Extremism, the Budget and NHS plans
Ithought the Prime Minister was quite right in his Friday night address about tackling extremism. We may be insulated from the direct impact here in rural West Sussex but, travelling to London most weeks, I find it shocking to see the increase in extremist disruption and criminality – including on the individuals and institutions that serve our democracy.
As well as making clear we expect the police to use their powers, the PM announced that anyone here on a visa who promotes hate and extremist views will lose their right to be here and, if any publicly funded organisation is found to be promoting extremism, they will lose their funding and support immediately.
At the time of writing, we can only speculate what is in the Budget this Wednesday.
With so many small and hospitality businesses in the South Downs communities I represent, I hope that there are measures which will help them.
I have also spoken in Parliament before about the idea of reducing stamp duty for downsizers.
This would help our housing market considerably, freeing up larger properties for growing families and cascading all the way down the chain to benefit first time buyers.
On Friday, I had an update from Sussex NHS leaders on improvements for healthcare in our community. 98% of Sussex pharmacies have signed up to the Government’s a new measure to increase the services which they are able offer, including prescriptions for the most common of illnesses.
Additionally, South East Coast Ambulance are now trialling new modelling to improve ambulance handover times so that ambulances can get back out on calls more quickly.
I’ve also publicly welcomed the NHS Dental Recovery Plan which, backed by £200 million of funding, takes bold steps to improve access for patients immediately.
I will continue to follow the expansion a new dental van service available for targeted rural and coastal communities in underserved areas.