BASINGSTOKE is a successful town because it is one of the largest centres of employment in the South East of England.

Attempting to reduce negative environmental impact is a challenge for many local businesses.

Last week I was able to visit one of many local firms who have taken on that challenge and adapted their working practices to reduce waste and become more aware of how they can reduce the impact their business has on the environment.

Fineprint is a printing company that, by changing its existing work practices, has eliminated the use of landfill by recycling all waste paper and is using biodegradable solvents and inks to dramatically reduce the quantity of chemicals used in their printing processes.

Their success is such that they have now been awarded ISO 14001, an internationally recognised accreditation for environmental standards.

Basingstoke business is an important part of the economy of this country and it is reassuring to see our business leaders taking real action on these vital issues.

  • IN AN attempt to make the health service budget balance, fewer people are being referred by their GPs to hospital.

Instead tests and treatments are being done more cost effectively by qualified staff outside of hospital, often in GP surgeries, clinics and in the North Hampshire Diagnosis and Treatment Centre, where important surgery can be performed without an overnight stay.

This approach helps ease the overall NHS financial position but puts more pressure on our GPs and other community health staff.

Yet in Basingstoke we are seeing cuts to the number of community health workers in our area, specifically health visitors and district nurses.

I am concerned that such cuts will have significant consequences for groups who rely on community-based healthcare, in particular elderly people who are still living in their own home and also for first-time mums who, at a time when extended families are all too often many miles away, rely on health visitors for practical advice and support when their children are very young.

I am meeting the chief executive of the Hampshire Primary Care Trust this week and will be raising my concerns with him.

  • TO CONTACT Maria Miller, call 0207 219 5749, e-mail millerm@parliament.uk or write to The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.