Our local councils are on the frontline of the big issues of the day, from housing and social care to transport and business support.
That’s why I appreciated the chance to join my Mid Norfolk councils, Breckland District Council and South Norfolk District Council, for one of our regular catch ups last night.
Together we discussed:
- The Warm Homes initiative
- Local support for Ukrainian refugees
- The Cambridge-Norwich Tech Corridor
- A Norfolk Devolution Deal
As ever, I took the chance to thank our local council leaders and officials for all the work they do for our communities on a daily basis, and I committed to helping them follow up with ministers and officials on a variety of actions.
As a regular user of the A47 throughout my time as the local MP for Mid Norfolk, I have long been aware of widespread concerns about safety at the A47 Necton/Dunham junction.
That’s why, alongside my ongoing efforts to support communities in the Necton area on the Vattenfall/Offshore Wind Infrastructure issues (see more here), I have been very vocal about the need to look again at this hazardous junction and ensure that National Highways take appropriate steps to boost safety standards at that location.
Various meetings have taken place on site and virtually and, back in 2018/19, the local Parish Council, district and county councillors and I managed to get National Highways to commit to an official study of the junction and its safety – which was indeed undertaken and completed.
Inevitably, the pandemic impacted the work that followed that study, with delays being encountered. However, when I checked with National Highways last year, it was explained to me that the junction had not been forgotten and that their teams were continuing to work with the Parish Council and local councillors as they were developing a scheme for additional safety improvement. The hope was that construction would begin this year (2023) and National Highways went on to highlight that they were planning other safety improvements along the wider stretch of road around the junction too, which they aimed to have completed in the next roads investment period (2025-2030), but which are being designed now.
National Highways also explained that, when the nearby petrol station was completed a few years ago, audits were completed before and after – with a series of alterations made around the petrol station entrance and the Necton/Dunham junction. A further audit was set to take place in the autumn, with additional measures being implemented if required.
Now in 2023, I am following up with National Highways to get the very latest updates on this work. I understand that, for many in our area, this junction is a real concern and, having witnessed several near-misses myself (and heard of countless more anecdotally), I am determined to do all I can to shine a light on this issue and ensure that works are delivered as soon as possible.
I look forward to providing further updates on my website in due course.
To learn more about some of my historic work on this, please click here.
Mid Norfolk is creating lots of new jobs, especially in small businesses. However, as ever, it’s often very hard for jobseekers, or those considering a change, to discover and access the opportunities available (often just down the road!) – or for employers to find and connect with local candidates themselves.
That’s why, throughout my time as a local MP, I have made Rural Job Accessibility such a priority in my work, particularly through my project The Norfolk Way (see more here).
When I started as the Conservative Candidate for Mid Norfolk back in 2008, the local jobcentre was a very non-user friendly, often intimidating, place. Now based in the local Breckland District Council offices, it’s like a VIP departure lounge and is far better placed to cater for and HELP jobseekers with Universal Credit and job seeking. This is a huge step forward and a credit to the local DWP team and Breckland District Council.
Indeed, having long been a big advocate of the brilliant local DWP team (supporting initiatives like their Kickstarts scheme to help 16-24 year olds get into, and then stay in, work), complimenting their work through the likes of the Norfolk Way Bursary Scheme and the Norfolk Enterprise Festival, I am delighted to now be in conversations with them about holding a Jobs Fair in Watton in the coming months.
More details will be posted in due course but I am excited to work with local councillors, the DWP and other local stakeholders to help connect local people with the wide variety of opportunities in our area – often with fulfilling and rewarding career paths available.
If YOU are local and looking to get into work, or wish to try something different, please do get in touch with via george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk to signal your interest in coming along. We want to help you find that exciting new opportunity.
If YOU are a local business looking to recruit, please also get in touch. We are passionate about connecting you to the right local candidates.
