Westminster Report

BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.
This summer is already turning into a bit of a scorcher, so when you need to have some fun in the sun, it’s good to know that it will cost you less, thanks to our Great British Summer Savings.
Until September, the government scheme will cut VAT for kids’ meals, tickets to attractions and give children free travel by bus too; helping families afford to give the kids a day out.
As part of the government’s celebration of Great British Summer Savings the owner of the Beach Hut café was invited to join me to meet the Chancellor at Number 11 Downing Street.
Sokol Gjoni, known as John, runs the Beach Hut on a beautiful stretch of Chalkwell Beach. Their children’s menu will benefit from the VAT reduction from 20% to 5% thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans for Summer Savings.
He was delighted to come to and meet the Chancellor and hear how she is helping families enjoy a day out for less. It will really help families, while supporting businesses like the Beach Hut that rely on summer footfall.
It’s important to make sure that people can not only make ends meet, but afford to treat the family to a day out too, especially in the summer holidays.
The Summer Savings include free bus travel for children aged five to 15 on local bus services throughout August – making it easier and more affordable for people to get out and about.
The scheme will also reduce the costs of children’s tickets for theatres and cinemas and tickets for everyone for attractions like soft play, adventure centres, and theme parks.
From cuts in the price of tickets for theme parks like Adventure Island and kids’ meals at our seafront cafes, there’s something for everyone.
It reduces the cost for trips to the Palace theatre and if you need to get the bus to get there, that’s free too. So, lots of reason to get out and enjoy the sunshine and have the summer you deserve.
I have also been meeting with Ministers in parliament. I have been pushing forward plans for new medical facilities in Southend and holding separate discussions to help improve our postal service.
Fellow Southend MP, Bayo Alaba, joined me for a meeting with Health Minister Karin Smyth in parliament to discuss support for the proposals for new medical provision in the city.
The plans are backed by the Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB). It threw its weight behind the bid for new and improved health facilities in Southend in the spring when its leader, Tom Abell, welcomed the initiative.
The Health Minister said she is interested in the plans and is happy to explore all the options alongside the ICB.
We launched the proposals at the start of the year in conjunction with the Southend Council and its Leader Coun Daniel Cowan as part of “Opportunity Southend”.
I am delighted to see that the Health Minister was so positive and will work with us to deliver for the people of Southend.
In another meeting I got around the table with the Business Minister, Blair McDougall to discuss the ongoing issues with the postal service in Southend.
I still receive many persistent complaints about late or non- existent deliveries from Royal Mail in my constituency, despite patchy improvements.
The Business Minister agreed that a fresh consultation should be held in Southend to see exactly how people are finding the service, with the results being fed back to Ofcom.
We will be posting our survey on the Royal Mail’s performance in Southend very soon and I urge you to respond with your experiences, so that I can help improve deliveries for everyone.
Meanwhile, in the constituency, we held our first “We love Westcliff” Impact Day. Westcliff library was the command centre of the community initiative.
Around 20 specialised council officers patrolled the area looking for hotspots. Five police officers were on hand to listen to any issues and the specialised e-bike and e-scooter enforcement team also joined us. Westcliff Free Church provided free refreshments and several resident’s groups attended.
I want to thank everyone for their efforts on the day. I am sure there will be many more special initiatives to put Westcliff on the map, but first there’s a Great British Summer of Savings to enjoy.
Read more
Visit: https://leigh-on-sea.news
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leighonsea.news
X : @leighonsea_news
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leighonsea.news
Contact us: https://leigh-on-sea.news/contact-us
Email: [email protected]