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.

I am thrilled that the government has announced a funding boost to repair our broken roads with an extra £500 million.

I know this is a issue very close to many of your hearts and mine too! Southend has been handed an extra £724,000 to tackle potholes across the city, bringing the total for Southend to more than two and a half million.

I met with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who has announced nearly £244 million to fix potholes in the East of England for next year, with more than £48 million being provided for Essex and Southend.

I would encourage you to report any potholes in your area, either to the council or to the dedicated Gov.uk page: https://www.gov.uk/report-pothole.

Potholes can be dangerous to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike and can be very expensive too. I am delighted this extra funding is coming our way to keep Southend moving safely.

If you prefer rail to roads, it was great news that passengers are to benefit from tap and go ticketing that is arriving at many of our stations. From February contactless ticketing is coming to15 c2c stations in South Essex, including Chalkwell, Leigh and Southend Central with more stations on the Greater Anglia Line joining later in the year, including Prittlewell, Southend Victoria and Southend Central.

People will be able to use bank cards, phones or even watches to tap in and out of stations, eliminating the wait for tickets. This is part of a £20 million government-funded project that will make journeys easier, and the cheapest fares will be guaranteed.

As the only man on the Women and Equalities Committee in parliament, I take an interest in gender equality and recently attended a round table looking at equality and opportunities for women in finance. We discussed the gender pay gap in banking and finance, which is nearly 10%, according to recent figures, so there’s lots more to be done.

In the House of Commons, I welcomed the government’s moves on grooming gangs. The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced £10 million for inquiries into child sexual abuse and exploitation. I expressed my deep concern in the chamber over the disinformation being spread after the recent Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill vote.

Unfortunately, the Conservative Party decided to try to wreck the Bill and spread misinformation which led to abuse online towards many sitting MPs. The Bill starts to implement some of the recommendations of the 2022 national inquiry to protect our children as well as bringing forward free Breakfast Clubs for all primary school children and reduced school uniform costs and more.

I am also concerned to see the most rapidly expanding form of child sexual abuse, which is taking place online and I want to see the laws strengthened in this area.

I am delighted the Water (Special Measures) Bill is making its way through parliament, as we hold our first water summit of the new year. The Bill will enable water companies to be put under special measures to hold them to account better when they fail to deliver. We will not stop working on this until the scourge of sewage is removed from our estuary.

In the constituency, it was a pleasure to be shown around the homeless charity HARP. I am so impressed with the work they do, helping people at their most vulnerable. I was touched by the many stories I heard and I look forward to working with them in the future.

I made it up to Norwich to record Politics East, despite trees on the train line, thanks to storm Eown!

We discussed the creative industries, which have just received a £60 million funding boost to support the arts. This government recognises the significant contribution the creative sector makes to the economy, as well as enriching people’s lives culturally.

The biggest chunk, £40m, is earmarked for grassroots ventures such as start-up video game studios and to support music venues. Welcome news I’m sure.

And Southend has just hosted the Labour Party’s Regional Conference. Hundreds of people came to the city and were impressed with our seafront and enjoyed their visit. I was proud to join a panel on healthcare and delighted to help host the event.

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