Fairer Police Funding for Suffolk
Tom Hunt makes case for fairer police funding for Suffolk before joining bobbies on the beat
Yesterday (05/03/20) at Business Questions, Tom Hunt called on the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, to set aside time for Parliament to debate the Police Funding Formula which currently leaves Suffolk Constabulary underfunded and which doesn’t reflect the crime problems Ipswich is facing.
While Hunt welcomed the 54 extra police officers for Suffolk as part of the Government’s boost to police spending, he was also clear this does not yet go far enough.
Hunt raised the tragic case of Richard Day, who was fatally attacked on St Matthew’s Street in Ipswich last month, as he underlined the need for more police on the streets in Ipswich. He called on the Government to review Police Funding Formula and address police numbers in Suffolk so that further such tragedies can be avoided in the future.
The importance of a greater police presence in key parts of the town has also been brought to fore recently after the burglaries at the Emilia Hair and Beauty Studio on Great Colman Street, and at Willys & Millys café on Northgate Street. Hunt has been clear that crime and anti-social behaviour is the number one challenge facing Ipswich and these break-ins are another reminder of this.
Given the importance of getting policing right, Hunt has joined the Parliamentary Police and Fire Service Scheme where he will spend 15 days of the year working on the front line with junior police officers. He’ll join them on nightshifts and patrols, and see how they train and investigate crime. He will also have the opportunity to work with armed police, dog and helicopter units as well as traffic officers.
Over the course of the scheme, Hunt hopes to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges police officers face every day. He will bring back what he has learned in Parliament to hone his case for getting on tough on crime and seeing more police resources in Ipswich.
Following his intervention in Parliament, Tom said:
“I won’t stop making the case for more money to be spent on the police in Suffolk. The brutal attack on St Matthew’s Street and the break-ins we have seen in the town centre recently highlight again why a greater police presence is needed in Ipswich.
“That’s why I pressed the Government to move ahead with a review of the Police Funding Formula which determines how much money each police force receives. In its current form, the Formula doesn’t reflect the challenges we are facing in Ipswich.
“Officers in Suffolk deal on average with more crime investigations and incidents compared to the average officer from a metropolitan area. And this is despite the fact we have the 3rd lowest police staffing numbers per 1,000 residents when compared to all other forces in the country.
“The Police Funding Formula must be reviewed to take this into account. It’s an essential step if we are to make Ipswich safer and prevent further serious crimes like the attack on St Matthew’s Street.
“To get further to the heart of this issue, I’ll be joining the police on the front line for 15 days over the year as part of the Parliamentary Police and Fire Service Scheme. I’ll be working closely with junior officers to see the challenges they face every day and how we can better support them in their role keeping us safe. I plan to bring what I learn back to Parliament as I continue to make the case for greater police funding and a zero-tolerance approach to crime.”
Tom calls for more support for left behind communities
Tom Hunt raises Ipswich’s Bridge Ward in Parliament as he calls for more support for left behind communities
Yesterday (04/03/20) Hunt met with representatives of the Local Trust to discuss Bridge Ward in his constituency. The meeting followed new research from the Local Trust which found that Bridge is one of the 206 most left behind wards in the country.
To indetify ‘left behind’ areas, the Local Trust looked not only at economic indicators but social factors as well. These include connectivity, how active the local community is and the number of places where the community can meet and socialise.
Following the meeting, Hunt set out in the House of Commons what this means in terms of people’s health in Bridge. In Bridge, healthy life expectancy at birth is around 5 years lower than the national average and deaths from cancer are over 25% higher than the national average. Long-term illnesses for those aged over 65 are also 10% above the national average.
To address this, Hunt called on the Government to create a £2 billion Community Wealth Fund to be targeted specifically at areas like Bridge. The Fund would redirect existing money, currently sitting dormant in assets like bonds and shares, to the most deprived communities over a 10 to 15-year period. The money would be targeted locally, with local residents taking the lead on how the money is spent.
Hunt has resolved to work with Local Trust and other MPs to move these plans forward. And he has pledged to support to a new All Party Parliamentary Group on left behind neighbourhoods which will develop detailed proposals to take to Government.