When we think of our health, too often, as a society, we neglect to consider the importance of our teeth. Dental health is a crucial part of NHS services however and it is vital that EVERYONE can access the support they need.
That’s why, conscious of the difficulties that so many of my constituents have in getting a dental appointment and often when in need of urgent care, I have been so active in campaigning for dental improvements in our region over recent months.
Amongst my efforts, back in July, I wrote to the then dental minister, Maria Caulfield MP, to raise a number of specific points that (having spoken to figures at all levels of the sector here in Norfolk) I had been told would deliver the short term benefits and improvements we desperately need to see, in addition to the more long term reforms needed to properly grasp the problems being faced and ensure they don’t occur again a few years down the line – especially the key issue that is the lack of NHS dentists in the region. Then, when the new Secretary of State entered his post in the autumn, I wrote again to share that letter and emphasise the scale of local frustrations on this matter.
I was delighted therefore to receive a response earlier this week from the new dental minister outlining some of the work the Department of Health and Social Care are doing to bring about improvements.
In September, the Government published its Our Plan for Patients, which sets out the steps being taken to incentivise dentists to do more NHS work (not just private), as well as to take on some of the more difficult cases. Since then, the Government has been working at pace to implement that Plan and, on 25th November, it has introduced legislation to amend the NHS dental contract, again to better incentivise dentists to deliver care to high-need patients through fairer remuneration and improve the NHS dental sector’s resilience – for example, by allowing greater flexibility around commission so that NHS dentists can provide extra are where they are able to.
Having included much of this in my previous letters, I’m delighted to see the Government are listening.
I also welcome news that DHSC is working with Health Education England, and others, to ensure that the Government has the necessary data to better support future workforce planning and address shortages of dental professionals in some areas and clinical specialities, through local sustainability and transformation partnerships and integrated care systems. Having added my voice to calls for a new dental school here in Norfolk so as to better provide our region with the skilled dentists it needs, this news from the Government is a positive first step.
However, more can still be done and, while I am delighted that the Government is indeed listening and taking this seriously, I remain committed to doing all I can for Mid Norfolk by raising this issue both with the local NHS and in Westminster.
To learn more about my campaign, please visit my website here.
Having grown up on my stepdad’s farm, previously worked as Parliamentary Officer for the NFU and now represented a largely rural constituency for almost thirteen years, I have always had a deep connection to the environment. Many of my hobbies embrace the outdoors, including sailing and walking, and I have always been a major advocate of the Road to Net Zero, highlighting the frontline role that our region can have, and already is having, in the ‘Green Revolution’ that will help us tackle carbon emissions and embrace a cleaner, greener, healthier model of life.
That’s why I was delighted to be approached by Climate Hope Action In Norfolk with the opportunity to participate in a cross-party panel event titled ‘Climate change is here – what now?’ in Wymondham on Friday 24th February 2023.
Full details are in the flyer below – and having been involved in or visited a variety of environmental projects locally, and actively raised a number of ‘green’ issues in Westminster with ministers and officials, I’m very much looking forward to joining in the conversation.
To learn more about my work on Net Zero and the environment in the meantime, please visit my campaign page here.
George Freeman, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation answers MPs’ questions on the development of onshore wind farms, the forced installation of prepayment electricity meters, the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging international R&D investment into the UK.
Onshore Wind Farms
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
7. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of onshore wind farms developed in England since 2015. (903113)
The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation (George Freeman)
Onshore wind in the UK has been a great success. It generates 25% of our total renewables, and since 2015 around 10 onshore wind projects, totalling 30 MW, have been given consent in England. We have made it clear that onshore wind is an important part of the energy mix and that we will now need more, which is why we are consulting on making changes to the national planning policy framework in England so that local authorities can better respond to the views of their local communities when they wish to host onshore wind infrastructure.
