The Mid Norfolk Railway holds special importance to so many from our part of Norfolk, and beyond. It brings so much joy to so many, and we’re lucky to have such a wonderful, local tourist asset right here in our part of Norfolk.
That’s why I have always been a strong advocate of the MNR, visiting regularly over the years and doing my upmost to offer support, and why I am now taking the opportunity to highlight the ‘Back on Track’ Emergency Appeal being held as a result of track deterioration at the Crownthorpe bridge.
Having initially planned to reopen for 2023 on March 4th, a recent inspection revealed that the Crownthorpe bridge section of the railway line had deteriorated so much that is unusable. Despite the tireless work of MNR supporters and volunteers to provide significant investment in and improvement to the railway’s infrastructure, the reality is that, when the MNR began in the 1990s, it inherited a railway line that had not been maintained since the 1960s. As a result, even now, constant work is needed to keep the MNR ‘on track’.
The ’Back On Track’ Emergency Appeal aims to raise £95,000 that, when combined with the funds already raised by the MNR, will hopefully allow the railway to reopen on a staged basis from the summer.
Full details can be found on the MNR’s website here, including how donations can be made.
If YOU value this fantastic local asset, please do take the time to find out more about the campaign, as well as how you may be able to offer support – even if you cannot make a donation.
I am committed to offering what support I can to the MNR through this difficult period and very much hope to be able to see it fully reopened again as soon as possible – able to provide joy, education and entertainment for many generations to come.
To find out more about my historic work supporting the MNR, please do scroll through my past webstories on my ‘Upgrading the Norwich-Cambridge Railway Line’ campaign page here.
Credit: Ian McDonald, MNR
Credit: MNR
Anti-social behaviour is unacceptable. Too many law-abiding people live in fear of ASB and the criminality that comes with it.
Through my work supporting local constituents and liaising with local police here in Mid Norfolk, I know High Street and community ASB, vandalism, litter, graffiti, rural theft, animal crime and arson are just some of the ways in which ASB can make people feel unsafe and unhappy in their local areas, sowing distrust, anger and resentment among neighbours and within communities.
That’s why I am proud that the Government is cracking down on ASB, with the Prime Minister today setting out a tough zero-tolerance approach to deal with those responsible, including:
- BANS on Nitrous Oxide
- BIGGER FINES for litter, graffiti and fly-tipping – with the money going back into the local community
- MORE POWERS to stop drug use
- TOUGHER PUNISHMENTS for perpetrators – including forcing vandals to repair the damage they cause
- A NEW SIMPLE TOOL for the public to report ASB in their local area, receive updates and challenge decisions
Read the full action plan here.
I look forward to continuing my work with local police and councillors as we all look to tackle ASB in our part of the world.
Over recent days I have become aware of the case of Apostle Accounting, which appears to have affected a number of my Mid Norfolk constituents.
Having begun to look into the matter more closely, I am very concerned to hear the reports and would encourage all affected parties to contact the police to report their own experiences.
While, as an MP, I do not have the power to directly intervene in and resolve such cases (and am therefore limited in the action that I can take), I have undertaken to help affected constituents raise the matter with HMRC via the MP Hotline to see what more information and support can be provided in the meantime.
If YOU are a Mid Norfolk constituent who has been affected, please do get in touch to let me know.
In your correspondence, please set out details of your case, along with your full postal address (including a post code) and a line giving your consent for me to raise your correspondence with HMRC. I will then be able to follow up.
The A47 is a major transport artery into, and across, our great country – and that’s why dualling along its entire length remains a key priority of mine.
Full dualling is vital for the long term safety of motorists and absolutely necessary if we are to help Norfolk unlock its full economic potential – delivering thousands of jobs, as well as the growth and prosperity needed, to help us ‘Build Back Better’ and ‘Level Up’.
I therefore welcomed the latest A47 Alliance summit earlier today and continue to follow developments on this campaign closely.
National Highways’ confirmation that they continue to view the A47 as a major route which needs significant improvement came as some reassurance and, although the likes of the North Tuddenham-Easton and Thickthorn Roundabout improvement works are currently held up by Judicial Review, I was pleased to hear that National Highways are confident that they can move forward quickly IF given permission to do so. I will follow the JR’s progress closely.
I was also pleased to hear of the Alliance’s plans to build on the campaign’s momentum to try and ensure there is no further slippage to previously committed works, as well as to make the Business Case for further dualling and improvement to other important A47 stretches.
