John Milne MP: Take-off time for Knepp’s new stork colony

It was extraordinary to watch them waddle uncertainly through their open cage door, as if they couldn’t quite believe in their own moment of freedom.

But after a few minutes instinct kicked in. One bird gave a few awkward flaps and almost staggered into the air. Then another, and another. Soon they had all lifted into a clear blue sky. After a 600 year absence, storks are breeding again here in West Sussex.

These particular fledglings were bred in captivity in Cotswold Wildlife Park. They’re being released in several locations in order to build up a self-sustaining network of colonies. This will probably be the last such release at Knepp itself because, as the presence of their giant nests across the Knepp estate shows, the storks are thriving now. These birds are as much natives of Africa as Britain, but for some reason we have always felt a close affinity with them. A magnificent spectacle!

Later in the week I met with Andrew Turner, a Horsham local who has led an impressive national campaign to obtain fair access to Child Trust Funds. These are tax free savings funds made available to all children born between 2002 and 2011. Money in the tax-free accounts belongs to the child which they can access when they reach 18.

But an oversight meant no provision was made for children with cognitive disabilities, which in many cases only became evident later.

Today, some 80,000 children are not able to access their own money as they reach 18. Instead, parents are expected to make a claim through a complex legal process. It’s far too difficult, and in many cases the legal fees would swallow up all the savings anyway.

You’d think this would be an easy fix. There’s no compensation needed, which means no cost to the state. It’s hard to find anyone prepared to defend this obvious injustice in public. Yet somehow the stand-off continues. My predecessor, Sir Jeremy Quin, assisted Andrew’s fantastic campaign and I will take up where he left off.