It was an extremely important week in Westminster, with much of the focus understandably on the Spending Review on Wednesday.
We started on Monday with the Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell MP, making a statement on the decision to extend eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments. This has now been extended to all pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 as well as all pensioners on Pension Credit and other income-related benefits. I am pleased to add that, with my support, hundreds of residents here in Stretford and Urmston have been successfully supported through their applications for Pension Credit.
Thanks to the tough decisions taken by this Government, the economy is now beginning to improve. Interest rates are down, growth is higher than in any other G7 nation, and we have agreed three new major trade deals. It is right that more people, including pensioners, feel the benefit of this responsible economic management.
On Tuesday the Energy Secretary, Ed Milliband MP, confirmed the Sizewell C nuclear plant will go ahead. He also set out that the Government was investing £2.5 billion in small modular reactors (SMRs) – small nuclear power plants – with Rolls Royce selected as the preferred bidder to develop them.
This is, in my view, vital – we need new nuclear to tackle the climate crisis, deliver energy security and get us off the rollercoaster of international fossil fuel markets. It will also provide the high-quality, skilled jobs we so badly need.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill also received its Third Reading in the House of Commons. This landmark Bill is critical towards achieving our ambitious goal of building 1.5m homes in England before the next election, making planning decisions on at least 150 major infrastructure projects and transforming Britain into a clean energy superpower.
There was then an announcement that The UK has sanctioned two Israeli Ministers for inciting settler violence in the West Bank. This action defends the two-state solution and holds extremists accountable for human rights abuses and dangerous rhetoric.
I continue to support the efforts led by the United States along with Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. I also welcome the French and Saudi initiative to chair an international conference next week to advance a two-state solution.
The big news for the week was on the Spending Review statement from the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP. The Spending Review is the process the government uses to set department budgets for future years. This covers the services the public uses every day, like the NHS, schools, and transport, and how the government will invest in research, energy security and infrastructure.
This Spending Review is about investing in your security, health, and economy. The decisions made have been possible due to difficult choices on tax and spending, and efforts to remove barriers to growth. Our first budget was designed to fix the foundations; now, we are investing in Britain’s renewal.
On security, we are making a £20 billion increase in defence spending and a £2bn uplift for our security and intelligence agencies across the next 3 years. Defence spending will rise to 2.6% of GDP by April 2027, representing the biggest sustained increase since the Cold War.
Funding for the Border Security Command, established last year with £150m, will rise by an additional £280m per year by the end of the spending review period. The Government is taking action to fix the UK’s broken asylum system. Under the Tories, decision making on claims collapsed so thousands of people seeking sanctuary in the UK have been left in limbo and in dire poverty, placed in extremely poor-quality accommodation whilst an enormous backlog of asylum claims was allowed to build.
We will ensure that you feel safe in your communities by increasing police spending power by an average of 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period.
On health, there will be record levels of investment in our National Health Service. This will deliver more appointments, build new hospitals, and provide new equipment for more efficient, productive, and high-quality care.
There will be an extra £29bn per year for the day-to-day running of the NHS, and an extra £4bn of annual capital investment by the end of the spending review.
NHS waiting lists are still too long, but massive improvements have been made. I have dealt with several constituent’s cases recently where their appointments have been brought forward. Additionally in a recent meeting with local neurology services I was pleased to hear that their waiting lists have been halved. There is still much more to do but things are getting better.
The NHS technology budget will increase by 50%, which means additional funding to train thousands more GPs and mental health support teams to all schools in England.
On the economy we are investing £39bn over the next decade in a new Affordable House Plan – the biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in a generation.
Housing is a priority for me, and it is a fact that there are simply not enough brownfield sites in urban areas to meet our housing need when, as a country, we are short of 4.3 million homes. We have unprecedented levels of homelessness, and it is utterly sickening to me that just shy of 160,000 children are homeless and living in temporary accommodation. Here in Trafford, there are more than 7000 people on the waiting list for social housing with more than 500 people in Band 1 which is the highest tier of need and includes families with disabled children, living in damp and mouldy overcrowded conditions miles away from their schools, many in temporary accommodation above pubs and in run down B&Bs with no access to a kitchen, garden or even a private toilet.