Progress has been very slow to date and, while I was incredibly proud to play my part in bringing the then Prime Minister David Cameron to Mid Norfolk back in 2014 to announce a £300 million commitment to dual the North Tuddenham-Easton stretch (as well as other improvements along the A47 – including the redesign of Thickthorn Roundabout), I have been very vocal in my calls for National Highways to get on and finally deliver this crucial package of works. I have also continued to stress the importance of pushing on and tackling other problem parts of the A47 – including the Acle Straight.
There is much work left to be done but, rest assured, I will continue to do all I can to speak up for Mid Norfolk and ensure the views of my constituents are being heard at the highest levels.
To learn more about my historic campaign work on this issue, please click here.
With our ageing society, Alzheimer’s and Dementia is a ticking time bomb at the heart of healthcare in the UK, and is causing millions of avoidable deaths and suffering worldwide.
Ten years ago, as the first UK Minister of Life Science, I hosted the first G20 Dementia Summit in London and launched the Dementia Research Institute and Dementia Research Fund.
The UK is determined to continue leading this effort by harnessing the power of the NHS as a research engine. That is why, ten years on, we are renewing our dementia crusade by launching a £90m Dementia Life Science Mission, co-chaired by Hilary Evans and Nadeem Sarwar, and using the UK’s leadership at this years G7 and G20 to convene deeper and wider global collaborations.
I was delighted to speak at the World Dementia Council Summit this week, as Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, to launch our ambitious national Mission to tackle dementia.
Dementia, as we all know, is an especially cruel condition for both patients and their loved ones. But breakthroughs in neuroscience combined with patient cohort studies and the integration of genomics, big data and clinical research, offers hope of new diagnostics, treatments and cures.
We need both drugs to treat the disease and ways to delay and prevent onset. Patient engagement is key, which is why our approach is patient centred with a key role for dementia charities.
As cancer has become a treatable and increasingly curable disease in our lifetime, so too can dementia.
My passion for politics and our democracy was born when I first visited Parliament on a school visit as a child. It was a profound moment in my life and, ever since then, I have encouraged everyone with an interest to come and learn more about this wonderful building, as well as the incredibly important work that takes place in its halls.
That’s why I am always delighted to be asked by my constituents to help them access one of the 130,000 free guided ‘Inside UK Parliament’ tours that are held each year by the Visitors Experience Team.
Having had a flurry of such requests in recent days, I wanted to take the opportunity to shine a light on these wonderful tours for those that may not be aware of their existence. Full details can be found here
Demand can be high but, with enough notice, the Tours Office are brilliant at finding a date/time that suits those who wish to come along and find out more.
If YOU would be interested in such a tour, please do email me at george.freeman.mp@parliament.uk or write to me at 8 Damgate Street, Wymondham, NR18 0BQ – providing the names of those in your party, as well as the address and post code of the person organising the visit. I’d love to help you get a visit arranged.
SEND support in our local schools – both specialist and mainstream – has long been a cause very close to my heart. I have always been clear that how we take care of, and educate, some of our most vulnerable people is a measure of us as a society – firmly believing that EVERYONE has the right to proper support and a good education.
That’s why, since becoming the MP for Mid Norfolk back in 2010, SEND support has been one of my central focusses – with the campaign to support Chapel Road School in Attleborough becoming one of my very first campaigns.
A wonderful school struggling in an old, cramped, unfit-for-purpose building, Chapel Road sought to relocate to a brand, new, state-of-the-art premises in nearby Old Buckenham and had long been working with Norfolk County Council, the Department for Education and other key stakeholders to try and make that happen. Upon becoming the local MP, I was delighted to take a lead role, alongside the then headteacher Karin Heap, to help get that campaign over the line and I was delighted when that finally came to fruition – with the school moving to its new home, Chapel Green School, in 2017. Since then, I have kept in regular contact (most recently visiting the school last month – see here) and continue to support their vitally important work.
Following a visit to Fred Nicholson School in Dereham in the autumn of 2019, I also committed to supporting their own inspirational headteacher, Jane Hayman, and her team as they went about bringing about a long term solution to the rapidly deteriorating and cramped premises that they currently occupy – helping to convene meetings with the key figures, raising awareness of the importance of the campaign and writing letters of support. Earlier this month, I welcomed the news that NCC’s Cabinet have given the greenlight for the purchase of some land in nearby Swaffham which is intended to be the location of Fred Nich’s new home. (See more here). I look forward to continuing to support that project in the months and years ahead.
