It’s been a busy week both in Parliament and Horsham. For the next few weeks I will be serving on a Public Bill Committee, scrutinising the new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. This gives controversial extra powers to the Department of Work & Pensions, including access to people’s bank accounts, the ability to remove driving licences and even the power enter people’s homes without a police warrant. This will require careful consideration!
Back in Horsham I held a surgery in Rusper where I heard a range of issues including access to Personal Independence Payments, VAT on private schools and problems with a property management company. I am simply losing count of the number of cases we are handling relating to estate management and leasehold disputes.
Other constituency visits included Holy Trinity School in Lower Beeding and Castlewood Primary in Southwater, followed by a trip to SD Feakes Farm Services in Shipley for lambing time. This is a family run farm spanning two generations, providing exactly the kind of high quality, locally produced food that we value so much. The message I took away from my visit was that the family farm tax threat is just the latest in a series of difficult decisions affecting Britain’s farming community. Let’s be clear about this - we are in real danger of losing many of our best farmers for good if we carry on down this path.
On a more positive note, the government announced an unexpected eleventh hour reprieve in relation to the proposed Gatwick Airport expansion. It seemed certain the government would give a second runway the go-ahead. Instead they delayed a decision till October and I spoke about this on ITV Meridian, BBC South, and BBC Southeast. The planning inspector who considered this application was scathing about the lack of mitigation for increased noise pollution, as well as the lack of public transport to cope with increased numbers. I recognise that some residents would welcome the boost for employment – but growth cannot come at any cost.