Issues
Ask me about any Issue
I want to encourage you put me on the spot with your questions and issues. It’s vital that hear what you think. I want to avoid the dreaded ‘Westminster Bubble’.
I’m always keen to hear what residents think on national and local issues and their opinion on the challenges faced by the country and the government.
The first ‘Ask George’ evening at Waterlooville Community Centre was a real success so I am rolling it out across the constituency. I have started running question and answer sessions in local community halls and buildings.
To find out about the next ask George event please phone 01962 762025 or email agent@georgehollingbery.com.
- Giving residents a say on Housing
- Policing the Area
- A3 Bus Corridor
- Education
- Health
- Local Councils
- Fareham SDA
- Rural Policing
- Fly Tipping
- Waterlooville
- Expenses
- Tuition Fees
- Immigration
- Climate Change & Green issues
- EMA
- Farming
- Welfare Reform Bill
Giving residents a say on Housing
Under the last Government, the numbers and even locations of houses were imposed by central Government diktat. The consequence of this top-down approach was a massive resistance to development and a resultant housing shortage when these houses couldn’t be delivered. Waiting lists for affordable housing have grown exponentially and many residents have been left behind unable to get on the housing ladder.
The good news is that this will all start to change with the passage of the Localism Bill through Parliament. The undemocratic regional spatial strategies (RSSs) will have been removed, replaced with real community involvement in planning the future of their communities.
That isn’t to say that there won’t be plans to build more houses. There will be, but the numbers will be decided by your local council, elected and held to account by you.
Better still, local communities will be able to draw up binding local plans that will decide on what gets built where and in what style. For the first time, parish and town councils and local neighbourhoods will be given real control over development in their communities.
This new process doesn’t affect current developments or those granted permission before the Bill becomes law but, once it does, it will mean a real change to the way planning applications are handled and new developments are agreed.
As your MP I have no direct powers over planning and this will remain the same. But I will be able to work with local communities and Councils to help make the transition to the new system easier.
I also have a key role to play in protecting our green spaces and pressing for development to be preceded by investment.
Policing the Area
We are very lucky in Meon Valley. In our part of the world, crime occurs at some of the lowest levels in the country.
That isn’t to say we don’t have our issues. In the more built up areas of Waterlooville, Cowplain, Hart Plain, Horndean and Clanfield, anti social behaviour can be a real issue, particularly in the summer months.
And in the countryside there is much more crime than might meet the eye. It’s spread out and so it’s difficult to see as a whole. Concentrate it all down into the equivalent number of properties in a town and it would look like a problem.
The good news is that the local police inspector Steve Baxter has taken the issue seriously and has put in place changes to help.
He has provided additional uniform and covert patrols at relevant times, which have seen a drop in offences.
Also five officers have been moved into Bishop's Waltham police station to improve response times to incidents in the rural areas around the town.
Other measures include allocating a sergeant to a rural country watch role to look after the wider rural community on the basis of the successful safer neighbourhood team (SNT) principles working in towns.
Patrols were also increased in the Alresford area to deal with a rise in non-dwelling burglaries and a rural review of policing in Hampshire is taking place to improve engagement and partnership working with the rural community.
A3 Bus Corridor
For the people of Waterlooville, Cowplain, Horndean and Clanfield the A3 bus corridor is a constant issue.
The scheme, designed with the noble aim of increasing the frequency and effectiveness of buses travelling to and from Portsmouth, has caused a number of problems for many residents in the area.
At peak times the traffic builds up in places it never has before, with many junctions experiencing long queues. These are as prevalent in the A3 itself as in the back streets feeding the main road. There are now rat runs where they never previously existed with large numbers of cars seeking to avoid the delays on the A3.
Worst of all, the frequency of buses does not seem to have greatly improved.
I have met with representatives of Hampshire County Council on this issue and they have agreed to do so some monitoring to see if they can help with some of the issues. Further, Havant Borough Council have conducted a review of the project and now Hampshire is being asked to do the same by local county councillor David Keast.
It is only right that these inquiries should be allowed to run their proper course but, if in due course no sensible answer is found or action taken, I will raise the matter with the Minister in Parliament.
