Newspaper column 31 March 2022 - Looking back at the Spring Statement

The situation in Ukraine reminds us that the United Kingdom’s security and ability to be a force for good in the world is in large part because of the strength of the economy.

But, the steps the United Kingdom are taking to sanction Russia are not cost free for people at home: the biggest impact will be for working families.

In order to protect the progress made in our economic recovery and help families with the cost of living, the Chancellor is delivering a new Tax Plan to reduce and reform taxes over the course of this Parliament – helping working people and turbocharging economic growth.

Last week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak at the Spring Statement announced his new Tax Plan to reduce and reform taxes across the United Kingdom – tackling the cost of living and incentivising private sector-led growth.

Measures set out by the Chancellor include reducing and reforming taxes by:

Slashing fuel duty by 5p for twelve months, delivering a £5 billion tax cut for drivers. Together with the fuel duty freeze, this will save car drivers £100, van drivers £200, and HGV drivers £1,500 this year, coming into effect immediately from 6pm this evening, across the United Kingdom.

Rising the National Insurance personal threshold from £9,500 to £12,570 from July, delivering the largest increase in a starting personal tax threshold in British history. This is equivalent to a £6 billion tax cut for nearly 30 million workers and worth over £330 a year starting in July, across the entire United Kingdom. This is the largest single personal tax cut in a decade.

Helping people keep more of what they earn by cutting the basic rate of income tax to 19 pence in 2024, delivering a tax cut worth £5 billion for over 30 million workers, pensioners and savers – only the second income tax cut in two decades and the first income tax cut for 16 years. This will be worth around £175 for a typical taxpayer.

Raising the employment allowance to £5,000, delivering a £1,000 tax cut for small businesses. The Employment Allowance cuts employers’ national insurance tax bills by increasing the employment allowance even further to £5,000 from April – that’s a new £1,000 tax cut for half a million small businesses.

Doubling the existing Household Support Fund to £1 billion, delivering an additional £500 million to the Household Support Fund. This helps the most vulnerable families with the cost of living. The fund is distributed through local authorities in England, who have discretion over exactly how the funding is used. This is expected to benefit 3 to 4 million vulnerable households.

Times are hard, as we come out of the unprecedented circumstances and public spending caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the international issues around the ongoing war in Ukraine caused by the Putin regime.

I am pleased to see that this Government is going further to strengthen our economy, publishing a new Tax Plan to reduce and reform taxes – including cutting fuel duty, cutting the basic rate of Income Tax and cutting National Insurance for 30 million working people – meaning people across Truro and Falmouth can keep more of what they earn.

This Tax Plan delivers the biggest cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century – simplifying our system in the long-term whilst we deliver immediate relief for cost-of-living pressures.

I know that times are still hard though, and will continue to do all I can to work with the Government and local and national groups to ensure Truro and Falmouth gets the support we need. To this end this week I launched a Cost of Living Survey, to better inform my work in supporting local people. Please take five minutes to fill out my survey on my website via the link below or contact my office to get sent a paper copy.

https://www.cherilynmackrory.org.uk/truro-and-falmouth-cost-living-survey

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. My regular constituency advice surgeries are 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.

Please support Lord Dubs' Amendment on child refugees

Thank you for contacting my office. I appreciate you getting in touch about unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK and Lord Dubs' amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill.

I am proud to support the Government's efforts to reform our immigration system to retain its compassionate approach but combine it with increased fairness, firmness, and efficiency.

During the Nationality and Borders Bill passage through Parliament, I am aware that Lord Dubs tabled an amendment that relates to safe routes for those seeking to claim asylum in the UK, including unaccompanied children, to travel from countries in Europe to join family in the UK. While well-intentioned, these measures would prove detrimental to the interests of vulnerable children and encourage young people to make dangerous journeys.

For example, regarding the best interests of vulnerable children, the amendment fails to consider children's individual needs, which raises significant issues. It creates entitlements to come to the UK to claim asylum if the individual has the specified UK relatives but does not consider whether this is in the unaccompanied child's best interests. Neither does it consider whether the UK relative can take care of the child, nor does it consider whether the child would be better placed with a relative, potentially an even closer relative, in another European state.

