Campaign reply - Please sign Early day Day Motion 1168 on pavement parking

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

I appreciate that vehicles parked on pavements can be dangerous for all pedestrians, as it can force them onto the carriageway and into the flow of traffic. In particular, I understand that pavement parking can cause real problems for people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments, as well as those with pushchairs.

 

While there is a historic ban on pavement parking throughout London, elsewhere any local authority that has taken up civil enforcement powers may introduce a ban on pavement parking where it sees fit through the use of Traffic Regulation Orders. As part of making this easier to implement, in 2011 Ministers gave all councils authorisation to use a sign indicating where a pavement parking restriction is in place, removing the need to ask Whitehall first for permission to use the sign.

 

However, while successive Governments have recognised that there is no perfect solution to this complex problem, I believe it is time to look again at this issue in detail. That is why Ministers recently ran a consultation on proposals that would allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to crack down on pavements being unnecessarily obstructed. 

 

The consultation also explores how a nationwide ban on pavement parking, enforced by local authorities, could work. A nationwide ban would need careful consideration and would have to allow, for example, for necessary exceptions or designated spots for pavement parking where required. The approach taken would also have to be tailored to the very different challenges faced in rural and suburban areas.

 

I understand that the Department is currently still analysing the high volume of responses to ensure that all views are captured, and that ministers will carefully consider the consultation findings before deciding the way forward.

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 - Please support the Safe Homes for Women Leaving Prison Declaration

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about prison leavers and homelessness, in particular regarding women prison leavers.

The Government shares my commitment to ensuring that action is taken to reduce reoffending, protect the public and help offenders contribute to society. 

The Government is clear that getting prison leavers into stable accommodation provides the foundation they need to find work, as well as access any treatment for addiction and mental health challenges. This joined up approach of addressing accommodation, work and treatment together will protect the public and save some of the £18 billion annual cost of reoffending. The Government's vision is that no one who is subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless.

It is also welcome that the Government has launched a new accommodation service, providing up to 12 weeks of basic temporary accommodation for those prison leavers who would otherwise be homeless. This is launching initially in five Probation regions - the North West; Yorkshire and the Humber; the East of England; Kent, Surrey and Sussex; and Greater Manchester.

The Government will invest so that every offender leaving prison can access this new provision. This will provide accommodation for those who leave prison without stable accommodation and give them a foundation from which other issues that drive reoffending, such as employment, healthcare, or substance misuse, can be addressed. This builds on the Government's Covid emergency scheme, which contributed towards an almost 30 per cent reduction in prisoners released to homelessness between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

I also appreciate your specific concerns regarding female prison leavers. You may welcome the fact that women-only accommodation will be made available as required as part of the basic temporary accommodation. I will continue to monitor this important area very closely.

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 - Please write to our local hospitals about the GBS3 trial

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about  Group B Streptococcus (GBS). I know that this infection can have a devastating effect for some mothers and their babies.

There are roughly 400 to 500 cases of early onset GBS each year, and the vast majority of babies affected will fully recover with prompt treatment. The UK NSC also stresses the importance of not prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has published guidelines outlining the steps required to effectively prevent and treat GBS infections.

In March 2017, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises ministers in all four UK countries on all aspects of screening, concluded that it would not recommend a national screening programme for GBS in pregnancy. This is because, unfortunately, the current test cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk, and those who are not. 

However, I welcome that a National Institute for Health Research funded clinical trial is comparing universal screening for GBS with two other approaches for identifying GBS: through an antenatal Enriched Culture Medium test at 35 - 37 weeks, or a rapid point of care Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test during labour.

Maternity care is a priority for Government, and it has announced an ambition to reduce stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and neonatal brain injuries by 50 per cent by 2025. This includes harm and death caused by GBS. 

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 - As my MP, please tell the Prime Minister: #DontBetrayAnimals!

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about animal welfare and the sale of foie gras and fur.

 The government has committed itself to ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare in the UK. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) set out its plans for championing and taking action on animal welfare in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. This paper sets out that the government will consult on a ban on the sale of foie gras and fur. No decision has yet been made. Let me assure you that the government carefully considers all legislative proposals in detail before making any decision.

