NEWLY re-elected MP Damian Hinds believes the government will deliver for East Hampshire following a Queen’s Speech that highlighted some of the key issues raised in his pre-election public meetings.

He was delighted when Her Majesty spoke of the government’s commitment to support home ownership, including help for first time buyers, with the renewal of the Affordable Homes programme and the introduction of a reformed Shared Ownership model.

As elsewhere, the NHS featured prominently in debates during the campaign and the Queen confirmed the decision to “enshrine in law” the multi-year funding settlement for the NHS that will see a £33.9 billion increase in cash terms by 2023-24.

While both Hampshire and Portsmouth hospitals trusts have seen significant increases in numbers of doctors and nurses over the last few years, recruitment remains challenging and Mr Hinds has welcomed the return of nursing bursaries and a special ‘NHS Visa’. 

Acknowledging that putting social care on a sustainable footing was “one of the biggest long-term challenges facing society,” Mr Hinds confirmed ministers would be seeking cross-party consensus on proposals for long term reform. 

On education, while East Hampshire has “an excellent reputation”, historically the funding formula for schools has been low compared to other parts of the country.

The pledge, said Mr Hinds, is to level up minimum per-pupil funding for secondary schools to £5,000 and primary schools to £3,750 next year, and £4,000 the year after. 

There will also be an extra £400 million for 16-19 year-old education next year, plus additional investment in the new technical and vocational T-level qualifications Mr Hinds drove forward as Education Secretary. 

There are plans also for a new £1 billion fund to help create more high-quality, affordable childcare, including before and after school and during the holidays. Plus a commitment to legislate on Online Harms, including a new duty of care on companies towards their users. 

Particularly significant for East Hampshire is an Agriculture Bill which will free farmers from the bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy, replacing the current subsidy system, based on land farmed, by rewarding work done to enhance the environment, improve animal welfare and produce high quality food sustainably. 

There will also be legislation to accelerate the roll-out of good broadband, to drive mobile network infrastructure sharing, and a review of business rates.