Newspaper column 30 January - Brexit Bill has passed, and our NHS

The end of last week saw the Withdrawal Agreement, ‘the ‘Brexit Bill’ pass into law, following Parliament having sat for less than a month after the General Election in December. It goes to show, with the strong Conservative majority that we now have, that the problems this Bill faced in passing through Parliament in previous years were down to other Members of Parliament, many who have now lost their seat, trying to frustrate the result of the 2016 referendum by delaying or cancelling Brexit altogether. This would in my mind have been a critical blow in damaging the that Parliament as a democratic body has from the British public. Now the Bill has passed, and smoothly, we can begin to rebuild that trust.

With the Withdrawal Agreement passed, we can now move on to determining how the next stage of our relations with our friends in the EU looks like, crucially doing so now from the perspective of having already left, instead of pondering over whether we will or not. We can also negotiate relationships with other countries around the world and focus on our domestic agenda, including policies from our manifesto in the recent election.

Over the last seven days, for instance I have been pleased to see announcements that Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will be getting an additional £23.7million funding this year, Cornwall will be getting an extra nearly £1.7million funding for homelessness reduction, and Cornwall has also been chosen as a pilot area for a project with the NHS to help older people stay out of hospital and relieve pressures on Treliske.

Speaking of our NHS, earlier this month I was concerned to hear of increased pressures at Treliske Hospital in the middle of particularly difficult winter. I have subsequently spoken with senior staff at hospital to understand the concerns, and on Tuesday this week, met with the Secretary of State for Health to discuss the matter further in order to ensure our amazing hospital and the great people who work there continue to get all the support they need.

While we have had real time funding increases for Cornwall’s NHS every year since 2015, as well as additional money for separate projects such as the new mother and baby unit at Treliske and the soon to open inpatient facility for young people with mental health problems at Bodmin, an ageing population and our rural infrastructure still puts a heavy demand on our NHS services in Cornwall.

In my meeting with the Secretary of State I was keen to make it clear that Treliske, for now the only major hospital with an emergency department in Cornwall, needs all the support it can get, not just in terms of funding but also in terms of getting the funding to actually impact positively on front line services and improving things for NHS staff and patients. I am clear that improving our NHS services is not just about throwing money at them but also about ensuring that money is well targeted and well spent. I was pleased to get the reassurance from the Secretary of State that Treliske remains a priority of this Government and will continue to do all I can both here in Cornwall and in Westminster to champion the tremendous job it does, as well as push for more services in the future.

Newspaper column 23 January 2020 - APPGs

For this week’s column I thought I would touch on some of the work I have been doing in Parliament over the last few days.

As a new Member of Parliament I have been discovering that so much of the work that goes on in Westminster takes place away from the cut and thrust of the debate in the main chamber that many people associate with this place.

Instead of the somewhat confrontational theatrics that you see in Prime Minister’s Questions, a lot of work is done by MPs with shared interests working together in All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG’s) to campaign for change across political boundaries.

As a newly elected MP I am keen to join some of these groups to help best represent the constituents and our interests of Truro and Falmouth.

One such group, whose first meeting of this Parliament I attended on Monday is the APPG for Fisheries. This Group was founded by MPs and Peers who want to promote and support the UK fishing industry, whilst exploring key questions for the future of fishing, processing, coastal communities and the marine environment.

During the election I was keen to meet with our fishing communities and speak to them about their concerns on fishing and their livelihoods after Brexit. My husband is a fisherman who fishes out of Falmouth and so these concerns have long been dear to me.

I am clear that Brexit will be a big positive for our fishermen. Yesterday at the APPG we welcomed a Norwegian delegation to discuss best practices for fisheries beyond Brexit as an independent coastal nation. I am determined to do all I can to work with colleagues from across Parliament to do all we can to support and enhance our fishing communities through Brexit and beyond.

On Tuesday, I attended the  APPG for Broadband and Digital Communications, a group of MPs who work together to further the roll out of broadband in rural and urban areas, and to look at digital communication across the UK.

In our Truro and Falmouth constituency there are a lot of rural areas, and technological infrastructure such as broadband networks costs more to roll out in these areas due to geographical challenges. Although coverage is better than it has ever been previously, there are still areas of poor or no service and I will be pleased to work with colleagues from across Parliament to end these.

The Government is already making strides to improve digital infrastructure in rural areas. In November the Prime Minister unveiled  plans for a Shared Rural Network in a visit to our constituency, which will see the government working with mobile phone providers to provide additional coverage to 280,000 homes and businesses and 16,000km of roads, virtually eradicating the not-spots that exist in some rural areas – where “No Service” plagues mobile phones. I welcome this but am keen to keep up the campaign for better broadband for our rural areas. Joining groups like this will enable me to work with like-minded colleagues to continue to do so.”

