Jo White MP

2 days ago

Today’s Budget: what it means for Bassetlaw 👇

This budget gives families and businesses breathing space today with fresh hope for the future.

Here’s what it means locally:

💷 Help with energy bills: 95% of households in Bassetlaw will get a £100 payment directly into their bank account this winter. This will be paid to all households in Council Tax bands A-D. The VAT cut on electricity bills will be extended until July 2027.

🏪 Backing our high streets: We are taking more businesses out of paying business rates by increasing Small Business Rates Relief thresholds for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. The Government is also delivering a real terms business rates freeze for eligible retail hospitality and leisure properties in England, benefitting around 382 properties in Bassetlaw.

🍎 Breakfast clubs: 7 schools in Bassetlaw will now have funding for breakfast clubs, including: Hallcroft Infant and Nursery, Mattersey Primary, Misterton Primary and Nursery, St Patrick's Catholic Primary, Redlands Primary and Nursery, Sparken Hill Academy and Haggonfields Primary and Nursery.

👨‍👩‍👧 Supporting families: From April 2029, self-employed fathers, partners and adopters will be eligible for Parental Allowance pay.

⛏️ Miners Pension Scheme: Every penny of the miners’ pension fund surplus will go to ex-mineworkers, with work continuing to transfer the full Guarantors Fund. ... See MoreSee Less

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Jo White MP is with Alex Davies-Jones MP and Alex Norris MP at Nottinghamshire Women's Aid Ltd.

3 days ago

Protecting children from domestic abuse and violence is one of the defining challenges for any government, and on Friday, I was honoured to stand alongside Claire Throssell as she unveiled a memorial to the 66 children who have lost their lives over the past 30 years because of the way family courts deal with cases involving parents who may pose a risk to their children. Among them were Claire’s two sons, Jack and Paul, who tragically lost their lives in 2014.

Jack was a talented young trumpet player, while Paul was a keen runner who dreamed of one day running faster than Mo Farah. They had their whole lives ahead of them, but both were tragically killed as a result of domestic abuse.

For too long, the law has placed too much weight on a parent’s right to be involved in a child’s life, rather than putting the child’s safety first. Successive governments have failed to make the changes needed to protect children, and that must change.

This Government is taking action through the Courts and Tribunals Bill. Known as ‘Jack and Paul’s Law’, Clause 17 will remove the automatic assumption that a parent should be involved in their child’s life. Instead, family courts will be able to focus on what matters most: what is safest and best for the child.

Claire’s story is heartbreaking, but her determination to bring about change offers hope for so many other families. No parent should have to go through what she has suffered, and no child should be left at risk when the law could help protect them.

I admire Claire's bravery and courage. The worst thing possible happened to Claire, she lost the two people she loved most to a man of violence. She has used this horrific experience to put her energy into getting the law changed to protect future children and their mum's from ever having to face this again. It has not been easy, it's been a fight and a struggle, but after every set back she has picked herself back up and begun her fight again.

I look forward to voting in support of this Bill at its final stage in the House of Commons. We owe it to Jack, Paul and every other child that has lost their lives to make sure their stories result in change. ... See MoreSee Less

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