Education
Education is fundamental our economic prosperity in the longer term. The Chartered Institute for Personnel & Development regularly write reports on the skills gap in our country. In today’s world, education isn’t just for the young, we all have to continually learn and many adults also benefit from our education system later in life.
I recognise the intrinsic importance of education; I am a former school governor and a father of three. I have taught lessons at Horndean Tech, Cowplain Community School, Denmead Junior and Swanmore. I have also visited South Downs, Crookhorn and many of the local primaries including Hambledon, Newtown and Whiteley.
For those of you who haven’t been back to school recently, I have to say it’s a hugely inspiring experience. It is great to see both the passion of our teachers and children being taught new ideas, concepts and possibilities.
Locally, we are blessed with very good schools that are constantly improving.
It is my hope that results improve further and that the Pupil Premium will ensure that no child is left behind and that they will benefit from a great education. I will continue to work with our schools, parents and the LEA to improve education across the constituency.
Health
Healthcare is the top issue for many residents. I work hard to listen to health professionals, campaign to get a good service as well as represent constituents on individual issues.
Residents are served by a variety of hospitals all of which are located just outside the constituency. These include Winchester, Southampton and of course the Queen Alexandra hospital which serves the majority of residents in the constituency.
I work hard to keep up to date with the issues in each of the hospitals and make strong representations on residents’ behalf. I have also met with the Chief Executive of the Queen Alexandra hospital on a number of occasions to discuss particular issues.
In addition to this, I regularly visit doctors’ surgeries in the constituency. I have always been very well received by our local medical practitioners and can clearly see the passion and commitment they bring to the job. I have backed our Cowplain Councillors who were trying to get Padwell Surgery to open again.
The coalition’s healthcare reforms are important. The Government have protected health care spending from cuts. The aging population and medical advancements mean that we need to be more efficient if we are to continue to improve health care in the country.
The NHS reforms give greater power to our GPs and work hard to stream line bureaucracy. I believe the underlying approach is sound. I am working hard to make sure their views about the detailed aspects of the policy are fed into the process.
Local Councils
The Meon Valley is split across 3 district Councils; Winchester, Havant and East Hampshire; with the whole area also covered by Hampshire County Council in a two tier Council system.
Many people write to me, perfectly reasonably on areas which are known as “devolved powers”. These areas, such as schools, bins, social services, planning, gritting, housing (in the Winchester District) or speed limits are the responsibility of local Councils.
I have no particular powers over these areas and so forward correspondence from constituents to the relevant local authority.
I have built up a good working relationship with all of my local Councils and have met with the leaders and chief executives of all four. I will continue to work in co-operation with Councils and Councillors to ensure that residents’ problems are answered effectively.
Fareham SDA
Many people in the Wickham and Knowle area will want to know my views on the plans of Fareham Borough Council to build 6,000 new homes over the next 20 years on the border with Wickham parish.
As many of you will know, the Coalition has decided to tear up the old Whitehall imposed housing targets imposed on us by the last Government.
This doesn’t mean that there won’t be any new housing. What it means is that instead of Government deciding how much housing is needed and where it has to be built it will be up to local councils elected by local people to make these decisions.
Difficulties arise of course when new housing designed by one council is then chosen to be placed right next to the border of another area. This is exactly what is proposed in the case of Fareham’s plans.
Fareham believe that they need this many new homes to cope not only with inward migration into their borough from other parts of the country but also to deal with the increase in new households being caused by people living longer and by families breaking up more often.
Furthermore, they believe that they have no alternative but to build these new homes as a large new development just to the north of Funtley and to the South of Wickham. Their research suggests that it is the only way that a new, self-sustaining community can be created and that, in any event, most of the other available land is either inappropriate because of flood risk or because it will fill in gaps between settlements.
I am in the process of working though these propositions with Fareham’s officers to satisfy myself as to the reasonableness of what they have concluded.
Why? Because having done so I will be in the best position to know how to get the best possible result for the residents of Wickham and Knowle whose lives are going to be most affected by this development.
I will report more on these pages as matters move forwards.
Rural Policing
Rural crime is an important issue for many residents in the Meon Valley.
