The Spending Review delivered much to welcome and shout about. I hope it will turn things around for our economy and for people’s living standards, which have been so hard hit.
With too many in Middlesbrough and Thornaby unfairly suffering some of the worst poverty in the UK, the priority must be to lift people’s living standards and to deliver better public services to people locally.
I am still poring over the detail of the Review, but I particularly welcome the announcement of £20m for Thorntree as part of the government’s trailblazer neighbourhood investment schemes.
I am pleased with the announcement of £39bn nationally for new affordable housing, delivering homes for social rent which are so needed, and with thousands on the Council waiting lists in Middlesbrough and in Stockton I will press for our two councils and local social housing providers – and their residents – to benefit.
I also welcome the additional £29bn for the NHS annual day-to-day spending. This is the public service the government has prioritised, and I look forward to finding out how much it will benefit James Cook University Hospital and other health providers in the local area.
The £15bn in city transport funding includes £1bn for Tees Valley. This will see Middlesbrough Station revitalised and funding for projects like the Transporter Bridge.
I am also delighted about a number of schemes that will put money back in people’s pockets; from the turnaround in the Winter Fuel Allowance which will restore payment to thousands locally, and which I had called for, to the announcement of The Warm Homes Plan which will see private and social housing upgraded to reduce energy-needs, and make savings on energy bills of up to £600 annually. And I welcome the funding of free school meals to children in all Universal Credit households, which will benefit almost 10,000 children in Middlesbrough & Thornaby East.
There is more to be drilled into and understood and I have some continued concerns. This positive news is countered by the disability welfare cuts, which will drive people into poverty and which I will oppose.
There is additional funding to councils to pay the new Fair Pay Agreement for social care providers, but there are also continued concerns about wider local council funding and the reliance on council tax to make ends meet.
With a number of government departments continuing to face cuts on day-to-day spending, I will keep making the case for the government to increase its tax revenue from the super-wealthy billionaires to fund the services ordinary people rely on.
I will keep working with the government to deliver funding needed in Middlesbrough & Thornaby East.
Kind regards,
Andy McDonald MP.
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