 Please follow the link to the DEFRA paper below for reference:

 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/985332/Action_Plan_for_Animal_Welfare.pdf

 Our departure from the EU has provided the opportunity to act on implementing higher levels of animal welfare in the UK. Please be assured that the government continues to recognise the importance of high animal welfare standards. I will set out some significant recent announcements by the government in this regard.

The provisions of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill will improve the policy and decision-making processes of Government, ensuring that Ministers get the right balance between animal welfare and other important considerations.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, set out the government’s intentions:

“The Bill proposes four things. First, it establishes an Animal Sentience Committee, whose members the Secretary of State will appoint on the basis of expertise and experience. Secondly, it tasks that committee with scrutinising Ministers’ policy formation and the implementation of decisions. In each instance, it will publish a report containing its views on whether Ministers have had all due regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings.

Thirdly, Ministers will be held to account through a duty to respond to the committee’s reports by means of a written statement to Parliament, and Parliament must receive such responses within three months. Finally, the wording of the Bill offers recognition that non-human vertebrates—that is, animals with a spine—and additionally decapod crustaceans, such as lobsters, and cephalopod molluscs, such as octopuses, are sentient. That means they are capable of experiencing pain or suffering. The Bill contains a delegated power for Ministers to add by regulation other species to the definition of animals. That is to be used if there is good scientific evidence that those particular species are sentient.”

This Bill builds on recent positive action the Government has taken to improve animal welfare standards, such as a requirement for CCTV in all slaughterhouses and implementing one of the world's toughest ivory bans. For companion animals, the Government have introduced new updated minimum welfare standards for pet selling, dog breeding, riding schools, animal boarding and exhibiting animals; as well as a ban on the commercial third-party sale of puppies and kittens.

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 28 April - More on the Shared Prosperity Fund

In my column last week I spent some time discussing the recent confirmed allocation from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Government’s replacement to European Union structural funding after Brexit.

However I was concerned to see last week local opposition figures repeatedly quoted in the press, without challenge that because the Government had not given Cornwall Council what it had asked for, £100million a year, that this was somehow leaving Cornwall worse off.

To be clear, I have no issue whatsoever with Cornwall Council asking for £100million per year in funding. Such processes are often negotiations and in negotiations it is not common to get exactly what you ask for.

That being said, what I do take umbrage with is the repeated claims that Cornwall had to have £100million a year, to not be worse off, and that the £100million a year figure equates to either a figure in EU Structural Funds that we used to receive, or more bizarrely, that it is somehow equal to the amount we ‘could have received’ should we have still been in the EU.

Both these figures are easy to fact check, and so along with my Cornish MP colleagues, that is what I did, with the House of Commons Library, a strictly politically neutral and impartial organisation that exists to serve MPs of all parties.

The House of Commons Library replied quickly and confirmed that Cornwall and Isles of Scilly received an average of just over £50 million per year between 2010 and 2018, the last year that figures are available. This is clearly not the £100million per year that has been widely touted as being the number we received, and in fact, Cornwall received £13.1million in 2015, and even less in 2017, receiving £8.7million. It’s also important not to forget that the EU structural funding was poorly targeted and difficult to access, meaning it often went on obscure projects that did not give much wider benefit, or worse, was returned unspent.

Regarding amounts that would have been received had the UK remained part of the EU, the House of Commons Library said:

“We don’t think it’s possible to meaningfully estimate how much money the UK, or any part of it, would have received if the UK was still in the EU.

This is because if the UK had not voted to leave the EU, then the EU budget for the 2021-27 framework period - and therefore the EU funding allocations within that budget - would have been made in a very different political environment…attempting to work out what the resulting budget would have looked like therefore requires so many assumptions as to make the result effectively meaningless.”

So the £100million per year figure simply does not add up, either from a historic or contemporary context.

We released this information last week. Of course there was the entirely predictable outraged response from certain political figures with an axe to grind and an agenda to pursue, as well as from some people who perhaps should have checked the facts presented to them before parroting them.

