Snack defends £19m to level payouts to his own relatively wealthy constituency town
Rishi Snack He defended the distribution of the leveling fund, saying that the north of England has more per capita income than the south.
During a visit to Accrington, Lancashire, he said:
The northern region has the highest subsidy per capita. That’s why we’re talking to you here at Accrington Market. These are the places that have benefited from funding.
Sunak also defended the government’s decision to allocate £19m to his own relatively wealthy constituency, Catterick Garrison, a town in Richmond, Yorkshire. Asked about the payment, he told the station:
If you look at the overall funding of our Level Up Fund, about two-thirds of that funding goes to the most disadvantaged areas of the country.
What you need to know about Catterick Garrison is that it’s home to our largest army base, and in fact it’s home to thousands of military personnel, often separated from the families who serve our country. am.
It is important that they have access to a town center that offers the amenities they need. That’s what the funding provides.
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Libby Brooks
Despite the ongoing dispute between the Scottish and British governments over Holyrood’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, Thursday’s FMQ showed both Tories and Labor focusing on education and health, and the culture wars and It made me realize again that there is politics that goes beyond the Constitution.
Meanwhile, hostilities between the two governments continue, with Social Justice Secretary Holyrood Shauna Robisonwriting an article for The Guardian, she is calling on Alistair Jack to rescind Section 35, which he is using to prevent the gender bill from gaining royal consent.
The law aims to make life better for trans people by removing administrative burdens. Instead, trans people are being dragged into an attack on devolution that puts them in the middle of an ongoing culture war. The British government must rethink this damaging course of action .
Read Robison’s article here
Snak defended bringing Jett to Blackpool, saying ‘a lot needs to be done in one day’
Q: You flew to Blackpool instead of taking the train today. I thought the airport was so convenient, why can’t it reopen for commercial use?
snack He says he travels by plane so he can do “a lot in one day.” It’s not for fun, he says. He says he works for the masses and tries to be “as effective as possible for you” when traveling.
Q: What is your reaction to James Dyson?
snack Of course, they say growth is important. He says he wants a well-paid job.
And he says the government is offering tax cuts for businesses.
He said no other country in the world offers such generous investment allowances to small businesses.
Q: Can you promise not to raise income taxes before the election?
snack When he was prime minister, he says he didn’t like prime ministers talking about tax policy.
He says he prefers low taxes. But public finances are not where they should be post-Covid. He says people are not stupid. they understand that.
He says he is trying to clean up the economy and bring down inflation. If he can do all this, he will be able to lower his taxes.
Q: Are the allocations fair? Is leveling up meaningless?
snack I repeat his claim that the North will outnumber the South. He says he could not approve all bids. Hopefully it will be easier for him, he says. However, he says there is another funding round.
This government, he says, is doing what people have been talking about for a long time.
snack We are currently taking questions from the media. Anushka Astana From ITV will be first. She mentions that Canterbury castles make money and asks why such places are profitable. And she says Sunak has more ministers from Surrey than from the north of England. Is that why money leveling is heading south now?
snack In terms of money, the Northwest leads the way, followed by the Northeast. The North West earns twice his per capita income as London and the South East, he says.
And when it comes to the Cabinet, he says he wants ministers who can get the job done.
And he says that as prime minister he sits in one of the northernmost constituencies represented by the prime minister.
If he doesn’t deliver to his area, “it’s hard to get home.”
Philippa Williamson, the leader of the Tory-run Lancashire County Council, is now asking the question. She says the council’s bid to level up was about greener, safer travel. What’s your vision for that?
snack says the government supports aggressive travel planning. He says he doesn’t ride a bike personally, but it’s important to others.
A woman asks about the pressure on the local RNLI due to increased tourism. She says her son is a lifeboat volunteer.
snack I say that’s a great question. They should think about it, he says.
snack He says he wants to see a “really vibrant town center”.
Businesses in the center of town hate business fees. The government is cutting these, he says.
He says people are shopping more online. So the government is changing the planning law. Obtaining permission to change the use of the site was difficult. The government changed the rules to make it easier, he said.
He also drives the government’s Help to Grow program for businesses.
And he says he hopes the Eden Project will bring more visitors to the town.
snack Tell your audience that they don’t just need to hear about the Eden Project.
Q: Without an efficient transportation system, people cannot visit the North. what are you doing about it
snack The government says they are doing HS2. And he says the government needs to connect the north. It’s easy to get to London from his constituency of Yorkshire. But going to Manchester is more difficult. Service becomes unreliable.
He says the government last year announced a £96 billion program to address this. It takes time, he says, but the travel time is faster.
The government is also investing in roads, working on road potholes and more. We also want the metropolitan area to be like London in that the mayor has transportation authority.
In the past, he says, Britain has not been good at this. London is productive because it has the Underground. Other urban areas need it, he says.
snack says the government has changed the way student finances are organized.
People will be able to take out loans to study at age 25, 35 or 45, he said.
He says that as the economy changes, people will change more often and will need retraining.
A woman asks how projects like this can address health inequalities.
snack Access to open spaces is good for people’s health, they say. The Eden Project would be great for that, he says.
The NHS is under pressure. The government is aware of it, he says. With the fall statement, they had to make some tough decisions. The government gave priority to the NHS. Billions of extra dollars are coming in.
He says it’s because of many things. Flu season is very difficult. And the NHS is still recovering from Covid.
He says millions of people are on the waiting list. However, the government has plans to reduce the number. Having hip surgeries and such elsewhere allows them to continue operations when the big hospitals are under pressure.
The government is also taking steps to expedite hospital discharge.
Snack says they won’t get there overnight. But he spends a lot of time on this. He spent an entire Saturday in a meeting about this the other day, he says. They focused on identifying and extending best practices.
He plans to make an announcement on how this can be done in emergency care in the coming weeks.