Following his intervention, Tom said:
“I have spent a great deal of time in Bridge and I’ve shared many positive conversations with residents there, but there is a sense that the area is not fulfilling its full potential. New research from the Local Trust has also highlighted that Bridge has been left behind.
“A lot has now been said about levelling up the country but now it’s to time get on and do it. That’s why I’ve called on the Government to create a Community Wealth Fund which will target investment specifically in areas like Bridge. Crucially as part of the plans, residents would be at the heart of the decision making process when it comes to how the extra money is spent.
“It’s vital that we focus our energies on places which haven’t had enough support in the past and empower local residents to have a voice on the future of their communities. I’ll be working hand-in-hand with the Local Trust and other Members of Parliament over the coming months to see this happen.”
Tom teams up with Suffolk MPs to demand fairer funding for Suffolk Police
Yesterday, Tom Hunt, MP for Ipswich, intervened in the House of Commons debate on the Police Grant Report to demand fairer funding for Suffolk Constabulary.
The Police Grant Report is how Parliament approves the central police funding allocation for each force every financial year. This year the Government is pumping an additional £1.1 billion into policing nationwide with Suffolk receiving up to £9.2 million extra.
While this additional funding is welcome, only £152 is spent per head of population on policing in Suffolk, compared to a national average of £192 per head. And if Suffolk received the national average funding, Suffolk Constabulary’s budget would be increased by nearly £30 million.
Hunt intervened in the speech of fellow Suffolk MP, Peter Aldous, to make clear to the Government that Suffolk should not be perceived as a sleepy county which doesn’t have real issues when it comes to crime. He said that this should be addressed as part of a review to the police funding formula. At present, the police funding formula is opaque, complicated and disproportionately hits rural forces. This includes rural forces which have to police large towns like Ipswich. Ipswich faces many of the same serious crimes more commonly associated with urban areas.
The importance of this debate was underlined for Hunt as he brought to the House’s attention the attack on St Matthew’s street in Ipswich on Saturday night. This is the type of serious crime which Suffolk needs resources to help prevent and solve.
In a further intervention, Hunt was also clear that extra funding was only half the solution to safer streets. The police must also have the right priorities when tackling crime. Hunt said: “the police should spend far less time hounding members of the public for what they may or may not think on societal issues, such as in the case of Harry Miller and Humberside police, and far more time taking the side of the law-abiding majority and cracking down on the activities of Extinction Rebellion activists that we saw in Cambridge last week”.
Hunt was referring to the case of Harry Miller who had police turn up at his place of work to “check his thinking” for his tweets online about transgenderism. He was told his tweets would be recorded as a “non-crime hate incident” even though he had not committed a crime. The police’s initiative in this case stands in stark contrast to the police’s inaction on Extinction Rebellion activists who have been able to shut down cities with near impunity.
Following his interventions yesterday Tom said:
“It is with immense sadness that we have now learned that the man fighting for his life after being attacked on St Matthew’s Street has now died. I raised this incident in Parliament as it really underlines the importance of getting better funding for our police and getting more police out on the streets.
“I welcome this Government’s commitment to increasing police funding, including the £700 million for 6,000 new police officers. Yet this is also an example of how Suffolk goes under-resourced.
“My understanding is that Suffolk will only get 54 of the 6,000 extra officers despite the fact that Suffolk has the third lowest staffing numbers relative to population when compared to all other forces. The importance of fair funding is why I intervened in Parliament, alongside other Suffolk MPs, to put the case to the Government that our County’s police need more resources.
“Ultimately, the police funding formula needs to be reviewed as it disadvantages rural forces. This includes rural forces which cover large towns like Ipswich and which deal with serious crimes more commonly associated with urban areas, like the St Matthew’s Street attack on Saturday night.
“I was also clear in Parliament that additional funding is only one part of making our streets safer. We must allow the police to prioritise protecting law-abiding people and solving real crimes. The resources we give them should not be spent reporting people for non-crime hate incidents because they happen to hold different views on societal issues.
“We have already seen fringe elements in our politics use the police to try to besmirch those that just happen to disagree with them. This must be avoided at all costs if we are truly to win public support in our efforts on law and order.”