I regularly get reports from the police and constituents. Fly-tipping and thefts seem to be the most common instances of anti-social behaviour.
Very often, these sorts of crime remain largely unreported and present an issue in our rural areas where there is a relatively low police presence. I have met with the Chief Constable on this issue and will continue to work with the police on specific cases. I do believe that as a community we also need to do more; burglar alarms, neighbourhood watch schemes and of course reporting crime will play an important part in further reducing crime.
Fly Tipping
Local Authorities in England reported that they dealt with 1.16 million incidents of fly tipping in 2008-09 alone with the clearance cost reaching £54.9 million just in that year. In the Meon Valley fly tipping is an equally important issue for many residents and one that I frequently work with Councillors and other stakeholders on.
As MP I am working with local Councillors and the police to help tackle fly tipping and would like to call on the public to be vigilant.
Waterlooville
Many people have approached me at my street surgeries in Waterlooville to bemoan the terrible state of some of the buildings in the precinct. Indeed, years of neglect have left many looking tatty and worn. Added to this the problems with the old abandoned Curzon cinema and you are left with an impression of a shopping area which looks very run down.
More recently, the Dukes walk development and the associated facelift has brought new vibrancy to the area. Couple this with the screening erected by Havant Borough Council and there is now nothing better than seeing Waterlooville buzzing on market day.
As MP I do my best to promote Waterlooville as a trading area both locally and here in Westminster. I will continue to do so and will work with local traders and councillors to make Waterlooville a nice place to visit.
Expenses
With all the controversy surrounding the expenses scandal, I feel it only right that I address this issue directly. My view is that those who cheated the expenses system and broke the rules should feel the full force of the law, regardless of party affiliation.
Personally, my expenses are almost universally staff based. I have a team of people who help with my Parliamentary duties without which I could not do the job of representing you effectively. I pledged before the election not to take expenses for food or mortgage payments. I have kept this pledge and will continue to do so.
Tuition Fees
As I am sure you are aware, the previous Government established a Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance chaired by Lord Browne. The published report was recently endorsed by the Government. The Government has now released its proposals for Higher Education funding in light of forthcoming legislation on this issue.
The Browne Review proposed an unlimited cap on fees. The Government has decided to cap fees at a lower threshold of £6,000 and an upper threshold of £9,000. Universities will be free to set their own fees and those wishing to charge more than the lower threshold will need to increase its efforts to attract students from lower-income families. Such moves will be regulated by the Office for Fair Access. A £150 million National Scholarship Programme has been announced to which upper threshold universities will be expected to contribute funds.
There are a number of reasons why I believe the changes to Tuition Fees is the right thing to do. Firstly, participation rates in fee-to-pay countries, such as the USA, are historically higher than in the UK, and the social profile is often more diverse. My wife, for example, is from America and comes from a very modest background. She took on $80,000 of debt – this was to be expected as part and parcel of going to University in America and is seen as the investment in one’s future. She now, as a result of her studies, has a very successful career.
Secondly, the student dropout rate in fee paying countries is drastically lower than in the UK. Paying fees forces potential students to choose courses far more carefully, and to make a commitment to complete those courses, rather than decide to take up a place and then dropout as you please.
Thirdly, can it really be right that the tax of those at the lower end of the income scale goes towards the creation of above average earning potential of someone else, without that person contributing something themselves. The undeniable fact is that graduates earn more than non-graduates, and I believe they should make a payment in recognition of that fact.
Finally, the world class universities that we have in the UK simply cannot continue under the current funding system. I’m bound to ask what you would do in this situation.
I of course cannot deny that I wholeheartedly understand your frustration. I myself went to Oxford University and was funded, and as such, I do feel a slight embarrassment in what I write. Nevertheless, I fully believe this is the way forward.
Because of all these reasons, I welcome the Browne Review. In particular, I welcome its outcome that there should be no upfront tuition fees for students. I believe that anything else would hit families from lower economic backgrounds and would genuinely deter many from entering into the Higher Education sector.
Moreover, student support will be extended to increasing the maintenance grants available and for those students that cannot commit to full-time study, part-time students will have equal access to student loans as full-time students. I welcome such moves as I believe that Higher Education opportunities should be available to all those that seek it.
