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Gareth Johnson
MP for Dartford

Reporting back from Dartford and Westminster - now reaching over 5,000 people in the local area.

April 2024


"Welcome to my latest bulletin. I hope you enjoy reading what I have been doing recently in Dartford and Westminster."

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PMQ's
During Prime Ministers Question's in the House of Commons, I asked the Prime Minister about the benefits of a reduction in income tax.
In 2010, somebody earning £15,000 a year paid £1700 in income tax. Today, someone earning £15,000 a year pays less than £500 a year in income tax.
I asked if the Prime Minister agreed with me that this has helped jobs, growth and self-reliance.
In response, the Prime Minister supported my statement. He said the economy has turned a corner and noted the announcement that in the past year inflation has fallen from over 11% to 3.2% which enabled the Government to cut taxes again.
In my view, taxes are still too high and I hope to see the Government cut taxes further in the near future.

To see my question and the response, please click on the video above.

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Dart Charge
Many people are still experiencing problems with their Dart Charge accounts since new operators took over in the summer of 2023 and I have called on National Highways to resolve this issue on numerous occasions.
At the moment, the system is simply not fit for purpose.
If you are a constituent and experience any issues with your Dart Charge account, please email me at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> including your full name, address and Dart Charge account number.

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Benefits reform
Since the pandemic, we have seen a worrying trend in our welfare system and the number of people who are economically inactive, has risen dramatically.

Spending on welfare is already growing at an unsustainable rate and further increases in those claiming ill-health and disability benefits, means it will be hard to keep the system going for future generations.

That is why the Government is delivering a new plan that focuses on helping those who need it most, whilst making sure everyone who can work is expected and supported to do so.

To address these challenges, the Government has set out a new package of welfare reforms as follows:

* Reviewing the disability benefit system to ensure it is fairly and accurately targeted at those who need it most and channels people to the right form of support for their needs.
* A consultation on Personal Independence Payment has been opened.
* Reforming how someone's capability to work is assessed so that benefit recipients with less severe and well managed health conditions are expected to engage in the world of work.
* Reforming the fit note system to stop people being written off as not fit for work, so the default becomes what work you can do, not what you can't.
* Speeding up the rollout of Universal Credit, phasing out our old benefit system and eliminating a binary choice between work and welfare.
* Changing the rules so that someone on Universal Credit working less than half of a full-time week, will have to look for more work to help people progress in work and off welfare.
* Strengthening our sanctions regime to ensure unemployment benefits remain a safety net and not a lifestyle choice.
* There is no excuse for those on unemployment benefits who can work, not to engage with the support available to them or adhere to conditions set by their Work Coach.
* That is why changes will be introduced so that someone's claim is closed after 12 months if they fail to comply with the conditions set by their Work Coach.
* Maintaining zero tolerance to fraud in the welfare system, to protect our support for those who genuinely need it, by introducing a new Fraud Bill into the next parliament.

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Galley Hill repairs
I am pleased to have secured a debate in Parliament on Government funding to repair the road at Galley Hill.
I have met with the Roads Minister, Guy Opperman MP, several times to lobby him for Central Government support. I would like the Government to agree to pay for the repairs, with the Department for Transport being compensated at a later date, once liability has been ascertained. This, however, needs agreement from both Thames Water and Kent County Council and thus far only KCC have agreed to this approach.
The closure of Galley Hill is causing huge disruption to everybody in the local area and it is essential the road is reopened as quickly as possible.
The debate will take place on Tuesday 7th May at 6pm.

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George Low
I recently met with the Foreign Secretary to raise again the case of Dartfordian, George Low, who was murdered in Cyprus in August 2016. George was stabbed to death in Ayia Napa in an unprovoked attack whilst there on holiday. His murderers fled to Northern Cyprus and then to Turkey.

I am due to meet the Turkish Ambassador again soon, to once more explore the possibility of there being a trial in Turkey.
It is incredibly sad that his murderers have never been brought to justice and I will continue to pursue this for George's family.
ULEZ
On Friday 19th April, Labour again blocked my Bill to overturn the ULEZ expansion.
Sadly, this ends any chance of my Bill becoming law.
Meanwhile in Dartford, over 6,700 penalty charge notices have been issued since the start of the expansion in August last year at a cost of £94,000. This is a staggering tax on local people who have no say over the London Mayor.
The table below shows how many people in each postcode in Dartford have been fined by Sadiq Khan.
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St George's Day in Dartford
It was a pleasure to attend the St George's Day event in Dartford again this year, where I was interviewed by GB News.
Hundreds of school children from 24 schools in Dartford were present, along with lots of local people, to join in the parade and celebrations for our national day.
Here in Dartford, we often come together to celebrate events important to our whole community and it was great to see so many enjoying the day.

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Cancer 52 reception at Westminster
I was delighted to attend a reception to mark the official launch of Cancer52's manifesto 'The Other Half: A Manifesto to transform outcomes for people with rare and less common cancers'.
Cancer 52 is an alliance of over 110 member charities that work together to improve the outcomes for those affected by rare and less common cancers.
It was also a pleasure to catch up with my constituent, Sue, at this event, who powerfully shared her experience of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I met Sue previously at a Target Ovarian Cancer event some time ago and I featured her video in my bulletin as a way of helping raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer.
As a member charity of Cancer52, Target Ovarian Cancer is supporting Cancer52's manifesto which is calling on the Government to take action on rare and less common cancers.

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Visit to Knockhall Primary School
As Dartford MP, I regularly visit all the schools in the area and this month it was great to go along to Knockhall Primary School in Greenhithe.

Knockhall is an excellent community school which takes pride in providing children in Greenhithe with a good education.

It has always been a school with a very happy atmosphere which is conducive to the children's learning. During my visit, I was shown around the school, which has more than 400 pupils attending.

The outside facilities are amongst the best in the area, with large green fields and plenty of sporting and outside recreational facilities, including new allotment and gardening areas in progress.

It was great to meet the Headteacher, Kathryn Yiannadji, to learn about some of the projects planned for the coming months, as well as seeing the children enjoying school and using the outside spaces.

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Visit to Fairfield Leisure Centre
It was a pleasure to visit Fairfield Leisure Centre, to learn about a new Home Education Multi Sports Programme which has begun at the centre.
The Friday afternoon session is the brainchild of Sports Manager, Danielle Amos, who spotted a need for activity sessions for children who are home schooled in the area.
The one-hour session, which runs in the sports hall, offers a variety of activities including football, table tennis, badminton and basketball, to youngsters who are home schooled, giving them a chance to meet and mix with children of similar ages.
The session, which is open to 30 children aged 8 to 16 and costs just £3, is proving extremely popular and there are proposals to add more sessions, as well as adding swimming to the activities.
It was great to see all the children enjoying this session and hear how popular it has become in such a short space of time.
During my visit, I was also shown around the rest of the leisure centre by the General Manager, John Galvin and Contracts Manager, Mathew Nicholson. It was good to hear about all the facilities on offer to our community, with so many activities to choose from.
As well as offering more than 50 exercise classes including Pilates, yoga and spin, the gym has more than 3200 members and there are currently more than 2600 people taking swimming lessons.
At the moment, Fairfield is undergoing a £2.5million decarbonisation project, including having solar panels fitted on the roof. This project is being co-funded by Dartford Borough Council.
It is a real asset to our town, with something for everyone and it was great to meet the team who make this leisure centre a real community hub.
Photo above left to right:
Mathew Nicholson, Contract Manager
John Galvin, General Manager
Danielle Amos, Sports Manager
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Gareth Johnson MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 7047
email: [email protected]<mailto:[link removed]>

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