On the evening of Saturday, March 26 I had a wonderful time at the Mermaid Inn for a gala black-tie fundraising dinner organised by Councillor Rebekah Gilbert, Rye’s home-grown and talented mayor. The food was simply delicious and represented some of the best that the town has to offer, including the most succulent lamb shanks I have ever had the fortune to taste! Not only did Councillor Gilbert treat us to her beautiful singing voice, she also made an excellent auctioneer, coaxing bids from willing participants to raise money for her chosen charities which focus on aiding young people with learning and life skills.
I sat at the table opposite a rather remarkable young man who is doing incredibly well in the art world. A local Rye resident, we had a really insightful chat about his journey into art. Listening to Councillor Gilbert’s singing, talking to this young artist, and eating Rye’s specialities made me think again about how much people in Hastings and Rye have to offer, how much talent many people have - sometimes without realising it – and what an incredible part of the United Kingdom we live in.
It also made me think about why it is so important that everyone has an equal chance to access opportunities and that some people really do face barriers in accessing them, including ones linked to culture, community, aspiration, or attitude.
In Parliament, I have recently been elected as the vice-chair of the Backbench Policy Committee for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), which will tie in well with my chairmanship of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Coastal Communities. In both the DLUHC policy committee and the APPG we will be considering policies, strategies and / or recommendations which will focus on levelling-up. The APPG specifically looks at current issues affecting coastal communities and, through its inquiries, seeks strategies to address them. We are actively engaged in an inquiry on education in coastal communities as studies show that educational attainment in many coastal communities is markedly below the national average. In Hastings and Rye, as with other towns or cities with areas of deprivation, it is unarguable that poverty is the biggest single indicator of low educational attainment and that young people’s aspirations, the goals they set themselves, their motivation, and their inspiration to work towards these goals have a significant influence both on their educational attainment and their future life outcomes.
One of the goals that I set myself on being elected the MP for Hastings and Rye was to bring about an improvement in the expectations and aspirations of our young people – to make them proud of who they are and where they come from. Initial research shows that most young people are aspirational and want to do well in life and most have high hopes for the future; it is often their families and the wider communities which do not give them enough support or provide the environment they need to achieve.
Having consistently lobbied education ministers about improving education and investment into Hastings and Rye schools, I am delighted that not only was East Sussex recently designated as an Education Investment Area (one of 55 areas to receive targeted support to help young people from all backgrounds receive improved standards of education), but Hastings and Rye has also been designated as a Priority Education Investment Area. As a priority area, we will receive tailored support to address our local needs - more intensive investment to tackle wider issues including entrenched barriers that might be limiting school improvement, in addition to the substantial support offered to all Education Investment Areas.
It is clear to me that we have a huge amount of potential and hidden talent in Rye that is yet to be unleashed. I am keen to understand what ministers will be focusing on as regards the 'entrenched barriers' which might be limiting school improvement, and I will absolutely be continuing to focus my efforts on developing policy that will help our young people achieve their potential by specifically looking at the barriers to aspiration and attainment.
