Building enough houses to make sure everyone in our area has the chance for a roof of their own, while also making sure we protect and enhance our rural landscape and way of community life is often a difficult balance.
That’s why I’ve long been a strong advocate of Localism and the importance of giving local communities and councils a greater say in how they grow and develop in the years to come – and why, throughout my time as local MP, I’ve supported many Mid Norfolk towns and villages as they go about developing their own Neighbourhood Plans.
Over the years, I have actively supported and encouraged Watton Town Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group as they have set about developing their own Neighbourhood Plan (meeting with members and attending the first public events way back in 2017 as I helped get the efforts underway – see here).
I am therefore delighted that, following the Referendum last Thursday, the Watton Neighbourhood Plan will be adopted – with 90.9% of those that voted supporting it.
This is a hugely positive step and I look forward to working with the Watton Community to take this key piece of work forward.
The Plan can be viewed in full on the Breckland website here (and below by clicking on the image).
To stay up to date with all of my wider work on ‘Planning and Protecting Our Rural Landscapes and Heritage’, please visit my website here.
I very much look forward to hearing the Referendum’s outcome. In the meantime, to stay up to date with all of my work on ‘Planning and Protecting Our Rural Landscapes and Heritage’, please visit my website here.
Flooding has long been a concern for many in our part of Norfolk – which is why, over the past few years, I have significantly stepped up my campaign efforts on this vital issue for so many of our local towns and villages.
As we know, flooding doesn’t just cause water damage to homes and businesses. It often stops people being able to use their toilets or showers, with raw sewage also rising out of drains – especially as local pumping stations and sewage works become overwhelmed.
That’s why I welcome Anglian Water’s recent announcement that they will be investing £10million into their infrastructure in and around Watton – including, most notably, an expansion of their Watton Road sewage works.
Having already undertaken a number of improvements to their infrastructure around the town, this latest work is a very positive step indeed – and should reduce the risk of the existing sewage network becoming overwhelmed during heavy rainfall and storms.
Rest assured however, I will continue to work with local councillors and community groups through the Mid Norfolk Flood Partnership I helped set up back in 2021 to lobby for further investment and support for our Mid Norfolk communities.
To find out more about Anglian Water’s plans, please see the EDP article here.
To stay up to date with my active Flooding campaign, please visit my campaign page here.
Following on from my question to the Local Government Minister on Monday (see here), and the letter I recently co-signed with 40 MP colleagues (see here), as part of my long-running campaign for fairer rural funding, I welcome the Government announcement yesterday of an additional £600 million to support local councils.
This includes:
- £500 million added to the Social Care Grant, a key investment for areas like Mid Norfolk where we have more elderly residents
- An overall increase in Core Spending Power for Local Government in England of 7.5% in cash terms (£4.5billion) – an above inflation increase
- A minimum 4% increase to the Core Spending Power of our local councils right here in Norfolk
- An extra £15million for the Rural Services Delivery Grant
- The establishment of an expert panel to advise the Government on financial sustainability in Local Government
I am delighted that the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Ministers have recognised the argument I and others have been making that local councils need more funding for local public services. This is a very welcome step.
However, I still recognise that there is more that needs to be done to properly fund and support public services (and households and businesses in general) in rural counties like Norfolk – where we have greater, often more expensive challenges, compared to our urban counterparts – particularly around fuel, transport and energy.
Rest assured, I remain determined to do all I can to be Mid Norfolk’s strongest voice on these key issues and ensure Government makes that right.
To learn more about my ongoing campaign, please visit my ‘Fighting for a Rural Premium and Fairer Funding for Rural Public Services’ campaign page here.
To read more about the Government announcement yesterday, please click here.
- Access to cash on our high streets
- Face to face high street banking
- £10bn extra lending capacity
- Up to 20,000 more mortgages
- Business banking services so that small businesses can continue to take cash
- Banking hubs for under-served communities
These are just some of the reasons why I am backing the Nationwide Banking Bill in Parliament – having helped secure a community banking hub for Watton, and having long campaigned on the importance of Access to Cash and local banking (for example, through my work with Nationwide in Dereham).
I was delighted to be able to use my new freedom as a backbench MP to speak up for my Mid Norfolk communities including Attleborough, Wymondham, Watton, Dereham and Hingham, as well as the 114 villages I represent.
Headlines from my speech during Friday’s debate in the House can be seen in the video above.
To see my full speech, please click the link here.
See more here.
Rural counties like Norfolk face much higher costs than urban areas – which are seldom reflected in the Whitehall funding formulas.
The extra costs of transport and heating have long hit rural public services disproportionately hard – as have the growing needs of an ageing demographic. However, the Cost of Living Crisis, post-pandemic labour shortages and energy price inflation caused by the War in Ukraine have significantly added to those pressures and now mean we are facing the perfect storm.
That’s why, further to writing to the Prime Minister and DLUHC Secretary of State alongside 40 MP colleagues and the County APPG (see my webstory on Monday here), I took the opportunity earlier this week to use my new freedom as a backbench MP to stand up in the House and raise this vitally important issue with the Minister for Local Government Simon Hoare and insist on fairer funding for rural areas.
See the video below.
