MP's column: New year, new inititiatives

With a new year ahead of us, the Government is getting down to business.

A number of initiatives have been announced recently that are well worth knowing about.

Education is one of the most important aspects of the work we do here, and it is vital to ensure that young people are given the skills they need to get on in life.

The schools standards minister recently announced an investment of £350,000 into Now Teach. This is a charity set up to help experienced people put the skills they’ve acquired from a successful career into use with pupils in schools.

This is just a small part of the £30 million of taxpayers’ money the Government has devoted to supporting around three hundred schools nationwide, helping them both to recruit and to retain high quality teachers, and ensuring that schools have access to the national teacher supply programmes.

The “digital minister” Matt Hancock has unveiled new plans to help smaller local radio stations broadcast on digital platforms, whether they be commercial or community broadcasters.