Henry Smith MP – Westminster Report – October 2021
Five years ago, our country mourned the loss of a Member of Parliament, murdered on the streets of their constituency as they went about their work helping others.
It was something the whole nation had hoped we would never go through again.
It is with great sadness that I reflect on the events of Friday, 15th October, where at a church hall in Essex, the Member of Parliament for Southend West, my colleague Sir David Amess MP, was killed as he undertook a constituency surgery with local residents.
In what would be Sir David’s untimely final contribution in the Commons chamber a few weeks ago, he reminded the House of his support for my Hen Caging (Prohibition) Bill, which I introduced in Parliament the previous day with Sir David as one of its co-sponsors.
Sir David had a wealth of experience in campaigning on matters related to the protection of animals. We both served as Patrons of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, seeking to secure enhanced animal welfare measures in Parliament. Sir David had been an MP for 38 years and was respected on both sides of the House. I valued his counsel and was delighted when he declared his support for my Bill, which seeks to stop egg-laying hens being placed in so-called enriched cages.
During the debate earlier this week on the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill I paid my own tribute in the Commons chamber to Sir David.
As I support, and work to improve the provisions of, legislation to enhance animal welfare; the dedication, enthusiasm and commitment of Sir David Amess MP will be at the forefront of my mind, and his family in my thoughts and prayers.
Poppy Appeal
In the centenary year of the Royal British Legion I am pleased to support this year’s Poppy Appeal. Collectors will be back out and about in the coming weeks, after being unable to carry out face-to-face collections last year due to the Covid pandemic.
Please support the Poppy Appeal either by purchasing your poppy from one of the 40,000 collectors who will be out around the country, or visit: www.poppyshop.org.uk
Budget and Spending Review 2021
The Budget prioritises helping working families and vulnerable households with the cost of living, including:
- a significant tax cut for low-income families by reducing the Universal Credit taper rate from 63 per cent to 55 per cent
- a 6.6 per cent increase in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour – giving a £1,000 pay rise to 2 million of the lowest paid
- lifting pay restraints for public sector workers
- a freeze in fuel duty for the 12th consecutive year
- a freeze in alcohol duty – alongside radical reform to make the system simpler, fairer and healthier
- a 50 per cent cut in Air Passenger Duty for flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is set to benefit around 9 million passengers in 2023-24 and will be delivered via a new domestic band. With Gatwick Airport a key economic driver locally I have long campaigned for reform of APD
- extending the England Airport & Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS) for another 6 months, given this sector’s ongoing challenges due to international Covid restrictions which I have continued to highlight as Future of Aviation All-Party Parliamentary Group Chair
Moving in the right direction after the pandemic: For our aviation, travel and tourism industries there is movement in the right direction. From 4th October, the previous Covid traffic light system for international travel has been replaced with a two tier system: a single red list of countries and territories, and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world.
We are not all the way there yet, however, and I know that cost of living pressures are having an impact on many. To help address these a new £500 million Household Support Fund for vulnerable households who need some additional support over the coming months with the cost of essentials is being launched.
This new Fund will be available to councils from this month and run over the winter. It will be for local authorities to distribute funding to help directly those who need it most. This can include, for example, small grants to meet daily needs such as food, clothing, and utilities.
This support is on top of the Warm Home Discount which provides a £140 rebate on energy bills each winter to more than 2.2 million low-income households, and the Cold Weather Payment which provides £25 extra a week for poorer households when the temperature is consistently below zero.
Earlier this year, Government expanded the Holiday Activities & Food programme, worth more than £220 million. This scheme has offered nutritious meals and enriching activities to disadvantaged children during the Easter and Summer holidays, and will do so again this Christmas.
The importance of vaccines: As we continue our recovery from the pandemic, it is the Covid-19 vaccine which has ensured the growth of the UK economy during the second quarter of 2021. But while tackling coronavirus has been crucial over the last two years it cannot be the sole focus of Government.
This month the Health & Social Care Secretary spoke about the necessity to get the NHS waiting list down. This is a cause I have been pursuing particularly as a supporter of the Catch Up With Cancer campaign.
