During March I met with the Environment Agency to discuss their work across the constituency. An area of concern was that only 59% of the 1,578 properties at risk of flooding from rivers were registered to receive their Flood Warnings Direct service. The service is the Environment Agency’s free 24 hour warning service for properties at risk of flooding from main rivers. You can find out if your property is at risk and sign up for the service https://tinyurl.com/EAPrepareforflood.
The Environment Agency also offers support for community groups. For example, they can host a workshop if you want to know more about maintaining watercourses (they recently held one in Charney Bassett). The Environment Agency is keen to meet landowner or community groups, and if you would like to arrange a meeting their Operations Manager Peter Collins can be contacted peter.collins@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Last month I also launched the Government’s white paper for culture, the first in more than 50 years. It is the latest contribution to our approach to public support for art and culture. The white paper seeks to spread the gifts of our arts, heritage and culture to more people, and communities across the country and abroad and free the creative genius that can make a better world for all.
As exam season approaches, GCSE students may find a new app launched by BBC Learning to be very useful. After entering some information, the app will present the user with personalised, relevant revision flashcards. These will include a mix of text, audio, video, infographics, quotes and quizzes. The launch version of the app includes core subjects of English, maths and science, although further subjects will be added in the future. More information can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/je77jrx.
This month I have received 457 items of correspondence (emails and letters) from constituents. Many of these were about this year’s Budget. I was pleased to see a number of announcements in the Budget, such as the introduction of a Lifetime ISA for adults under 40, and increasing the Personal Tax Free Allowance to £11,500 and the higher rate income tax threshold to £45,000. I also welcome announcements such as freezing of fuel duty for the 6th year, new efforts to stop large companies artificially shifting profits out of the UK, and additional funding to protect homes and businesses from flooding.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any pressing issues that you would like help with. Either myself or one of my team will get back to you as soon as possible and do what we can to assist. You can contact me on any matter at the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, 020 7219 6350 or dicksonce@parliament.uk. 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. I also send out occasional general interest emails about developments in the Wantage and Didcot Constituency. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please complete the online form at https://tinyurl.com/EdVaizeyMP