· Swimming is an accessible and fun way for people to benefit from the positive physical and mental health effects that come from exercise.
· That is why the Government is investing over £60 million in 325 swimming pools across the country, making swimming more accessible, allowing more people to make the most of the positive health benefits associated with exercise.
· The Government is sticking to the plan to get 3.5 million people active by 2030, delivering on the plan to improve people’s health and create a brighter future.
· People should be able to travel in the way that works best for them, but too many people feel that traffic schemes are being implemented by councils without local consent.
· That is why the Government is sticking with the plan by delivering its Plan for Drivers, giving local people a stronger voice on road schemes that affect them by cracking down on anti-driver road schemes, overzealous traffic enforcement and strengthening guidance on 20mph limits.
· While drivers in Wales and London are being penalised with blanket 20mph limits and the expanded ULEZ charge, the Government is on the side of drivers as it sticks with the plan to make driving easier, fairer and cheaper.
· Since 2010, the Government have created a world-class apprenticeship system, delivering over 5.7 million apprenticeships since 2010 and offering more opportunities for young people to gain the skills they need to succeed and helping to grow the economy.
· Building on this strong record, the Government have announced it will fully fund apprenticeships for young people in small businesses from 1st April 2024 and increase the amount of funding that large employers who are paying the Apprenticeship Levy can pass onto other businesses from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
· The Government is sticking with the plan to provide more opportunities for young people, ensuring everyone can get the skills they need to secure high-skilled jobs and build a brighter future.
I am very pleased that West Sussex County Council have been successful in their bid for government funding, to launch a new fleet of 43 hydrogen powered buses. While they were the lead partner, it was done in conjunction with Surrey County Council, Kent County Council and Gatwick Airport.
Henry Smith MP has spoken in the House of Commons (on Friday, 22nd March) in support of the new Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, which would ban British hunters from bringing ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable animals into Great Britain.
I support investment in public transport and having viable alternatives to using a car, but am opposed to punitive measures against motorists, that left-wing councils and left-wing councillors like to implement. I remember only too well the attempt by Crawley’s Labour council to force a so-called ‘mini Holland’ scheme on our town, that would have intentionally hindered motorists and made journeys longer, adding to congestion and pollution.
Henry Smith MP has welcomed an announcement from the Department of Health & Social Care that two suicide prevention groups providing support in Sussex are set to receive a funding boost from the Government’s Suicide Prevention Grant Fund.
Ensuring that people have dignity and security in retirement is righty a priority for Conservatives and I am proud of our record. With a growing number of people of retirement age, it becomes ever more important that we have a strong economy, to afford the support we want to give to people no longer of working age. Our economy remains resilient, despite the best efforts of certain politicians seeking power, to talk it down.