Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards writes her update for April 2024.
Ruth writes:
April saw good news for household budgets in Rushcliffe, as inflation fell again and the energy price cap fell by 12%.
This will be the first month we see the Government’s second cut to National Insurance in our pay packets, it’s worth around £900 to someone on the average wage, and the national living wage is going up by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour.
It’s also the month that pensioners see the £900 increase in their state pension start to take effect, thanks to the triple lock being protected. Parents have also started to benefit from our 15 hours of Government funded childcare a week for 2 year olds and the threshold for the High Income Child Benefit charge has been increased.
As this goes up online, votes have been counted across our region for the new East Midlands Mayor.
Amongst other responsibilities, they will have a £1.5 billion transport budget to invest in local and regional projects.
This level of funding has been made possible because of the cancellation of Phase 2 of HS2, and we need to use it on the right projects.
After speaking with residents and councillors, I have developed a ‘Transport To Do List’ for the new mayor, and will be asking for a meeting to discuss it with them as soon as possible.
It includes working with us to invest in the rail infrastructure we need to enable more trains to stop at Radcliffe-on-Trent station and the changes we need to speed up the time it takes buses on ‘the Keyworth’ service to complete their journeys.
Top of the list though, is fixing the potholes that blight our roads. This is the number one issue that’s raised with me by constituents, which is why I asked the Roads’ Minister, Guy Opperman, to come to Rushcliffe to see some of the repairs needed. The Government has increased Nottinghamshire County Council’s road repairs budget by £24 million — now it’s important we see the impact of that, and that the new mayor prioritises and fixes the roads damaged by repeated flooding and bad weather.
Last Friday I was lucky to get a sneak preview of the new block being built at Rushcliffe Spencer Academy, following a £27 million investment in the school. It was fantastic to see how much progress had been made. The block will house technology labs, a classroom, sports hall and dining hall. This work, and the refurbishment of existing school facilities, will enable to school to offer hundreds more children a place to study there. This is great news and I look forward to seeing it all finished later this year.
I’ve also been privileged to see the amazing work being done at Riding for the Disabled, where Lesley and Martyn are building an incredible facility, it will be a huge asset for our community. I’ve taken the Farming Minister to taste the delicious stilton made at Cropwell Bishop Creamery and was delighted to see Nottingham Gymnastics Academy fully up and running again after being flooded last winter.
