After another set of highly impressive contributions to my annual Christmas Card competition last year, I am again asking for creative youngsters from schools in the local area to help design my card for 2023.

I have today emailed and written to all the Mid Norfolk schools with primary aged children (4-11) to invite them to participate – and will be offering the winner a £20 book token, as well as a £10 book token each for the two runners-up. Their winning designs will appear on the front and reverse of my cards this Christmas.

If YOU work at a local school and would like to enter your pupils, the process to enter is as follows:

• Each school will need to send in their pupils’ designs (in one pack please), arriving no later than Wednesday 6TH December. (I am afraid Christmas card logistics mean late entries cannot be considered).

• Packs may be sent by post to: 8 Damgate Street, Wymondham, NR18 0BQ or scanned and emailed to: george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk
• The card itself must be hand drawn on a blank white A4 piece of paper/card.
• Every entry must have the child’s name, age, school name and card title carefully written on the back of the card design.

My wife Fiona and I always love to see the children’s designs each year so I do hope as many pupils as possible will be able to participate again.

If you are a local teacher or member of staff with any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me or Fiona Whiting in my Wymondham office on 01953 600617.

(To see last year’s winning designs, please click here).

Small and rural schools are more expensive to run – but vital to our local Mid Norfolk communities.

That’s why I have consistently lobbied in Westminster for greater/fairer rural schools funding, support and resources, and campaigned to keep our small rural schools open wherever viable. It’s also why I welcome the latest Government announcement of an additional £1.9million for Mid Norfolk schools.

From my regular conversations with Mid Norfolk headteachers, governors and staff, I know how tough recent months have been as inflation, energy prices and the cost of living having bitten hard on school budgets. These additional funds are a much needed help – but I remain committed to continuing my very active campaign on these issues.

Full details can be found on my campaign page here – and I intend to hold my next virtual forum with Mid Norfolk headteachers in the coming weeks (see more about my previous meeting with them here).

Why stand down?

Juggling Westminster and local politics isn’t a healthy lifestyle. After 13 years on and off the Front Bench and living on the road on fast food and snacks, I’m still raring to keep on campaigning as local MP but am 3 stone heavier and want to be fighting fit too.

My interview with the Dereham Times and EDP here.

No one should live in fear of flooding every time it rains.

That’s why, as part of my ongoing flooding campaign work, I welcomed the chance to write a column for the Dereham Times – see below.

(Full details of my flooding campaign can be found on my campaign page here)

Having worked for fifteen years as an entrepreneur before coming to Parliament and having previously served on three occasions as a Business Minister, I passionately believe in local Business – which is the real engine of our local and national economies.

That’s why it was a pleasure to join the Wayland Chamber of Commerce again recently – this time for their latest ‘Business Talks’ event to speak to members and participate in a panel discussion alongside Rob Walker (Deputy Chief Executive of Breckland Council), Jack White (MD of White’s Training Services Ltd), Liz Whitcher (Watton and Saham Toney Flood Action Group) and Mark Humphries (Draper and Humphries Clock Repairs and Antiques).

Compered by the Chamber’s brilliant Chair David Dent, we discussed the variety of challenges and opportunities facing local Wayland businesses and entrepreneurs, and explored the potential for innovation growth and development for the benefit of our local communities. We also engaged in an interesting Q+A with local Chamber members, discussing a whole host of matters that are important to the local business community.

Rest assured, I will continue to be a vocal champion of local Business – and I am discussing a range of follow-up actions with the Chamber as we look to build on a successful event and give local entrepreneurs an even stronger voice.

To find out more about my work ‘Backing Local Business’, please visit my campaign page here.

Flooding has long been a concern for many in our part of Norfolk – but Storms Babet and Ciarán, along with the heavy rainfall that has impacted many of our local communities over recent weeks, have served as sharp reminders that we must not be complacent.

That’s why, this past Friday, I reconvened the Mid Norfolk Flood Partnership that I first established back in early 2021 to give local councillors, community groups and affected individuals a stronger voice and hold the authorities responsible for flooding response and water management more firmly to account.

With c.30 towns and villages represented, those gathered were able to receive accurate updates from the likes of Norfolk County Council and their Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance, as well as Anglian Water – while also highlighting ongoing local problems and enabling our communities to raise key questions and demand action.

Positive progress has collectively been made over recent years to improve flooding response and strengthen our region’s flooding resilience – with the NSFA leading tranches of targeted support for the worst affected communities and the creation of the Norfolk Flooding Helpline (0344 800 8013) just two examples. However, there is much more to be done – and we need to see EVERYONE upscaling and accelerating their ongoing efforts.

As was the case in 2021 (when the MNFP compiled a list of 14 recommendations that formed the basis of much of the NSFA’s subsequent work and saw me, along with former NSFA Chair Lord Dannatt, lobby ministers and officials in Government for greater support), a number of actions were agreed and I look forward to working with MNFP members, as well as wider partners, to work on those and to drive forward our collective campaign – both here in Norfolk and down in Westminster.

To find out more about my ongoing flooding work, and stay up to date with further updates, please visit my campaign page here.

Wonderful Remembrance Sunday 2023 Parade and Remembrance Service at St Nicholas’ Church, Dereham with a huge turnout of locals to pay their respects to the fallen, and all who serve in our forces family.

An annual honour to lay a wreath on behalf of the people of Mid Norfolk.

We Will Remember Them.

Power cuts can be a nuisance at the best of times, but repeated power cuts bring an unacceptable level of disruption and distress to households and businesses (especially those in our most rural communities).

That’s why, upon learning that Beetley and some of the surrounding villages have had at least seven power cuts over recent months, I have been supporting local councillors as they have raised this issue with UK Power Networks.

UK Power Networks have now confirmed that their teams have been assessing all options to improve the reliability of the power network in this area. While they say the electricity network is very complex in this part of Mid Norfolk, they have identified a number of potential causes and plan to conduct works to try and address those issues.

They will be undertaking proactive tree cutting work and replacing the conductors of the electricity cables in the area in the week commencing 13th November.

To do this, I understand that they will have to turn off the power to safely work on the cables and wider network on 14th and 15th November. For 14th November, they will be able to fit generators to the network meaning power supplies will only be affected for around 336 properties for less than 30minutes. However, on 15th November, they will need to completely turn off power to 135 properties while they complete their works.

Affected households and businesses will all be formally contacted in advance – and UK Power Networks have also confirmed they will be contacting vulnerable customers registered on their Priority Services Register to offer any assistance they require while the works are carried out.

While not ideal, I hope that these improvements can significantly minimise future prolonged disruption due to power cuts for these local communities.

Rest assured, I will continue to support local councillors as they hold UK Power Networks to account and try to get this problem resolved.

The A47 is a key transport artery through our county – which is why I shared widespread local frustration at the fact that it was closed multiple times recently due to flooding at Honingham.

Having picked this matter up with National Highways and made clear that they needed to grip the issue and resolve it, I have now received an update confirming that, while most of the flooding could be attributed to sustained heavy rainfall on already saturated ground, subsequent investigations found that a pipe that should have taken surface water to the nearby River Tud was damaged.

National Highways have confirmed that work is underway to replace the damaged section of pipe – which should reduce the chance of such flooding occurring on this section of the A47 again. However, they have also made clear that they remain committed to resolving any other identified issues that may be found.

Rest assured, I will continue to follow progress closely – as part of my ongoing flooding campaign in Mid Norfolk (see here)