Westminster Report - Leigh-on-Sea

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Leigh On Sea News: Westminster Report – BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

Westminster Report – BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

This month has seen lots of good news to kick off the new financial year. The rise in the national minimum wage is putting a big increase in worker’s pockets.

Wages have gone up to £10 an hour for 18-20 year olds. These young workers are now receiving an extra £1.40 an hour. Apprentices, aged 16 – 17, are getting a £1.15 rise to £7.55 per hour and people over 21 get an extra 77p, moving up to £12.21 an hour.

This pay rise will give workers up to £1,400 a year more and mean a huge boost to the family finances for residents in Southend West and Leigh.

We want to put more money back into your pockets and make working people better off. Since the General Election, interest rates have been cut three times and we’ve kept our promise not to raise your taxes, meaning you keep more of your money.

Living standards are set to rise twice as fast in this parliament as in the last, helping those still struggling after years of economic chaos under the Tories.

I know this won’t fix everything overnight, but this pay rise is a big step forwards providing financial security for working people.

We also have great news for pensioners this month. I celebrated the increase for pensioners, who will receive up to £470 extra in their pockets this year, when I met with the Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell. We discussed how incredibly welcome the 4.1% increase in the state Pension will be in helping people with the cost of living.

More than 20,000 pensioners in Southend West and Leigh will benefit from this pension rise because our Labour government is committed to the pensions triple lock, while the Tories have admitted they are “looking at it” for the future. Our rise will deliver around £1,900 for pensioners over the course of this parliament, at a cost of £30bn.

We are committed to delivering for our pensioners through the financial security of the triple lock, by fixing our NHS and renewing our public services. Our local hospital waiting lists are continuing to fall for the sixth month in a row and more GPs have been recruited. We are targeting support towards those who need it most, with more than 2,000 people receiving pension credit in our constituency.

I also want to see the best start in life for children and just this month I was delighted to hear the news that we are in the first tranche of funding for new nursery places, with Chalkwell Hall Infant school being the lucky recipient. Two new free breakfast clubs are also opening at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary and Heycroft Primary, which could save parents up to £450 a year. It is more good news for families.

Great news too at Southend Airport. I visited recently as they launched easyJet’s new base there. It was a wonderful occasion, and I shared congratulations over the new development with the CEOs of the airline, the airport and easyJet holidays.

The High Commissioner of Malta also attended, welcoming the new route now flying from Southend to the historical island.

On a visit to Kingsdown School, St Christopher School and Lancaster School, I heard of the challenges facing the sector providing education for children with special educational needs (SEN). I have nothing but praise for the accomplishments of these special schools.

They are doing an incredible job and families in Southend West and Leigh are fortunate to have such outstanding provision. Remember, if any families need help with SEN provision, we are always happy to help, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

I enjoyed cutting the ribbon at the newly refurbished Nationwide branch on Leigh Broadway and it was also a pleasure to join Chalkwell Ward Residents’ Association annual lunch. I thanked them all for the hard work they put in, championing their local area.

I am always delighted to be out and about in Southend West and Leigh meeting you all and with the lighter summer evenings now, you can be sure you will see much more of me!

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