Earlier this week it was announced that £22.4 million in extra Government funding was being invested in Swindon schools.
The main announcement was that £13.2 million will be used to build a brand new school, which will provide school places for all key stages 4-19 - in addition to this the new school will provide 100 additional special educational needs and disability places. Furthermore, the funding will see 66 additional school places at existing Swindon schools. This is excellent news and will help support Swindon as it continues to develop and grow.
I was delighted to launch this year’s Easter Egg collection for The Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service, the third one I have organised.
Families finding themselves in the refuge or supported by SDASS in the wider community have experienced very difficult circumstances, and a simple gift of an Easter Egg can really make their day and let them know someone is thinking of them.
For the first time, we are being joined by Abbey Park School and their partner schools in The Park Academy Trust, who will be collecting donations for the campaign. This is a really exciting move, which will really help us maximise the number of Easter Eggs we collect.
We were able to hold a special launch event at the school, which brought together SDASS, staff and students at Abbey Park School, and myself to kick the campaign off. During the event myself and Emma Maclennan from SDASS took part in a Q&A event, where the students asked some excellent questions. I was very impressed with their engagement and enthusiasm to support this collection.
Donations are being collected from my Community Office at the Orbital Shopping Park, which is open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. When you are buying your easter eggs, please consider picking up and extra one for the campaign, it really will brighten someone’s day.
In Parliament, at the request of Trust STFC, I met with Niall Couper from organisation Fair Game, to discuss the upcoming Independent Football Regulator Bill.
Fair Game work with 34 different clubs, including Swindon Town, and aims to improve fan engagement and transparency in football. I have worked extensively with many similar organisations concerning the Bill, which many Swindon Town fans and those connected to the club have helped shape. I absolutely understand both the importance of the Bill, and crucially the need to get it right. I will continue to work with all stakeholders to this end.
Finally, as supporter of local pubs I was very pleased to add my name to a letter sent to the Chancellor on behalf of both the pub industry and wider hospitality sector. Both major employers in Swindon.
The pub industry letter was organised by the All-Party Beer Group, which promotes the unique role of the pub in UK society. As well as highlighting the importance of pubs to their local communities and their contribution to the UK economy, the letter had several requests of the Chancellor including a cut in overall beer duty and an extension of draught relief for pubs.
The hospitality sector letter, calling for changes to VAT rates and an extension of business rate relief was supported by many local businesses that I have worked with, including Blunsdon House Hotel, Gurt Wings and others.
With the Spring Budget being announced next week, I hope he is equally as receptive to the latest requests.
