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Gareth Johnson
MP for Dartford

Reporting back from Dartford and Westminster - now reaching over 5,000 people in the local area.

March 2024


"Welcome to my latest bulletin. I hope you enjoy reading what I have been doing recently in Dartford and Westminster."

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ULEZ
Despite the Government announcing its support for my Bill to overturn the ULEZ expansion, the Labour Party blocked it.
By "talking out" the Bill, Labour MPs denied an opportunity for MPs to vote on the Bill.
Myself and Conservative MPs, including Government Ministers, were in the chamber ready to vote for my Bill.
It is clear that Sadiq Khan, Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are not on your side here in Dartford.
If Sadiq Khan wins in the Mayoral election, I have no doubt he will change the criteria of vehicles that are ULEZ compliant until we get to the stage that every vehicle, whether petrol or diesel, is impacted by the charge.
This is however, not the end. The fight to overturn the ULEZ expansion continues!

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Lower Thames Crossing
I recently hosted a reception in Parliament to bring together key stakeholders in the region to illustrate the importance of the Lower Thames Crossing.
As well as easing traffic congestion at Dartford, the LTC will unlock growth in the whole region and vastly improve business opportunities between Kent and Essex.
During the event, I spoke about how the Dartford Crossing was designed for 140,000 vehicles a day and it is trying to take 160,000 vehicles a day. The laws of physics say there is going to be a problem and what we want in Dartford is for this to be built as soon as possible. We have got to have the determination to see through a massive infrastructure project like this one.

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Grammar Schools
Here in Dartford, we have a thriving and diverse education system, made up of our four grammar schools and high-quality secondary schools, including a UTC.
Our schools allow children to thrive and our current system recognises that our children are all unique with different needs. We should not be focused on a ‘one size fits all education’ system but instead have a wide range of choice in educational establishments, like we do here in Dartford. Parents are far better suited to decide which type of school is best for their children than the Government is.

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Spring Budget
I welcome the Chancellor's Spring Budget in which he set out the following measures:

* From 6th April 2024, Employee National Insurance will be cut from 10% to 8%, meaning employees on an average salary will receive an extra £450 in their pay packet. This comes on top of a 2% reduction in January this year. Combined with those changes, the average working person will be better off by over £900.

* Class 4 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed are also being reduced from 8% to 6%. Combined with the tax cuts announced in the Autumn Statement, the average self-employed person earning £28,000 a year, will be £650 better off.

* The Household Support Fund, which helps the most vulnerable households with the cost of living, is being extended to September 2024.

* New investment of £2.5 billion in the NHS to make progress on getting waiting lists down and £3.4 billion to improve productivity with improved technology and more efficient ways of working.

* £800 million to boost productivity across other public services, including the police.

* Raising the threshold from April 2024 for the High-Income Child Benefit Charge from £50,000 to £60,000, as well has halving the rate paid up to £80,000. This means a family with 2 children, whose higher earner has an income of £55,000, will gain around £1,109.

* Protecting nurseries and preschools from rising costs. For the next two years the hourly rate providers are paid to deliver the free hours offer for children aged 9 months to 4 years, will increase in line with the metric used at the Spring Budget 2023. This will mean nursery and preschool staff get the wage increases they deserve and give nurseries certainty to invest and expand.

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Careers and Community Fair at Winners Chapel
The Metropolitan Police and Winners Chapel hosted a Careers and Community Fair recently and I was very pleased to attend and meet some of the industry, public services and community organisations who were present.
Professionals, graduates and people seeking new opportunities were able to meet industry experts and representatives from public services who were present at the fair. These included: Kent Fire and Rescue Services, NHS, Bluewater, Network Rail, as well as the Army and RAF, along with many more.
It was great to see Winners throwing open their doors for this event and the contribution they make to the local area.

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Kentec Electronics Ltd
It is always a pleasure to visit businesses in Dartford and it was great to return to Kentec Electronics Ltd and hear about how well they are doing.
Since my last visit, the company has gone from strength-to-strength.
This firm, which manufactures life-critical fire control systems, began in 1985 and is based at Questor Industrial Estate in Dartford. It is a world leader in its field and all of its extinguishant and fire detection panels are designed and built in Dartford.
During my visit, I was shown around the site by the Managing Director, Kevin Swann and met employees working in all areas of the factory. This business is growing all the time, with 261 employees now working for it.

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Bluewater 25th year celebration
Bluewater has been celebrating is 25th year and I was pleased to join them at an event to mark this fantastic milestone.
Since I became MP for Dartford in 2010, Bluewater has always been a central meeting point for the local community. It’s where people get together, shop, eat and spend their leisure time. Bluewater is still vitally important and has brought huge employment to the area.

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Holi Festival
I attended the wonderful Dartford Festival of Colours event to celebrate Holi.
Holi is a festival celebrating the arrival of Spring and it is also known as the 'festival of colours', where Gulaal (coloured powder) is thrown.
Well done to CohesionPlus and Dartford Borough Council for organising the event.
I wish everyone celebrating, a happy and joyous Holi!

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The Bridge Luxury Care Home
It was a pleasure to officially open the new 71 bed luxury residential and dementia care home at The Bridge. This home will provide a much-needed facility for The Bridge and the wider Dartford community as well as providing nearly 100 new jobs for the area.
The care home aims to be at the heart of The Bridge community and will provide much needed additional facilities and amenities.
It will engage with the community by offering a free of charge venue for amongst others; dementia groups, parents with toddlers and a woman’s business group, to name a few.

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Visit to Greenlands Primary School
It was a pleasure to visit and have a tour of Greenlands Primary School, where I met headteacher, Alison Cook and saw the fantastic facilities at the school.
This one-form entry school at Darenth is warm and welcoming with an abundance of green outdoor space for the children to grow and learn in.
It was great to talk to Mrs Cook and hear how the school has been thriving in recent years as well as get to see all the children at work.
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Gareth Johnson MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 7047
email: [email protected]<mailto:[link removed]>

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