Chris, Author at Tom Hunt MP for Ipswich

Grassroots Sports

January 24, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Health

Whether it’s the BMX club in Gainsborough, the boxing club in Nacton, or the Ipswich Vales Exiles FC serving Maidenhall and Chantry, grassroots sports clubs and facilities are incredibly valuable to the local community. Supporting young people from some of the most disadvantaged communities should be seen as crucial for levelling up.

Today I asked the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities if provisions would be made for grassroots sport in the levelling up funds.

I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State confirm that the levelling up bids will be able to support grassroots sport and cultural assets, which are crucial to ensuring young people have the opportunities they need and deserve.

I will be working closely with Ipswich Borough Council and other local partners to ensure that a successful bid is submitted, and that Ipswich benefits from new government investment in addition to the £25 million the Town is already receiving from the Town Fund.

BBC Licence Fee – Frozen

January 18, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Misc

Pleased to hear the BBC licence fee is being frozen for the next 2 years. The plans to scrap the £159 licence fee in 2027 reflect the views of many of my constituents. Polls have shown that most people support abolishing these licence fees, and I share this opinion.

This is something I have been clear about my view on for a while. The East Anglian Daily Times poll shows 70% of respondents agree the fee should go.

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Core funding for Suffolk

January 18, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Uncategorized

Something I have been consistently vocal on is improving the funding of our core services in Suffolk: police, education, and transport.

Ipswich is a Town I am incredibly proud of, and one with huge potential and lots to offer. However, it is also a Town with significant pockets of deprivation. Some of the best people I have ever met have been from the most deprived areas of this Town, which are in need of funding and levelling up.

Today in Westminster Hall I spoke on levelling up Ipswich and the East of England, funding for our core services, and unlocking the potential of Suffolk.

Also pleased to see that Ipswich was accepted as the oldest Town in England, with the Essex MPs present declining to challenge our claim.

Statement from Tom Hunt MP

January 16, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Misc

I would firstly like apologise for not commenting sooner on the events of the past week. The developments have been very significant and have come very thick and fast and I’ve been reflecting on everything and reading the many emails I’ve been receiving and continue to receive from constituents. Over Friday and Saturday, I was also able to talk to a large number of constituents face to face about all these matters.

Sometimes I think it’s best not to rush into an instant response on issues of such significance. I know this is difficult in our 24/7 social media age but sometimes I think its for the best.

With regard to the ongoing revelations to do with the culture in Downing Street throughout the pandemic I must say that I’ve been appalled. It seems that at times Number 10 seemed to better represent a frat house than the centre of Government. The fact that a big bash was organised the night before Prince Phillip’s funeral fills me with disgust. This is not an isolated example of modest rule breaking. It’s clear to me that whatever happens there needs to be almost a total clear out of Number 10 and all of those who were in anyway connected with what appear to be clear rule breaking events need to properly held to account.

Some constituents have asked me in emails whether I attended any of these parties. The answer is NO. I’ve found out about these party revelations in the same way you all have. Via the media.

The Prime Minister was right to apologise in Parliament last Wednesday. Clearly the fact that he attended the May 2020 event however briefly was a significant error of judgement. I understand that the Prime Minister didn’t receive an invitation to what was clearly a social event, but it should have been instantly clear to him that not only should he be nowhere near such an event but that he should have broken it up immediately and ensured that all those responsible were disciplined.

I’m finding it difficult to reconcile the comments the Prime Minister made in the House of Commons Chamber on Wednesday about the party revelations compared with what he had previously said in the Chamber about the party revelations. This is a significant cause of concern to me like it will be to many of my constituents.

Yes, the Government has got much right recently particularly on COVID management where I feel the Prime Minister has been vindicated by his decision to not introduce further restrictions. I also credit the Prime Minister with delivering Brexit but standards in public life matter as does public trust in our Prime Minister and Government.

I’m acutely conscious of all the sacrifices my constituents have made throughout the pandemic and how painful this has been for many. I would argue that the onus is on those who make the rules to follow them to an even greater extent than the average citizen. I experienced the anger that is provoked when this is not the case over the Barnard Castle incident and have again over this week’s developments.

As many of you will be aware Sue Gray the civil servant is currently carrying out an independent investigation into all what went out and should be publishing her findings next week. I know enough now about what happened to be very angry but in the grand scheme of things waiting few days to read the full report that will follow the investigation isn’t a long time and I’m prepared to do that.

My wish is for the Government to be fully focused on the issues that matter the most to the country and my constituents. Moving on from COVID, getting the economy firing on all cylinders, dealing with the NHS backlog, cost of living, immigration, law and order etc. To say that all events of the past few weeks has been an unwelcome distraction would be an understatement.

I will comment further in due course and everyone who has emailed me will be getting a response which closely resembles this statement (for obvious reasons).

Anti-social behaviour

January 14, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Crime

Anti-social behaviour in our town is something I’ve received numerous letters from constituents about.

It is clear to me that anti-social behaviour has a significant impact on the town, whether constituents feel safe and comfortable while out and about, and how likely people are to spend time in the town centre. I feel that police need more direct powers to disperse the groups of certain individuals who are making others uncomfortable, making inappropriate comments, and engaging in acts of anti-social behaviour.

In the Westminster Hall debate this week, I made it clear that we should not tolerate anti-social behaviour. I also advocated for fairer police funding for Suffolk, and welcome the review into the funding formula, as well as giving police the powers they need.