Furthermore, I cannot ignore that this new clause would encourage asylum seekers, including vulnerable unaccompanied children, to make dangerous journeys to Europe (facilitated by smugglers and traffickers) to benefit from its provisions. It would discourage asylum seekers, when in Europe, who wish to travel to the UK to interact with the care and support mechanisms or the asylum systems of those safe European countries which should provide them with the safety and protection they are entitled to under the same international legal obligations that the UK abides by.

It is vital to keep in mind that European member states are safe countries with international obligations towards protecting asylum seekers and children, as we do here in the UK, affording all asylum seekers in Europe an opportunity to access the rights they are entitled to.

While we may not agree on every point, I hope I have been able to outline why I am unable to support Lord Dubs' amendment with this response.

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Water Fluoridation

Thank you for contacting my office. I appreciate you getting in touch about water fluoridation.

While I note your concerns about fluoride in your water supply, fluoridation programmes in our country are common practice, and have been in place for nearly 60 years. I am aware that currently, around 5.8 million people in England already consume fluoridated water. I would like to reassure you that there have been no cases of water fluoridation causing any ill effects.

I understand that a report from Public Health England (now the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) on improving oral health, published in 2020, found that water fluoridation significantly reduces tooth decay, especially in children. It found that, in deprived areas where water fluoridation occurs, there were 55 per cent fewer hospital admissions for tooth decay among children aged one to four.

This scheme is effective and safe, and I am reassured that there is no evidence of health harms from the levels of fluoride used in English schemes, nor the slightly higher levels allowed naturally. Further, the Government is required to monitor the effects of water fluoridation and produce reports on this every four-years, which I hope you find reassuring. The last report was published in 2018 which means that there will be a new report, which is due to be published this year.

While this is a government-supported programme, local authorities are responsible for any consultations on fluoridation schemes. You will be encouraged to know that ministers have published a toolkit for local authorities to aid them in carrying out these consultations. However, it is worth noting that the new Health and Care Bill proposes to return responsibility for the fluoridation of water in England from local authorities to central government, making it easier to expand water fluoridation schemes so that more of the population can benefit from it.

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Making youth services funding fairer and more proportionate

Thank you for contacting my office. I appreciate you getting in touch about youth services.

Youth services and trained youth workers can have a transformational impact, especially for young people facing multiple barriers or disadvantage. It is important that all young people are given the opportunity to develop the skills, networks and resilience that can improve their life chances and support them to avoid negative pathways such as violence and crime.

Therefore, I am delighted that young people in England will be given access to more activities, trips away from home and volunteering opportunities as part of a new National Youth Guarantee backed by £560 million investment.

This investment includes £378 million for the Youth Investment Fund. Under this scheme, youth services across 45 Local Authorities and around 600 district wards in the most deprived parts of England will be eligible to apply for the £378 million Youth Investment Fund. It will pave the way for up to 300 youth facilities to be built or refurbished over the next three years, providing young people with a safe space to engage in positive activities outside of school, and access support from youth workers.

In addition, the National Citizen Service (NCS) will receive £171 million over the next three years to provide thousands more young people from all backgrounds with opportunities to become ‘world ready and work ready’. The NCS is more important than ever following the Covid-19 pandemic, and it will provide a year round offer that supports young people’s mental wellbeing and helps them to develop life skills that improve their confidence and employability.

A further £22 million will go towards The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, non-military uniformed youth groups, including Scouts and Guides, and the #iwill Fund which will continue getting young people involved in social action projects, which is expected to trigger tens of thousands of new volunteering opportunities.

This means that, by 2025, every young person in England will have access to regular out of school activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This includes all 11-18 year olds, and up to 25 years old for those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, I know my ministerial colleagues also worked hard to stabilise youth charities so that they are in strong position to deliver the outcomes envisaged for young people through the Youth Investment Fund. This included through the £15.6 million Youth Covid Support Fund which provided emergency funding specifically for youth services. This fund was part of a wider package of support for the charity sector which saw £100 million go to organisations supporting children and young people during the pandemic.

