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Dear Resident,
Welcome to my latest newsletter. This edition summarises the work I have been doing since March.
It has been a busy three months either side of the Easter break and we are now rapidly approaching the Whitsun recess. I hope you all found some time over Easter to get out and about and enjoy many of the attractions in our beautiful part of East Sussex. I took part in a number of visits as part of English Tourism week which was great fun, as you may have seen on my social media, but the real story is that we have a lot of hard-working businesses and sites which rely on visits from local residents and tourists to sustain them.
I hope you enjoy reading about all the work I have been doing on your behalf. Please do get in touch if you'd like me to visit your area or if you have any concerns which you'd like to raise with me.
I wish you all a happy, and hopefully sunny, Whitsun bank holiday weekend.
Huw
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Levelling Up Investment in Bexhill and Rother
Last March, Rother was named by the government as one of 20 new Levelling Up Partnership areas which would benefit from bespoke place-based regeneration.
Since then, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has carried out extensive consultation with the local MP, local authorities, business, and voluntary sector organisations to finalise a list of projects which are set to gain from the £20million package of direct government funding and support.
The projects include £5 million to establish a new health centre for Little Common, £9 million towards a brand-new King Offa Leisure Centre, over £2.1 million for Rother’s voluntary and community sector, including establishing a new Bexhill Community Hub, £1.7 million to support the visitor economy, £200k to support local high streets and introduce a system to tackle shop-lifting, and £1.25 million to complete the Queensway Gateway Road.
You can read more here.
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Burwash Parish Meeting
Thank you to everyone who came to the Burwash 'Parish Talk' last Friday. It was great to meet so many local residents and discuss a wide range of local and national issues, including planning, the NHS, rail and school funding. I would also like to say a big thank you to the Parish Council for helping to arrange the meeting.
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Bexhill Family Collective CIC visit
I was pleased to visit the Bexhill Family Collective CIC and Dragonflies Community Nursery to see the nursery school and the Collective Community Garden they are creating in Sidley.
Bexhill Family Collective CIC and Dragonflies Community Nursery are truly outstanding community-focused organisations. What they have achieved and continue to achieve for Bexhill families is down to the commitment and sheer hard work of a small team of people who care passionately about local families and their community.
You can read more about my visit here.
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Observer Article - Jobs, Education, and Water Quality
I recently wrote in the Bexhill Observer about the success of the 8th Annual Bexhill Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair, the 'Outstanding' Ofsted report for Bexhill College, and provided an update on sewage discharges. You can read the full article here.
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De La Warr Pavilion Levelling-Up Catch-Up
It was good to catch up with Stewart Drew, CEO of the De La Warr Pavilion, about their Levelling Up Fund project. It was exciting to hear architects have been appointed to refurbish this iconic 1935 Grade I listed building making it fit for future generations to enjoy & expand education/skills on offer - a truly community-centred arts and cultural venue in Bexhill.
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English Tourism Week 2024
Tourism is an incredibly important sector, both in the South East and across the country. Nearly £100 billion is spent on tourism in England each year, with more than £10 billion being spent in the South East, and two million jobs nationally are linked to our tourism sector.
I was delighted to visit some of the fantastic tourist attractions we have locally to mark this year's English Tourism Week. You can find out more about these visits further down the newsletter.
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Record Turnout at Bexhill Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair
A record number of people visited the 2024 Bexhill Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair. Over 700 visitors came through the doors of the De La Warr Pavilion to explore live job vacancies, apprenticeships, placements, courses, skills development opportunities and back to work support. You can read more about the day here.
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English Tourism Week - Bodiam Castle Visit
Thank you to Karen and Beatrice for my fantastic visit to the magnificent Bodiam Castle. There is so much for visitors to see and do. You can find out more here.
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Catsfield 'Meet Your MP' Event
I was pleased to meet local residents in Catsfield during another of my 'Meet Your MP' events. Issues discussed included local housebuilding and planning, crime, and the NHS. Thank you to the White Hart Inn for hosting the meeting.
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Bexhill College 'Outstanding' Ofsted Report
In March, Ofsted published their latest report on Bexhill College, it was graded ‘Outstanding’. This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the hard-work and dedication of the college staff. It also demonstrates the ability of Principal, Karen Hucker, and her senior leadership team to look for and take every opportunity to expand the college’s offer to students.
