March has been a significant month in Westminster and across Skipton and Ripon.
The last few years have not been easy. The country has faced the legacy of Covid, war in Ukraine and in the Middle East. Since the beginning of 2023, the Government have been working on five priorities. Three of them are economic: to halve inflation, grow the economy, and reduce debt. Good progress has been made: inflation has fallen from 11.1 per cent to 3.4 per cent; the economy has performed better than forecast and is outperforming European neighbours; wages are rising; mortgage rates falling; and debt is on track to fall as a share of the economy. The Chancellor’s budget this month shows the plan is working – and the Government is sticking to it. From cutting taxes for working people and backing small businesses to supporting families and reforming the NHS, it is a budget that builds on the strong progress made over the past year.
Julian has also welcomed the news that Humber and North Yorkshire ICS will receive £537,344 this month, as its first tranche of funding, to support innovation and scaling in adult social care. Across the country, £20 million is being allocated this year and over £22 million next year to help further develop adult social care services, with local authorities working in partnership with the NHS, care providers, voluntary and community groups. The funding will help increase community-based care models such as shared-living arrangements and access to digital tools. Humber and North Yorkshire ICS will use the funding to explore options the available to increase the provision of Shared Lives; support unpaid carers to have breaks which are tailored to meet their needs; and better identify carers in local areas, whilst encouraging people to recognise themselves as carers which will improve access to carer services.
He further welcomed the major package of reforms that the Government have introduced to support businesses and deliver more apprenticeship places across Skipton and Ripon. Backed by £60 million in 2024-25, the Government will fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from 1 April by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21 – reducing costs and burdens for businesses and providing more opportunities for young people to kickstart their career. The Government will also increase the amount of funding that large employers who are paying the Apprenticeship Levy can pass onto other businesses – from 25 per cent of their unused Levy to 50 per cent.
It's been a busy month away from Parliament and across the constituency. Julian opened the new Barclays Local site in The Swadford Centre, Skipton. Like many residents and businesses, he was deeply disappointed by the decision to close Barclays’ Skipton branch and met with officials to convey the strength of feeling of the local community. Subsequent discussions highlighted the need for residents and businesses to continue to access suitable banking services, and Julian was therefore pleased when plans for the new site were announced. The new site will service digital and complex banking needs five days a week, offering face-to-face financial support and education for customers.
Given the significant level of disruption, Julian met with the Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council to receive an update on both the long-term realignment project and the current closure of the A59 at Kex Gill. Following engagement with residents and businesses who continue to be impacted by the latest closure of the A59, Julian sought a meeting with the Chief Executive to seek clarity on the progress that has been made to re-open the road as safely and as quickly as possible. A further meeting is being scheduled as Julian remains keen to keep on top of this issue.
He also met with Foluke Ajayi, Chief Executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, to find out how the plans for the rebuild of Airedale Hospital are progressing. In May, it was announced that Airedale was the latest addition to the Government’s New Hospital Programme, backed by over £20 billion of investment in hospital infrastructure. Work is now underway on a new, state-of-the-art, five-hundred-bed hospital, to be completed by 2030. Alongside this, extensive refurbishments are taking place at the current site to mitigate the risks from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which makes up 83 per cent of the hospitals planks – the most of any NHS site.
Julian always enjoys visiting schools and this month was no exception, with time to visit Giggleswick School to speak to A-level politics students. Following a brief introduction Julian fielded questions from the students, with topics ranging from his experiences as Chief Whip under Theresa May and the restoration of Stormont while Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and again more recently, to the challenges that face large, rural constituencies and how the re-allocated HS2 funding could best be spent. Julian also met with Sam Hart, Headmaster, to discuss some of the exciting opportunities for students at Giggleswick, as well concerns around proposals to impose VAT on fees and the effect this will have on families.
To mark English Tourism Week, Julian visited The Prison & Police Museum, part of Ripon Museums, which also includes a workhouse museum, garden and courthouse museum. Ripon Museums also offers school workshops tailored to key stages, exploring themes of poverty, crime and punishment linked to a range of curriculum subjects, from History and English to PHSE. During his tour of the Prison and Police Museum the Director, Alexa, and Community Curator, Laura, were able to give him some insight into the work they are doing with funding from Arts Council England to reach out to more diverse audiences.
March ended with the fantastic news that Ingleton Outdoor Swimming Pool and Settle Swimming Pool have been awarded £44,911 and £21,000 respectively to relieve financial pressure by improving energy efficiency and reducing running costs. The grants from the Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund, which has invested £80 million into 442 swimming pools across the country, will be used to install Photo Voltaic (PV) panels at both facilities, as well as pool covers at Ingleton Outdoor Swimming Pool.
Julian has continued to hold regular surgeries with constituents and would encourage anyone to contact him at [email protected]