Furthermore, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been reviewing the guidance which accompanies the statutory duty placed on Local Authorities to secure local youth services. Officials held consultations with the youth sector and young people, and ran a public call for evidence, which closed in December 2019. The conclusions of the review were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are now being considered as part of a wider review of out of school youth programmes.

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Newspaper column 24 March 2022 - looking back at my work for you over the previous week

Last week was another busy one for me, with a lot going on both in Cornwall and in Parliament.

Ahead of the Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean event, which runs from 25^th March to 10^th April, I was pleased to lead my own beach clean with local residents and councillors on Perranporth Beach last weekend. Even with the particularly blustery weather and spectacular waves, the hard working beach cleaners managed to pick up four full sacks of rubbish over the course of an hour of cleaning – rubbish which is now removed from our marine ecosystem. There will be litter picks and beach cleans taking place all around Cornwall for the Keep Britain Tidy Great British Spring Clean and you can find out more via their website

https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/great-british-spring-clean

In Parliament I asked the Education Minister to re-affirm the Government’s plans to build a new secondary school in Perranporth. This will take students from the Perranporth, St Agnes, Cubert, Goonhavern, Holywell, St Newlyn East, Newquay and Truro area.

In 2020, after months of discussion, it was confirmed that I had secured a new secondary school for my constituency as part of the Government’s Free School Programme. This much-needed secondary school is set to be based near Perranporth and will make a huge difference to families on the North Coast.

I am in regular contact with the Department for Education and the local academy trust and we are so close to now securing a site for the school. I was pleased to see the Minister re-affirm the Government’s commitment to supporting and delivering a new secondary school in my Truro and Falmouth constituency as soon as possible and will continue to work with all involved to achieve this.

I also attended a meeting levelling up opportunities for South West region. This was an important meeting with leading regional housing associations, local government representatives and parliamentary colleagues to discuss how we can level up the South West and tackle one of the biggest issues for residents and local employees – the shortage of affordable housing. In particular, we discussed the need to provide more affordable housing for key workers to reduce staffing shortages in Cornwall. There is a huge amount of work going on to address this issue, and I will continue to keep it at the top of my agenda.

In Parliament I also had a meeting with the Health Secretary and the Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care, ahead of the publication of the Women's Health Strategy later this Spring.

The need for this strategy is twofold:

First, to improve how the health and care system listens to women, and to reset our approach to women’s health by placing their voices at the centre of this work and second, to improve women’s health outcomes.

The Government’s consultation on this issue received nearly 100,000 responses from women across the country and over 400 written responses from organisations and experts working in the health sector and beyond and I look forward to seeing this information fed into the response and the strategy emerging soon, where it can positively impact on peoples lives.

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. My regular constituency advice surgeries are 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.

Campaign reply - The UK must offer protection to Ukrainian refugees

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about  about ensuring refugees from Ukraine are supported by the UK at this challenging time.

 
The UK government has made it clear we want to support Ukrainians seeking refuge, both those who have family connections here in the UK and, indeed, those who don't. Over the last few months, we have seen huge numbers of people leaving Ukraine, fleeing from the conflict, and we will support them in the places they currently are - which is typically in countries bordering Ukraine. The Government is also welcoming Ukrainians here to the UK.

The Government has changed the immigration system to support refugees:

• Homes for Ukraine scheme allows individuals, charities, and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety – including those with no family ties to the UK.
• Sponsors can opt in to receive a 'thank you' payment of £350 per month up to 12 months.
• 43,800 signed up in the first five hours.
• Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend stay in the UK.
• Free, granted for 3 years, gives right to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds.
• Recently updated so that Ukrainian passport holders won't need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come here.
• 4000 visas have been granted so far as of 3pm Sunday.
• Ukrainian children will receive lifesaving cancer treatment through the NHS in England.
• Launched largest ever aid-match contribution - Gov will match the first £20 million donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and I will keep your concerns in mind as I continue to work with the Government to ensure we do all we can to support the people of Ukraine throughout this crisis. If I can be of further assistance during this difficult time, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Campaign reply - Invitation to 'The Forgotten Women: Persecuted Women and Girls from Religious Minorities' 28/02/2022

 

 Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch.

