Figures released today (14th May) show that in the South East, there are 4,608,042 people in work – meaning that, under this Government, 415,703 more people have been able to access the security of a job since 2010. In West Oxfordshire, the number of people who are claiming key out-of-work benefits has fallen by 239 since 2010 – an overall reduction of 24 per cent, meaning fewer people now need this support because they have the security of a job. The figures also show that t

Communities in Oxfordshire are to be offered help with youth services as part of budget plans. Young people and their families in Oxfordshire are set to benefit from improved community-run youth services if County Councillors agree grant funding when they set the council's budget next week. Youth groups will be invited to bid in to a £1m fund over two years, with encouragement to find match funding from the local communities. Feedback from residents points to strong support f

A new Community Bus in Freeland was launched last week to the delight of local residents. The bus service will help to fill the gap of the No 11 service that also serves the village. The service has very much been a community led initiative supported by the local District Councillor and County Councillor and will be cheaper and more convenient than Stagecoach's 11 service that runs from Witney to Oxford. The inaugural service to Witney commenced on Thursday 6th December from

The Government have announced their preferred corridor for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway and after a review by Highways England, it has opted for Corridor B, suggesting it "outperforms the other options by providing better links to jobs, education, leisure and health services." The £3.5 billion expressway, which could pass either to the West or East of Oxford, is scheduled to open in 2030. Promoting the decision to opt for Corridor B, ahead of a full public consultation

Around £300,000 has been invested in repairs and improvements on the A40 between Cuckoo Lane, Eynsham, to Shores Green in Witney. Work started on this well-used stretch of road on 23 July and lasted for five nights. The road was closed overnight between 8.00pm until 6.00am while the team worked on resurfacing, improving the drainage, removing vegetation and painting lines. I visited the site at Barnard Gate on Thursday evening (26th July) to meet our Highways Team and the con

The County Council's Cabinet approved an extra £10m for road repairs across Oxfordshire today (17 July) and announced the list of planned resurfacing projects to speed up repairs to winter-damaged roads. Investing the extra £10m would pay for 46 miles of surface improvements (resurfacing, surface dressing, micro asphalt) and 52,000 sqm of patching and would be on top of the £8.5m already spent on carriageways and footway repairs. Reactive pothole repairs would continue as usu

I'm pleased to be working with our team at Oxfordshire County Council who are consulting on plans to implement a 7.5 tonne weight limit restriction for Minster Lovell. HGVs cutting through Minster Lovell has been a problem for many years. It's good news the County Council are now in a position to take action. The Council have been consulting on plans to implement a 7.5 tonne weight restriction along the Brize Norton Road from the A40 and on the Burford Road from Asthall Leigh

Almost nine out of 10 Oxfordshire children due to start secondary school in September have been offered a place at their first-choice school. In total 88.83 per cent of pupils have received a first-preference offer – slightly higher than last year’s figure (88.64 per cent) and despite an increase in pupils transferring to secondary schools in Oxfordshire. A further six per cent have been offered their second choice and 1.55 per cent offered their third preference. This leaves

Great Western Railway have submitted plans to improve Hanborough Station. A proposal, subject to final costs, is for a new ticket office, a waiting room and a toilet. GWR are also looking to house a small retail outlet in the building. This would be a huge improvement as the station currently doesn't have any facilities at all. The modular building was previously used at Abbey Wood station on the North Kent line but it became redundant with the opening of the new Crossrail st

This week official figures have shown that the Government’s Help to Buy schemes have supported over 320,000 people to buy a home, including more than 275,000 first-time buyers, with nearly all purchases taking place outside London. Housing is the cause of many debates both in the Houses of Parliament and in Council chambers across the country. As politicians continue to talk about the need to build more homes there is one former MP who helped many achieve the dream of owning

In 2016 tech giant Virgin Media named 30 rural communities which will gain access to its fibre-to-the-premises network. North Leigh, West Oxfordshire was selected as one of those to be a part of the £3 billion upgrade. However, the good news about the upgrade soon ended in chaos as homes were left without power, internet or phone lines and some without access to their own drives. County Councillor for the area, Liam Walker was contacted by a resident who was angry her power h

Older people and those with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire receive better services from their providers than the national average across England. Of the 21,200 social care organisations/settings (care homes and home care) in England, 202 are in Oxfordshire. The Care Quality Commission regularly inspects all these care settings across the country and has four ratings: · Outstanding – the service is performing exceptionally well · Good – the service is performing well and

The new County Councillor for the Hanborough and Minster Lovell Division on Oxfordshire County Council says he is "delighted with the election result" as he safely beat Labour and the Liberal Democrats to secure a victory in Thursdays local election. Liam Walker, who grew up in the village of Minster Lovell and now represents the village along with 7 other villages on the County Council, stormed to victory securing 1,814 votes and 52% of the vote in Thursdays election. Liam s

Former local paperboy Liam Walker is hoping to secure your support this May. He's been used to delivering the local newspapers in the village but now he wants to deliver for you at County Hall. On Thursday 4th May residents will head to the polling stations to decide who will stand up for them as the new County Councillor for the Hanborough and Minster Lovell Division. Hoping to secure your backing is Liam Walker who grew up in Minster Lovell and is a familiar face to locals.

Today the Prime Minister announced that a General Election will be held on Thursday 8th June and that they will shortly take the necessary steps in Parliament to ensure that this can happen. Here is what the Prime Minister said today on the steps of No 10: Theresa May: "I have just chaired a meeting of Cabinet where we agreed that the Government should call a general election to be held on the 8th June. I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next an

Oxfordshire County Council will soon have a new pothole fixing machine at their disposal.

Better Broadband for Oxfordshire partnership has already reached more than 6,500 businesses including leading companies at Milton Park. Matt Hancock, the Minister of State for Digital and Culture, has hailed the pace of the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire roll-out as a ‘tremendous boost for the local economy’ ahead of his visit to the county. He saw first-hand how the technology is driving innovation and transforming the way Oxfordshire firms do business during his visit to

Some good news for residents in West Oxfordshire as Oxfordshire County Council recently announced they have approved extra money in their budget for grass cuts in the district. The extra £170,000 which is from a £1.9 million pot of money generated from better than expected business rate income in Oxfordshire, will go a long way to improving our footpaths and junctions this Summer. The extra cutting will target key road junctions in areas across Oxfordshire especially areas li

‪It was good to meet Andrea Leadsom MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs today in West Oxfordshire today. We had a good chat about the importance of flood defences and farming. In particular we spoke about the importance of dredging rivers to ensure that our towns and villages are protected. I'm pleased that since this work was carried out for the River Windrush, places like Old Minster are much safer from flooding. #Oxfordshire #WestOxfordshire

My monthly newsletter is now out. Check it out here, it's been another busy month! View Liam's report. #ChurchHanborough #NorthLeigh #Freeland #Hanborough #MinsterLovell #Ramsden #Hailey #Crawley #LongHanborough #WestOxfordshire #Oxfordshire