This week Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented her Spending Review which sets out the priorities for how the Government will use taxpayers money.

There were some big ticket announcements, but as ever, the devil will be in the detail as to how this will impact residents across our region - and crucially how taxpayers will be expected to foot the bill.

With the impact of last year’s disastrous Autumn Budget ringing in her ears, the Chancellor certainly has some ground to make up.

Unemployment is up 0.5 per cent, inflation up 1.3 per cent and our national debt up 0.7 per cent. The Employer National Insurance rises, known by some as the ‘Jobs Tax’, which came into effect in April, is already damaging some of the sectors which employ so many local residents.

The hospitality industry is slashing jobs and the hair and beauty sector have said that they are unlikely to be taking on apprentices post 2027. There are growing fears that taxes will have to rise to pay for social care, which has also been hit.

At least the Government had the sense to perform a U-Turn on their previous ill judged decision to take away Winter Fuel Payments from some of our most vulnerable elderly residents.

This move caused so much anxiety last winter. I was contacted by a number of residents on low incomes, who sat just outside of the eligibility criteria, and who were desperately worried about how they would heat their homes. I was not surprised to hear that 100,000 more pensioners attended A&E over this Winter than the previous year.

It’s good that the Government has listened to charities like Age Concern and all the cross-party MPs who have been campaigning for this U-turn.

It would be nice if they could admit it was a mistake and simply say sorry, rather than try to pretend it’s all because the economic outlook has magically improved - it hasn’t.

One area the Government has said they want to see more progress is on military housing. This is welcome news and this week I met with the Chair of the Ministry of Defence’s Military Housing Review to share local experiences. I wasn’t the bearer of great news - military families are fed up of slow repairs, damp and mouldy conditions, and bodge-jobs.

The last Government spent £400 million to start bringing the military estate up to a decent level, but there is still so much to do - with 69 homes in the Gosport constituency alone sitting empty because they are unfit for human habitation.

The Government says they will set aside £1.5 billion to address the challenge, but it remains to be seen when this will start to filter through and when our service families and military personnel will begin to see a difference. With a crisis in military recruitment it’s vital we value and protect those who serve our country, and that’s a campaign I won’t give up on!

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