More widely, I have consistently lobbied ministers and officials over the years for greater SEND funding for our rural schools – speaking in the House, in addition to speaking with and writing directly to key figures in the Department for Education.
That’s why I am delighted to see today the DfE’s announcement of a new SEND funding agreement for Norfolk – one that will provide substantial additional funding for education services and support for children and young people with SEND needs, especially through Norfolk County Council’s new six-year ‘Local First Inclusion’ SEND improvement initiative.
Through 79 projects across five different workstreams, ‘Local First Inclusion’ will provide significantly more advice, support and funding for mainstream schools. It will introduce 15 new school and community teams to give early help and support for both parents and schools, and will also see the council develop dozens more special education classrooms known as specialist resource bases (SRBs), as well as alternative provision at mainstream schools. Two more special schools will be built too.
I am told that the first school and community teams are due to start work in June this year, with most established by September. Recruitment for more than 100 additional advice and support roles for schools is already underway and a team of school leaders is already in place to work with NCC leaders.
NCC will be investing a further £5.5 million a year for six years into SEND support (totalling £33 million) and the DfE, as part of this funding agreement, has agreed to invest £28 million this year, followed by £6 million a year for four years (provided NCC meets progress targets) and £12 million in the final year of the programme (totalling £70 million overall).
This is a hugely positive step and forms a key part of NCC’s strategy to ensure that our county has the right mix of mainstream and special school places to best support the needs of children and young people with SEND. It will strongly complement the ‘High Needs Block’ grant that Norfolk receives from the Government each year to provide funding for special schools, mainstream ‘top up’ and commissioned services such as speech and language therapy – worth £135 million in 2023/24 alone.
Rest assured, I will continue to do everything I can to speak up for this key group in our society. There is still more that can be done and I am committed to working with NCC, schools and partners to ensure Mid Norfolk families get the support they deserve.
To find out more about my historic work on SEND support in our local schools, please visit my website campaign page here.
George Freeman, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation answers MPs’ questions to the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Domestic Space Industry
Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)
1. What steps her Department is taking to support the domestic space industry. (904134)
The Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (George Freeman)
It is a great privilege to open the batting for the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Not since the white heat of technology under Harold Wilson have a Government put more money into research. I know the Opposition will welcome this Department.
No sector embodies the opportunity more than space. That is why, in the past 10 years, we are proud to have doubled the size of the sector to £16 billion. We set out a £10 billion plan for the next decade. Through regulatory leadership, insurance and finance in the City, £400 million in earth observation and our cluster programme, we intend to grow this economy all around the country.
Vicky Ford
As a science geek, I love this new Department. The Chelmsford-based company Teledyne e2v is the world leader in space imaging. When the earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, its technology from way up there in space pinpointed the exact location of collapsed businesses, sent rescuers to the spot and saved lives. It also provides crucial monitoring of our planet’s air, oceans and volcanos via the Copernicus programme. The European Space Agency wants to continue to use e2v tech for the next generation of Copernicus satellites, so will the UK continue to participate in Copernicus post-2024 so that companies like e2v can continue to sell to—
Mr Speaker
Order. The right hon. Lady, as much as she might be a science geek, ought to know that questions need to be shorter to give somebody else a chance. Put in for an urgent question. Come on in, Minister.
George Freeman
I pay tribute to Teledyne, which is a great company. That is why we have put £1.8 billion through the European Space Agency, so that little companies like that here in the UK can benefit. On Friday, I visited Space East. We support the cluster it is a part of. Following the Northern Ireland protocol agreement, the Windsor framework, we are actively discussing with the EU the membership of Horizon, Copernicus and Euratom, and funding earth observation programmes in any case.
Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)
I welcome anything that focuses on science and technology. It has to be good for our country. On the domestic space industry, I very much welcome what the Minister has just said. However, if we are to grow the sector, we need the next generation of mathematicians, scientists, engineers and computer programmers. What is he doing to ensure that the education and training system brings forward the workforce for tomorrow?