The new T-levels block, which I visited last year, has been transformational in creating new career-led qualifications for young people. This provision is set to expand further. Ofsted also stated “the staff provide students with plentiful opportunities to broaden their wider skills and knowledge which prepares them well for life in modern Britain.” This is certainly the case, the College is well connected with the local business community which helps to broaden students experience of the workplace and career opportunities.
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English Tourism Week - Great Dixter Visit
It was a delight to begin my English Tourism Week visits with a visit to Great Dixter in Northiam. This world famous house and garden is not only a feast for the eyes throughout every season, its also a place to learn about planting schemes which support biodiversity throughout a range of environments from wild meadow, woodland and formal gardens. Students come from all over the world to learn under the guidance of Head Gardener Fergus Garrett. My sincere thanks to Emma Davies for welcoming me on a rainy day early in the season when, even then, the gardens were stunning.
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Infected Blood Inquiry
As the Prime Minister stated in the House of Commons, the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry report represented a day of shame for the British state.
There are people in the constituency who have been personally affected, and others who care deeply about this issue. I have set out some of the report's key findings, along with the government’s response and links where you can find further information about how those affected will be compensated on my website here.
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Q&A with Salehurst Primary School Pupils
It was a pleasure to visit Salehurst Primary School to talk to Year 5 and 6 pupils about their visit to Parliament at the end of last year, and to answer their questions about the role of an MP and the workings of the House of Commons. Visiting schools is one of the highlights of my job. I love to hear from young people about what their priorities are and to answer their questions. You can read more about my visit here.
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English Tourism Week - Battle Abbey Visit
It was great to visit Battle Abbey recently and speak to Abbey Manager, James Witcombe, about the fantastic range of activities they offer to visitors. You can find out more here.
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Draft Local Plan 2020-2040
Rother District Council has recently published its draft Local Plan. This will guide development and land use in our district over the period 2020–2040. A 12-week consultation is currently underway to seek the feedback and views of Rother residents. To read the Local Plan and find details on how to respond to the consultation, click here.
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Knife Crime Awareness Week
It was recently Knife Crime Awareness Week. Knife crime is an issue is close to my heart having previously volunteered at youth centres in Brixton before becoming an MP, and having served as Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime when I was a backbencher. I have written more about what is being done to tackle this terrible issue on my website here.
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Observer Article - 'Meet your MP' Events
I recently wrote about the 'Meet Your MP' meetings I am holding across the constituency. You can read my full article here.
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National Policy Issues
Every day I receive dozens of policy and campaign emails from constituents. Last month, I received a lot of correspondence on the environment, the Safety of Rwanda Bill and Assisted Dying . I regularly update my website with responses to key campaigns, as well as further information on various policy issues, which you can find here.
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First Bexhill Town Board Meeting
Last October, I received the good news that Bexhill has been chosen as one of 55 towns which will benefit from a £20 million 10-year endowment-style fund called the Long-Term Plan for Towns. The Plan requires each of the chosen towns to set up a Town Board who will be responsible for developing the Long-Term Plan. I recently had the pleasure of taking part in Bexhill Town Board’s inaugural meeting which I wrote about in my Observer article here.
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Town Board Chair's Event at Number 10 Downing Street
I was delighted to join newly-appointed Chair of Bexhill Town Board, Abi Newbury, along with Jay Carroll and Nikki Collins from the Heart of Sidley for a reception at 10 Downing Street.
The event was arranged by the Prime Minister to welcome the new Town Board Chairs of 55 towns which have been chosen to take part in the Government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns. The meeting provided them with an opportunity to meet the Prime Minister, other new Town Board Chairs and to hear presentations from community representatives of successful local projects.
I was particularly pleased and proud that Jay and Nikki were invited to the reception to present their projects which are being delivered for the Sidley community as exemplars of what can be achieved. You can find out more on my website here.
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Sidley Family Hub
I had a great visit to the Sidley Family Hub recently to find out about the wide range of services and activities which are provided to support families, young people and children across Rother by East Sussex County Council and the NHS.
These activities include Play and Learn Session for early years, Small Beginnings Group to support families concerned about their child’s development, baby groups, after-school clubs, girls’ clubs, dads’ drop-ins, and autism and speech delay groups, to name but a few.
You can read more about my visit here.
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Little Gate Farm Visit
I had a good catch-up with the amazing team at Little Gate Farm in Beckley. Excited to hear about their new college which starts in September at the Pelham in Bexhill. I am always keen to hear from local employers who can help by offering supported work placements & internships. Please do get in touch with my office if you can assist at all.
You can find out more here.