But crucially none of these people have been able to justify or breakdown the £100million figure. I have asked for anyone who can provide this analysis, outside of a line on a Cornwall Council report, to provide it to me, so I can get it fact-checked by the House of Commons Library. But there has been no response. The offer remains open.

In the meantime, away from all the mudslinging and political gamesmanship, I will continue to deliver for the people of Truro and Falmouth. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will enable the Government to work with local organisations to do this, along with the myriad of other funding streams, such as the Levelling Up Fund and Towns Deals that we are already in the process of applying for and benefitting from.

 

Campaign reply - McDonald's tax dodging

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about corporate tax avoidance.

Everyone, whether businesses or individuals, must pay their fair share in tax. While I welcome the Government’s continued commitment to supporting business with the lowest rates of corporation tax across the G20, these taxes must be paid.

I am glad that our country’s tax gap – the difference between the amount of tax that should be paid to HMRC and what is actually paid – has fallen to less than 6 per cent, one of the lowest gaps globally. The tax gap has been reduced over the past 15 years from from 7.5 per cent in the tax year 2005 to 2006 to 5.3 per cent in 2019 to 2020. Equally, the most recent assessments of the percentage of tax revenue lost through tax avoidance of Corporation Tax show a fall from 11.3 per cent in 2005 to 2006 to 8.0 per cent in 2019 to 2020. The total tax gap for income tax, national insurance, and capital gains tax, some of the most common routes for tax avoidance by individuals, is also less than 6 per cent.

That is why I am encouraged that in the past decade more than 100 measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance have been introduced, while over £250 billion of tax that would have otherwise gone unpaid has been secured and protected. Action to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance will raise an additional £2.2 billion between 2021 and 2025-26. The response to the recent consultation ‘Tackling Promoters of Tax Avoidance’ sets out further measures to strengthen existing anti-avoidance regimes and tighten the rules designed to tackle promoters and enablers of tax avoidance schemes.

 

While this is welcome progress, more remains to be done. I proudly stood on a manifesto pledge that promised to set out a new anti-tax avoidance and evasion law. Such a law shall consolidate existing anti-avoidance measures and powers. I hope it comes as a reassurance that the Government is making strides to crack down on the practice of tax avoidance so that companies and individuals pay their fair share of tax.

I also welcome the Government's intention to introduce new powers to make the possession, manufacture, distribution and promotion of electronic sales suppression software and hardware an offence to prevent businesses hiding or reducing the value of transactions and corresponding tax liabilities.

I am confident that these measures will help tackle tax avoidance, reducing the tax gap still further, and securing and protecting even more funding for our vital public services.

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 - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)

I share your concern for the situation in BiH, and know that my ministerial colleagues at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) do too. The High Representative warned last year that BiH is facing the greatest existential threat in its post-war period, and that there is a real prospect of further division and conflict.

The UK takes very seriously talk of secession and other threats to undo the progress of the last 26 years since the Dayton Agreement. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the Peace Implementation Council, the UK remains committed to supporting the security, stability, democracy, prosperity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of BiH; and stands by the High Representative absolutely. 

In light of heightened political tensions, I welcome that the UNSC last year adopted a resolution (2604) renewing the mandate for EUFOR, the EU military mission in BiH, for another 12 months. The UK lobbied in favour of this decision.

The Foreign Secretary has discussed the situation in BiH at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Riga, OCSE Ministerial meeting in Stockholm and G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Liverpool. She has hosted High Representative Schmitt in London and the Foreign Ministers of six Western Balkans countries, BiH among them. I am assured that she and her department will continue to engage with leaders in the region to support peace and stability. 

I am encouraged that Sir Stuart Peach, former Chief of the UK Defence Staff, was appointed as the new Special Envoy to the Western Balkans in December. As Envoy, Sir Stuart has already begun working with regional leaders and others to support and strengthen regional stability.