Newspaper column 16 January 2020

Last week in Parliament was a momentous one that saw the landmark Withdrawal Agreement Brexit Bill pass through the House of Commons. It is now with the House of Lords for further scrutiny and will come back to the Commons for a final vote at the end of the month.

When Parliament is sitting it is generally expected for MPs to be in Westminster to scrutinise legislation, take part in debates and vote for at least four days a week. The rest of the time leaves me free to work in our Truro and Falmouth constituency and typically I expect to spend whatever time I am not in Parliament meeting with local people and businesses in order to find out how I can best represent you as your MP.

When I came back from Parliament last week, on Friday it was great to catch up with a number of local organisations.

Firstly I met with Hugo Tagholm, the Chief Executive of the St Agnes-based charity Surfers Against Sewage to discuss their work in protecting our environment and highlighting the push to live more sustainably.

Apart from their original and core goal to improve the water quality for our marine environments and beaches, in recent years Surfers Against Sewage have also campaigned nationally on the importance of cutting down on single use plastics, going #plasticfree, something which Cornwall has spearheaded with many communities successfully acquiring Plastic Free status.

In Parliament, Surfers Against Sewage run the Ocean Conservation All Party Parliamentary Group, a group of MPs from different political parties who work together for cleaner seas. I look forward to both joining this group and doing more locally with Surfers Against Sewage in the future towards our shared goals of doing all we can to preserve and enhance our beautiful seas and beaches.

Then it was on to County Hall at Truro for my first meeting there as a MP. Cornwall’s Members of Parliament regularly meet with senior figures from Cornwall Council to discuss our work for the county. It was a very positive and constructive meeting. Collective priorities for Cornwall were agreed including the need for further fairer funding and the pursuit of policies which suit Cornwall’s unique peninsula and rural needs. I look forward to a great working relationship for the benefit of all Cornish residents.

After that I went to Falmouth to meet with the Falmouth town team to discuss their shared vision for Falmouth. Since my time living in Falmouth I have always been impressed by the work of the Falmouth Business Improvement District and their incredibly positive efforts to market Falmouth as a town with a calendar packed full of events for locals and visitors  Together with Falmouth Town Council and local Cornwall Councillors, this group has a really positive story about how well business and local public sector are working together. As MP for Falmouth I will be delighted to work with all of them to ensure this success is translated to them getting their fair share of local and national funds available to continue with their good work for their community.

New Year column

Happy New Year to all West Briton readers.

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas  - it was good to spend some time relaxing with my family and friends in Cornwall ahead of what I am sure is going to be a busy time in Parliament in the New Year.

Before Parliament broke up for the Christmas Recess we had a preview of what is to come with the Queen’s Speech.

The Queen’s Speech basically sets out the Government’s agenda for the forthcoming Parliament and so is a good indicator of where our priorities lie for the coming years.

Of course first on the list was Getting Brexit Done. We have already started that process with the Second Reading of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill taking place on 20 December. The Prime Minister is determined to get this Bill through Parliament by the end of January and with the majority the Government now has, this should be an easier process than previously.

As well as this the speech sets out a number of proposals to invest in and support our public services including legislation enshrining in law the largest cash settlement in the NHS’s history.

The Speech sets out a variety of measures to support workers and families including an Employment Bill which will enhance workers’ rights, supporting flexible working, extending unpaid carers’ entitlement to leave and ensure workers keep their hard earned tips.

The Speech also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening the criminal justice system, ensuring it keeps people safe, with Counter Terrorism Bill to ensure the most serious and dangerous terrorist offenders stay in prison for longer.

In environmental matters this Queen’s Speech deepens the Government’s commitment to safeguarding the natural environment for future generations, including the landmark Environment Bill which will protect and preserve the planet for generations to come.

I am also really pleased to see the introduction of legislation to promote and protect animal welfare, including measures to increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty, to ensure animals are recognised as sentient beings, and ban the import and export of trophies from endangered animals.

The Speech also confirms the Government’s determination to  continue to invest in our Armed Forces and honour the Armed Forces Covenant, to continue to uphold the NATO commitment to spend at least two percent of national oncome on defence, as well as bringing in legislation to bring an end to the unfair pursuit of our Armed Forces through vexatious cases.

These are all positive national developments – as I head back up to Parliament in January top on my mind will be both the delivery of this as well as how I can make sure Truro and Falmouth gets the very best possible deal from monies released nationally. More on this in future columns, I am looking forward to help make 2020 a great year for all of us!