News from Michael Wills MP
Posted by Michael Wills, MP for North Swindon, at 08:35, Tue 14 April 2009:
News from Michael Wills April 2009
Tough Times
I know that the world economic crisis is worrying many people in Swindon and I want to help in any way I can, so I’ve been holding open meetings to give residents an opportunity to discuss the state of the economy and their finances.
So far, I have held meetings in Gorse Hill, Taw Hill, and Even Swindon and further meetings will be held on:
Saturday, 9 May 2009 at 3:30pm at Meadowcroft Community Centre, Addison Crescent, Stratton St. Margaret, Swindon SN2 7JX Saturday, 11 July 2009 at 3:30pm at Highworth Council Community Rooms, High Street, Highworth, SN6 7AG
All constituents are welcome to attend. If you are not able to attend one of the meetings but would still like help or advice about anything please contact my office on 01793 481 016 or write to me at michaelwillsmp@parliament.uk or at the Former Even Swindon School Building, Hughes Street, Swindon SN2 2ER.
April 2009 tax changes
On 6 April a range of measures came into effect to give extra support to families during these tough times. Some of the measures are:
The child element of child tax credits has been increased by £150 a year
Working tax credits have been increased by £90 a year
A basic rate tax cut for 22 million tax payers worth £145 a year
The state pension has been increased by £4.55 to £95.25 the highest rise since 2001
Pension Credit has been increased to £130 a week for single pensioners and £198 for couples
From April 2009, mums-to-be can claim a one-off, tax-free ‘Health in Pregnancy Grant’ of £190 for each pregnancy. It does not affect tax credits or other benefits and everyone will get the same amount.
Don’t forget to claim
In recent weeks, several people who have found themselves without a job for the first time have come to me for help. They have not claimed benefits before and have found it difficult to work out what benefits they are entitled to and how they should claim them. This is understandable as there are several different agencies responsible for the administration of benefits, including the Jobcentre Plus, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Swindon Borough Council, and the regulations governing them are complicated.
However, I am concerned that people are missing out on vital help so I have written to Ministers to express my concerns about this and to call for more information to be made available to those losing their jobs due to the difficult economic climate. But in the meantime I am keen to ensure that individuals get the advice they need and claim all the benefits to which they are entitled as soon as possible. Workers have understandably put all their energies into trying to find a new job rather than claiming benefits. While this is laudable I would urge all who lose their jobs to ensure that they do not forget to claim benefits, as it may not be possible for them to be backdated later.
The three main agencies to contact to claim benefits are Swindon Job Centre in Princes Street Swindon, telephone 0800 0556688, Swindon Borough Council’s Benefit Department at Watt Tyler House, Beckhampton Street Swindon, telephone 0845 8500962 and the Tax Credits Office on 0845 300 3900. There are also several excellent advice agencies in Swindon that offer free expert advice on benefit entitlement, including the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, the Wiltshire Law Centre and the Advice Point in Cavendish Square and I would urge people to make use of them in these difficult times.
Working for constituents
I have been working to help constituents through these difficult times, dealing with their problems with council tax arrears, mortgage arrears, housing benefits and complaints about job seekers allowance and rail fare increases. If you feel I can be of assistance with anything, I hope you will not hesitate to contact me.
‘Mr Wills is doing a good job. He has helped me and my wife a lot. If it was not for him we would not have got all our repairs done to our bungalow.’ Mr & Mrs Baxter, Upper Stratton
‘Michael wrote to the tax credit office on our behalf to sort out the error in their figures. His letter was very positive and to the point and the error was corrected. He has worked well for us.’ Mr Hunter, Highworth
‘He wrote to the working pension credit to try to get them to pay us what we were owed. He got us what we needed, plus compensation. Exceptionally good.’ Mr and Mrs May, Penhill
‘Michael helped push to get our house to a safe and acceptable living standard. Extremely grateful and impressed. We can’t thank Michael enough.’ Mrs Cheeseman, Pinehurst
Queensfield Update
I held a public meeting about the continuing traffic problems in Queensfield on Friday, 13 March attended by 100 or so residents. For years, Swindon Borough Council ignored residents’ complaints and then, after I had pressured them into action, they failed to consult residents properly about solutions.
That’s why I held this meeting which unanimously backed a proposal to tackle the problem by blocking off Duchess Way with a retractable bollard. Now it’s down to Swindon Borough Council to consult – and deliver.
If you are concerned about this issue, I hope you will not hesitate to contact me so that I can ensure you are kept up to date with the latest developments.
Groundwell Park & Ride
I have am disappointed by the council’s decision to close the Park and Ride and I am supporting residents’ campaign to save it.
People depend on the Park and Ride to get into town, it eases congestion and it's a powerful symbol of Swindon's commitment to public transport and to a sustainable transport strategy. Closing it sends all the wrong signals mocks their commitment to become ‘the UK’s number one sustainable community.’
I shall continue to campaign to get the Council to change their mind.
Boost for Swindon’s schools
I was pleased to welcome extra funding for Swindon’s schools this year, which has been brought forward from 2010/11 to 2009/10 as part of the Government’s action to support local businesses and jobs through the recession.
Every school in Swindon will benefit from an extra £1.3 million of funding brought forward from next year to this year bringing the total direct funding for Swindon’s schools to £4.6 million this year. This money will go direct to headteachers for them to choose to spend it as they see fit.
The Government has also allowed Swindon Borough Council to bring forward just over £8 million for larger building projects co-ordinated by the local authority, making a total of £15.4 million of government funding for school building projects in Swindon this year.