Statement on Orthopaedic Centre
Tom Hunt MP – “I am disappointed that the public consultation launched today indicates that the new Orthopaedic Centre for elective surgeries will not be based in Ipswich. Since the merger with Colchester Hospital there have been some positive developments; most notably that a brand new £35 million state of the art Accident and Emergency department will open its doors to Ipswich residents in 2022.
In my second speech in Parliament, I made it clear that I would take on a “watchdog” role to ensure that Ipswich benefits as much as possible from the merger with Colchester Hospital. I said that if it’s the case that the Orthopaedic centre is based in Colchester then it’s imperative that there is not a negative impact on Ipswich. Our hospital currently has a first class reputation and service when it comes to orthopaedic surgery. However, I do have concerns that the proposed changes could negatively impact the quality of this work; concerns which need to be addressed during the consultation.
I appreciate that assurances have been made that all appointments for Ipswich residents, other than the actual surgery, will take place at Ipswich Hospital and that any emergency surgery will continue to take place at Ipswich Hospital too. What is unclear is how the immediate post-operative care at Colchester Hospital will differ to the experience that patients have currently.
The reality is that many people in Ipswich are worried that the merger with Colchester Hospital could start to negatively affect our hospital. It is imperative that first class surgeons continue to choose Ipswich Hospital as a place they want to be based. It is early days when it comes to fully assessing the merger of Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals although there have clearly been some teething problems.
Following my speech in Parliament I have held discussions with a Health Minister and have invited him to meet me in Ipswich to discuss these matters.
When it comes to the interests of Ipswich residents, I will always speak directly to make sure we get the support and services that people expect. I know how important our hospital is for the town and I will do everything as the MP to support it. The Government is well aware of my determination on this issue and I look forward to welcoming the minister to Ipswich very soon.”
Tom Hunt pledges to fight like a lion for those affected by dangerous cladding in Ipswich
Today (12/02/2020) Tom Hunt, MP for Ipswich, gave a speech in the Westminster Hall debate on leaseholders and cladding following numerous calls for help from residents of St Francis Tower in Ipswich. He pledged to fight like a lion to get the Government to step in and save leaseholders from the prospect of costs of over £20,000 each for cladding replacement and fire safety works.
The issues around cladding at St Francis Tower was raised in one of Tom’s first surgeries with constituents as a newly elected MP. In that meeting and since, residents of the Tower have been in contact with him, detailing the great frustration and uncertainty they are still experiencing since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017 set off alarm bells about St Francis Tower’s cladding.
Tom plainly set out the issues which have made residents feel “trapped” to the Government in his speech. In respect to the huge costs faced by leaseholders to make the block safe, Tom made it clear that it must be the freeholders who did the dangerous refurbishment, not the leaseholders, who must take responsibility for the cost. While the freeholders are chased, the Government should expand its £200 million scheme for the removal of ACM cladding (the type on Grenfell tower) to include the just as dangerous ACM cladding which was on St Francis Tower. Tom said: “There is absolutely no logical reason why [residents of St Francis Tower] should be treated in any different way to those who live in properties where the cladding is ACM.” This is a crucial point of fairness for residents of St Francis Tower.
Tom also stressed the poor communication from Block Management, the company managing the building, to his constituents who live there. Hunt said Block Management’s communication has almost served to inflame residents’ anxieties and tensions rather than soothe them. This has compounded their ordeal.
Hunt conveyed the distress this ongoing issue has caused the residents of St Francis Tower. He told Westminster Hall how leaseholders had seen the price of their properties collapse and how the bill they are being told to pay is about a third of the cost of the properties themselves. Tom has heard from constituents who have savings and investments tied up in the flats and who are now unable to move home, get a return on their investment, or cash in their savings. Many of them are stuck, not just financially but also emotionally.
Following his speech, Tom said:
“Over 100 of my constituents live in St Francis Tower and they have had this issue hanging over their head for far too long. It’s clearly a process which has been emotionally and financially draining for them and that’s why I called on the Government today to step in. Money should be made available for the replacement of cladding of the type found on St Francis Tower on the same basis that money is available to replace the type of cladding that was on Grenfell Tower – especially given it’s just as dangerous.”
