I hope you all enjoyed the Coronation weekend. Whether I was in Wantage, Didcot, Grove or Wallingford, the mood was upbeat, people were having a good time and there was plenty of food, music and activities. The Coronation itself passed off perfectly, despite the weather – and the concert was great too. It was another reminder of how this country can do events like this better than anywhere else.
While we’re still crunching the data, I wanted to thank everyone who completed my health services survey for doing so. I’ve had responses from nearly 3,000 people, which is a really great number to give a picture of what people are feeling across the constituency.
It’s clear that, as I expected and as my inbox reflects, many people feel we do not have the health services we need. Nor do I. People particularly struggle to get an appointment with a doctor or with a dentist, but this is not the only thing that people would like to see more of when it comes to health. I will continue to campaign hard on this – watch this space.
After I held a successful crime summit with Thames Valley Police in Wantage, I was asked by local residents to hold one in Wallingford. I can confirm this will take place on 15th June, 6.30pm – 8pm and Waitrose have offered their café. Sign up on my website: http://www.david-johnston.org.uk
Wherever you live, you can also sign up there for my third annual climate summit, which will be via Zoom and will have Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, giving the keynote speech.
Sticking with the environment and climate change, I continue to lobby for the Local Electricity Bill, which I am the lead sponsor of and which is now backed by 318 MPs. This would make it easier for small, community organisations that generate renewable energy to be able to sell it to the community. I am hopeful that with the Government’s Energy Bill making its way through parliament at the moment, we might be able to finally make something happen that enables community energy to flourish.
Thanks to everyone who took part in my Apprenticeship Fair in Didcot – nearly 400 people attended and had great conversations with a range of public and private employers about the range of apprenticeships they offer. I was asked if I will be doing it again and I will be doing so.
A couple of other things in brief. I met with the Chair of Water Resource South East to again convey the objections local people have about the reservoir proposal. And I continue to encourage people to see if they are eligible for Pension Credit, which can provide an average £3,500 a year to pensioners. The figures show the uptake locally is increasing, but there are more people who could be getting it. See if you or someone else you know is eligible here: https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility
As ever, if I can help with anything please email me via david.johnston.mp@parliament.uk