer with personalized immuno therapies.
Sabine Kasimir-Bauer and Agnes Bankfalvi contributed equally to this work.
We gratefully thank the patients for study participation and kindly providing their samples. We highly value the support by the medical doctors and laboratory team of the Department for Gynecology as well as from the colleagues of the Institute for Pathology, both University Hospital Essen.
This study was not funded by any agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The datasets used and/or analysed during this current study are available from the corresponding author (LK) on reasonable request.
LK, SKB and AB conceived and designed the study. LK and AB developed the methodology for microscopic assessment and evaluated the samples. OH and AKB participated in sample procurement and documented the patients' characteristics. SKB, AB, KWS and RK provided administrative, technical and material support. FDM performed the biostatistical analysis. LK, FDM, SKB and AB interpreted the data results. LK drafted the manuscript and figures/tables with input from SKB, AB, FDM. All authors were involved in reviewing the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.
All patients gave written informed consent for use of their tumor tissue for research purposes. The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee from the University Hospital Essen (16–6915-BO) and fully conforms to the principles outlined in the declaration of Helsinki.
Hosseini H, Obradovic MM, Hoffmann M, Harper KL, Sosa MS, Werner-Klein M, et al. Early dissemination seeds metastasis in breast cancer. Nature. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20785.


4 So neither Johanan nor any of the military leaders nor any of the people obeyed the voice of Yahweh by staying in the country of Judah.
6 men, women, children, the royal princesses too, and every single person that Nebuzaradan commander of the guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah.
7 And so, in disobedience to the voice of Yahweh, they reached Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.
9 'Take some large stones and bury them in the cement on the terrace outside the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, where the Judaeans can see you.
10 Then say to them, 'Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: Look, I shall send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will place his throne on these stones I have buried, and spread his canopy above them.
11 When he comes, he will defeat Egypt: Those for the plague, to the plague; those for captivity, to captivity; those for the sword, to the sword!
12 'He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn these gods or take them prisoner; like a shepherd wrapping his cloak round him, so he will wrap Egypt round him, and then leave without anyone laying hands on him.