I will be following up on the Minister’s offer of a meeting to discuss his further – and look forward to providing updates.
In the meantime, to learn more about my campaign ‘Fighting for a Rural Premium and Fairer Funding for Rural Public Service’, please visit my campaign page here.
Rural counties like Norfolk face much higher costs than urban areas – which are seldom reflected in the Whitehall funding formulas.
The extra costs of transport and heating have long hit rural households, businesses and public services disproportionately hard – as have the growing needs of an ageing demographic. However, the Cost of Living Crisis, post-pandemic labour shortages and energy price inflation caused by the War in Ukraine have significantly added to those pressures and now mean we are facing the perfect storm.
That’s why I’m using my new freedom as a backbench MP to step up my long ongoing campaign and lobby the Prime Minister, Chancellor and ministers even harder ahead of the forthcoming Budget and General Election for a Rural Premium and fairer funding for rural public services.
For too long, rural areas have been overlooked by Whitehall officials who focus too much on policies designed for cities and urban communities. I am determined to do all I can to be Mid Norfolk’s strongest voice on these key issues and ensure Government makes that right.
To stay up to date with all of my work on this issue, please regularly visit my campaign page here for updates.
(And check some of my related campaign pages – such as ‘Fairer Rural Schools Funding and Support’ and ‘Backing Local Businesses’ here).
Rural counties like Norfolk have always suffered from disproportionately high energy and fuel costs compared to urban areas – a fact seldom reflected in the Whitehall funding formulas.
However, the sudden energy price inflation caused by Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine has led to a massive increase in fuel and energy costs over the last two years which has significantly added to those pressures and now means we are facing the perfect storm.
For too long, rural areas have been overlooked by Whitehall officials who focus too much on policies designed for cities and urban communities.
That’s why I’m using my new freedom as a backbench MP to step up my long ongoing campaign and lobby the Prime Minister, Chancellor and ministers even harder ahead of the forthcoming Budget and General Election for a Rural Fuel and Energy Premium and Fairer Funding for Rural Public Services.
Ahead of the Budget 2024, I wrote to and met with the Chancellor to directly ask him to include in his Budget measures to help tackle the crippling impact of disproportionately high energy costs on rural communities. (See my letter here)
I also:
- Raised these issues with the Secretary of State at DLUHC OPQs, see here
- Spoke to BBC Radio Norfolk about the importance of the campaign, listen here
- Mobilised c.30 rural MPs, as well a wide variety of high profile rural agencies and organisations, and a number of local Mid Norfolk pubs, GP surgeries, businesses, care homes and community groups, behind my campaign and letter to the Chancellor
I am determined to do all I can to be Mid Norfolk’s strongest voice on these key issues – and will continue to work hard to campaign for greater targeted funding and support.
To stay up to date with my work, please regularly visit my campaign page here for updates. (And check some of my related campaign pages – such as ‘Fairer Rural Schools Funding and Support’ and ‘Backing Local Businesses’ here).
George Freeman highlights the problems of undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions in rural areas and calls on the Government to meet Norfolk and Suffolk MPs to discuss the problems at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)
The agony and damage of undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions is nowhere more acute than in rural areas, where we see an epidemic of silent suffering. The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has long struggled with a series of management problems. I am sure the Minister has seen the recent report highlighting that between 2019 and 2022, we saw over 8,500 avoidable deaths—that is nearly 45 a week. Will she agree to meet me, other Norfolk and Suffolk MPs, and those affected to look at what is really going on here and make sure that we turn that trust into a beacon of the best mental health services, rather than the worst?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. We were holding regular meetings with Norfolk and Suffolk MPs, the trust, the Care Quality Commission and NHS England, and with the new management team, that trust did appear to finally be turning things around. However, I am concerned to hear the points that my hon. Friend has raised. I am very happy to restart those meetings and will ask my office to arrange them as quickly as possible.
The silent suffering from undiagnosed and untreated Mental Health conditions is becoming an epidemic in hard-to-access rural areas, made worse here in Norfolk by the longstanding difficulties at the Norfolk & Suffolk Mental Health Foundation Trust.
That is why I have spoken up for our mental health services constantly in my time as an MP — and am pleased to be able to raise it in the house today.
We have seen too many broken promises of improvement to NSFT — the people of Mid Norfolk deserve better.
See more on my work speaking up for our local mental health services here.
Pets — from lap cats to working dogs — are a part of our families. Their theft should be treated as such – it is not a victimless crime.
That’s why I was proud to support the Pet Abduction Bill on Friday — helping successfully get it past the crucial second reading.
Whilst it was a heartfelt pleasure to put Tosca my elderly cat & Jassy my fox-red lab on the Hansard record, the issue of pet theft is something that we must take seriously.
It’s an issue which tears families apart, leaves emotional scars on owners for years, and can deprive people of the comforting presence they need to tackle challenges such as mental health.
I was glad to be able to raise some local cases — helping to bring attention to the very personal nature of this crime.
It’s also vitally important that we all play our part, ensuring that we help to secure loose dogs and ensure they are safely handed to someone who can look after them – so that they do not end up like my close friend Marika’s pet dog, tragically snatched after being carelessly tied up by a passer by who found her, and later found deceased near the North Circular.