On 11 April, the Foreign Secretary designated Bosnian-Serb politicians Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovi for their attempts to undermine the legitimacy and functionality of BiH. These are the first designations under the UK's BiH sanctions regime – in place to promote respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of BiH and the implementation of the Dayton Agreement – and they have my full support. I do not speculate on potential future sanctions designations as to do so could undermine their effectiveness. I am assured that all evidence is kept under close review.

The UK stands with the people of BiH in their hopes for a peaceful and bright future, and I am assured that HM Government will continue to act in their interest. Please be assured that I am following developments closely. 

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 - Please write to the Chancellor on my behalf, calling for more financial support for unpaid carers

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about support for carers and unpaid carers.

I recognise the valuable contribution made by carers of all kinds - residential, domiciliary, paid, unpaid - many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing support to family members, friends and neighbours.

I completely agree that carers must receive the right support to help them carry out their caring roles. A tenth of adults in the UK provide unpaid care for a friend or family member, and these people should be supported in the invaluable work they do.

Good progress is being made in implementing the Carers Action Plan 2018-2020, including increased awareness amongst employers of the impact that caring has on their workforce, and support for health and social care professionals to better identify and work with carers.

The Government is continuing to support the implementation of improved rights for carers, enshrined in the Care Act 2014. Carers Allowance will be increased to £69.70 per week in 2022, and I am pleased that over the last twelve years successive changes will have provided an additional £800 a year for carers.  The Government is also continuing a programme to modernise the delivery of Carer’s Allowance.

I am delighted that the Government’s Social Care White Paper, which outlined a number of measures to support carers and unpaid carers.  The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will introduce a Carer’s Leave entitlement of five days of unpaid leave per year for eligible employees.

Going forward, NHS England at a national level and Integrated Care Boards at a local level will have a duty to involve carers when care is being commissioned for their loved one.  The Department for Education (DfE) will be amending the School Census to include young carers.

In addition, the Government will be investing £25 million to improve the services provided to support unpaid carers, including respite, breaks and peer group and wellbeing support.

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 - Where is the Deposit Return Scheme?

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about a bottle deposit return system.

The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out the Government’s plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle more than we do now, including plans to help stimulate investment in UK reprocessing capacity. I know the Government’s target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the life of the 25 Year Environment Plan.  It is absolutely vital we act now to curb the millions of plastic bottles a day that go unrecycled. 

I welcome that the Environment Act 2021 includes new powers to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers. This will recycle billions more plastic bottles and stop them being landfilled or littered. I believe that this will help to change consumer behaviours with potential knock-on effects to other environmental activities.

I know that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs held a consultation on the introduction of a DRS for drinks containers last year, and that the Government will soon respond to this consultation. I want to see an ambitious but realistic timetable to ensure a deposit return system is implemented that will be as effective as possible. Ministers have reviewed the timelines required to implement a deposit return system and anticipate the scheme will be launched in 2024.

More widely, I am encouraged that ministers plan to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging that will make manufacturers responsible for the full net cost of recycling their packaging waste, as well as make recycling more consistent for households and businesses in England.

I am encouraged by the action taken to reduce plastic waste. The Government introduced ones of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and brought in measures to ban plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds. I welcome that the use of single-use carrier bags has reduced by 95 per cent since the introduction of the 5p charge. To build on this success, ministers increased the charge to 10p and extended it to all retailers in May 2021.

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 - We need a full review of gambling laws

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

For many, gambling can be fun but I recognise that, for others, it can become a serious problem. While we all want a healthy gambling industry that makes an important economic contribution, we must also protect those that use it from harm.

Operators must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the accompanying conditions. In 2019, the Gambling Commission introduced new rules to ensure operators verify customers’ age and identity details quickly and robustly. Furthermore, in 2020, the Government and Commission provided further protections, including a ban on credit card gambling, making participation in the self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP mandatory for online operators, and new guidance for operators to identify customers who may have been at heightened risk during the pandemic. For further information on GAMSTOP, please search: https://www.gamstop.co.uk/

 

I understand Public Health England’s review of gambling-related harms did not find evidence that exposure to advertising is a risk factor for harmful gambling. However, I am reassured that my ministerial colleagues are aware that gambling advertising can negatively affect some groups, such as those with gambling problems, and that some aspects of advertising can appeal to children.

