Earlier this week the House of Commons approved a £49.2 billion funding package for local councils next year (2020/21). This is an increase of £2.9 billion on 2019/20, the biggest increase in councils’ spending power for a decade.
I am very disappointed that the RMT has confirmed further strike action.
These new strikes will affect services from 10:00 on Monday 9 March until 09:59 on Tuesday 10 March, and subsequently from 10:00 on Thursday 12 March until 09:59 on Friday 13 March.
On Monday evening the House of Commons voted for the largest funding boost for the police in a decade. Across England and Wales, the funding available to police forces will increase by more than £1.1 billion next year (2020/21).
It was good to hear that Cobham Free School received planning permission for the conversion of Munro House earlier this week. This will allow the school to fully refurbish and equip the building, and is an important step towards getting the whole school moved into the new site.
I know from my time as Housing Minister how important it is to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. So I welcome the government providing Elmbridge with substantial new funding to address the issue.
Easing the pressure on the cost of living is a key focus of this government, and is particularly important for places like Elmbridge because housing and childcare are expensive.
On Friday I had a good meeting with Anne Cullum, Executive Head Teacher of the ElmWey Learning Trust, Francis Nicholas – the Chair of the Trust – the Department for Education and Surrey County Council about the plans for Heathside Walton school.
Elmbridge commuters have had to deal with unacceptable service from South Western Railway for far too long. There are chronic issues with punctuality, reliability and overcrowding.
This afternoon, I dropped by the Barclays Esher branch to be briefed on the ‘Your Bank’ initiative. Barclays is working in partnership with the local community to keep the last branch in the town open and sustainable over the long term.
