This week saw the official launch of the ‘Grow for it’
campaign to promote business investment across East Kent. The campaign
will include events, bus tours and an advertising and marketing
campaign all designed to boost awareness of the business investment
opportunities in our area. The ‘Grow for it’ campaign features many
local business people, including Mark Sargeant from Rocksalt in
Folkestone, explaining why they have chosen East Kent to launch their
business. You can find out more about the campaign at its website
www.growforiteastkent.com.
The ‘Grow for it’ campaign has been launched by Kent County Council
with the support of the East Kent members of parliament and I believe
it can really bang a drum for business in our area. The campaign is
underpinned by the £35million Regional Growth fund to cover the
Shepway, Dover, Canterbury and Thanet council areas. This fund was
created by the government and has been administered by the county
council to boost investment, give practical advice to local businesses
and create jobs. This week they have announced the names of the first
local firms to benefit from the fund, and I am pleased that this
includes HV Wooding in Hythe, who are one of the UK’s leading
manufacturers of precision engineered components and assemblies. You
can find out more about the Regional Growth Fund and how to apply
through the ‘Grow for it’ website.
I would also like to share with you an example of how a timely
question can lead to positive change. The Government introduced a new
‘pupil premium’ after the last election to give extra funding to
support the education of school pupils from deprived backgrounds and
this was also extended to cover all pupils who had a parent serving in
the armed forces. During a visit to St Martin’s Primary School in
Folkestone, I was asked whether this ‘pupil premium’ for children from
military families would continue if their serving parent was killed in
the line of duty. I took this matter up with the Department for
Education and the Ministry of Defence and the pupil premium policy has
now been amended to make sure that it remains in place for pupils who
do lose a parent on active duty in the armed forces. This is a policy
that I would hope that nobody needs to benefit from, but it is
reassuring in particular for the schools of the children of servicemen
and women that this provision will remain if they do.
Last Friday I met with Bill Fearon the Principal of K College in
Folkestone to discuss the future of the College and its important
provision of further and higher education courses for students in our
community. It remains the case that a Government intervention team is
working with the college to find the best way forward. The most
important criteria for any decisions made will be how to best meet the
needs of local students. The Government has also confirmed that it
will continue to fund the existing provision of courses and places at
K College until any future decision is made. If any new proposals
cannot be put in place by September 2013, then the existing provision
would be funded for a further college year.