James Duddridge, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East has taken the chance during recess to reflect on the reforms that the Coalition Government have delivered to local councils and communities across England sinceit was formed earlier this year in May following the General Election.
These include:
· The plans for new bin taxes on family homes. Under the previous Labour Government had these plans gone ahead this would have harmed the local environment by fuelling fly-tipping and backyard burning.
· Scrapped John Prescott’s flawed Regional Strategies and the role of his unwanted and unelected Regional Assemblies.
· Abolished the expensive red tape of Labour’s Home Information Packs (HIPs have already been suspended, pending full abolition by primary legislation).
· Scrapped Labour’s ports tax – unfair retrospective business rates on firms in ports which threatened to decimate those firms and damage Britain’s whole manufacturing sector.
· Announced the abolition of the unelected Infrastructure Planning Commission – whilst ensuring a fast-track planning system for major projects with full Parliamentary accountability.
· Encouraged councils to use their enforcement powers to tackle unauthorised traveller sites, and promised to give them stronger powers to ensure fair play in the planning system.
· Announced we will work with local councils to freeze council tax for at least one year, and two, if money permits; and give people the power to veto high council tax rises.
· Introduced a more generous small business rate relief scheme, to help firms come out of recession, for one year starting in October. Firms with a Rateable Value under £6,000 will pay no business rates at all for a year.
· Introduced new powers for councils to resist unwanted garden grabbing and scrapped arbitrary Whitehall density targets for new housing.
· Vetoed a proposed excessive salary package of £240,000 for a new chief executive of the Audit Commission, to send a strong signal to town halls that they don’t need to spend a fortune on senior salaries.
· Pledged to give councils stronger powers on licensing to tackle the alcohol-fuelled violence that plagues local high streets at night.
· Delivered £6 billion of savings this year to help tackle the budget deficit, but protecting the £29 billion of funding for Formula Grant – the funding of councils used for frontline services, and ensured that no council had a reduction in revenue of more than 2 per cent.
· Secured and authorised £1.25 billion of the last Government’s £1.5 billion housing pledge, despite the lack of sustainable funding and the massive budget deficit we inherited. Tackling the deficit will help prevent soaring interest rates for home owners.
James said
“It has been three months since the electorate made the decision to remove Labour from Government and despite the difficult situation the Coalition Government were left with financially there have been a number of clear reforms which will benefit the constituents of Rochford and Southend East.
There is still a long way to go and , as we are already aware , it will not be an easy journey but we are making good progress and steps in the right direction.
I am looking forward to returning to Westminster following the recess to carry on the work that has already been started”
ENDS