 Unfortunately, due to other parliamentary commitments, I could not attend this session.

However, this is an important issue. It is a sad reality that many religious minorities have long been subject to discrimination and campaigns of persecution. I am also aware that the coronavirus pandemic has also exacerbated existing inequalities and made addressing the needs of some communities harder.

In November 2020, the Government launched the Declaration of Humanity, which condemns conflict-related sexual violence and committed its signatories to work to dismantle harmful interpretations of faith and belief that may be used to condone or commit acts of sexual violence.

I am pleased that up to January 2021, 50 faith and belief leaders, civil society organisations and governments had signed from across the world.

The UK has also aid has funded several programmes promoting human rights, including:

• Through the UK Aid Connect, the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (Creid) programme, which works with women from religious minorities in Egypt, Pakistan, India, Iraq and Nigeria.

• Sexuality and Religion Network (Serene) in East Africa, which works with religious groups to promote LGBTIQ inclusion.

• Resisting gender-based violence and injustice through activism with biblical texts and images in four African countries, which seeks to assist those most vulnerable to gender-based violence through education.

The UK is also hosting the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July 2022, which I will keep a close eye on.

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Newspaper column 17 March 2022 - an update from the Department for Work and Pensions

 

This week I wanted to focus on my recent visit to the Jobcentre in Truro, where we discussed their work in supporting people back to work via the Way to Work scheme.

Way to Work is DWP’s new partnership between job-ready customers and employers to nationally help half a million people back into paid employment by the end of June 2022. This partnership will help employers fill vacancies and job ready people move back to employment.

In Cornwall, employers currently have a vast array of job opportunities, many of which need no previous experience. Dedicated teams of Work Coaches and Employer Advisers offer a tailored approach face-to face to help jobseekers and employers fill vacancies across a broad range of Sectors, including Construction, Social Care, Transport, Logistics, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Hospitality at a time when the Labour Market is incredibly buoyant.

Jobcentre Plus flexible offer includes access to Find A Job, a website for employers to advertise vacancies, Work Trials, Work Experience and Disability Confident helping customers with a health condition progress into employment. Along with the opportunity to interview applicants, matched by DWP, in local Jobcentres and arrange Sector Based Work Provision and skills training.

On Friday 4th March Truro Jobcentre hosted an event for local providers to work with a range of jobseekers offering support and help. Jobcentres across Cornwall are bringing together Employers and Jobseekers daily through interviews and Jobsfairs. They work with Small and Medium Sized Enterprises as well as many of the largest employers across the County including the NHS who offer a multitude of opportunities for all.

The rurality of Cornwall often presents many barriers for local jobseekers but DWPs Flexible Support Fund provides an opportunity for local people to overcome issues, such as transport, and support to find sustainable employment. Following the global pandemic, home working employment opportunities have increased bringing work directly from other parts of the country into peoples’ homes, further helping the Cornish economy, providing opportunities to develop skills, careers and financial independence.

The recent Kickstart Scheme supported nationally over 130,000 young people commence placements with employers to develop new skills and find work to create positive and lasting social change.

Whether you’re a Jobseeker finding your way back into work or an employer who’s looking for a way to recruit the right person to help your business, Jobcentre Plus and Way to Work can help.

It was great to see the team at the Truro Jobcentre office in action and I would certainly encourage anyone with questions about how they can help, employer or employee, to get in touch with them direct to find out more.

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. My regular constituency advice surgeries are 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 10 March 2022 - St Piran's Day and Ships and Castles

 

This past weekend saw Cornwall unite to celebrate St Piran’s Day, the national day of Cornwall, with events taking place across our county to mark the occasion.

With pandemic restrictions in place, last year saw these events marked virtually for the first time, but this year, with covid measures lifted and normality returning it was great to be able to be back out there in the community celebrating this special day for us all.