 

While rules are already in place to prevent advertising from causing harm to children and vulnerable people, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has recently implemented strengthened protections for adults who are vulnerable to gambling harm. A further announcement on new rules aimed at reducing the appeal of gambling adverts to children is also expected shortly.

 

I am delighted that the Government recognises that the Gambling Act 2005 is an analogue law in a digital age. A review of the act was launched in 2020 and examines online restrictions, marketing and the powers of the Gambling Commission. Furthermore, protections for online gamblers like stake and spend limits, advertising and promotional offers and whether extra protections for young adults are needed are also being explored. I understand that the Government aims to set out its findings in a White Paper in the coming months.

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 - Consultation on Biodiversity Net Gain Regulations and Implementation - Spring 2022

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about nature conservation in property development.

Environmental protection is at the heart of national planning policy, setting clear expectations about biodiversity net gain and the provision of green infrastructure when new development is planned.

I welcome that the Environment Act 2021 includes a legally binding target on species abundance for 2030 with the aim of halting the decline of nature in England. The Act also strengthens the existing biodiversity duty to require all public authorities to take action to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Local Authorities will also be required to produce 5-yearly Biodiversity Reports setting out the action they have taken and its impact.

Further, I am glad that the Act introduces a new biodiversity net gain requirement for development. This will ensure habitats for wildlife are enhanced, with a 10 per cent increase in habitat compared with the pre-development baseline. In addition, the Government amended the Environment Act to introduce biodiversity net gain for new Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects in England, making certain that new development leads to more nature, not less.

Under the net-gain proposals, developers will have to assess the type of habitat and its condition before submitting plans and demonstrate how they are improving biodiversity such as through creating green corridors, planting more trees, or forming local nature spaces. I am aware that a Biodiversity Metric 3.0 was introduced in July 2021. This will become the industry standard biodiversity metric for all on-land and intertidal development types in England, becoming a requirement through the Environment Act.

Where green improvements on site are not possible, developers will need to pay for habitat creation or improvement elsewhere. I know that the Government sought views on the cost and approach to this means of compensation as part of the consultation and will not introduce a new tariff on loss of biodiversity. Instead, it will be made easier for local authorities, landowners and organisations to set up habitat compensation schemes locally.

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 - Please support the Great Homes Upgrade

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about improving energy standards in our homes.  

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face, and I agree that urgent action is needed. 

That is why I am glad that the Government has set out a comprehensive package to retrofit buildings across the country. This includes the Home Upgrade Grant Scheme which funds energy efficiency measures for low-income households, such as wall and roof insulation as well as new low-carbon heating systems, thermostats and room heating controls.

There is also the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund which is helping to upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock in England currently below Energy Performance Certificate rating C up to that standard. In total, over £6 billion has been committed to retrofit schemes during this Parliament.  

I am encouraged by plans which will see new homes built 'zero-carbon ready' from 2025. Under the Future Homes Standard, new homes will produce at least 75 per cent lower CO2 emissions, compared to those built to current standards. In the longer term, no further retrofit work for energy efficiency will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon homes as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise. 

I know many people want to see these changes implemented quickly and you may therefore be interested to know that an interim uplift to energy efficiency standards has been introduced and will take effect in June 2022. New homes built under this standard are expected to produce around 30 per cent less CO2 emissions, compared to current standards. 

To further help households become more energy efficient, the Chancellor has announced that VAT on energy saving materials such as solar panels, heating pumps and roof insulation will be reduced from five per cent to zero for five years. 

I am confident that the steps the Government is taking will deliver improvements in energy use and efficiency in our homes, while spurring the development of cleaner and greener technologies.  

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 - It's time to invest in dementia diagnosis and research

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

I understand that diagnosis of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, can be devastating and I was proud to stand on a manifesto that committed to making finding a cure for dementia one of the Government's biggest collective priorities through the Dementia Moonshot. 

Currently, the NHS Health Check programme aims to raise awareness of the risk factors that affect both heart and brain health. This aims to prevent a range of health issues, including some cases of dementia, among adults aged 40 to 74 years old. 