I hope that Swindon Borough Council will welcome this extra funding and that it will make a real difference in helping them finance the building of much needed schools in North Swindon, such as PS7 in Oakhurst, despite these difficult economic times.
This money, in addition to benefiting students in Swindon, will help boost Swindon’s economy so it is good news for Swindon’s schools and businesses and I hope the council will choose to spend this extra money where it is needed most.
Council tenants’ rent
The government has announced that, given these exceptional times, it is prepared to offer local authorities, which have responsibility for setting council tenants’ rent, an offer to bid for additional subsidy, if, and only if, they will revisit the level of rents they set and reduce them by that amount. The average guideline rent increase for local authority tenants in 2009/10 will be halved from 6.2% to around 3.1% to encourage councils to reduce the amount tenants would have to pay for the coming year.
Local authorities are being invited to bid for additional subsidy before the end of April and to introduce new, lower rent increases as soon as is practicable. I have written to Swindon Borough Council, on behalf of the council tenants of Swindon, to ask for reassurance that they will bid for this additional money and that rent increases will be adjusted down accordingly.
Unfortunately, the reply I received was not as constructive as I am sure council tenants would have hoped and so I have returned to the Council asking them to think again about bidding for this funding. I have also written on their behalf to Ministers for urgent information about the details of the scheme so that they can bid for this money and help Swindon council tenants as soon as possible.
Free prescriptions for cancer patients
At the end of January this year, the Government announced that from 1 April 2009, people being treated for cancer, the effects of cancer or the effects of cancer treatment are entitle to apply for a medical exemption certificate which will entitle them to free prescriptions.
Patients can collect an application form from their GP surgery or oncology clinics. The form must be countersigned by their GP, hospital doctor or service doctor.
The Government estimates that the scheme will benefit up to 150,000 people already diagnosed with cancer and will give people living with cancer and related conditions one less worry at such a difficult time.
£4.35 billion was spent on cancer services in 2006/07, 5.2% of all NHS spending
Cancer rates are down by 18.2% since 1996-8 – saving nearly 9,000 lives in 2007 alone.
The Government is on tract to meet its target of a reduction of at least 20% in cancer deaths by 2010
99.7% of people with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist within two weeks – in 1997 only 63% were seen this quickly.
Over 99% of people are treated within a month of diagnosis.
NHS Constitution
The government recently published the NHS Constitution, which brings together in one place what staff, patients and the public can expect from the NHS. The NHS Constitution forms the basis of a new relationship between staff and patients, based on partnership, feedback, respect and shared commitment. For patients, the Constitution collects together important rights around access to drugs and treatments, health services, information, quality of care and environment, dignity & respect and complaint and redress.
The constitution was developed from the bottom up based on discussion with thousands of NHS staff, patients and members of the public and provisions in the Health Bill mean that all organisations which provide NHS services will have a legal duty to have regard to the constitution in their decisions and actions. I welcome this action to enshrine the principles and values of this important institution.
National Dementia Strategy
The government has recently announced a new strategy for the care of people with dementia. This new strategy aims to increase awareness of dementia, ensure early diagnosis and intervention and significantly improve the quality of care that people with the condition receive. The strategy recognises that the number of people with dementia will double over the next thirty years and that the cost of care and treatment is likely to triple.
The strategy, among other things recommends the creation of a new role of ‘dementia advisor’ in every hospital and care home to act as a guide to help people with dementia, their carers and families navigate the care and support system, sets out plans to establish a network of specialist services, such as memory clinics, across the country that focus on early diagnosis and intervention, and a senior member of staff in every general hospital who will be charged with providing leadership to improve the quality of care for people with dementia.
Improving care for people with dementia is one of the most important challenges we face and as someone with personal experience of caring for a family member with dementia, I very much support this strategy.
Oxford Road safety
As many residents will be aware, Swindon Borough council have decided to cut the funding for fixed speed cameras from Swindon, despite the fact that there as been a 66% reduction in people killed and seriously inured at the sites of these cameras, such as the Oxford Road camera site in Stratton. This is a serious issue. 30 people were killed on Swindon’s roads over the last five years and a further 354 were seriously injured. Swindon Borough Council say they will still spend money on road safety, so I have therefore conducted a survey in Oxford Road to see what types of road safety measures residents would like to see in their area. Nearly half of those who responded said they felt Oxford Road was either not very safe, or not safe at all for pedestrians. Nearly 60 percent of respondents would like more vehicle activated signs, 35 percent would like more pedestrian crossings and 38 percent would like speed cameras on the road. I have written to the Leader of Swindon Borough Council with the results and asking him what plans there are for improving road safety in the area.
Rise in Swindon apprenticeships
I welcomed figures published at the beginning of the month, as part of Apprenticeship Week, which showed a record 108 percent increase in the number of people completing apprenticeships in North Swindon. 250 people completed apprenticeships in Swindon in 2008, up from 120 in 2004.
Apprenticeships provide valuable pathways to careers for young people and on the job training for adults and I am pleased that the number of people starting apprenticeships in Swindon has increased so quickly over the last few years.
The government has announced plans to expand apprenticeships even further in the coming years and will soon be introducing the right to an apprenticeship place for every suitably qualified young person who wants one.
Supporting apprenticeships is vital in these difficult economic times and it is an important step towards ensuring we have a strong, well-skilled workforce to prepare for when the country comes out of recession.
Contact Michael Wills MP:
Former Even Swindon School Building Hughes Street Swindon SN2 2ER 01793 481 016
House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 0207 219 4399
michaelwillsmp@parliament.uk www.michaeldwills.co.uk
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