News - Justin Tomlinson MP

Government Announced Major Plans To Improve Urgent And Emergency Care

Feb 02, 2023

The Government has published a major plan to improve urgent and emergency care services, as we deliver on the Prime Minister’s priority to cut waiting times. The NHS is facing serious challenges as a result of the Covid pandemic and the worst flu season for over a decade. We saw the highest ever number of people attending A&E in December, which combined with high hospital occupancy rates means some patients are facing unacceptable delays. We are already working to tackle waiting lists by: ...

Justin Tomlinson Welcomes Overwhelming Support For Local Charity Fundraising Campaign

Feb 02, 2023

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has welcomed the news that an appeal to help The Open Door Centre has led to an increase in support for the Swindon charity. The Open Door Centre, based in the St Barnabas Church Hall in Gorse Hill, is a fantastic charity for adults with learning disabilities. It supports around 100 people and encourages them to be independent and confident, as well as offering a wide variety of activities such as swimming, English and maths skills, yoga, and Karaoke. However, ...

Swindon MPs Welcome Biggest Ever Investment In Great Western Hospital

Jan 31, 2023

Swindon MPs Sir Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson have welcomed news that the Government has awarded more than £26 million to Great Western Hospital to expand urgent and emergency care – improving care for people in Swindon and Wiltshire. The government investment comes on top of £5.4 million in internal funding available to the Trust, and represents the biggest ever investment to the hospital site and one the biggest that the NHS in the South West has seen. Greater bed capacity and better fl...

Swindon Advertiser Column - We Must Never Forget The Holocaust

Jan 27, 2023

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, a day to honour those who were murdered during the Holocaust, and subsequent genocides, and to pay tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who continue to work tirelessly to educate young people today. Holocaust Memorial Day falls on 27th January every year, the anniversary of the liberation of the infamous former Nazi concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in 1945. Across the UK – and the world – people will come together to reflect on the ho...

Swindon To Benefit From Government’s £250 Million Fund To Free Up Hospital Beds

Jan 24, 2023

Swindon MPs Justin Tomlinson and Robert Buckland have welcomed the news 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 Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board will receive more than £3million from the fund. The additional financial support has been provided to buy ...

Justin Tomlinson MP And Robert Buckland MP Visit Grant UK’s New HQ In Swindon

Jan 20, 2023

The local Members of Parliament for the two Swindon constituencies both visited Grant UK’s new Head Quarters in January to tour the facilities and to learn more about what Grant UK is doing in the local community and in the field of sustainable home heating products. In September 2022, Grant UK moved to larger premises and relocated its Head Quarters to Blagrove in Swindon, Wiltshire. On 13th January 2023, Grant UK welcomed Sir Robert Buckland, the MP for Swindon South, and Justin Tomlinson, th...

Swindon Advertiser Column - Reviewing EU Laws Will Restore Parliamentary Sovereignty

Jan 20, 2023

It’s been an important week with some significant votes taking place in the House of Commons. Firstly, the UK government voted to block the Gender Recognition Act legislation recently passed by the Scottish Parliament. This contentious legislation, which saw several SNP politicians vote against their own Government in Scotland, would have allowed people in Scotland to change their gender by self-declaration without the need for a medical diagnosis, along with lowering the age at which they can ...

Far-Reaching Ban On Single-Use Plastics In England

Jan 16, 2023

A range of polluting single-use plastics will be banned in England, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has announced today. The ban will include single-use plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. This ban will be introduced from October 2023, allowing businesses time to prepare. According to estimates, England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery — most of which are plastic — and 721 million single-use plates per...

Becky Maddern's Accessible Play Park Campaign Highlighted By BBC

Jan 13, 2023

Swindon mum's campaign makes parks accessible for the disabled By Nathan Heath & Kelly Morgan for BBC News A woman's campaign has transformed her local parks into spaces that people who have disabilities can access. Becky Maddern, 42, from Swindon, is the mother of eight-year-old Benjamin, who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and blindness. She pushed for parks to be changed after she said they were "isolating" her son from playing. Swindon Borough Council has now r...

Swindon Advertiser Column - Raising The Issue Of School Sport In Parliament

Jan 13, 2023

This week, I contributed to the ‘Sport in Schools and the Community’ debate. The debate was good-natured, with much cross-party agreement and gave me an opportunity to flag the various issues where we could and should be doing better, especially with only 47% of young people being active for the recommended 60 minutes or more per day. Firstly, for schools, I very much welcome efforts to both increase the number of PE teachers and the general confidence / experience of other teachers to help mak...