Edward has met with staff, volunteers and puppies from the charity Guide Dogs in Parliament to get an update on the charity's campaign on pavement parking and their work more broadly, and to receive a Christmas gift, thanking him for his support this year.
The charity set up a makeshift grotto in Parliament to hand out messages of thanks to MPs that have supported the charity in 2017. The gift, a miniature stocking, was filled with Christmas messages (from people from Charnwood) highlighting Guide Dogs’ campaign for a national law on pavement parking. Edward supported the Private Members Bill in the 2015-2016 Parliament, brought forward by fellow Conservative MP, Simon Hoare, to tackle the issue of pavement parking which can cause real problems for blind or partially sighted people trying to walk along a pavement, as well as for other people such as the elderly or those with prams and pushchairs. Although Mr Hoare's Bill did not pass in to law, Edward has continued to support Guide Dogs in their campaign to find a way to solve this problem.
Edward commented: “As always, it was a pleasure to meet with the team from Guide Dogs to get an update on their work, to talk about their campaign, and to meet the guide dog pups in training. And it was a nice surprise to receive my thank-you stocking from Guide Dogs! Pavement parking is a real problem for many people across the UK. Not only does it pose a danger to people with sight loss, it is a potentially dangerous obstacle for wheelchair and mobility scooter users as well as people with pushchairs, and I will continue to work with Guide Dogs to try to find a way to address this.”