The proposal to increase the repayment threshold from £15,000 to £21,000 protects graduates on lower incomes. In addition, graduates earning below £21,000, will not have a real rate of interest applied to their loan. For graduates earning between £21,000 and around £41,000, a real rate of interest will start to be charged, reaching a maximum of RPI plus 3 per cent. Above £41,000, graduates will repay at the full rate of RPI plus 3 per cent. Introducing real interest rates, alongside raising the repayment threshold, will ensure that graduates on lower incomes will pay less than they would do under current arrangements.
Furthermore, the Government rightly ruled out the prospect of a pure graduate tax. Unlike the Opposition, I believe that such a move is unfair to British graduates and recognise that with a graduate tax set at a rate of 3 per cent of earnings over the income tax threshold, revenue would not start flowing until 2015-16, when the first students in the new system graduate, and would only build up very gradually over 25 years. Government would need to fill this funding gap in every year until 2041-42. In the current economic climate, Government should not be adding to the deficit, rather it should be working to reduce it.
I am in favour of proposals that support lower-income students, widen participation, and increases opportunities for all who choose to pursue Higher Education opportunities. I recognise that the proposals introduced by the Government empower Higher Education Institutions to act responsibly and with the interests of students at the forefront of their actions.
I will stress that accepted proposals will begin to be implemented for the 2012-13 academic year and will not affect current students and graduates. The Government is also expected to publish a Higher Education White Paper on the wider sector in the coming months.
Immigration
Whilst I believe that migration has benefited the UK, economically, socially and culturally, I am also aware that when immigration gets out of control, it places great pressure on our society, economy and public services.
Net immigration reached 196,000 in 2009 and, between 1997 and 2009, net immigration totalled more than 2.2 million people, more than double the population of Birmingham.
The Government is committed to bringing immigration down to the tens of thousands and the introduction of an annual limit on the number of non EU workers coming into the UK was a pledge of this coalition Government.
Having listened to industry and to the advice of the Migration Advisory Committee, the Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, has announced that the Government will reduce the number of Tier 1 visas (meant for the brightest and the best, but widely abused in the past) to 1000 exceptionally talented individuals. She is also increasing the qualification level for Tier 2 visas (where the applicant needs a specific job offer) to degree level jobs only to help to ensure that those entering on Tier 2 visas are not doing low skilled jobs. The large reduction in Tier 1 levels will enable the Tier 2 limit to be set at higher than last year’s level (for 2011 the Government is setting this at 20,700), recognising that this is the tier business groups identified to be prioritised.
For the Government to succeed in its overall aim of bringing immigration down to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament, it will need to go further, however. It is taking action on student visas and looking further at the family and settlement routes and I look forward to its final announcements on these in due course.
Furthermore, the Government is creating a dedicated Border Police Force, as part of a new National Crime Agency, to enhance national security and improve immigration controls. Couple with this, the Government also supports e-Borders and will reintroduce exit checks at borders.
After the Government has introduced all these measures, we will then have an immigration policy which will allow the country to benefit from the skills and talents of people from all over the world, while reducing the numbers markedly to take the pressure off our essential public services.
Climate Change & Green issues
The Government is taking urgent action at an international, national and local level to address the challenge of climate change.
Internationally, the Government is absolutely committed to achieving an ambitious global deal to cut emissions sufficiently to keep the rise in global temperatures below 2°C.
Nationally, the Government will introduce a new ‘Green Deal’, which will enable energy saving measures to be paid for in instalments via energy bills from 2012. It will be supplemented by a new Energy Company Obligation. This obligation will focus on the poorest and most vulnerable householders and hard to treat domestic property that cannot achieve financial savings without additional support.
The Government has also extended the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), which places an obligation on gas and electricity suppliers to deliver a reduction in household carbon savings across the UK. The changes to CERT will mean some 3.5 million more homes are likely to benefit from insulation, building substantially on the 2.5 million homes treated under the scheme since April 2008.
Ministers are currently considering how to introduce an Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) alongside wider reform of the electricity market, as part of the autumn consultation on electricity market reform. Whilst the Government has yet to determine the final details of an EPS, the Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, has already made it clear that without Carbon Capture and Storage it would be impossible for coal-fired power stations to meet such a standard.
