Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

I have asked West Berkshire and Wokingham Councils for more details of how they will spend the additional money available for pothole repairs, given the need for more work following the bad weather this winter.
West Berkshire lists all of the resurfacing and maintenance work in its current programme on its website www.westberkshire.gov.uk. Wokingham lists its 2018-19 maintenance programme on www.wokingham.gov.uk and also gives illustrations of work done using monies from the 2016-17 government pothole fund.
Anyone concerned about potholes on a local road should report them to the relevant Council – both have pothole report facilities on their websites.

I went to see Baylab, a schools initiative run by Bayer at their Green Park headquarters. The pharmaceutical and agrichemicals business provides up to a day of practical science for schoolchildren and six form students from local schools and Colleges. The participants undertake practical exercises to find out about issues like the role of bees, DNA, enzymes, forensics and cosmetic chemistry. This is a free lab service with workshops geared to the National Curriculum offered to groups from schools.

I thanked the team there for showing me round and for helping encourage young people to study more science and to find it rewarding and interesting.

The Government is seeking views on the effectiveness of powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments. This consultation asks a series of questions relating to powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments, including:

• local authority and police powers
• court processes
• trespass
• planning enforcement
• the provision of authorised sites
• the impacts on the travelling community

The consultation is open to local authorities, police, local residents and community groups. You may register your views at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/powers-for-dealing-with-unauthorised-development-and-encampments

The consultation closes on 15 June.

I have been making the case for more money to help our schools for some time. I have been keen to see money made available for the Holt and Forest for building improvement following visits to those schools.
This week the government has announced £136,880 for the Holt and £139,853 for Forest, which is welcome. This money comes from the Condition Improvement Fund for Academies.

There is a need for good public footpath and bridleway routes, so more rambling and horseriding can take place away from the highways. The latest consultation from the government, Health and Harmony, from DEFRA (Cm 9577) invites ideas on how a new farming policy can include incentives to persuade landowners to allow more access and completion of green routes over their land. This could be a good option for Wokingham, where the Council is also working on greenway issues. Anyone interested in these matters should respond to the government consultation.

One of the issues I am pursuing with the government is the question of how many extra houses we are going to need in the next local plan period. As the government has promised to cut net inward migration, and will have the powers to do so once we have left the EU, I am asking them to revise their future projections. The Housing Minister is currently looking into this issue.

Meanwhile the Council has recalculated its current figure for housing need and discovered it should be lower than the figure they have been using. This is helpful progress. It is most important we do not exaggerate the need or place unreasonable stress on our infrastructure and countryside. There are plenty of housing permissions to build outstanding to meet any sensible view of need for the current plan period. Grazeley and the other options being examined relate to the period of the next local plan which has still to be determined.

UK consumers use an estimated 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year. Three billion are incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute our streets, countryside and marine environment.

Today the Government has announced that a deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste pollution will be introduced subject to consultation later this year.

Options for a deposit return scheme will be considered alongside other policies to improve recycling rates. The Government will only take forward options from the consultation which demonstrate that they offer clear benefits and are resistant to fraud, and that costs on businesses, consumers and the taxpayer are proportionate.

The consultation will take into account views from producers, suppliers and consumers to ensure that any system introduced works across the country.

I would be interested to hear from constituents. Is this a good idea? Which scheme would work best?

I am aware that the cost of travel for jobseekers who need to attend interviews, training or meetings at the Jobcentre can be worrying and I was pleased to learn from the Rail Delivery Group about the The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card.

It is available to eligible people in England, Wales and Scotland who have been out of work for 12 weeks or longer and offers jobseekers a 50% discount on train fares as they travel to interviews, to the Jobcentre or to and from training, for up to three months at a time.

The card provides discounts of 50% on Anytime Day tickets, Off Peak Day tickets, and Season tickets up to three months in duration. The card is valid on all British train operator services and can be used to purchase tickets online, including National Rail Enquiries, at ticket machines and ticket offices.

To obtain the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card and further information on eligiblity you will need to apply at your nearest Jobcentre Plus branch.

Today the government has announced an extra £467,317 for West Berkshire to deal with road damage, and £282,055 for Wokingham Borough. This is welcome and I look forward to early use of this money by the Councils, as there are plenty of potholes in need of tarmac. I had raised this with Ministers during the bad weather.

I visited a workshop to discuss possible development at Grazeley on Saturday. I explained again that there must be two matters that need resolving before considering accepting such a development. The Council should need some reassurance that such a large development would enable the area to say No to development elsewhere. The government would need to come up with substantial sums to support major infrastructure investment.

I am also working on the question of how much housing should Wokingham be expected to take in the next Plan period anyway, and the wider question of how the government should adjust its national figures down to allow for the new migration policy they have promised as we leave the EU.