Henry Smith MP – Westminster Report – March 2024
Over the last year progress has been made in addressing the issues hitting the pockets of people in Crawley.
While inflation is falling from 11.1 per cent to 4 per cent, and with the economy performing better than expected and wages rising, the job is by no means done.
What needs to happen now is to ensure the economy turning the corner means a boost for the people of this country.
An issue which a number of Crawley parents have highlighted with me over recent years is the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed at the Budget that the threshold for the High Income Child Benefit Charge will be increased from £50,000 to £60,000, with additional action including halving the rate so that it is not paid in full until earnings exceed £80,000. These measures are estimated to support some half a million families with an average gain of up to £1,260 towards the costs of raising their children.
The Charge will also be changed by moving towards a household system. At present, two parents earning £49,000 a year receive full Child Benefit, but a household with a single earner on just £50,000 starts losing it. The Chancellor confirmed Government will consult on moving the High Income Child Benefit Charge to a household-based system to be introduced by April 2026.
The Household Support Fund has been extended for a further six months to September 2024, to ensure further support for cost of living pressures.
The extension of the freeze on alcohol duty will support Britain’s 38,000 pubs. Keeping the 5 pence cut to fuel duty in place freezes rates for the 14th consecutive year, helping keep costs for motorists down.
By cutting National Insurance Contributions (NICs) further the tax system will be fairer for working people.
The Chancellor confirmed that the main rate of employee NICs will be cut to 8 per cent, meaning a National Insurance tax cut worth more than £900 a year for the average worker on £35,400.
In 2010, the effective personal tax rate for an average full-time employee was 23.6 per cent. As a result of cuts to NICs, this rate will fall to 19.6 per cent by the end of the forecast in 2028-29.
Indeed, the Government’s changes will see the average earner have the lowest effective personal tax rate since 1975: lower than in any G7 country.
We must always strive to do more. In the House of Commons it is clear which side of the green benches is resolute on reducing the burden on working people. Securing this is a cause I will continue to pursue throughout the rest of my time in Parliament.
Stop! Think Fraud: As fraudsters come up with new methods to trick, scam and steal their way to the money of hard-working citizens, it requires us all to be increasingly vigilant against the scourge of such criminality.
With Government, police and the people on the same page, we can all play a part in keeping the scammers out of our bank accounts.
The Stop! Think Fraud campaign launched last month and I am sure I will not be the only person in Crawley who has noticed the accompanying advertising campaign.
This initiative not only delivers tough new anti-fraud messaging, but importantly raises public awareness on fraud safety advice in partnership with law enforcement, the tech sector, banking, telecoms and third sector organisations.
This new campaign builds on the Home Office’s long-term Fraud Strategy outlined last year, which committed to 52 ambitious actions to cut fraud by 10 per cent by the end of this parliament.
The latest data from the Crime Survey for England & Wales shows that fraud and computer misuse has fallen by 13 per cent in the last year.
Official data shows that the number of fraud and computer misuse incidents in Sussex had fallen from 9,886 incidents to 8,809 incidents in the last year, a drop of 10.9 per cent.
The Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne, is supporting the Stop! Think Fraud campaign and has developed the Safe Space Sussex website which provides information about vigilance against different types of crime including fraud: www.safespacesussex.org.uk
Over the last five years we have seen Government implement a whole range of long-term reforms to tackle fraud.
Government has invested some £100 million in law enforcement, including the launch of the new National Fraud Squad, with 400 investigators now in post.
Further action includes the banning of SIM farms which are used by criminals to send thousands of scam texts, and stopping cold calls for financial products so people cannot be duped by scammers.
Additionally, the Security Minister reiterated to Parliament last month that fraud will be made a priority for police forces through the Strategic Policing Requirement.
The Government has also signed the world’s first Online Fraud Charter. This delivers tough and long-term action against fraud in partnership with 12 leading tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google and X (formerly Twitter).
Its commitments seek improvements to blocking fraud at source, making reporting fraud easier for users as well as cutting the time it takes to remove content and adverts found to be fraudulent.
Additionally, the Charter seeks to improve data sharing throughout the sector and with law enforcement, and to increase the transparency of risks on platforms and services.
Information on Stop! Think Fraud is available via: www.gov.uk/stopthinkfraud
Baby loss certificate: The pain of losing a child during pregnancy is something which we do not always feel comfortable talking about. Every family and individual which has had to experience such trauma deals with the loss of a baby in their own way.
