October has been another very busy month, and I am very grateful to those who have taken the time to meet with me.
Around the Constituency
In early October, I took my constituency surgery to Carterton. My surgeries allow people in different parts of the constituency to come and meet me somewhere local to them, which is often more convenient than coming to my Witney office.
Surgery appointments are a chance to meet with me and my team to discuss issues you may be having which we can help with. I was really pleased to meet so many of you, my team and I will be working hard on the issues you raised.
Thank you if you came along and paid me a visit and huge thanks also to the staff at Carterton Town Hall for allowing me to use their facilities.
I will be hosting more of these over the coming months so please keep an eye on my social media channels for details of future surgeries.
Following my visit to HMP Bullingdon last month, I had a useful trip to Oxford Crown Court, which gave me another perspective on the challenges faced in the justice system.
I spoke to people involved at different stages of the trial process about the challenges they face. There is still a long way to go to clear the backlog in trials which built up since the pandemic. I have tabled some questions to Ministers about what steps they will take to address this.
I was pleased to meet Connor and Roxanne, who are students at Witney & Abingdon College so they could interview me about sewage pollution in the River Windrush. They asked some great questions about the different factors that contribute to the pollution and how it effects our local area. Wishing them both the best of luck with the rest of their project!
It was great fun to join the opening night of the Beer and Bangers Festival, at Faringdon Corn Exchange. What a fantastic evening - I even had the honour of pouring the very first pint!
The event, which happens every year, raised a shared £1,200 for The Pump House Project and The Place which is a magnificent achievement. My thanks to everyone who came and to all those who were behind the organisation of the event.
I was also pleased to visit the Forces Radio Station, BFBS Brize Norton, at their studios in Carterton to discuss local matters and my work within the constituency and in Parliament.
I had great discussions with Gemma-Leigh about Service Families Accommodation standards, Thames Water, and local housing and infrastructure including the rebuilding of the railway line linking Carterton, Witney, Eynsham and Oxford. Thank you to Gemma-Leigh and Jacob for hosting me.
Further thanks go to the Carers Community in Vale of White Horse, who also took the time to talk to me this month about the challenges they face.
They are a group of local unpaid carers, who come together to support each other, share information and try to combat the isolation which many carers can feel.
I’m so grateful to them for all they do in our community. The picture below is with the heroic Brandon, the oldest man in the country living with a very rare condition called ASA (Argininosuccinic Aciduria), who I met on the day, along with his wonderful mum Nicky.
I’ve recently had a very helpful meeting with Pete McGrane, Clinical Director at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust where we discussed the future vision for Witney Community Hospital.
Another issue he raised with me is that numbers of District Nurses are falling steeply across the country, leaving big gaps in community care provision. I have tabled some Parliamentary Questions to get an update from Ministers on their plans to improve recruitment and retention in this field.
Thanks to all the organisers of the Waterways Fair at Witney Corn Exchange which brought together so many committed stakeholders working on flooding, water pollution and other water-based issues locally.
I had great conversations on the day on topics from how to reduce flooding on the Windrush and the Evenlode, to problems with flood insurance, and the planned expansion of Witney’s Sewage Treatment Works which is a welcome step forward.
Now we just want to see similar infrastructure in Carterton, Faringdon, Shrivenham and the rest of the constituency!
In Westminster
I’ve been really enjoying getting stuck into my new role as Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and have had a whole range of fascinating meetings.
It's been great getting to work alongside MP colleagues Daisy Cooper, Josh Reynolds, Sarah Olney and Steve Darling (and of course Jennie) - the other members of the Business and Treasury Team.
My priority for these first few weeks in the role is to make sure I have a detailed grasp of the current economic picture and start thinking about innovative ideas for how we can unlock economic growth and alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.
In parliament this month, I also had the opportunity to ask Ministers about the crisis in Sudan, where devastating conflict between paramilitary groups has led to horrific crimes against humanity and cost thousands of civilian lives. My concern is that the UK should halt all sales of arms to the UAE (who are widely reported to be arming one side of this conflict) until this is stopped.
Alongside other MPs who represent constituencies along the Thames, I attended a useful roundtable discussion with representatives of the Environment Agency to discuss how we can make sure the Thames is kept clean and made more accessible so everyone living close to the river can enjoy it.
I asked about improving public access to the river, removing abandoned boats, and the potential of installing more hydropower on feasible weirs. I’ll be following up with the EA for further information on these points.
I also went to a farming event, attended by (among others) the NFU, CLA and Yellow Wellies, who all do fantastic work supporting farmers and rural businesses - which are the backbone of our local economy in West Oxfordshire.
It was very interesting to hear their latest insights on the challenges facing family farms and the impact, not only of the more recent policy announcements (such as Inheritance Tax Changes), but also the longer running challenges which mean many farmers are already struggling – such as labour shortages, the increasing costs of supplies and rural crime.
In my role on the Business and Trade Select Committee, we’ve had some interesting sessions this month – including a fascinating opportunity to speak with leading economists about whether we currently set our fiscal framework in the right way and what the best ways are to use public money to genuinely enhance economic growth.
I’m really concerned that the Government’s current aim of increasing public sector investment by more than £100 billion between 2024-25 and 2029-30 may actually result in minus 0.1% of growth - which would be a pretty terrible outcome. As we look ahead to the Autumn Budget, I hope the Government will look seriously at the evidence when it comes to making these decisions.
The Committee also held some regional roundtables across the country, starting in Cambridge and Derby. We met local stakeholders and discussed identifying priorities for driving economic growth.
In Cambridge, we discussed topics including the potential offered by the Government’s planned Oxford to Cambridge Corridor, which is a key focus for strengthening the UK’s global position as a leader in science and technology – and of course has the potential to significantly benefit our area too.
Finally, this month I spoke to House Magazine about the Rare Cancers Bill which has been tabled by Scott Arthur MP. The Bill aims to incentivise research and investment into the treatment of rare types of cancer. I was interviewed alongside my incredibly brave sister Georgie, who is living with a rare form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.
Investment in brain cancer research falls far short of what is needed. It kills more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer. This important bill could represent a step forward in terms of giving research into treatments for rare cancers the focus they deserve.
Linked to this, in Parliament, I also sit on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours. This month, we had our annual general meeting to formally reconvene the group for the coming year. I’m very grateful to all colleagues who joined the meeting to show their support for this important issue.
Thank you for taking the time to read some of my highlights from October.
If you’d like to arrange to meet, or there is an issue you’d like to raise with me please reach out on Charlie.maynard.mp@parliament.uk and my team will be happy to help.
Best wishes,
Charlie Maynard MP