RICHARD Foord, Member of Parliament for the Honiton and Sidmouth constituency, will urge the Education Secretary to take action on Tipton St John Primary School, following the Chancellor’s pledge to plough £6.7bn into school rebuilding, nationally.

The school has a long history of flooding and its teachers, governors and parents, as well as local representatives have campaigned tirelessly for it to be rebuilt outside the flood zone.

Richard said: “I will be reminding the Education Secretary about the plight of Tipton St John Primary School, following the encouraging news about the £6.7bn investment for school rebuilding.

“Tipton St John School has been beset by flooding problems for years, with the Environment Agency declaring a risk to life a decade ago.

“The Conservative government made various promises but delivered little, however the determination of the community, including Devon County Councillor, Jess Bailey, has kept the issue alive.

“I very much hope that there will be soon be positive news for the residents of Tipton St John, with the funding made available to rebuild the school outside the flood zone, and within the village.”

Local health services

In regard to the local health services Mr Foord added: “Concern about local health services makes up around one quarter of my postbag and I have been calling for significant investment in the NHS across my constituency since I was first elected to parliament in 2022.

“I am very disappointed that there was no specific mention in the budget for NHS dentistry or social care.  Nor was there much mention of the challenges around patients getting an appointment with a GP.  Despite the magnificent work of local NHS staff, these services have been under huge pressure for many years, with local people experiencing unnecessarily poor health as a result.”

Social Care

He added: “Well funded social care underpins the effective working of a modern-day health service. If there aren’t enough paid carers available to look after people in their own homes, or care home places on offer, people are unable to leave hospital. That can prevent other people from being admitted. Unfortunately, we’re familiar with the horrendous queues of ambulances outside A&E departments.

“Hopefully, the Government has a plan on these areas that they will share with us soon.”

Family farm tax (Agricultural Property Relief changes)

When addressing the family farm tax, Mr Foord said: “I am very worried about the impact of the changes in the Budget on rural areas like ours, including the family farm tax which risks becoming a disaster for local farmers and small businesses.

“I spoke yesterday in Parliament about this very issue. It’s essential that we support those people who are responsible for growing our food and helping protect our beautiful landscapes.  This is especially vital in Devon, which has many small family farms struggling to make ends meet.

“My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will be demanding that the Government looks again at these proposed changes.

“At the last election, Liberal Democrats backed British farmers by demanding an extra £1bn to support the agricultural transition, and we’ll keep being a strong voice for our rural communities.”

Employer’s National Insurance

Mr Foord is also concerned about the impact of the Government’s increase to employers’ National Insurance, which could have a “crippling effect on small- and medium-sized businesses."

He said: “I am also very concerned about the impact of the Government’s increase to employers’ National Insurance, which could have a crippling effect on small- and medium sized businesses. The Government should instead be raising the money we need by reversing tax cuts for the big banks and asking the social media giants to pay a bit more.”

Winter Fuel payment cut could hit over 8,000 people who are over 80, locally

As a final thought, Richard Foord said he is “deeply disappointed” to see the government push ahead with cuts to the winter fuel allowance which could “plunge a vast number of people into crisis.”

Over 8,000 people aged over 80, across the Honiton and Sidmouth constituency will be subject to these cuts.

Mr Foord added: “It’s appalling. Hundreds of people have written to me, extremely worried about how they’re going to keep warm or buy enough food this winter.

“I will continue to vociferously oppose these cuts that will harm people, many of whom are already struggling.”