“This is what needs to happen in the short-term to provide residents with some much needed certainty but in the long-term I encourage the Government to track down the freeholders responsible for the dangerous refurbishments to recoup the cost. These are the people who were supposed to have knowledge of the issue and who should have obeyed the regulations at the time – not the leaseholders. It’s unjustifiable that it is now on leaseholders to pay the huge costs caused by this catalogue of errors which is entirely not their fault.
“I will continue my close contact with St Francis Tower residents and will not stop raising this issue with Government. I stand by them in demanding clearer communication from Block Management and resolving a situation where one of their most valuable assets is completely frozen.”
TOM HUNT PROMISES TO ACT AS “WATCHDOG” TO ENSURE MERGER WORKS FOR IPSWICH IN SECOND SPEECH IN COMMONS
On Monday 27 January 2020, Tom Hunt, Member of Parliament for Ipswich, delivered his second speech in the House of Commons during the second reading of the NHS Funding Bill.
In the speech, Hunt underlined the importance of getting additional health funding for Ipswich. He noted that Clinical Commissioning Group funding is over £100 lower in Ipswich and East Suffolk and that: “the disparities between Ipswich and East Anglia and the rest of the country and real and often pronounced”. He specifically raised GP services, and how Ipswich’s GP-to-population is too high and that local residents say that they struggle to get an appointment when they need one.
Hunt also raised the recent inspection report on the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust which was formed following the merger of Ipswich and Colchester hospitals in July 2018. The report gave the Trust an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’ which Hunt said was “disappointing” but that direct comparisons with the last inspection in which Ipswich hospital was rated ‘good’ cannot be made because the latest inspection included Colchester.
Hunt also welcomed positive developments in local healthcare including the planned new £35 million A&E Department in Ipswich and the new orthopaedic centre which may be located in Ipswich or Colchester. Hunt stated that these “twin investments may not have happened had the merger into a single trust not taken place”.
Hunt said he would adopt a “watchdog role” to ensure that the merger benefits the people of Ipswich. He emphasised the importance of this with regard to the new orthopaedic centre and some local people’s concern that this may be eventually located in Colchester. If it is to be located in Colchester, Hunt said he would endeavour to ensure that Ipswich patients would only have to go to the centre for their main operations; appointments should be made in the closest hospital to them.
When it comes to the merger, Hunt said that: “Rather than there must be a situation in which one hospital drags another down, it must be the case that when two hospitals come together, the good one drags up the one that is struggling.”
Hunt also raised the approval process for NHS approval process for big NHS capital schemes, saying that it is “too archaic” and that the delays to the approval of the business case for the planned new A&E department at Ipswich Hospital cost the taxpayer £167,000. He called for efficient spending at every stage of healthcare provision.
The NHS Funding Bill will accelerate the NHS Long Term Plan, allowing the delivery of commitments such as: 40 new hospitals, 50,000 more nurses, 6,000 more doctors and 50 million more appointments in GP surgeries every year. The Bill underpins the biggest cash increase in the history of the NHS.
Following his speech, Tom Hunt said:
“I was glad I was able to give my second speech in Parliament on the important issue of NHS funding and our local healthcare services in Ipswich.
“In my maiden speech, I made clear that Ipswich and East Anglia get an unfair deal when it comes to funding and healthcare funding is no exception so it was good to go into this issue in more depth on Monday.
“While I think the merger of Ipswich and Colchester hospitals has the potential to add weight to our voice when it comes to calling for more investment, as may well have been the case in securing the new A&E Department in Ipswich and the new orthopaedic centre, it is important that the interests of Ipswich residents are put first in the merger.
“I will adopt a watchdog role when it comes to the merger to ensure that both Ipswich and Colchester hospitals improve together and that it’s not the case that the underperforming hospital drags the good hospital down. It will also be important to scrutinise the upcoming decision on the location of the new orthopaedic centre which some residents have been concerned about. If the orthopaedic centre is eventually located in Colchester, I will endeavour to ensure that Ipswich residents only have to go there for main operations. All other appointments must be made at the nearest possible hospital to where people live.
“I also called for the NHS capital schemes approval process to be made more efficient. It took a year for the business case for the new £35 million A and E Department at Ipswich Hospital to be approved when it should have only taken a matter of months, it’s thought that each monthly delay costed over the taxpayer over £160,000, this must be addressed.”