Living in this South Downs constituency with my family, its always been easy for me to understand what matters to local people as we use the same roads, high streets and public services.
1) Tackling rural crime and anti-social behaviour in our towns:
Nationally, the Government has recruited more than 20,000 new Police Officers – delivering on a commitment made in 2019.
That means that Sussex Police has recruited an additional 679 Police Officers since 2018 and the force now has more officers on our streets than 10 years ago.
This positive news has meant that we’ve seen neighbourhood crime fall by 33% since 2019 – a bigger reduction than the national average – and an expansion of our local Rural Crime Team who are expert specialists in tackling the crime that impacts our more isolated countryside communities.
I am also a proud and prominent supporter of Sussex Police’s ‘Operation Downsway’ to target those who use our West Sussex rural roads in an anti-social and dangerous manner.
2) Improving our local healthcare services:
I have conducted one of the biggest ever local NHS Surveys in the area and regularly share the results with local NHS leadership and Ministers to try to shape priorities and fix issues where they arise. I've also worked closely with communities to support GP surgeries and save the local pharmacies which are often a fragile part of our High Streets but vital to residents.
I’m especially pleased that the Government’s new Primary Healthcare Plan will end the 8am rush for GP appointments with a new system to book appointments immediately or signpost appropriate care elsewhere and extending funding for pharmacists to allow for a wider range of prescriptions – freeing up millions of GP appointments.
3) Protecting our environment:
From the top level of Government down to the most local consultations, I am an advocate against unsustainable rural over development in our community which harms the countryside. We do need new homes, and so it's exceptionally frustrating that the Government has reduced housing targets in our biggest city, London, so instead of utilising former commercial property and developing upwards not outwards to take a lot of pressure off the precious South Downs naturescape where we live, disproportionate numbers of homes are to be built under Labour in rural West Sussex.
Anyone who has visited rural South Downs and seen the narrow roads, rural railway provision and relatively minor infrastructure will know that if we're going to massively increase housing supply, the middle of nowhere in West Sussex is not the place to start.
Some people in our constituency have understandable concerns about the impact of the recent decision to lift the moratorium on shale extraction. I do not support fracking locally, as our as our transport infrastructure would be unsuitable for the extra traffic volumes, but I am glad that local communities will now be able to pursue these opportunities if they so wish.
I also understand how important tackling sewage discharge is for many people. Indeed, this is the first Government to take steps to address storm overflows.
In August 2022, the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan was launched, setting out stringent targets to protect people and the environment, backed up by up to £60 billion capital investment, which is the largest infrastructure programme in water company history. Legally binding through the Environment Act 2021, the plan prioritises storm overflows that could cause the most harm while balancing the impact on consumer bills.
4) Better broadband:
For those working from home, living in our most isolated areas, or indeed for our rural businesses, slow broadband can be a complete obstruction.
That’s why victory over the ‘battle for bandwidth’ is one of my top priorities.
After working closely with Ministers, we’ve secured brilliant news for the most rural areas in West Sussex.
In addition to the many local Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme projects successfully delivering ultrafast broadband to South Downs community, work will start this year on £100 million worth of investment for broadband in the most ‘hard-to-reach’ areas.
This project, funded by the Government, means that for over 68,000 homes and businesses in the South Downs will see speeds shoot right up to 1,000mbps (depending on their broadband contracts).
The most recent figures from Building Digital UK, the Government organisation task with improving broadband speeds, show that 41.7% of residents in Arundel & South Downs now have access to ‘gigabit’ broadband (1000+ mbps download speeds) – representing a 618% increase in coverage since 2019. A total of 94.5% of residents now have access to superfast broadband (30-300 mbps download speeds), up from 91.2% in 2019.