Helena Dollimore
Main Page: Helena Dollimore (Labour (Co-op) - Hastings and Rye)Department Debates - View all Helena Dollimore's debates with the Leader of the House
(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
These are concerning matters, and the hon. Gentleman is right to raise them. I suggest that he seek either a Westminster Hall debate or an Adjournment debate when we return, so that he can go into further detail on an issue that I am sure is causing distress to some of his constituents.
Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)
Our roads in Hastings, Rye and the surrounding villages are riddled with potholes, and it is one of the biggest issues we face. One of the most frustrating things is that on the rare occasion that a pothole gets filled, all the other potholes around it are left untouched. That is why I wrote to the new leader of the Reform-led East Sussex county council on 21 May to urge him to take decisive action on this issue by reviewing the contract with Balfour Beatty and changing the intervention criteria. Two months later, and despite my writing repeatedly to him about this issue, he has not responded to any of my questions about potholes. Does the Leader of the House agree that this shows that Reform is not interested in fixing the issues that local people care about, even when it gets record money from this Labour Government to do so?
Sir Alan Campbell
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter, because I know it is of interest to other Members who represent areas that have a Reform administration. The Government are providing councils with a record £7.3 billion over the next four years for local road maintenance. This is not the first time she has raised the underperformance of the Reform-led East Sussex county council in this House. As I have said before, Reform is very good at offering to do a great deal in order to get elected, and then it delivers much less service to residents. I hope that Reform councillors have listened to her contribution today, that they take their job seriously and that they get on with the work that is necessary. The lack of communication from the leader of her council is disrespectful to Members of Parliament, and I hope that he has heard my hon. Friend today.