Newspaper column 25 November 2021 - The Health and Care Bill

Last week was a busy and varied one. In Parliament I was able to take part in several debates as well as asking questions of Ministers. These included a debate on road traffic offences, speaking up on behalf of Ryan Saltern, a Cornish resident who was killed in a road incident, with the driver failing to report the crash for 36 hours. I sat on the Bill Committee for the Kept Animals Bill and also presented a Bill to Parliament on banning glue traps – a horrific method of pest control. In Defence Questions I also questioned the Minister on plans to have Falmouth benefit from the Government’s record investment in our defence programme.

This week the Health and Care Bill comes back to Parliament. The Health and Care Bill is another major part of the Government’s strategy, and builds on both proposals set out by the NHS for change in its Long Term Plan, as well as incorporating valuable lessons learnt from the pandemic that will benefit both staff and patients.

Our government is committed to delivering world-class care for patients and this Bill will help deliver that by building on the NHS’ own proposals for reform to make it less bureaucratic, more accountable, and more integrated in the wake of COVID-19.

These changes are vital to help our NHS build back better from the pandemic and it follows extensive discussions with NHS England, the Local Government Association and the health and care sector to refine this blueprint.

COVID-19 has reinforced the need for closer collaboration between the NHS, local authorities like Cornwall Council, and care providers to provide more joined up working. By necessity we saw during the pandemic that staff and patients were able to rapidly adopt new technologies to deliver better care. But at times in recent years the legal framework our system has to work within has made this more difficult, as it was not designed with this type of collaboration in mind.

The Bill ensures each part of England has an Integrated Care Board and an Integrated Care Partnership responsible for bringing together local NHS and local government, such as social care, mental health services and public health advice, to deliver joined up care for its local population. Clinicians, carers and public health experts will be empowered to operate collaboratively across health and care, as part of plans to tackle inequalities and level up health across the country. The Bill also introduces measures to tackle obesity and improve dentistry, which remains a big issue in Cornwall.

It will dispose of unnecessary bureaucracy that has held the health service back so that health and care staff can focus on patients, not paperwork, and ensure the system is able to flex to changing needs in the years to come. It will ensure NHS England is more accountable to government, and by extension Parliament, while ensuring our NHS retains everyday operational and clinical oversight. I look forward to seeing this Bill continuing to progress through Parliament this week and eventually come into law to improve health and care standards for all, as well as allowing our NHS and care providers the flexibilities to be the best they can be.

As ever, if you need my assistance with anything then my team and I are here to help. Please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. I have now restarted my regular constituency advice surgeries, held in a covid-safe environment at my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any matters that I can be of assistance with.

Newspaper column 18 November 2021 - Remembrance and COP26

This past week culminated in Remembrance Sunday, where as a nation we collectively commemorate all those veterans, past and present, who have given the ultimate sacrifice in serving our country, as well as saying a big thank you to all currently serving or have served in the armed forces.

Due to the unusual circumstances of the pandemic, last year there were no formal services of remembrance and so this year was the first time I have been involved in them locally as a Member of Parliament.

In London I was honoured to place a tribute for James 'Little' Finn and all the fallen of Truro and Falmouth in the House of Commons Constituency Garden of Remembrance. James ‘Little’ Finn VC was born at St Clement and was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, for conspicuous bravery rescuing comrades under fire during World War 1, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was later killed in action in that same conflict.

On Remembrance Sunday I took part in Civic Services and Acts of Remembrance at Falmouth and in Truro. After the sad but necessary lack of formal events last year, it was good to see our communities turning out in such numbers to support their veterans and remember the past sacrifices. The parades were organised incredibly well and I would like to take the opportunity to thank both Falmouth Town Council and Truro City Council, as well as the Royal British Legion, veterans and all organisations involved for making them so memorable.