In the House of Commons, I have had the privilege of speaking about the loss of my son, Ethan, to stillbirth. It is essential for Government and Parliament to address painful but important issues such as this.
It is with this thought in mind that I welcome confirmation from the Department of Health & Social Care that parents who have experienced the devastation of losing a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy are now able to apply for a certificate to have their grief recognised.
Such certificates are, of course, not compulsory. It is the choice of all parents to manage the difficult time of a loss however they see fit.
It is right that the state acts to ensure bereaved parents feel supported through their grief and recognises their loss, acknowledging their pain and ensuring they feel heard.
The certificate is available for either parent to access following a loss under 24 weeks since 1st September 2018. It is right that such claims can be made retrospectively, and I appreciate assurances to Parliament from the Minister for the Women’s Health Strategy that the Department of Health & Social Care will look to expand eligibility for certificates pre-dating September 2018 as soon as it can.
More than £420,000 of funding for K2 swimming and Crawley school sports: Ensuring that children are able to take part in regular physical activity is an important way to protect the health of our young people.
The School Games Mark offers recognition of a school’s commitment to the development of competition, and this standard was achieved by some 8,000 schools in the 2022-23 academic year.
This includes just over 500 schools securing Platinum status: the highest award that can be achieved through this initiative. Three of these are in Crawley and I congratulate Milton Mount Primary School, St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School and Three Bridges Primary School on securing the Platinum School Games Mark award.
It is right that we look to set young people up for a lifetime of physical activity and delivering equal access to school sport is crucial in securing this.
In doing so it is also necessary to ensure facilities are in place for the community as a whole.
Such projects locally have seen more than £420,000 of investment in sports facilities in Crawley.
Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill: Last week I spoke in Parliament to support the new Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, which would ban British hunters from bringing ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable animals into Great Britain.
My own legislation on this issue was approved by the House of Commons in March 2023, before going on to be blocked by a small number of members of the House of Lords, with the legislation falling at the prorogation of Parliament last October. I am now supporting an identical Bill which has been brought forward by another MP.
This legislation fulfils a commitment made in the manifesto which I stood on at the last General Election. I hope that it will be formally approved by the House of Commons – again – in the near future.
Suicide Prevention Grant Fund: Two suicide prevention groups providing support in Sussex are set to receive a funding boost from the Government’s Suicide Prevention Grant Fund.
Active Prospects, which operates mainly in West Sussex and Surrey, is to receive £105,800. Aspens Charities, which work in Sussex and Kent, is to be awarded £150,000.
Every suicide is a tragedy with lasting impacts and it is right for Government to work to reduce the number of suicides that take place. The work of the voluntary sector is vital in this and I welcome more than £250,000 in funding support announced for groups operating in Sussex.
The Department of Health & Social Care launched the Suicide Prevention Grant Fund in August 2023 to support voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in delivering suicide prevention activity in England.
The objectives of the Grant Fund were to; support non-profit organisations configure their suicide prevention services and activities to better meet increased demand, and to support a range of diverse and innovative activity that can prevent suicides both at a national and community level.
Menopause support: Grateful to Gatwick Airport and the Minister for Disabled People, Health & Work for hosting a menopause roundtable focusing on employment in tourism and hospitality. I have asked the Minister to expand on the ongoing efforts of the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion.
Buy British: Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Co-op are now backing the campaign I have been part of to boost UK produce by introducing a ‘Buy British’ button on supermarket online stores.
Israel-Hamas conflict: Israeli hostages must be released and innocent Palestinians must be supported. Questioned the Minister of State for Development & Africa about UK help for Egypt in ensuring aid gets to where it is needed.
Indo-Pacific security: Asked the Secretary of State for Defence about the role of the UK in guaranteeing the security of the Indo-Pacific.
Mistreatment of animals: Worked alongside Sky News to highlight the issue of children using catapults to kill and injure animals and subsequently sharing such horrific content on social media.
I went on to raise this issue in the Commons with the Leader of the House, calling for Government to introduce sanctions for the irresponsible sale and use of such catapults.
To keep up to date with my work standing up for Crawley please visit: www.henrysmith.info
I would like to wish a happy Easter to everyone in Crawley
Henry Smith
Member of Parliament for Crawley
