Intouch February 2024

Dear Chelmsford neighbour, 

February was a busy month – here’s an update on some of my work locally and in Westminster. 

Schools and Young People

Education is key to our children’s future, giving them skills that open-up opportunities for life. I have recently joined the cross-party Education Select Committee in Parliament. We should be very proud that all schools in Chelmsford are now rated “Good” of “Outstanding”, compared back in 2010 when one in three of our local schools did not meet this standard. 

Photo Below: Visiting Newlands Spring School in February.

It is excellent news that three primary schools in Chelmsford have been added to the school rebuilding program, including Beehive Lane Primary school. Each of the schools are due to have brand new “net zero” premises, a huge benefit for future generations. All the schools remain safe for children and pupils will remain in full time face to face education throughout. The plans will be drawn up in full consultation of the school leaders.

I joined engineering and business students at Chelmsford College during National Apprenticeship Week, nearly 10,000 people have started Apprenticeships in Chelmsford in the past 14 years. The new T-Levels give young people the change to study technical skills to a very high level.  Students from the college had been working on an exciting project with the Austin Motor Company to plan design concepts for a “J40/Pathfinder”.  This iconic child’s pedal car dates back to the 1940s and Austin would like to bring it back to production.  

I know families with small children in Chelmsford are looking forward to the massive expansion of free childcare – first to cover 2 year olds from this April and then later to 9 month olds. This is the biggest expansion of childcare ever. Please don’t forget to register if you have an eligible child. 

My private members bill on School Attendance has now passed its second reading and is making progress.  Since the pandemic there has been a rise in children missing out on school.  My Bill will make sure all schools need to publicise their attendance policies and local authorities need to use their services to follow best practice and help get children back into school. Thank you to the Chelmsford schools who have helped work on this. 

Photo Below: Visiting a hub for children with special educational needs in Chelmsford.

                                       Safety Issues

Chelmsford has a reputation for being a very safe place. I know residents want to keep it that way. 

Across the country, neighbourhood crime has halved since 2010. Crime rates in Essex continue to drop. We now have record numbers of police officers in Essex. I have launched a local safety survey so I can make sure Police are focused on the issues that concern local people. 

It takes just a few minutes of your time and will help make sure that local people’s priorities are heard. The survey is on my website Chelmsford Safety Survey | Vicky Ford.

Our local police have recently made a number of arrests of both prolific car thieves and burglars. Both car thefts and shed break-ins were down last month. Crime rates continue to drop across Essex.

Uniformed and plain clothes operations, jointly between Essex Police and British Transport Police, have been taking place each month at Chelmsford Station. This has been particularly successful at targeting County Lines drugs gangs and knife crime.

Photo Below: Meeting our Town Centre Police Team who have been very active in Central Chelmsford.

Along with our local Police District Commander, I visited the Waterson Vale area, where a sixteen-year-old was tragically stabbed and lost his life a year ago. I have asked our Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst to look into providing CCTV in this area from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund. 

Photo Below: Vicky Ford MP meeting with residents of Waterson Vale earlier this month.

I am delighted that the new Criminal Justice Bill has now passed its committee stage. The Bill introduces a wide range of measures to help keep people safe and tackle crime. I have served on the Bill Committee of 17 MPs going clause by clause through the Bill and amendments. 

People in Chelmsford may be interested to know that it will outlaw the signal scanners that car thieves use to steal vehicles. It will introduce a new legal offence of spiking - an issue I have campaigned on for a long time.

I have also been working on more issues to do with online safety for children. Including hosting a seminar in Parliament on Safer Internet Day.

There are some excellent parental control apps that can help parents protect children from harmful content, but these are not widely known and I think more could be done to help parents with this.

Photo Below: Seminar in Parliament on 'Safer Internet Day'. 

                                    Infrastructure

Thank you to everyone who has been online to look at the planning applications for the new Army and Navy Junction and related measures.

Plans for the new junction took a huge step forward when we secured the £68.75 million in funding from the Government. Park and Ride facilities will be expanded before the main work on the junction commences.

I am looking forward to visiting Beaulieu Station tomorrow, a huge amount of work has been taking place, and its all on track to open next year.

I met with First Bus to discuss a number of ways to improve our buses.  The good news is that bus usage is up and reliability has improved, but there is more to do!

I met with the Cabinet member for highways at Essex County Council.  A huge amount of work has gone into repairing potholes in Chelmsford.  I am told that the ones in Gloucester Avenue and the Pump Lane Bridge are due to be repaired in March.  Since the cancellation of HS2 there is more money for road repairs across the country and I keep pressing for repairs to be made to the most urgent areas as a priority.

Budget Thoughts

Thank you to all the local businesses, large and small, who have given me thoughts on the economy and suggestions for the Spring Budget.  

I was pleased to hear that a number of local businesses think the economic situation has started to improve. It is certainly good news that inflation has dropped considerably. 

I joined other Essex MPs to meet with the Chancellor so that he could hear directly the thoughts of Chelmsford organisations. 

Photo: Vicky Ford MP & Other Essex MP's with the Chancellor of the Exchequer earlier this week.

A huge thank you to:

• Chelmsford Sea Cadets for having me along on “Pancake Making” evening, they are one of the largest groups of Sea Cadets in the Country.
• Chelmsford Canoe Club for giving me a lovely cuppa by the river whilst we discussed their future plans. 11 club members are currently competing for the country at international level which is by miles the best record of any club nationally.
• The Chelmsford and District Diabetic Youth group “CaDDY” for inviting me to the Discover Diabetes day they held over half term.  It was so impressive to see the support that all those with diabetes give to each other locally.
• The Chelmsford Litter Picking Wombles for giving me the chance to blow the cobwebs away when I joined them on a local litter pick.
• Chelmsford Samaritans for their suicide awareness event at Chelmsford Station. "A little small talk can help start a journey to recovery".
• The team at Chelmsford's Family Hub, who are based at Central Library for inviting me along to discuss all they do to support families.
• Chelmsford Citizens Advice and Law Centre who help so many people and took time to brief me on their work this month.

And Finally,

I’ve been helping to deliver a new magazine around Chelmsford. I wanted to sing the praises of some of the positive things that have been happening. It will be coming to your door soon but here is a sneak online preview if you haven’t had the hard copy yet;  Vicky Ford MP Early Spring Magazine 2024 | Vicky Ford.

If you would like to help deliver the magazine in your local area, I am always HUGELY grateful to volunteers!

As ever please do email me if you have issues or feedback. 

With best wishes,

Vicky.