Welcome to this week’s constituency newsletter for residents in Reading West and Mid Berkshire. It’s been a very busy week, both in Parliament and in the constituency. To keep up to date with what I am doing in Parliament and across the constituency, please do follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Bluesky
Action to protect the River Pang
On Wednesday in Parliament, I spoke in a debate on protecting the water quality of our rivers, lakes and seas. I called on Thames Water to listen to local campaigners and take action to remove phosphates from the outflows at sewage works along the River Pang.
During the General Election campaign, I tested the Pang with local campaigners from the Angling Trust and found phosphate levels three times the level they should be. This leads to an increase in algae, lower levels of oxygen, and significant damage to wildlife, plants and fish.
But Thames Water has so far refused to include phosphate stripping in its plans for the sewage works along the course of the Pang. And while they have said that they will review these plans are yet to set out what will be done.
I was therefore delighted that in her response to the debate, the Environment Minister, Emma Hardy MP said that she was happy to support work in pushing Thames Water to tackle phosphate pollution.
I will continue to work with local campaigners on this issue and look forward to working with the Government to clean up the Pang.
Let’s raise the roof!
Following my visit to the lovely St Bartholomew’s Church in Lower Basildon last week, I was pleased to congratulate local volunteers who are doing such a great job fundraising in Parliament this week.
I also asked the Minister about the future of the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme which allows for VAT to be refunded on repairs on places of worship, helping ensure historical buildings, like St Bartholomew’s are able to be maintained.
You can watch my question here
Fixing our broken prison system
This Government inherited a prison system on its knees, with 99.7% of prison places full and drug use on the rise. We also saw a rise in the use of drones to smuggle goods into prisons.
On Tuesday, responding to my question about how the Government is tackling the crisis in our prisons, I was pleased that the Justice Minister confirmed that the Government is continuing to take action to address the Tories failures. This includes a plan to build 14,000 new prison places in the next six years – compared to only 500 places that the Tories added over 14 years. And, while drug use in prisons increased by 50% on their watch, we have invested in our serious and organised crime unit to tackle the criminal networks who smuggle drugs into prisons.
AI Action Plan
At the beginning of the week, the Government launched it’s AI Action Plan. The Action Plan is set to boost growth and make the UK a tech superpower, building on the expertise in the tech sector in places like Reading West and Mid Berkshire.
What’s more, there are huge opportunities for the transformation of our public services – helping doctors to detect and treat disease faster and more effectively, speeding up planning consultations and completing admin for teachers– all tasks we can give to AI so we can get on and treat patients, build homes and educate our children.
I am looking forward to working with the Government, businesses, our NHS, and local councils to help deliver on this exciting agenda.
Taking action on potholes
Our roads have been plagued by potholes for too long, so this Government is investing to boost infrastructure as part of its Plan for Change. The Tories left our roads in a state where damage to cars cost drivers almost £500m and car insurance went up by more than £200 on average in just two years.
In contrast, our plans mean that there will be an extra £11.6 million across Reading Borough and West Berkshire to identify which of our roads are in most need of repair, and to deliver immediate fixes for our area.
As well as saving drivers money on repairs, fixing our roads and potholes will make our roads safer for all road users and improve journey times.
Renters Rights Bill
I was really pleased to be able to support the Government’s Renters Rights Bill in Parliament earlier this week. While the majority of landlords provide a good service, too many private renters are stuck in poor quality, insecure homes as costs soar. I know from the casework that my office receives how important this piece of legislation will be for the thousands of people across Reading West and Mid Berkshire who rent their home by:
- Banning no-fault evictions
- Ending rental bidding wars
- Protecting tenants from dangerous damp & mould
- Limiting the amount of rent landlords can demand in advance
- Stopping students being pressured into signing early tenancy agreements
- Protecting bereaved families acting as guarantors for their relatives
- Helping councils tackle rogue landlords
- Giving tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property
- Ending discrimination against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children
The Conservatives promised action but failed completely. Worst of all, they bowed to vested interest on their benches by watering down their commitment to end ‘no fault’ evictions. This Labour Government has achieved more to protect renters in six months than the Conservatives managed in four and a half years.
Around the constituency
It has been another busy week around the constituency and along with my team I have held constituency surgeries, met with a major local business and spoken with officers at Reading Borough Council about plans for the new open space at Dee Park. I will be holding a public meeting in the Dee Estate on Thursday between 5 and 6pm with local councillors – email me if you live in the estate and you’d like to come along.
I am also pleased that the work at Theale Station has finally been completed, and I pay tribute to local people for their perseverance in making this happen, especially the Theale Station Users Group.
It is simply not good enough that this project has taken so long. It has been more than a decade since local people were promised vital improvements to make the station fully accessible. We cannot have crucial improvements like this bogged down in bureaucracy and that’s why I’m pleased that this government is not only investing in infrastructure and our transport system, but also cutting red tape so that infrastructure projects get built more quickly.
I’ll continue to work hard to ensure that vital local projects like this are driven forward at pace, and that lessons are learned from this sorry saga.
Dates for your diary
Thursday 23 January, Community Drop-in, Dee Estate. Join me and local councillors to discuss the council’s plans for the estate. Please email me to let me know you are coming along.
Sunday 26th January, Community Drop-in, Purley – If you live in Purley and would like to come along for a chat with tea and biscuits between 3.00pm and 4.00pm, please email and my team will confirm the venue a few days in advance of the event.
Thursday 6th February, from 7.30pm to 9.00pm – NHS 10-year Plan Consultation Event for residents in Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Calcot. Please email to book a place and my team will confirm the venue a few days in advance of the event.
Best wishes for the week ahead
Olivia