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Crowhurst Parish Council Meeting
I had a good discussion with Crowhurst Parish councillors about the neighbourhood development plan and access to unused land for local housing. It was also good to see the beautiful framed Crowhurst map recently installed at the station thanks to the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership. You can read more here.
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Tackling Sewage Pollution - Southern Water and Environment Agency Meeting
I had a productive meeting with Southern Water and the Environment Agency alongside Hastings and Rye MP, Sally-Ann Hart. We continue to press both agencies to take further action to clean up local bathing waters, provide accurate information on sewage releases and for real-time data on water quality to be made available to the public. You can read full details of the meeting here.
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Update on BT's Digital Landline Switchover
I know that many constituents are concerned about BT’s approach to moving all of their customers from old, analogue landlines onto digital landlines. This is an issue I have written to BT about on a number of occasions over recent months and I have recently received an update from them on the steps they are taking to better inform and protect customers. You can read that update on my website here.
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Dementia Action Week
I was pleased to attend an event in Parliament hosted by Dementia Support to mark Dementia Action Week. The Bexhill and Battle constituency has the second largest number of people living with this terrible disease out of all 650 Parliamentary constituencies. You can read more about the even here.
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Sidley Community Meeting
I was pleased to chair another excellent evening meeting with Sidley community groups and organisations. It’s always inspiring to hear about the many exciting projects which go on in Sidley and many more which are in the pipeline. What a fantastic community collaboration which I am proud to be part of.
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Little Gate College Launch
Little Gate College officially launched at The Pelham last month. I was sorry not to be there in person but pleased my team was able to join the launch event.
This is such an exciting development in helping young people with learning disabilities and/or autism lead independent lives and into employment. They are looking for more businesses and employers in the Bexhill area to offer supported work placements or internships.
You can find out more about Little Gate College here.
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Observer Article - The Strength of Local Communities
Another of my Observer columns was about a number of visits I made to hard-working local businesses across the constituency. You can read my full article here.
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Bexhill Museum Visit
It was a pleasure to visit Bexhill Museum to hear about the recent £390k Museum Estate Development Fund grant they have secured for essential repairs. Staff and volunteers do an outstanding job in keeping the museum fresh and interesting. A great community & educational asset & a top-class visitor attraction for Bexhill.
Read more here
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Parish Conference
It was a great privilege to hold a Rural Parish Conference at Great Dixter House and Garden for parish and town councils in the Bexhill and Battle constituency. I was pleased to welcome representatives from 28 parishes.
Agenda items included encouraging bio-diversity which was a fascinating talk by Great Dixter's Head Gardener, Fergus Garrett. Hastoe Housing Association delivered a talk on creating sustainable and affordable homes in rural locations which is such an important issue locally.
Read more here.
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Assisted Dying Westminster Hall Debate
As many of you will know, more than 200,000 people signed a petition calling for MPs to debate Assisted Dying. The Bexhill and Battle constituency had the fifth highest proportion of petitioners.
This debate was held at the end of last month in Westminster Hall. Although no vote was held, this was an opportunity for MPs to discuss this highly emotive issue. Due to my Ministerial position, I am unable to speak in Parliament about matters other than transport. I did, however, meet with the campaign organisers before the debate to re-pledge my support should there be another opportunity to deliver change.
Assisted Dying was last voted on in Parliament in 2015. I voted in favour of that bill which would have allowed individuals who were deemed sound of mind and were suffering from an irreversible medical condition likely to cause death within six months, the right to be prescribed with medication from a doctor to end their life.
I appreciate how strongly people feel about this issue. I have written more about this in my recent Observer article here. You may also be interested in watching the speech I made in the House of Commons during the 2015 debate, which you can find here.
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Shaping Transport Priorities in the South East
Transport for the South East, who have responsibility for determining what investment is needed to transform our region’s transport system, want to hear what local people think their priorities in the coming years should be. Their 'Your Voices' survey runs until 2 June and you can complete it here.
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English Tourism Week - Crowhurst Park Visit
I was delighted to visit the fantastic Crowhurst Park Holiday Village during English Tourism Week and meet owner Colin Simmons. Colin's family have owned the beautiful estate for 70 years and offer a fantastic visitor experience. You can find out more here.
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Ofsted's 'The Big Listen' Survey
'The Big Listen' is an opportunity for parents, children and professionals to share their views about Ofsted's current approach and help inform their future direction. The survey runs until 31 May 2024, and there are several ways you can share your views. Find out more here.
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