text:
When the coat
turns scarlet
Miles Cooper spent years as a hunt saboteur, then swapped sides to run a pack of hounds in Yorkshire in a tale of poacher turned gamekeeper
Home Features When the coat turns scarlet
Miles Cooper's first outing with the Hunt Saboteurs Association in the English countryside wasn't so much a baptism of fire, more a bash over the head with a shooting stick. He was walking along a riverbank with a group of other protesters, hoping to disrupt a hunt for wild mink, when one of the hunt supporters lashed out.
"It left me with a large bump by the end of the afternoon," Cooper recalls. "He just took out his frustration on the nearest person and I happened to be in the wrong place, but thinking about it later he didn't strike me as the sort of chap who went around hitting people. I began to wonder what motivated this man to behave in a way he wouldn't dream of doing if he'd met me in the street."
"Some said they didn't understand me, but others were just abusive."
That was back in the late 1980s when Cooper was a 19-year-old student and had just started more than a decade of involvement with anti-hunt campaigns that led to him being arrested many times. But that desire to understand the other side's point of view ultimately led to him to swap the ex-army camouflage jacket he wore as a hunt saboteur and don a red hunting coat. Today his transformation is complete as master of the Highmoor Hunt in North Yorkshire.
His conversion wasn't a result of seeing some biblical flash of light on the road to Damascus, says the former RE teacher, more the result of conversations he had with farmers in the country lanes of South Oxfordshire, where he lived before moving north.
Fellow students had recruited him to the Hunt Saboteurs Association, often referred to as "sabs", and he can see it was a natural extension of his left-wing views at the time, although he admits that until then hunting hadn't crossed his radar as something he should passionately oppose.
He soon found there was a strong "them and us" aspect to the protests in the eyes of many sabs, a belief that it was part of a wider class struggle and hunting was a rich man's sport. Cooper came from an ordinary family, not the landed gentry, and he realises now that central to the ethos of sabbing in the minds of some members was more a desire to bring down part of the establishment than to save foxes and hares.
That whack over the head on his first hunt at Collyweston Bridge in Northamptonshire became an initiation into the tight-knit, secretive world of the sabs. The battle lines had been drawn, and he knew which side he was on. He remembers the excitement of the police turning up in riot gear and a helicopter filming them from above. "There was a lot of noise and aggro, a lot of passion on both sides, and it all took place under a blazing sun in the open fields of the English countryside. It was very odd indeed, when I think back, but the experience clearly captured me, didn't it?"
He would spend six seasons as a sab, becoming skilful in the art of blowing the same kind of horn as huntsmen and using the same voice commands to control their hounds, effectively diverting the pack away from the foxes they were meant to pursue.
Arrest became an occupational hazard, and he laughs about getting to know the insides of a fair number of police cells. He even successfully sued two police forces for unlawful arrest and illegal imprisonment. "But let's get one thing straight – I was not one of the balaclava and stick brigade. My role was to be disruptive at hunts, not violent. I've never liked fighting, and I'm not overly keen on pain."
So when did he start having second thoughts about his life as a sab?
A turning point, he says, was the day in 1993 when one of the sabs was killed, dragged under the rear wheels of a horse lorry when clothing became caught on a wing mirror. It was one of the final hunts of the season and groups of sabs from a wide area had converged on a meet by the Cambridgeshire Foxhounds – so many, in fact, that the hunt had been called off and both horses and hounds were being taken away when the accident happened. Cooper believes that the death of 15-year-old Tom Worby from Milton Keynes was nothing but a tragic waste of a young life.
"It made me think. Wouldn't it do that to anybody? I did continue as a sab for another couple of seasons, though. I mean, when you're very involved in something like that your colleagues actually become closer than family, so when I arrived at the point of deciding I didn't want to do this anymore it was difficult to extricate myself. It took a long time to unpick my involvement."
It was a gradual withdrawal, giving up his sab's horn for one of the League Against Cruel Sports' Hi8 camcorders and following hunts to try to get evidence of lawbreaking on film. The object was to gather information that would be used by politicians and lawyers.
But Cooper's disillusionment continued. The juicy evidence of wrongdoing by the hunts never materialized, despite many hours sitting in fields, ditches and woods hoping to catch someone in the act of disregarding the rules. Finally, he knew he'd hit rock bottom when it was suggested they start going through the rubbish bins of pro-hunting politicians and celebrities to find something that would discredit them.
"I was sure that wasn't ethical. It was an analogue and very grubby equivalent of phone hacking, so we were probably ahead of the tabloids on that one. It was crazy."
When he found himself living in rural Oxfordshire Cooper got to know farmers who were confronted with foxes on a daily basis. Talking to them, he began to accept that, whether society liked it or not, foxes and deer had to be controlled and it was necessary to kill them by one method or another.
That's when he changed his views on whether hunting was the best method, and accepted an invitation to spend a day with the Warwickshire Hunt to see it from the other side.
He was persuaded to publicly come out as pro-hunting by appearing at a Westminster press conference in 2002 when the second Labour government of Tony Blair began the consultation process that led to a hunting ban two years later. Overnight, he lost friends he'd known since his late teens. A few called him a traitor, and there were unsavoury messages left on his answering machine. "Some said they didn't understand me, but others were just straightforwardly abusive."
Almost a decade later he moved to Yorkshire to work as a manager for an agricultural college. It is often said that no one is a more fervent supporter of a cause than a convert and that is certainly true of Cooper, for after learning to ride in order to join a fox hunt he also began to breed – and hunt with – ferrets.
And now his transformation is complete as master of the Highmoor Bloodhounds. The pack of 33, all bloodhound-foxhound crosses, follow a human scent known as the "clean boot" rather than faux animal trails.
"I love hunting through the forestry plantations in our part of North Yorkshire on a cold winter's day, hearing the cry of the hounds," he says. "There's nothing quite like it. But if the younger Miles could see me now he'd probably want to lynch the older me."
In the end, he says, he has discovered what he probably always knew – that hunting isn't a sport just for toffs but enjoyed by a cross-section of society. Most of the people he knows sacrifice a lot to pay for the upkeep of a horse. He argues that it contributes a significant amount to the rural economy, and plays an important role alongside other forms of control in managing wild animal populations.
"It also makes you get older, greyer and poorer a lot quicker."
Photo: Dawn Walmsley
Interact: Responses to When the coat


text:
Standard Chartered, Microsoft join hands to advance the bank's digital workplace transformation
The deal is expected to make Standard Chartered's technologists to evolve their skills and adopt cloud-first principles to use Azure as the bank's preferred cloud platform.
To support Standard Chartered's digital transformation journey, the bank's technologists would have to upskill themselves in future growth areas.
SINGAPORE: Standard Chartered Bank and Microsoft have announced a three-year strategic partnership to accelerate the bank's digital transformation through a cloud-first strategy.
Among other things, the partnership will advance the bank's digital workplace transformation with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams providing modern productivity and collaboration tools to Standard Chartered's 84,000 employees across its 60 markets.
This partnership marks a significant milestone for Standard Chartered in making its vision for virtual banking, next-generation payments, open banking and banking-as-a-service a reality, according to a statement issued on August 11.
Leveraging Microsoft Azure as a preferred cloud platform, the companies will also co-innovate in open banking and real-time payments to help the bank unlock new banking experiences for clients.
According to media reports, the bank expects its significant applications, including its core banking and trading systems and new digital ventures, such as virtual banking and banking-as-a-service, to become cloud-based by 2025.
To support Standard Chartered's digital transformation journey, the bank's technologists would have to upskill themselves in future growth areas such as cloud, cyber security, data solutions, analytics, AI architecture, API, and DevOps.
Michael Gorriz, Group Chief Information Officer, Standard Chartered, said, "Using cloud services improves our ability to be agile and innovative, while increasing our operational efficiency and resilience."
Bill Borden, Corporate Vice President - Worldwide Financial Services, Microsoft, said, "We are committed to helping Standard Chartered Bank in its ongoing digital transformation journey as it strives to address evolving customer needs and build the next generation of banking experiences."
virtual workplace