I was honoured to take part in the St Piran’s Day Parade in Truro, which with its incredible community involvement from all ages, rousing rendition of Trelawny, in which we were led enthusiastically by the Truro Male Voice Choir, and numerous blessings of the day from a variety of people, really encapsulates all that this day is about.

I said a few words myself from the steps of the Cathedral and as I looked out over the packed High Cross, I could only think that the ‘Onen hag oll’ (One and all) spirit which we have in Cornwall has not only steered us all through a real time of adversity, but has seen us come through stronger than ever on the other side.

On less positive news, last week saw a decision of Cornwall Council, following an extraordinary meeting of their Cabinet, to end the procurement process for Ships and Castles leisure centre in Falmouth .

On the day the agenda for this meeting was published following the papers being released for I wrote to all of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet expressing my complete disappointment with the recommendations from the officers – recommending that Ships and Castles should close.

Since the initial consultation, I have made my opposition to the closure of Ships and Castles very clear. I do believe the representations I have made, and continue to make, are reflective of the current mood in Falmouth and the wider community. This site means so much, to so many. We must safeguard its future, and Falmouth and Penryn need a viable leisure centre and swimming pool.

I have also written to the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, asking for his assistance in this matter. I have also reached out to Falmouth Town Council and the two universities locally. As a community, we must work together – now more than ever.

Now that Cornwall Council have made this decision I will be putting pressure on them to move at speed to follow through on another recommendation that they voted on Friday, that alternative options be developed for leisure provision for the Falmouth and Penryn area which may include the disposal of the Falmouth Ships and Castles site. I want to work with all of the groups mentioned above to both protect the iconic headland site for the community and also ensure a sensible and achievable leisure solution is arrived at for Falmouth and the surrounding area as soon as possible. As I said earlier it is only by working together, one and all, that we will get the outcome we need and deserve.

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. My regular constituency advice surgeries are 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.

Campaign reply - Please support the Early Day Motion calling for a wealth tax and not a National Insurance hike!

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch.

As a principle, I never sign early-day motions as they very rarely achieve anything whilst at the same time running up costs to the taxpayer. However, I take note of your views on a wealth tax as an alternative to national insurance rises. 

The issue of funding social care is a difficult one and very important to many constituents for a variety of reasons. With an ageing population in Cornwall who are living longer, these funds need to be found, and the issue will only become more pronounced the longer we leave it.

The 1.25 per cent Health and Social Care Levy on earned income will raise almost £36 billion over the next three years, with money from the levy going directly to health and social care across the whole of the country. I will of course, be lobbying to ensure Cornwall gets its fair share. Many economic commentators agree that only a broad-based tax base like Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance contributions can raise the sums needed for such a significant investment. This could not be raised by taxes on wealth, which currently raise: £6 billion from Inheritance Tax, £8.7 billion from Capital Gains Tax and £12.3 billion from property transaction taxes.

As set out by the Wealth Tax Commission, the UK’s taxes on wealth are on par with those of other G7 countries. If considering inheritance tax, capital gains tax, and stamp duty land tax, the UK is among the top of the G7 countries for wealth taxes as a percentage of total wealth. It is also right that the Government has already frozen inheritance tax thresholds until April 2026, which is projected to raise nearly £1 billion.

It is important to note that the Levy is a progressive way to raise money. Additional rate taxpayers make up just 2 per cent of individuals affected but will contribute nearly 20 per cent of the revenue raised from people. The highest-earning 14 per cent will pay around half the revenues. The UK is also the only G7 nation with a Primary Threshold below which people do not pay any social security contributions, so 6.2 million individuals earning less than £9,568 will not pay the Levy. The Government is also making sure that those with dividend income pay their fair share, which is why the Government will also increase the rate of dividend tax by 1.25 per cent from April 2022.

We must now help the NHS recover to provide much-needed care to our constituents and the people we love – and we must provide the funding to do so. We are doing this in a suitable, reasonable, and fair way.

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Campaign reply - Israeli Apartheid

I am grateful for you sharing this report with me, which I read with great interest. Of course, the crime of apartheid is an incredibly serious matter, and the UK would take appropriate action to stamp it out wherever needed. However, I do not agree with the terminology of this report that accuses Israel of apartheid. Any judgment on whether serious crimes under international law have occurred is a matter for judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies.