George Freeman
That is an excellent question because skills are key. All around the country we are growing space clusters. Just yesterday we launched Leicester Space East, which is part of the national network. We prioritised skills in the science and technology framework, published last Monday. The UK Space Agency has an active skills programme and we are working with UKspace to set out a map of the jobs that are being created—380,000 in this economy over the next 10 years. We intend to ensure that our higher education and further education sector is supplying them.
Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)
The Westcott Space Cluster in my constituency is a tour de force of innovative excellence, with a particular focus on ensuring small and medium-sized enterprises can use open access testing facilities, such as through the satellite applications catapult DISC. Does my hon. Friend agree that that open access support is essential? Will he visit Westcott to see it for himself?
George Freeman
Yes and yes.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
Next month, I will be joining the team from HyImpulse at the SaxaFord spaceport in Shetland to see the hot fire test of its new HyPLOX75 motor. Like many companies in the sector, it is very keen to know when we will get an announcement regarding the space flight phase 2 programme. When will we get that announcement? If we are not going to go ahead with that programme, what will the Government be doing to encourage companies like HyImpulse to do their business in Scotland?
George Freeman
I was in Scotland just a few weeks ago meeting the team behind the Shetland and Sutherland launch. We are committed to launch in both Cornwall and Scotland. We are providing funding to support those two spaceports. I will happily come and visit when I am next up. In Scotland, Buckinghamshire and all around the country, we are growing space clusters to give jobs and opportunities to a new generation.
Commercialisation of Science and Technology Research: North-east England
Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)
2. What steps she is taking to support the commercialisation of science and technology research in North East England. (904135)
The Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (George Freeman)
We should all be incredibly proud that nowhere is driving the science and technology revolution more than the north-east economy.
It was a powerhouse of the previous industrial revolution and is that again now. I was recently in Newcastle visiting the University of Newcastle and Northumbria University. Spinouts from Newcastle raised £47 million, which is a record. The NETPark North East Technology Park, home to 65 growing companies, has just announced its third phase. It is home to Kromek, one of our top sensor companies. We put £5 million into the Northern Accelerator, a collaboration between six universities, and we have nine catapult centres in the north-east. We are driving the north-east economic renaissance.
Liz Twist
The north-east is a centre of science excellence in offshore wind, life sciences, batteries and much more. We are home to 3,500 tech firms, which bring £2 billion to our local economy. European structural funds provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises to start up, innovate and grow, but all that stops at the end of this month. What will the Minister do to ensure that that support for development continues?
George Freeman
That is an excellent question. We have set out the shared prosperity fund, which is now fully deployed around the country. We have made the commitment to increase domestic research and development outside the greater south-east by 40% between now and 2030, and 50% of Government R&D in the old Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was outside the greater south-east. I do not want to pre-empt the Chancellor, but this afternoon there will be announcements about how we support regional science and technology growth.
Mr Speaker
How would you know that?
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)
Nissan in Sunderland is one of the most productive plants in the whole Nissan network. What meetings has the Minister had with Nissan about its work?
George Freeman
Since arriving in this new portfolio I have not had any meetings with Nissan, but as a Department we are actively picking up the clean tech piece and the future energy technologies piece, and we are working with a range of companies, as well as with the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
Across the country, our regions are home to thousands of brilliant science start-ups and spin-outs, but they are being hit by a Tory quadruple whammy: slashing R&D tax credits, leaving with them an average of £100,000 less to spend on research a year; a £120-million cliff-edge loss of European regional development funding; lack of access to capital—the UK has the lowest business investment in the G7; and continuing uncertainty over association with the £95-billion Horizon Europe, the biggest science fund in the world. Which of those barriers to growth for our innovative businesses will the Minister sort out today?
George Freeman
It is a great shame that the shadow spokeswoman is so determined to talk the UK down. The truth is that in the last 10 years, the life sciences sector has grown 1,000%. The north-east, where she is from, is driving that. I do not recognise that the UK sector is being held back in the way that she says, but the Chancellor will say more this afternoon about the tax and business environment. The reason that R&D tax credits are up so much is that our innovation economy has gone from 1.7% of GDP to 2.8%. That is a huge success over the last 10 years, and we are responsible for it.