Nick Smith
New onshore wind has been stymied since 2015, even though it is our cheapest renewable. Shire-counties conservatism has been put ahead of our national interest; weak policy has undermined the UK’s energy security, leaving us wide open to international shocks. Does the Minister not accept that all this has helped to cause family bills to skyrocket?
George Freeman
In a word, no. What has caused family bills to skyrocket is the international pressure on energy supply chains, the war in Ukraine and the economic sanctions in respect of Russia. I accept the point that the costs of onshore wind have fallen dramatically through our contracts for difference round 4. This is a UK success story, which is why we are keen to do more. The public-opinion data show that 78% of the public support onshore wind. We want to make sure that we do not impose it on local authorities and are giving them more freedom to make sure they can reflect local demand so that it is renewable energy led by communities with community benefit.
Sir James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con)
Looking out from the east of my constituency, one can see a number of offshore wind farms, which are more efficient and cheaper. The Government have done really well over the past 10 years by increasing the renewable generation of electricity fivefold; does the Minister agree that that not only helps to cut emissions but pump-primes new jobs markets in the generation of clean energy around the world?
George Freeman
As a BEIS Minister and as an East Anglian Member of Parliament, I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The southern North sea is becoming the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, and the Norfolk and Suffolk coast and the new hydrogen freeport at Felixstowe and Harwich are part of the way in which we are growing the infrastructure for smart advanced wind and a linked hydrogen economy in the 21st century.
Topical Questions
Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)
The calls that we have already heard to take action to support people on prepayment meters are echoed by more than 40 Members of both Houses on the all-party parliamentary group on fuel poverty and energy efficiency. They, too, are calling for a ban on forced installation of prepayment meters by court warrant and an end to unfair standing charges and price differentials. It is not good enough just to hear nice words from the Government; they have to require action from the energy suppliers.
The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation (George Freeman)
We agree that the most vulnerable consumers in this country should be protected. Those duties already lie with Ofgem. I shall repeat what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said earlier: it is completely unacceptable that vulnerable patients leave hospital and find that they have been automatically disconnected. We are convening a roundtable meeting and my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Minister for Energy and Climate are putting pressure on Ofgem to make sure that vulnerable consumers are looked after.
Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
There is an inconsistency in how the public sector is required to report greenhouse gas emissions. That makes it difficult to keep a track on progress as we approach net zero, and difficult for citizens to hold the public sector to account on delivery. What is the Minister doing to rectify that so that we can keep a proper track on what is happening?
George Freeman
May I take this opportunity, on behalf of the Department, to thank the hon. Member and the Public Accounts Committee for their report, to which we will very shortly reply? I am delighted to say that the public sector has reduced emissions by 44% since 1990 and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by 70% since 2010. We appreciate her Committee’s point that the data—the metrics—have to be clear and coherent, and we are taking that on board.
James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)
T8. The UK is a hub of privately driven research and development. I am proud that my Bracknell constituency is the silicon valley of the Thames valley and the home of fantastic companies such as 3M, Dell, Honda and Panasonic, which is also great for local employment. What steps are being taken to encourage more international R&D investment into the UK? (903105)
George Freeman
My hon. Friend makes a good point. We have the groundbreaking commitment to move from £15 billion to £20 billion a year of investment in public R&D over this comprehensive spending review, the creation of the National Science and Technology Council, the recent launch of our international science partnership fund, the ISPF, which I announced in Japan with a first tranche of £119 million, a series of strategic bilats and multilats, and, of course, our £7 billion ring-fenced for Horizon for three years—if we cannot deploy it through Horizon, we will deploy it in other ways to support UK R&D.
Being an active local constituency MP means working to help find solutions to some of the biggest local problems we face here in Mid Norfolk.
I think it also means being accountable to YOU – the people I am here to represent and serve.
That’s why, in addition to the dozens of pieces of constituency correspondence I reply to each week (on local casework, national policy matters and campaigns), as well as my regular programme of supermarket surgeries, I also had a number of telephone and Microsoft Teams calls with local constituents this past Friday about sensitive issues important to them.