A controversial late penalty from Fabian Schar almost gave Basel a draw, but David Luiz's stoppage-time free-kick put Chelsea in control after Victor Moses had opened the scoring in the first half. In the other semi, Fenerbahce could have won by a larger margin but struck the woodwork thrice and missed a penalty to scrape through for a 1-0 win.
Fenerbahce, seen celebrating their goal here, hold the slightest of edges going into the second leg. They will probably rue the 'missed' chances if Benfica play well at home.
Egemen Korkmaz, the goal-scorer for Fenerbahce, celebrates after getting his reward with 18 minutes to go in the game.
In the other semi, Chelsea took the lead after 12 minutes following a fine move when Cesar Azpilicueta's cross was diverted goalwards by Frank Lampard and pushed behind by Yann Sommer.
In the resulting corner, Branislav Ivanovic missed Lampard's spot-kick, but ball struck the head of Victor Moses (celebrating in image) and bounced inside the far post. It was a lucky break but goal nonetheless.
Fernando Torres, who has been in fine form at the Europa League, continued with his exploits, albeit going goalless. He could have scored once had a left-footer not cracked upright. Another fine move by Torres and Moses went a begging as Eden Hazard could not send the ball towards goal-mouth.
Basel then pressurised Chelsea inside the final 10 minutes and were rewarded, may be controversially, with three to go when Fabian Schar converted from the penalty spot after Azpilicueta was harshly adjudged to have fouled Stocker.
It was the last kick of the game though that sealed it for Chelsea as David Luiz, getting better and better with his free-kicks, hit a low one past Basel's wall and it deflected off the possibly blinded keeper into the goal. The Blues exulted.


text:
	2.3.0

# 1 资源

# 2 运行实例

Linux Metrics: `com.spike.giantdataanalysis.opentsdb.supports.PerformanceIndex.OperationSystem`,
REF: https://book.open-falcon.org/zh/faq/linux-metrics.html.

# 3 安装和配置

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Vegetables can grow in the most unexpected places, including the roof of the McCormick Place West Building. Architects planned a green roof to mitigate the environmental impact of the building, and went a step further by creating a charming terrace event space with skyline views. In 2013, the Chicago Botanic Garden's Windy City Harvest program transformed the massive 20,000-square-foot roof into the largest farm-to-fork rooftop garden in the Midwest. 8,000 pounds of produce are grown on the roof each year for SAVOR...Chicago, the convention center's food service provider and Windy City Harvest program partner. Though this is just a fraction of the food served to visitors to McCormick Place and the growing McCormick Square neighborhood, it reduces the need to transport produce to the convention center.


The most important part of your legal planning isn't necessarily the legal documents your lawyer prepared (though they are important), it's how your assets are titled. If your assets are not titled right (and stay that way), your estate plan won't work and the documents aren't worth the paper they are written on. This must be reviewed every year.
These legal documents determine who gets your assets and who will take care of making sure that it happens the way you want. People marry, divorce and fall out with family members all the time. Children are born and sometimes, tragically, die. Property is bought and sold. In other words, life changes and so should your will and trust, to reflect the changes in your life.
Your health care directive names someone to serve as your agent in case you are unable to make your own health care decisions. Is the person you originally named still willing and able to serve? If for some reason they were not able to serve when needed, have you named a back-up?
Your Financial Power of Attorney.
This is the person who will handle your finances in case you are unable to do so, and there should be a back-up named for this function as well. If you are over the age of 65 and have a number of different bank and brokerage accounts, it may make sense to consolidate those accounts to make managing your finances easier.
As your children grow, the people you named to raise them may not continue to make sense. And, you absolutely need to have named guardians for the immediate term, so your kids are never taken into protective custody by strangers, and those folks can change frequently as the people in your kids' lives will likely change regularly.
If you would like to create or update your estate plan, call our office today to schedule time for us to talk. Make you appointment by calling 931.363.7222.


JANS – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of loan and grant funds to support rural micro-entrepreneurs and microenterprises.
Despite budget uncertainties, USDA remains focused on strengthening the rural economy. USDA's Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) was established under the 2008 Farm Bill to support the development and ongoing success of rural micro-entrepreneurs and microenterprises, which are defined as rural businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
About $12.2 million will be provided to eligible applicants this year. Under the program, USDA may provide loans of up to $500,000 to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs). They, in turn, make microloans for business start-up or development to eligible micro-entrepreneurs who are unable to obtain conventional credit elsewhere. Grants of up to $30,000 are available for MDOs to provide technical assistance and training, particularly in rural areas that have experienced significant outmigration. USDA does not directly provide funds to the ultimate recipients.
RMAP applications are due by September 13, 2013. More information about how to apply is available in the August 14, 2013 Federal Register. View it at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-08-14/pdf/2013-19765.pdf, or by contacting the Mississippi USDA Rural Development state office at 601-965-4316.