Topical Questions
Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)
T2. During the last Horizon Europe funding round, researchers, scientists and universities in London received nearly £2 billion, but the Tories have overseen two years of uncertainty, delay and broken promises, harming researchers and businesses in my constituency and across the capital. When will the Secretary of State do what Labour would do, and secure association to the world’s biggest science funding programme? (904150)
The Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (George Freeman)
Over the last two years, not only have we continued to negotiate in good faith to see through the agreement that we made to join Horizon, Copernicus and Euratom, but we have continued to fund the sector—with just over £1.2 billion, including £370 million this week and £480 million before Christmas—and we look forward to discussing the European associations shortly.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
T5. The Government have announced that they are to create a wonderful new nuclear fusion centre at West Burton. This is the technology of the future, and West Burton is not five miles from the town of Gainsborough, so will the Government rename the research centre West Burton Gainsborough to celebrate our wonderful town? (904153)
George Freeman
My right hon. Friend has made an excellent point. It is a very exciting facility, which will see this country lead in the industrial deployment of fusion connectivity to the grid.
As a former Health Minister and someone with a close understanding of the incredible role our NHS plays each and every day, I am very aware of how difficult the past few years have been – especially for those working on the frontline.
I am also very aware of the growing concern and frustration of many when it comes to trying to get an appointment at their local GP surgery.
That’s why I welcomed the opportunity to follow up again with senior figures at a number of our local GP surgeries yesterday – joining them for another of their regular Teams meetings with the local Norfolk and Waveney NHS Integrated Care Board.
As with the previous meeting I had with this key group back in December (see more here), I found yesterday’s conversation incredibly helpful. It was another invaluable opportunity to learn more about the challenges our frontline General Practice staff are facing on a daily basis, as well as a chance to discuss possible solutions in greater depth. I was also able to report back on my work since our previous meeting, which has seen me highlight the group’s feedback with the Department of Health and Social Care ministerial team, in addition to continuing my efforts to speak up on behalf of constituents with concerns.
The Government has showed that it is listening to the views being raised by the NHS and constituents alike. Indeed, it renewed its commitment to our NHS by making a further series of announcements (including £8 billion of funding for the NHS and adult social care in England by 2024-25) in the Autumn Statement – announcements I welcomed as they will ensure our NHS is receiving historic levels of funding, which will not only tackle the Covid backlog but will also enable rapid action to improve urgent and emergency care, as well as primary care so that our NHS is able to deliver even more than it did pre-pandemic, and to higher standards.
I also understand that, in line with the commitment made by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will also be published soon too – and welcomed the news in today’s Budget that pension tax reforms are set to be implemented to remove legislation that disincentivises doctors from working full hours or from working right the way up to retirement age.
My hope is that I can bring key DHSC and NHS England officials to my next meeting with this key group of senior GP surgery figures – who I have committed to joining quarterly moving forwards (with conversations ongoing in between as we work together on any specific issues).
Rest assured, I remain committed to doing all I can to speak up for and represent Mid Norfolk – both on behalf of my concerned constituents and those working in our local NHS.
All of our market towns face the familiar challenge of balancing new growth and development with the needs of the communities living in, and around, them – all the while preserving the unique rural heritage and way of life that we all cherish, and that makes our part of the world such an attractive place to visit.
That’s why, alongside my support for Breckland Council’s ‘Future Breckland Plan’ initiative (see more here), I am delighted to continue my involvement in the ‘Future Breckland Board’, which met again this past Monday.
This group is a collection of leaders from across Breckland’s public and private sectors, straddling a wide variety of industries and sections of society. Led by Breckland Council Leader Sam Chapman-Allen, it is already inspiring the efforts of other district councils across the country through its work exploring how funding (through the likes of the Shared Prosperity Fund) can be used to maximum effect, even attracting additional private investment, in order to boost local services, strengthen community resilience and target support at those households that need it most.
Much positive work has already taken place, with progress being made in each of Attleborough, Dereham and Watton – and I am determined to do all I can to help Breckland deliver even more in the months and years ahead.
Over the years, I have worked closely with Breckland councillors and other partners on:
- Town Plans for Watton, Dereham and Attleborough
- Health and Wellbeing Hubs
- Support for local SMEs on decarbonisation, reducing energy costs and the Road to Net Zero
I am therefore particularly excited about the Board’s work to drive forward Health and Wellbeing Integration in our local communities, low carbon regeneration for our local businesses and improved skills and community offers in our area.
There is much still to do, but I am certain we have the great local leadership required to help bring about the positive progress our local towns and villages deserve.
Rest assured, I will post further updates as this important work progresses.
To learn more about my work to date with the ‘Future Breckland Board’, please click here and here.