I hope all pupils at school and college pupils have now been able to successfully return to education over the last couple of weeks.
Parliament’s return last week saw the passing of the
Fisheries Bill through its second reading in Parliament, making it closer to
becoming law. As well as this massively important Bill, another smaller Bill I
have campaigning on, the Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill also
passed through its final stages on Friday, and once it has Royal Assent, will
become law. This is an important law because it will mean that operators of
public toilets, often already hard-pressed parish and town councils will not
have to business rates on their toilets, a major part of their running costs,
and should mean we should see more of these vital facilities open or re-open in
the future. Making our towns and villages more accessible for all.
The day before this piece of legislation that will help our
communities came back to Parliament, I was delighted to welcome the Secretary
of State for Communities, Robert Jenrick MP, who is the Government lead at the
Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government to Truro.
As ever when welcoming Ministers or Cabinet Members to our
neck of the woods, there is so much to show them and our schedule was
jam-packed.
We met with Truro and Newham Business Improvements Districts
to discuss their work during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has
been exemplary in helping the recovery of our businesses and high streets.
We also met with the Truro Towns Board (despite Truro being
a city) to discuss the city’s progress with the Towns Fund funding bid. Truro
has been chosen as one of 101 towns across the UK to bid for up to £25 million
of Government funding, including between £500,000 and £1 million of this
funding ahead of schedule to spend on projects such as improvements to parks,
high streets and local transport.
This funding should help transform the economic growth
prospects of Truro, with an emphasis on improved transport, broadband
connectivity, skills and culture and it was great to brief the Secretary of
State on our progress so far.
Finally, we visited The Hall for Cornwall, which recently
received a £1.5million funding boost from the Government, towards its
renovation project as part of monies released nationwide to accelerate projects
which will help local areas recover from the impact of COVID-19.
It was a busy but positive visit. One of my roles as MP is
to ensure those at the very top of Government can visit our amazing constituency
and see first hand the many positives we have, as well as the challenges we
face, so I can keep Truro and Falmouth fresh in their minds when it comes to
funding requests and problem-solving. The Secretary of State for Communities
joins the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Education, Chancellor and
Trade Secretary among others, who I have had visit our constituency in the time
since I was first selected to run for MP for this area last year, and I hope to
continue this schedule into the future to ensure Truro and Falmouth remains at
the forefront of the Government’s plans.
As ever, I am always happy to help with any problems people
or have or to answer any questions about my work. Please get in touch with me by email at
Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk, by telephone on 01872 229698 or you can
write to me by letter at my constituency office, which is at Lemon Chapel,
William Street, Truro, TR1 2ED.
In a week when Covid numbers are increasing and tests in Cornwall cant be accessed, its not acceptable to headline with toilets!
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see our local MP continuing to raise the profile of our constituency with this key Government minister at a time when so many of the funding issues for local government are being created by the pressures of Covid 19, the lack of a governmental lead on social care funding and the legacy of diminishing funding for local authorities coming from Central Government.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, you had the chance to raise these issues in your busy day, along with the threat posed to our county's natural environment by his new planning proposals and the 'build, build, build' agenda which will only worsen the housing boom in Cornwall.
This particular minister could ensure that any current building will be carried out with strict regulation to ensure all new homes are carbon neutral, developments enhance environmental diversity, and that local policies such as the Truro and Kenwyn Neighbourhood plan are enforced. If you didn't have the opportunity recently to mention these things perhaps you might soon before our future is ruined by inappropriate, wasteful and profiteering development.