I know the past few years have been a difficult time for families in East Surrey and across the country. The chancellor’s Spring Budget shows that because of the progress we have made – inflation has more than halved, wages are growing and energy prices are falling – we can now afford further tax cuts and put money back into the pockets of hardworking families.
The Spring Budget included a further 2% cut to National Insurance. Taken with the 2% cut that took effect in January, this is a total tax cut of £1,800 a year for a couple on average incomes. We also announced really important changes for parents receiving Child Benefit, by raising the threshold at which families start to pay the High-Income Child Benefit Charge from £50,000 to £60,000. That’s almost £1,300 per year for nearly half a million families – and we’re also ending the unfairness of single-earner families being treated the same as double-earner families. Right now, two parents earning £49,000 each get full child benefit, but one parent on £50,000 starts losing access.
We also froze Fuel Duty for the fourteenth consecutive year and extended the 5p cut to keep prices down at the pump, on top of my work to inject competition and transparency into the petrol and diesel market to stop drivers being overcharged. We extended the Household Support Fund, which has been distributed locally by Tandridge District Council, for another six months, with £500 million to make sure those who need a short boost to their income can get the help they need. We announced 15 new special schools for children with special educational needs, including one with 80 places in Horsham, which will be able to admit pupils from Tandridge.
In ‘budget week’ I visited Neil Riches, managing director of MyClub Group, based in Oxted, for a meeting with former England Manager Sam Allardyce – who I am reliably informed might be better known to readers as ‘Big Sam’…
MyClub manufactures personalised kit for school, corporate and small sports teams, and Neil is running a tremendous operation – they recently partnered with Decathlon, the largest sport retailer in the world, and have been instrumental in founding the ‘Game4Ukraine’ initiative to raise money to rebuild schools in Ukraine. Neil, Sam and I discussed how beneficial team sports and staying active can be for our mental health, and how grassroots sport can be better supported to help spread those benefits across our communities.
Since 2021 the government has provided £570,000 for grassroots football facilities in East Surrey, including over £500,000 for the new artificial grass pitch at Oakwood Sports Centre, £16,000 to maintain the grass pitch on Mill Lane Playing Fields in Hurst Green, alongside funding for goalposts at Queen’s Park Pavilion, Godstone Green, and the field behind Nutfield Memorial Hall.
Readers might remember that back in November I held a meeting between Surrey Police, Oxted BID and local retail workers and business owners to discuss persistent antisocial behaviour and concerns around shoplifting. Surrey Police spoke about their difficulties in being able to use the existing CCTV cameras in Oxted to track repeat offenders.
I’m pleased to share that a new CCTV system has now been installed in Oxted and Hurst Green. The new system gives officers direct access to images and footage to use as evidence, alongside the ability to view live footage from the cameras – increasing their ability to respond quickly to incidents as they occur. This is such an important community effort to deter crime and antisocial behaviour – well done to Peter Giles, Adrian Pointer, and all involved.
Finally, I have had a very busy month in my ministerial role. On 12 March I gave a speech at Chatham House, where I announced our Review of Electricity Market Arrangements. My key message was that we cannot underestimate the importance of the cost of energy for families across the country, and I set out our next steps to cut bills for families and businesses while making sure we have backup sources of energy for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
We want to make our electricity network smaller, more efficient, and, crucially, cheaper – which could save up to £35 billion over 20 years. Together with the reforms I recently announced to help customers make the most of smart flexible tariffs, families could cut almost £950 a year off their bills. This is the biggest electricity market reform in a generation – all backed up by the principles of competition, choice, and efficiency. You can read my full speech on my website.
If you have any issues you would like to discuss with me, please contact me on claire.coutinho.mp@parliament.uk.
Read Claire’s other letters here.