For those not eligible for social housing, the picture is just as bleak. Sparse housing supply pushes up house prices and rents and we have millions of people, across the country, in unsuitable homes, still living with parents, unable to plan their lives, start families or build a future for themselves and their children. At the other end, we have millions of older people wanting to downsize and free up family homes, but cannot because the right kind of homes for them just are not available.
I am delighted therefore that the Government has been explicit in its commitment to addressing this problem head-on. It will take time to put the situation right, but we are committed to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.
There will be a £15.6bn of investment in transport to connect our cities and towns, alongside a fourfold increase in Local Transport Grants for other regions by the end of this parliament.
We are also investing in new, home-grown energy technologies, backing innovators with R&D funding rising to a record high of over £22bn per year, along with £2bn to back this government’s AI Action Plan.
There will be record investment into training and upskilling our young people, with £1.2bn a year by the end of the spending review to support over a million young people into training and apprenticeships. I know from my recent visits to UA92 and Trafford College that apprenticeships are extremely popular, but demand outstrips supply, so this announcement is very welcome.
The £3 bus fare cap has been extended until March 2027 to keep travel costs down. Our bus fare cap here in Greater Manchester is only £2 – it is good to see that our trailblazing here has set the tone nationally. We will also deliver our manifesto commitment to upgrade millions of homes through the Warm Homes Plan, saving families and pensioners up to £600 annually off bills.
Free school meals will be extended to over half a million more children. We are announcing almost £370m for school-based nurseries, £555m of transformation funding for children’s social care, investment rising to nearly £2.3bn per year to fix crumbling classrooms, and £2.4bn per year to continue our programme to rebuild 500 schools. I am particularly pleased that, locally, 2 schools here in Stretford and Urmston are earmarked to be rebuilt as a result of this funding.
For too long, previous governments have ignored the potential of huge parts of the country. We are changing that. Our proposals will support place-based business cases, ensuring every region gets a fair hearing. We are also announcing additional funding to support up to 350 communities, especially those in the most deprived areas, by improving parks, youth facilities, swimming pools, libraries, and tackling graffiti and fly-tipping.
On Thursday there was a backbench business debate on the issue of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding. I receive regular communication from parents of children across my constituency on this issue.
Every child deserves the support they need to thrive. This debate on SEND funding highlighted the urgent need for early intervention, inclusive education, and simpler access to support.
A £1bn boost to the high needs budget was announced at the Autumn Budget, but we have also announced 1,000 new training places for early years SEND coordinators and support for 1,200 more schools through the neurodiversity inclusion programme.
I was pleased to see that Wednesday’s spending review announced over £4bn in extra school funding, which will help to transform the SEND system, improving support and ending parent’s battles for assistance whilst protecting existing provisions.
I understand there are currently many issues with children obtaining education, health and care (EHC) plans. These plans should be issued within 20 weeks, but recent data has shown just half of new plans were issued within the time limit.
My view is clear, which is that a complex legal process should not be necessary for children to access support, so I am pleased the Government is focused on addressing the systemic issues to make SEND support easier to access. This mirrors what constituents tell me they want to see, and I know that local parents will be pleased to see the investment in neurodiversity.
We must keep working to make the SEND system fairer, faster, and fit for every child’s future.
Unusually, I was in Parliament on Friday for the debate and votes on the latest stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The votes were on amendments to the Bill, including successful amendments inserting a clause that will stop healthcare professionals from raising the subject of assisted dying with child patients, and another banning the advertising of the service.
I will be supporting a change in the law to enable terminally ill adults to receive, at their direct request, medically supervised assistance to end their own lives, in addition to, not as an alternative, to high-quality palliative and end of life care.
People deserve dignity throughout their lives including at the end and should always feel assured and safe in the knowledge they will receive the absolute best care.
This weekend I also launched a survey on off-road biking. I receive a huge amount of casework on this issue, and I want to hear more from constituents. Please fill the survey in – it should only take a few moments of your time.
I was out on the doors in Partington again this weekend. I really value the time I spend speaking to residents and hearing about their issues. I was elected to Parliament to represent my constituents, so it is vital I spend as much time listening to them as possible.