Over the years, Justin Tomlinson and I have worked hard to attract and retain public and private investment to our town. Whilst it is hard to hide our disappointment following last Thursday’s news that the most recent Levelling Up funding bids for the Health Hydro and Oasis weren't successful, it’s right to say that we have benefited to the tune of over £100 million approximately from government funding in recent years, including the Future High Streets Fund and the Towns Fund, and that local organisations have just benefitted from £3m of levelling up funding in the last month or so.
There is another round of Levelling Up funding coming up, and we must now focus our attention on putting together further bids. I have already made the call in Parliament for the Department for Levelling Up officials to work with us to secure more funding, particularly with regard to projects relating to the second stage of Health Hydro regeneration and Oasis regeneration too.
In 2021, the government announced plans to reform the railways in Great Britain, with many of the proposed changes set out in the ‘Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail’. The commitment in the plan to reform the structure of rail fares has particular relevance for commuters here in Swindon, who historically have had to endure disproportionately high rail fares compared to Didcot, Bath and Bristol.
Last week in Parliament, I asked the Secretary of State for Transport to assure me that in any forthcoming legislation, these plans would be brought to fruition and if the Treasury was supportive of the plans. I am reassured that the Transport Secretary has confirmed that he will be setting out those plans in more detail shortly and that the government wants to simplify the current complicated ticket strategy while protecting the more affordable tickets.
Along with North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson, I am glad that Swindon is set to benefit from part of a £200 million national hospital discharge fund to free up hospital beds and reduce pressure on the NHS. The announcement was made last week by Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay MP, and it has since been confirmed that the Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) will receive more than £3 million from the fund.
I met Sue Harriman, Chair of the Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, on Monday to discuss the work that has taken place since the Board formed in July, as well as plans for the future. I am glad that responsibility for commissioning pharmaceutical services, general ophthalmic services, and dental services will be delegated to the BSW ICB from April 2023.
I have been in regular contact with NHS England, who currently deal with dental services, on behalf of many local residents who have experienced issues trying to access NHS dental services here in the town, so it was an important opportunity to raise these concerns directly with the local Integrated Care Board and will continue to work with them to help improve the situation.
Finally, my local charity of the week is the Swindon Museum of Computing, which was the first physical museum of its kind in the UK dedicated to the history of computing. Based in the centre of Swindon at Theatre Square, this wonderful independent, volunteer-run museum works closely with other local museums through the Wiltshire Museums Group and the Swindon Museums Group.
Devoted to the history of computing and digital development, visitors can see a great collection of historic computers such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, as well as old arcade games, BBC Micros, and a variety of 80s and 90s gaming consoles that you can actually play on. If you haven’t been already, I would strongly recommend a visit.
For more information on visiting hours and how you can support this brilliant local charity, please visit https://www.museumofcomputing.org.uk/