This is an incredibly important part of my role as a local MP – and one I take very seriously.
As I have also pledged on each of the four election nights on which I’ve been honoured to be elected, I will always do my best to represent EVERYONE in Mid Norfolk – not just the people that voted for me.
If YOU need my help with a local matter, or would like to raise a point about a national policy issue, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk or via post by writing to Office of George Freeman MP, 8 Damgate Street, Wymondham, NR18 0BQ.
More often than not, I am able to pick up and help with a matter quickly, with the help of my small, dedicated local team. However, where a matter is particularly complex, I do try and arrange an urgent call to discuss your issue.
To learn more about the kinds if issues I can assist with, please click here.
Last week I spoke with Chris Goreham on Radio Norfolk about the Space Launch in Newquay, the future of space science and what it means for Norfolk.
As everyone knows, innovation is risky. It’s hard and it often goes wrong.
We did, however, achieve a huge amount – we established the first UK space port in Newquay, Cornwall, the regulatory framework is in place, and we can now launch at any time.
The first sequences all went according to plan – the take off, the rocket first fire and the release of the rocket. It was the final step of getting it into the right orbit which was hugely disappointing.
“We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard.”
This was an important step for UK Space, but also a massively important step for our region – where we have a number of exciting local companies working in the high growth space sector. I am determined to do all I can to shine a light on them all.
To listen to my interview in full, please click here and scroll to roughly the 1hr 55 minute mark.
To learn more about Norfolk’s Innovation Economy, please click here
Since becoming MP for Mid Norfolk back in 2010, I have actively worked with local community groups and councillors to promote a more local and organic model of development – one that doesn’t allow aggressive out-of-town developers to abuse the planning system and keep on dumping large, inappropriate and unsustainable developments on our towns and villages. (For full details, please visit my website here).
However, planning doesn’t just mean houses. It can also mean local businesses and industry. While we want to see our local economy thriving (especially those traditional sectors that our area is so closely tied to), we need to ensure that growth is done positively, rather than at the expense of the rural way of life that we all hold so dear – and which makes Mid Norfolk such a wonderful place to live, work and visit!
That’s why I wrote to Breckland Council this time last year to highlight my concerns for about the application for eight new poultry sheds with associated admin blocks, feed bins and ancillary development on land off Swangey Lane in Rocklands – having been made aware of overwhelming local opposition. That application was withdrawn by the applicant shortly before it was due to be heard by Breckland Planning Committee.
Shortly before Christmas, I became aware of a second, almost identical application that had been submitted, along with another groundswell of local opposition. Having read through everything carefully, I have now submitted the below letter to Breckland Council to highlight those concerns and formally place on record my opposition.
To see my work with the local community in relation to the previous application, please click here and here
Rest assured, I will continue to support sustainable development in our local area – working with our dedicated local councillors and communities to oppose those that are not appropriate or unsustainable in our part of the world.
The campaign to secure proper access to Platform 2 of Wymondham Station has been one I have been actively involved in for a number of years and, having shared the growing frustration (rightly) of so many in our area at the continued slowness of any progress, I once again committed to doing my bit to reenergise those efforts – reconvening a Taskforce of key stakeholders in the autumn to hold them to account, find out what was going on and make clear in no uncertain terms that the local community expects to see action, and quickly.
As part of that ongoing work, I welcomed the chance to meet with a number of those key stakeholders again shortly before Christmas to receive updates and discuss the next round of necessary actions. I reiterated again that a lack of proper access to Platform 2 has long been unacceptable.
Those discussions were helpful and I look forward to our next conversations in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, I continue to liaise with our various stakeholders as we pursue multiple avenues that aim to deliver step-free access to Platform 2 as soon as possible – and as the first part of a wider regeneration package for the entire station site in the coming years.
To learn more about all my work on this, as well as the wider regeneration vision for the site, please visit my campaign page here.