St Peter’s Hospital
In September, I had two meetings with Tom Abell, newly appointed Chief Executive of Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board, to discuss the consultation on proposed changes to services provided at St Peter’s Hospital in Maldon.
It was important to have these discussions with Mr Abell and others, regarding the move by the ICB to delay a decision for 6 months to allow a new working group with an independent chair to review the future of health care provision across the Maldon District and beyond.
The first meeting took place on 6th September at St Peter’s Hospital with representatives of the Save Maldon Medical Services Group and the second on 10th September was with Dame Priti Patel, MP for Witham. Both were also attended by Dan Doherty, Alliance Director of NHS Mid Essex.
I have been much encouraged by the willingness of the new Chief Executive to listen to the concerns expressed by the local community as well as by myself and Dame Priti Patel. Our local health services are already under great pressure and this will only increase as further housing development takes place. It is absolutely right that we plan now as how best to provide locally the full range of health services which are needed and I look forward to working with the review group and the ICB. I have already discussed the terms and agenda with the Chair of the Review Group, James Halden, and will be meeting the new Minister for Health later this month to continue to press the Government to provide necessary funding.
I am pictured below with Chief Executive, Tom Abell, outside St Peter’s
Future Housing Development
Maldon District and neighbouring areas have seen substantial housing development in recent years. This has put increasing pressure on our local roads, health services and schools and the new target figures released by the Government will only exacerbate this.
The Labour Government has now proposed to impose mandatory house building targets on local authorities and proposes to adopt a new formula which will substantially increase the number required. In the Maldon District, the new figure is 97 per cent above the previous figure, the biggest uplift in the whole of Essex. Instead of building 276 new homes per year, the requirement will be 544 homes per year – far in excess of local needs.
In Chelmsford City Council area, the new formula produces an increase of 54 per cent – requiring an extra 1,406 houses per year rather than 953. There is a strong likelihood that this will result in both an expansion of the current plans to build another 1,000 homes in South Woodham Ferrers and the go-ahead for the City Council’s suggested 4,000 new homes at Hammonds Farm. Neither Maldon or Chelmsford can support extra housing on this scale without significant improvements in our local infrastructure. This was a point that I made to the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, in the House of Commons, an intervention I featured in my previous newsletter.
It will also mean further loss of our countryside and of prime agricultural land. I will continue to raise these concerns with the Government and to oppose unnecessary and damaging development.
Maldon District Summit Meeting
Furthermore, I was very glad to have recently taken part in a summit meeting of interested authorities to discuss the future of the Maldon District.
The meeting took place in Maldon Town Hall and was attended by leaders and members of Essex County Council, Maldon District Council, Mid and South Essex NHS and Maldon Town Council.
The discussion focused on future housing growth in the Maldon District and how best to ensure that the road infrastructure, health service provision and public transport services could support this.
Roundtable Discussion to address the future of Bus Services in Maldon
I was very glad to have hosted a roundtable discussion earlier this month alongside my parliamentary colleague and neighbour Dame Priti Patel, MP for Witham. Priti and I met with members of Essex County Council, Maldon District Council, transport providers, and Bus User Group Chairs, to discuss the pressing issues around bus services in the Maldon District.
I organised the meeting in conjunction with Cllr Jane Fleming following the news that Arrow Group were going into administration and the loss of the DaRT services. During the meeting particular concern was expressed about the challenges facing residents in the Dengie Peninsula who can face taxi charges of up to £180 for a round trip to Broomfield Hospital.
A number of suggestions were made for route and timetable improvements as well as possible new services. Both the county council and operators agreed to consider these, but stressed that the viability of routes depends on passenger numbers and that the county council could only support services with a subsidy of up to £5 per passenger.
Priti and I are committed to working with all parties to ensure better transport links for the community.
Early Day Motion opposing the implementation of Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Allowance
In September, I along with 57 other Conservative signatories, tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for the annulment of Labour’s decision to abolish the universal Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners.
I want to reiterate what I have expressed to many of my constituents in private email correspondence, I am appalled that one of the of the first acts of this Government has been to scrap what is an essential allowance for millions of pensioners. Unless in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits, the new Labour Government has announced that millions will no longer receive their annual Winter Fuel Payments. In practice, this represents losses of up to £300 for around 10 million pensioners.
I firmly believe that pensioners must be afforded dignity and respect in retirement, and am deeply concerned about the impact of the Government’s plans on the elderly. The Conservative motion was debated and voted on by Parliament on 10th September but unfortunately was defeated on the back of the Labour majority.
Pictured below is an order paper, displaying the names of all 58 signatories to the EDM
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) Meeting
Back in mid-September, I was happy to have the chance to meet with Paul Scott, Chief Executive of the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust at the Trust headquarters at the Lodge in Runwell.
I discussed with Mr Scott the progress of the Lampard Inquiry into the death of mental health patients in Essex, which has been taking evidence in public in Chelmsford:
The Lampard Inquiry – investigating mental health deaths in Essex
I also received a briefing on the financial state of the Trust and its current performance.