The 2020 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention found that 40 per cent of worldwide cases could be down to risk factors that we may be able to influence and I pay tribute to the work that the Alzheimer's Society is doing to raise awareness of the importance of good brain health.  I would certainly be happy to raise the profile of the importance of this issue in Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

I look forward to the publication of the Government's plans on dementia for England later this year. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is contributing to the development of this new strategy, which will include a focus on prevention and risk reduction. The concept of brain health in encouraging people to reduce their dementia risk is also being explored.

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 - Fix bad housing in this Queen’s Speech

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about improving housing stock across the country. 

Everyone deserves a warm, safe, high-quality home to call their own. I share the determination of my ministerial colleagues to improve housing quality across the private and social rented sectors and strengthen the voices of residents up and down the country. 

As you will know, the Government has laid out its plans to spread opportunity and prosperity to every region of the UK in the Levelling Up White Paper. Building more homes and transforming the quality of our housing to ensure it is fit for the 21st century are important parts of this. I understand that the levelling up agenda will be underpinned by a Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which will require the Government to provide annual updates on its progress against goals set out in the White Paper. 

Ministers are also committed to delivering a better deal for renters and will soon lay out a White Paper detailing a package of reforms to do just that. This will include consulting on the introduction of a legally binding Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time. Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will be abolished and the merits of a national landlord register will also be explored. Colleagues have assured me that legislation will follow. 

I am glad that the Government is taking steps to deliver on its commitments made to social housing tenants following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017. Building on the policies outlined in the Charter for Social Housing Residents, a Social Housing Regulation Bill will raise the standard for social housing to meet the needs and aspiration of residents around the country. Taking on board comments made by the Secretary of State, I understand that legislation is due to be published later this year. 

I am assured that the Government is committed to creating a fair and just housing system that works for everyone and I look forward to further details on these policies. 

I also have recently spoken of the need to provide more housing in Cornwall, especially for key workers, in Parliament recently. You can find out further information below:

https://www.cherilynmackrory.org.uk/news/cherilyn-mackrory-mp-calls-housing-crisis-and-access-gps-be-tackled-conjunction-debate

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 - Help your constituents please - Support a Fuel Duty Cut 17/03/2022

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

In recognition of the unprecedented circumstances pushing up fuel prices, I welcome the decision announced at the Spring Statement to cut fuel duty by 5 pence for a full year across all fuel duty rates. The decision to freeze fuel duty for the twelve consecutive years prior to this cut had already saved the average driver over £1,900 compared to the pre-2010 escalator.

I also welcome that for the first time since 1926, money raised through car tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) is now being spent directly on the roads. Around £28bn is being invested in England's strategic and local roads, an amount equivalent to all VED receipts.  I was also very pleased to see the announcement in the Spending Review that £1.7 billion has been made available for local highway authorities in England (outside London) for 2021-2022 to improve the condition of local roads and associated infrastructure.

I also appreciate concerns relating to the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on fuel prices, and I know ministerial colleagues are monitoring this impact closely.

I do appreciate that cars are essential to many people here in Truro and Falmouth, and I have conveyed your comments on  fuel duty to my colleagues at the Treasury. 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 - We need a Green New Deal - will you back the bill?

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about a new green deal.

I note that EDM 544 seeks to expand the public sector to create unionised green jobs in sectors including green tech, manufacturing, care, education, climate adaptation, transport and housing. I note that the Opposition previously suggested nationalising various sectors and industries, including energy, water, Royal Mail and rail companies. This was estimated to cost £196 billion.

I strongly feel that government investment is best used helping support the private sector which, in turn, creates jobs and drives further private investment. For example, the Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12 billion of government investment and potentially three times as much from the private sector, to create and support up to 250,000 green jobs. This investment will drive innovation and lead to significant improvements in green technology which may benefit housing, transport, education, care and manufacturing.

The EDM also encourages re-training and support for those who work in fossil fuel heavy industries. I am encouraged that the North Sea Transition Deal will be a key component in ensuring the oil and gas sector work with the Government over the long-term to deliver the skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea production, as well as other carbon intensive industries.