As a friend of Israel, we have a regular dialogue on human rights. This includes encouraging the government of Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and do all it can to uphold the values of equality for all. I reject expressions like apartheid or a one-sided focus of criticism on Israel, as it is not helpful to solving the conflict in the Middle East.

Regarding the Palestine issue more broadly, the UK's position, which I support, is clear and longstanding. There should be a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a fair and realistic settlement for refugees. The UK consistently calls – bilaterally and via the UN – for an immediate end to all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution.

The UK has said that it will recognise a Palestinian state at a time when it best serves the objective of peace. Bilateral recognition in itself cannot end the occupation; without a negotiated settlement the occupation and the problems that come with it will continue.

In the interim, therefore, the UK, working with allies and the wider international community, will do all it can to facilitate renewed cooperation and substantive negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. As part of this effort, it will continue to call on both sides to desist with immediate effect from all activities that undermine progress towards a peaceful two-state solution.

Thank you once again for getting in touch and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Newspaper column 3 March 2022 - Ukraine and my work over the past week

 

I cannot start this week’s column without commenting on the events unfolding in the Ukraine over the past week. 

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine is a completely unacceptable open act of war. I welcome the Prime Minister's strong condemnation of these actions and further sanctions on Russia announced on the day of the invasion.

There can be no doubt that Putin’s Russia is now a pariah state with few friends. The West and the wider international community are united in its condemnation of this invasion. These severe sanctions mean that it will pay a heavy price economically in the years to come for this reckless action.

My thoughts are with the Ukrainian people who are facing dangers and terror at the hands of a bullying neighbour who only wants to subjugate a people who have chosen democracy over tyranny.

The UK is Ukraine’s friend and we will not turn our back in her hour of need. We will support her and we will not let Russian aggression go unpunished.

Away from Parliament last week I was delighted to welcome two Cabinet Ministers to our constituency.

On Thursday Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy visited the Geothermal works at United Downs.

We had a really positive conversation about the future of renewable, green and clean energy and what this could mean for Cornwall. I also raised with the Secretary of State the rising energy prices and the effect this is having on those in Cornwall.

There is huge potential for clean, green energy in Cornwall and we need to accelerate the growth in this industry, but we also need to be tackling the rising cost of living.

On Friday I welcomed COP26 President Alok Sharma to Falmouth.

We gave Alok a presentation on nature recovery, Levelling Up for Cornwall, and the Cornwall City of Culture bid for 2025.

We also took him out on the docks to talk about floating offshore wind off the Cornish coast in the Celtic Sea, and the opportunities this presents Falmouth with.

The theme throughout the visit was climate change and what we are doing in Cornwall to address it.

Cornwall has a key role to play in this important work. When Cornwall hosted the G7 Leaders Summit in 2021 the Prime Minister backed plans to make Cornwall the first net zero region of the UK. He aims to create a long-term legacy from the G7 Summit, and with its miles of coastline, rolling rural vistas, past history as an industrial powerhouse, and most importantly the creative energy to make this happen, Cornwall is ideally placed to realise these ambitions.

The Government’s Net Zero Strategy, published just last year, will create 440,000 jobs by 2030 and bring in £90bn of investment to the UK.

In Cornwall, that means leading the way in investment in renewable energies, unlocking the geothermal power that is literally embedded in its foundations, and floating offshore wind, pioneering the extraction of lithium to use in new greener technologies, and investing in the subsequent well paid, high skilled jobs these sectors will bring. Cornwall is also a national leader on Nature Recovery, piloting innovative schemes to help restore and enhance the natural environment in the county.

As MP for Truro and Falmouth, I will continue to work with and champion the emerging Cornish Green Industrial revolution, ensuring everything is done to harness the blue and green landscape on this journey and making sure that Cornwall’s voice is heard at the heart of Government to realise this potential, both for Cornwall itself and also as a blueprint for green growth across the country.   

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. My regular constituency advice surgeries are 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.