I said at the time of my meeting: “EPUT has been through a difficult time and it is essential that the Lampard Inquiry reveals all that has clearly gone wrong in the care of mental health patients in Essex since 2000. I welcome the Trust’s commitment to work with the Inquiry while at the same time continuing to provide the best possible care for the 100,000 patients currently on the books. I am concerned that these two tasks are putting severe financial pressure on the Trust and will be pressing the Government to address this”
A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening Scheme
Alongside regional political representatives including fellow Essex MPs, I have added my signature to a letter to the new Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, urging her to progress with the A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening Scheme as a priority.
The letter has been sent from the Essex County Council leader’s office on a cross-party basis and comes ahead of a spending review the Department plans to undertake. The review will determine if funding allocation continues for projects such as the A12 Widening Scheme on the basis of their deliverability and likelihood of yielding significant economic growth.
In that context, I and my fellow signatories have emphasised the importance of the East of England region to the UK’s wider economic prosperity and how the A12 serves to enhance this. We highlight its position as the main route to London from Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich, but also how the region acts as an intersection for numerous international gateways. However we have stressed that our region’s economic potential is hobbled by congestion hotspots and capacity constraints, hence the urgent need for the scheme.
I am hopeful that despite the change in Government this project will continue to go ahead.
Visit to the RHS Garden at Hyde Hall
I was delighted to recently visit the RHS Garden at Hyde Hall in Rettendon during the annual Flower Show.
I was shown around by Head of Site, Ian Le Gros (pictured below). The garden at Hyde Hall has expanded so that it now covers 365 acres and the annual Flower Show is hugely important.
I discussed with Ian the new arrangements for vehicle access during the show which should relieve congestion on the approach road as well as ways in which the Garden can support local voluntary groups in the community.
Maldon District Council announce the replacement of the Pontoon at the Town Steps in Burnham on Crouch
I was very glad to see Maldon District Council announce the replacement pontoon at the Town Steps in Burnham-on-Crouch. It was thanks to funding from the previous Conservative Government that replacement works began on the 5th August.
The replacement came after the original structure was damaged in Storm Eunice. The replacement pontoon now has handrails and a new non-slip decking to improve safety.
Visit to Action for Family Carers Centre
I was delighted to recently visit the Action for Family Carers Centre at Brickhouse Farm Community Centre, Maldon, with Mayor of Maldon, Cllr Andrew Lay.
Cllr Lay presented a cheque on behalf of the Mayor’s Charities Appeal. On my visit, I was delighted to meet Chair, Kath Vale, and members of staff and volunteers (pictured below) as well as clients who were enjoying a game of Elvis Bingo.
Action for Family Carers are an Essex-based Charity, who over 30 years have been working to improve the lives of unpaid carers, whether it be in providing opportunities for education, training, employment or socially.
Action for family carers | Supporting Carers Across Essex (affc.org.uk)
Visit to the Big Summer Party at Heybridge Primary School
It was great to visit the Big Summer Party at Heybridge Primary School, organised for local children under the last Conservative Government’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme. The programme is run by Andrew and Holly Fry of Little Sportsters Coaching which is based in Maldon:
The Holiday Activities and Food Programme was funded with over £200 million for three years from 2022 by the last Conservative Government. It is organised by Essex County Council and provides free activities during school holidays for school-aged children from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits-related free school meals. Little Sportsters runs the programme in Maldon, Heybridge, Maylandsea and Tiptree.
Holiday activities and food programme 2022 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
https://www.activeessex.org/children-young-people/essex-activate/holiday-club
I am pictured with organiser, Holly Fry, and Coach, Danny, with some of the children attending at Heybridge.
Foreign Office question on Ukraine
Before the House rose for the Conference Recess, I put a question to the Minister of State in the Foreign Office, regarding Ukraine’s right to self defence. This followed Russia’s biggest missile and drone attack since the start of the invasion.
Sir John Whittingdale MP
“Last week’s attack on Ukraine by Russian missiles and drones was the biggest since the Russian invasion started. Can the Minister make it crystal clear that Ukraine’s right to self-defence must include the ability to target the origin of those missiles and drones, including Russian aircraft in Russian airspace and Russian missile bases?”
Anneliese Dodds MP, Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
“The right hon. Member is right to condemn the truly appalling attacks that we saw recently. They provided yet more evidence that Russia is seeking to terrorise the Ukrainian population into submission, an approach that we wholly reject and condemn and that runs contrary to international humanitarian law. The UK will continue to do everything we can to support Ukraine’s resilience and its defence in this situation. Given the point that he made on this subject, let me underline what I said earlier: the Kursk operation was a defensive operation, and we should not forget that Russia repeatedly launched attacks on Ukraine from Kursk oblast.”
Visit to St Andrew’s Church in Althorne
Finally, I was delighted to join members of the Parochial Church Council and others at St Andrew’s Church, Althorne to celebrate the success of their application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
St Andrew’s Church dates back to the 14th century but ground movement has led to large cracks appearing and the building is no longer usable. As a result, it was listed as Priority A on the Historic England Heritage At Risk Register. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has agreed to an initial award of £145,761 to allow plans to take place for its restoration and the submission of a further application for the estimated £1,300,344 needed to fund the full restoration.
I am pictured below with Peter Ingram, Chair of the Restoration Project, and Rev Suzie Fryer