Last week also saw the climax of the United Nations COP26 climate conference, which the UK was hosting from Glasgow. Over the weekend we saw the Glasgow Climate Pact signed, which is the most significant climate change pact since the landmark Paris Agreement and first-ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal consumption, the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.

Alongside the Glasgow Climate Pact, other major commitments from the COP26 summit include a commitment from many more nations to supercharge their race to zero emissions for 2030 by next year, the commitment to double funding for developing nations to adapt to climate change by 2025, as well as boosting up the agenda, plans about how to pay for the loss and damage that climate change inflicts on developing countries. The conference also saw delegates agree rules on carbon offset markets, which the last two COPs tried and failed to finalise, as well as the agreement of more than 130 countries, including Brazil, to protect up to 90 per cent of our forests.

This is a colossal achievement that many did not possible. While it is not perfect, and it is disappointing that we could not get approval for coal to be ‘phased out’ instead of ‘phased down’ in the wording of the pact, the pact and other outcomes from COP26 are still a major step in the right direction in the fight against climate change, and it is tribute to the hosting of the UK and the  leadership shown by our government that we made it such a success.

As ever, if you need my assistance with anything then my team and I are here to help. Please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. I have now restarted my regular constituency advice surgeries, held in a covid-safe environment at my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any matters that I can be of assistance with.

Newspaper column - November 11 2021 - Latest on the Environment Bill

This past Monday saw MPs vote again on the latest revisions to the Government’s landmark Environment Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament.

A lot has been said in recent weeks about a vote on a particular amendment from the House of Lords that called for the immediate banning of all sewage releases into our rivers from our antiquated water infrastructure. This proposal was completely un-costed and, while the end goal to achieve this is a fine one, realistically it is simply not going to happen overnight.

I was subsequently sorry to see MP’s and their offices who voted for the Government proposals and against the un-costed amendment subject to abuse from people who had either not read or understood the proposed changes, or were purely trying play political games. We were told that we had voted to allow or even increase the dumping of sewage into our waterways, when in fact what we had voted for was for more protection for these vital assets for our country than we have ever seen before.

The Government amendment passed on Monday in fact goes further than the previous Lords Amendments proposed.

On Monday I voted to ensure seeking to ensure there is a legal duty on water companies such as South West Water to progressively reduce the adverse impact of sewage discharges. This is what the amendment provides for, requiring water companies to reduce the impact of sewage discharges on the environment and public health, which will really help surfers and swimmers.

This will combine with the existing provisions in the Environment Bill for each water company to produce a statutory Drainage and Sewerage Management Plan every five years, which will set out how such reduction in sewage discharges will be achieved and funded.  There is also a power of direction for government to direct water companies in relation to actions in those plans if they are not good enough.

Claims that the amendment weakens existing legislation are wrong. The water companies have an existing duty to treat sewage “effectually”, which has existed since 1991, and the new amendment does not replace nor override this duty.

The problem has been that the Environment Agency and OFWAT have failed to use their existing powers (which remain and which provide the enforcement mechanism for this new duty) to enforce that duty over the last 30 years.

The amendment that has passed now means DEFRA will be giving OFWAT an order for water companies to  increase their capital expenditure on water treatment from January 2022.

It also puts, among other things, a new duty on Government to produce a statutory plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows and their adverse impact, and report to Parliament on progress as well as the power for the government to direct water companies in relation to the actions in their Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans. The Government will not hesitate to use this power of direction if plans from the water companies are not good enough.

As a lifelong environmentalist, founding member of the Conservative Environment Network and Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ocean Conservation, I take these matters very seriously indeed. It is a shame to see previous attempts to do much good by this bill twisted and attacked by those who seek to misinterpret earlier votes for political gain. However I am clear that what we need is a realistic and achievable plan to get to the clean water goal that we all want to see, and that is what these amendments, and the Environment Bill ultimately, seek to achieve. I look forward to scrutinising progress as part of future water quality enquiries via my work on the Environmental Audit Select Committee.