Supporting families and children should always be at the top the Government’s agenda and as a father myself to two young children, I know full well how important it is that the next generation get the best start in life. Since becoming your Member of Parliament, I have put supporting families and children at the forefront of my work.
Child Benefit
Having written and met with the Chancellor in the weeks ahead of the recent Spring budget to make it clear to him that more must be done to support young families here in the UK, I am pleased by the announcement that action has now been taken to increase the threshold at which parents start paying the ‘High Income Child Benefit Charge’ to £60,00 and halving the rate at which Child Benefit is repaid to 24 months.
This will mean that almost half a million working families will be better off by nearly £1,300 per household. These announcements are something I have long argued for to make the system fairer for working families.
Childcare
One of the most acute concerns for many working families in West Oxfordshire is the exceedingly high costs associated with childcare. I have long made the point to my colleagues in Government that it is not right that families should be forced to choose between caring for their children or returning to work and the high costs associated with childcare.
Having consistently written to the Chancellor to raise this issue, I was very pleased that the Government has responded positively to my representations and will introduce 30 hours free childcare for all children over 9 months old. These new plans will also pay childcare costs upfront for those families on Universal Credit, while also increasing the hourly rate for nursery providers. This new plan for childcare will make a real, tangible difference to the lives of so many families and I am proud to see this campaign come to fruition.
Funding for schools
A good education is the best tool for any child to get ahead in life and since entering Parliament, I have always campaigned for an increase in school funding. I was therefore very pleased by the Government’s decision to increase school funding to nearly £60 billion in the year 2024-25. This is a real time increase of over 1.8 billion and will ensure that we continue to have a world leading education system.
SEND Provisions
In collaboration with my other Conservative MP colleagues from across Oxfordshire, I was very happy to meet with the then Minister for Children and Families and to have been able to secure an additional £1 million in funding for SEND provisions in Oxfordshire.
In September, the profound difficulties that so many SEND families in my constituency experience were laid bare by a deeply troubling OFSTED report, which exposed ‘widespread and systematic failures’ at the heart of Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCC) approach to SEND provisions in our local schools. For many months, my office has been inundated with correspondence from concerned parents who have been pushed down a pathway of delay, difficulty and lengthy tribunal processes to see their children receive the vital accommodations they need to get on with their education. This is unacceptable and I am doing all I can to both hold OCC to account for their failures and to see vital improvements in the way that SEND families are supported in Oxfordshire.
Sports Facilities
A good start for children does not end in the classroom. The ability to play sport and proper access to sporting facilities are vital to a child's rounded development and education. It is therefore very welcome news that the Government is delivering an additional £93 million in funding for over 1.100 grass roots sporting projects across the country. This is particularly welcome news as I have long advocated for greater funding for sporting facilities locally. This new funding will be shared between Freeland FC, Eynsham Association FC, Great Tew Athletic and Carterton FC.
This year, I was also very pleased that the brilliant Courtside Hubs CIC, which runs The Coffee Shed Witney on the Leys, was successful in their application for the Community Ownership Fund. This was a tremendous result following the team’s hard work and my campaigning support which delivered £700,000 to improve sporting access in Witney and wellbeing for families across the town.