The campaign is calling for action to address the Covid-induced backlog in cancer care. Crawley of course houses several leading manufacturers whose radiotherapy scanners play an important role in improving oncology patient outcomes.
I welcome the announcement of 40 new Community Diagnostic Centres to be established at sites across the country. These will provide a one-stop-shop for key testing to boost early diagnoses, and speed up and increase referrals. The Centres are to provide a full range of scans and tests to patients to catch illnesses at the earliest signs; not only increasing NHS capacity but also saving lives as our health service continues to tackle the historic elective backlog caused by the pandemic.
Flexible working and improving productivity: The past 18 months have seen huge changes to working patterns in many parts of our economy. In offices around the country, working from home became the norm and meetings taking place on a screen replaced the hustle and bustle of crowding into a room. Even the House of Commons enabled MPs to contribute to parliamentary proceedings virtually for the first time.
For many workers and businesses, these changes are just a snapshot of how productivity, as well as balancing work and home life, can be improved.
At the 2019 General Election I was elected on a manifesto which committed to holding a consultation on the issue of flexible working. This goes far beyond working from home but also includes part-time working, compressed hours (working full-time hours over fewer days), job sharing and flexitime.
The consultation is being held by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and is open until 1st December. Crawley residents are welcome to send me a copy of any submission.
Defibrillators in Crawley: Alongside the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) I was at Three Bridges Station as part of the extension of the Southern and Thameslink automated external defibrillator (AED) programme with the installation of two new defibrillators at the station.
It is right to have publicly-available life-saving defibrillators at stations that can restart the heart of someone suffering a cardiac arrest. These AEDs are not only fully automatic but very easy to use. They are publicly accessible to help save lives within the entire community.
The installation at Three Bridges Station accompanies the life-saving defibrillator at Ifield Station with a further defibrillator to be installed at Crawley Station by the end of this month. This is part of a wider £15 million station improvement plan which involves over 1,000 projects, many suggested by local passenger and community groups.
Over 30,000 people suffer cardiac arrests outside of hospitals every year in the UK, and early chest compressions and defibrillators can double the chance of survival. The installed AEDs are ‘smart’, offering verbal instructions and shocking a patient only if they need it. They also use remote monitoring to sound the alert on dying batteries or out-of-date chest pads and all the cabinets are being wired in – to keep them warm and ready to go.
West of Ifield: Speaking in Parliament about the strength of opposition in Crawley to Homes England proposals to build up to 10,000 housing units to the west of Ifield, in questions to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.
NHS funding boost: The Government have announced a funding boost of £5.9 billion more for the NHS. I called on the Health Minister to ensure that this will be used to improve diagnosis of difficult to detect conditions such as blood cancer.
Get your jab: Supporting the new campaign encouraging people to get their Covid-19 booster and flu jabs to protect themselves and their loved ones this winter.
The colder weather in the winter months favours transmission and experts have warned there could be a significant flu surge and continuing or rising Covid cases. That is why the Government is pushing the biggest winter vaccine campaign ever for Covid and flu, including in Crawley, so people can help protect not just themselves and their loved ones this winter but also play their part in reducing pressure on the NHS.
Thanks to the over 80,000 people in Crawley who have come forward to get their jabs, we have been able to open up the country and make progress back towards normal life.
People will be invited for the Covid-19 booster jab when it is their turn – if you have not been contacted within a week of reaching six months since your second jab please call 119 or book online. Those who are eligible for a free flu vaccine can book an appointment through their GP surgery or local pharmacy.
UK Parliament Week 2021: As Crawley MP I encourage people in our community to get involved with UK Parliament Week 2021.
Active public participation is vital in a thriving democracy and we all have our part to play. I look forward to seeing how organisations and local groups in Crawley join in, especially the next generation of voters in our schools.
UK-India security work: Asking the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Secretary about the UK’s security relationship with India, the world’s largest democracy.
Long Live the Local: Ahead of the Budget I met with and reiterated my support for the Long Live the Local campaign to help pubs and breweries in Crawley recover and thrive.
To keep up to date with my work standing up for Crawley please visit: www.henrysmith.info/news. Additionally you can follow my daily activities via Facebook – Twitter – LinkedIn – YouTube
With my best wishes
Henry Smith
Member of Parliament for Crawley
