“I have received many emails from constituents across the constituency complaining about people parking in their streets illegally. Parking enforcement in our area currently lies with the police, which means they have responsibility for patrolling and issuing tickets to those parking illegally. As you can imagine this could take up a considerable amount of time for the police, and I suspect many of us would rather they spent their time dealing with serious crimes such as theft and burglary.
In many other areas of the country, responsibility for parking lies with the local council, and this should be the case in Oxfordshire. A majority of local authorities across the country manage parking enforcement successfully and it has the ability to bring in considerable extra revenue. I will be pushing the local authority to accept responsibility for parking enforcement in the future, and free up the police to deal with more serious issues.
Oxfordshire County Council have announced plans to spend on extra £120m on road repairs and maintenance over the next decade, including an extra £10m this year to tackle the winter backlog of potholes. Currently 47% of Oxfordshire’s roads are rated good, 43% fair and 10% poor, and the budget, if it is accepted will go towards vital road improvements. You can report potholes on the council’s website at fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk.
The National Farmers Union have partnered with Crimestoppers to launch a new rural crime reporting hotline. Responding to a rise in rural crime, this will be a new service for farmers, rural businesses and the public to anonymously report rural crime. If you have a crime to report you can call 0800 783 0137. In an emergency you should still call 999.
According to figures released earlier this month, 944 households in Wantage and Didcot have benefited from the help to buy scheme. Designed to help first time buyers, the scheme offers equity loans from the government to help young people get on the housing ladder. Considering we live in one of the most expensive areas for housing in Britain, I am very pleased that people are taking advantage of this scheme.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any pressing issues that you would like help with. You can contact me on any matter at the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, dicksonce@parliament.uk or 01235 768 888. Email is the quickest and most reliable way to get in touch, as I keep a very close eye on my emails and can reply very quickly. Details of my activities in Parliament can be read on my website, https://www.vaizey.com. I also send out occasional general interest emails about developments in the Wantage and Didcot Constituency. You can sign up here: http://bit.ly/EdVaizeyMP.”