Good news this week to make GPs’ appointments more accessible and easier to book with more than 1000 surgeries signing up to the rollout of digital upgrades meaning an end to the 8am rush on the ‘phones. Patients will no longer be left on hold but instead told how their enquiry will be handled, offer urgent appointments when needed and have their calls directed to the service best placed to help. It’s backed by £240 million of Government investment as part of the plans to modernise and reform NHS Primary Care systems and will make a difference here in Somerset as well as other areas where people have been having to wait too long at times. I will stay in touch with local practices to see how the implementation goes and report back to the Government from the ground level.
It was brilliant to be onsite with Leonardo on Tuesday to join the celebrations as the company marked being the Home of British Helicopters with over 100 years of history and heritage. It is still the only place in the country, and one of few across the whole world, that can take a helicopter from the design stage right through to being in the air and that’s a huge asset for the South West and UK as a whole. Further value is added with the training, support and upgrades for customers.
The company has supply chain largely based in the UK which supports around 12,000 high end engineering and manufacturing jobs, spending nearly £500 million with companies throughout the country. These include BAE systems in Yeovil who I visited on Friday. We are still working to get the AW149 deal signed with the Ministry of Defence and none of the other potential suppliers can match Leonardo’s UK presence and impact on the economy. In the meantime though the export potential of existing and developing platforms is strong and the Government will continue to support that trade.
I remain excited about the potential of the Yeovil Refresh programme and encouraged by the heritage work in Chard. However, because of delay and lack of decisive planning there is a huge risk now that works will be a pale imitation of what could have been achieved with funds being diverted to plug holes in other mismanaged Council budgets. I am liaising with the Government Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to refocus the scope of the work, nearly half of which is being funded through their Future High Streets Fund. Redevelopment of Glovers Walk is fundamental to the project and I have brokered a meeting between the owners and the Council to reset serious discussions about this. Sometimes the most useful thing an MP can do is to get the right people in a room together and that’s something I will keep doing to deliver the High Streets and town centres we deserve.