Meeting with Chief Inspector of Education

January 13, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Education

This afternoon I held a direct meeting with the Chief Inspector of Education, Amanda Spielman, and the National Director (education), Chris Russell.

I wanted to talk about the Ofsted framework, and incentivising good provision of SEND. From being in contact with schools and headteachers, I’ve unfortunately heard quite a few negative reports about how the Ofsted reports framework have reflected on the work schools do for SEND.

However, I was pleased to hear reassurance in the meeting this afternoon, which highlighted the differences in the new framework, introduced in September 2019. Due to the pandemic, only about 20% of schools have yet been judged under the new system, however I am encouraged that this new framework steps away from results tables and towards judging the ‘positive difference’ made to students – this is particularly important for SEND pupils.

It was explained in our meeting that a school with a low SEND intake but high attainment in exams might not perform as well in Ofsted reports as a school which has a higher number of SEND students, for whom it makes a significant and positive difference, despite seemingly lower outcomes in a league table. What really matters is the positive difference made to the students and I am pleased to see that reflected in Ofsted thinking. I’m encouraged that once the new framework beds in properly, improvements will follow.

Catch-up Programme

January 12, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Uncategorized

Today in the Education Committee we heard about the government’s catch-up programme. It is absolutely right that this programme has a particular focus on disadvantaged pupils, who have disproportionately suffered as a result of the pandemic.

I raised the question of how this programme is built to provide for students with special educational needs and disabilities. The data clearly shows that those from deprived backgrounds have been badly affected by lost learning throughout the pandemic, but it is essential that the catch-up programme includes those disadvantaged due to disability and learning differences.

I was pleased to hear that over half the providers of the tutoring programme have the capability to support SEND students, as well as a cohort of specialists. You can watch my question on the government catch up programme below.

Developers responsible for unsafe cladding

January 10, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Uncategorized

I welcome Michael Gove’s announcements, detailing that the government will be pursuing the developers responsible for unsafe cladding. It is absolutely right that the bill for remediation works does not fall to the leaseholders. Previously only the buildings over 18 metres were included in the Government’s funding for remediation works – this has now been extended to buildings between 11 and 18 metres, should they require cladding works; there are a group of my constituents falling into this category who will be incredibly relieved. The Secretary of State for Housing told us that he would be making sure developers paid for cladding removal from the mid-sized buildings, ensuring that leaseholders won’t have to foot the bill. I do also have concerns about non-cladding related fire safety issues, such as timber balconies and firebreaks.

I told the Secretary of State for Housing that I do not want to be standing in front of him in 6 months’ time with evidence that leaseholders have been unable to sell their flats due to fire safety issues. Of course, the remediation works need to be carried out, but must be sensitive to the residents it affects. In the chamber today I raised the circumstances faced by residents of St Francis Tower, and I was pleased to hear that the Secretary of State, or a minister from the Department, will be visiting Ipswich to see the conditions

There is no justification for any further restrictions

January 3, 2022 0 Comments by Chris in Coronavirus

Me earlier discussing Covid and whether there should be any further restrictions.

This nightmare has gone on for long enough. It’s time to live our lives fully

December 31, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Coronavirus

I wish everyone all the best for 2022. My final column of 2021 is once again about the COVID pandemic I’m afraid. In my view 2022 really must be the year where we permanently turn our backs on the kind of illiberal and draconian restrictions we’ve all had to endure at various points over the past 20 months.

Though I’m pleased the Prime Minister hasn’t taken the same path as many other countries (including Scotland and Wales) in introducing lockdown type restrictions this month, even the threat of further restrictions and the return of the Covid cloud over the past month or so has had major consequences for the mental health of millions of people up and down the country. I would even hazard a guess that for some, they’ve actually found the mental health consequences of the past month as bad as – if not worse than – during the dark days of full-on lockdowns.

Personally, I found the last lockdown bearable due to the emergence of the vaccine. I remember in the dark days of lockdown last year, seeing the images of Margaret Keenan, the 91-year-old Brit who became the first person in the world to receive her Covid vaccine, symbolising hope. Living through the lockdowns was tough but at least we all felt there was a definite light at the end of the tunnel. When the road map out of the lockdown was announced it was cautious, but at least there was one direction of travel, towards freedom and getting our lives back, however slow it may have been.

Yet now, despite a one of the most successful vaccine rollouts in the world, the spectre of lockdowns and restrictions on our lives, livelihoods and liberties returns. For many millions of people, this whole thing is beginning to seem like a never-ending nightmare. Is this what is going to happen whenever there is variant of concern in future?

This nightmare has gone on for long enough. It’s time to live our lives fully.

We need to an approach that involves truly learning to live with COVID without the endless restrictions of even the threat of such restrictions. This will not be the last variant!

There are encouraging signs regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine against Omicron and certainly the links between cases, hospitalisations and deaths seems to be very very different to previous waves.

Some very wise words by Dr Chris Smith, a consultant virologist at Cambridge University:

“So far in the pandemic, the country has been divided on how to deal with spikes in cases: there’s those who favour a light touch approach and those who want restrictions imposed. Perhaps now is the moment we can look beyond these arguments, toward a near future where Covid lives with us and we with it. What most people do agree on is that periodically pummelling our pubs and entertainment venues, paralysing the economy, denting education and destabilising the nation’s mental health to control outbreaks of variants with uncertain characteristics is just not a sustainable long-term proposition.”

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Author: Chris