Locally, the Government is empowering communities to generate their own energy on a large and a small scale, as part of plans to help communities become more self-sufficient in the way they use power. The ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity has been removed to encourage a local renewable energy revolution.
Please be assured that the Government is committed to cutting carbon emissions and securing an ambitious international agreement on climate change, as part of its pledge to make this the greenest Government ever.
I have visited many businesses and individuals in the constituency who are doing their bit to combat climate change or who are innovating new technologies to tackle the challenge of climate change. I will continue to promote the use of new technologies and will do all I can to showcase these technologies in Parliament.
EMA
I have a particular interest in education; my wife was Chair of Governors at Sun Hill Primary School and I was a school governor at Perins School for 8 years.
I am personally keen to support every young person who wants to stay on in education for as long as possible and I support the principle on which the Education Maintenance Allowance is based - the idea that we should do everything we can to encourage learning.
I am anxious to ensure that support is effectively targeted and that the system works as it should, to support those who are most in need. The Government is working to close the gap in achievement between the poorest and the wealthiest at school and within the college applications process.
Research commissioned by the previous Government and produced by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found only 12 per cent of young people overall receiving an EMA believe that they would not have participated in the courses they are doing if they had not received an EMA.
While EMA will be paid in full in the 2010/11 academic year, the Government has pledged to fund an increase in educational places for 16 to 19 year olds, and is raising the compulsory participation age to 18 by the end of the Parliament. Therefore, whilst funding an increase in the compulsory education participation age to 18, the Government is replacing EMA with more targeted support.
As such, I am afraid that I voted against saving the EMA in the recent debate.
Helping the most disadvantaged children out after GCSEs is not itself enough. We need to support children at a young age too. That is why the Government has also announced a £2.5 billion Pupil Premium, directly targeted at schools to encourage them to take on pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Poverty in childhood should not mean poverty for life, and the Pupil Premium will help to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are given the best possible educational opportunities.
Farming
Whilst, in geographical terms farming land is vast, farming intensification has led to newer and more efficient ways of working. I believe these methods, and the farming subsidies, ultimately mean that my postbag looks very different to that of my predecessors. Farming for them would have been the number one issue its future would have had a dramatic impact on the local economy.
I frequently meet with farmers and pride myself on the good working relationship I have with them. A number of local farmers and I recently met with Jim Paice the Minister of State for Agriculture to discuss the issues facing them.
I think it’s fair to say that all the farmers came away thinking that Jim knew his subject and that he was a very safe pair of hands.
Welfare Reform Bill
Benefits reform is a complex, difficult and challenging issue that I care deeply about. I can point to large numbers of constituents that are caught in the system. Improvements are desperately needed. I think most people would accept that under the previous Government the system has become increasingly complicated.
There are more than 30 different benefits that can be claimed. There are 14 manuals in the Department for Work and Pensions, with 8,690 pages of instructions for officials. There is a separate set of four volumes for local government, with 1,200 pages covering housing and council tax benefits alone. That is an astonishingly byzantine system.
It is confusing for clients. There is a 30-page form for housing and council tax benefit, including three pages of declarations. Employment and support allowance requires a 52-page form; jobseeker's allowance, 12 online sections, each of five to 10 pages long; and disability living allowance, a 60-page form.
Is it any wonder that people become confused and fill in the forms incorrectly and make mistakes? The system is extraordinarily expensive to administer. The DWP spent £2 billion last year administering working-age benefits, and local authorities a further £l billion administering housing benefit and council tax benefit. Even the tiny Citizens Advice Bureau in Bishop's Waltham, a town of 5,000 people in a rural and relatively affluent part of Hampshire, processed 2,176 queries about benefits in 2009-10, advising people how to claim them.
The evidence is clear. We need a simple system and that work needs to pay.
I believe there also needs to be an understanding in the system that if someone does not perform as the system requires them to do in looking for work, they will pay a penalty in terms of the benefits to which they are entitled.
I completely recognise though that this is a complex issue. I am sitting on the Welfare Reform Bill Committee.