I note that the campaign also seeks to set legally binding targets. However, the UK has already set ambitious interim targets, including a 68 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035, also compared to 1990 levels. These targets commit build on the Ten Point Plan and put the UK firmly on the path to net zero by 2050, leading the way in tackling climate change globally. Furthermore, the Government also amended the Environment Act 2021 to include a new, historic, legally binding target on species abundance for 2030 to halt the decline of nature, and to address the unacceptable amount of sewage discharged by water companies into our rivers.

The Green Jobs Taskforce was established to help the Government better understand how the UK could grasp opportunities of the Green Industrial Revolution. The findings and recommendations from the taskforce have helped develop and inform the Net Zero Strategy. In the strategy, the Government announced its ambition to support up to 440,000 jobs across net zero industries in 2030, contributing towards a broader pivot to a greener economy which could support 2 million jobs in green sectors or by greening existing sectors. I am encouraged that the Government will work with business to grow green industries, supply chains and skills in the UK, and ensure resilience to international changes in supply chains. 

Finally, I was strongly encouraged by the progress and agreements achieved at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021. The Glasgow Climate Pact calls on countries to accelerate efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards a just transition. 

I hope this reassures you that the Government is continuing to reduce emissions and tackle climate change as we work towards net zero. 

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 - It's time to invest in dementia diagnosis and research

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about dementia diagnosis and research.

I entirely agree that research is crucial to understanding and tackling dementia, and I was proud to stand on a manifesto that committed to making finding a cure for dementia one of the Government's biggest collective priorities. I look forward to the publication of the dementia strategy later this year, which will focus on the specific health and care needs of people living with dementia and their carers, including dementia diagnosis and research.

The 2021 Spending Review saw £5 billion committed to health-related research and development and I understand that work is ongoing to finalise outcomes from the spending review and to identify ways to significantly boost research on dementia, which is encouraging. I was delighted by the Government's announcement in November of a £375 million investment, over the next five years, to improve understanding and treatment for a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including different types of dementia.

It is disappointing that, due to the impact of the pandemic, the estimated dementia diagnosis rate fell below the national target for the first time since 2016. While the rate has recovered slightly since the early part of the pandemic, there is more to do if we are to reach the national target for two thirds of people with dementia to be formally diagnosed. Last year, £17 million was made available to clinical commissioning groups to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses, which I hope will have an impact in Truro and Falmouth.

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 - All Change for Animals!

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about the Animal in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU).

A number of constituents have raised concerns with me regarding the ASRU Change Programme, and the impact it might have on animal welfare standards. Let me reassure that I, and my colleagues, take the issue of animal welfare extremely seriously and I am proud to have supported a legislative agenda so focused on further raising standards for the treatment of animals.

I welcome that there are stringent provisions already in place to ensure compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). This Act makes provision for the protection of animals used for experimental or other scientific purposes. It also adopts the 3Rs principle which seeks to use experimental procedures which either replace the use of animals, reduce the number of animals used, or refine how the animals are treated during the process.

The ASRU is responsible for the administration and enforcement of ASPA, which includes providing advice on the regulations, operating the licence system, and ensuring the compliance of licence holders and the terms of their licenses. Regarding the Change Programme, I have been assured that its core aim is to better align ASRUs activities to deliver its purpose of protecting animals in science by maintaining compliance with ASPA. The benefits of the programme include increased efficiency and more effective delivery of outcomes and services.

Furthermore, the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) is an essential part of establishment governance to ensure compliance with ASPA. All applicants for a new project licence must be evaluated by the local AWERB which is constituted to advise on how effectively the applicant is applying the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement).

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 - Channel 4

I would like to reassure you of the Government's commitment to the success and sustainability of the UK’s public broadcasting system, of which Channel 4 is an integral part.

Channel 4 has been hugely successful in delivering the aims set out at its creation in 1982, including: supporting the UK independent production sector; delivering diverse and risk-taking content; and contributing to the wider public goals of public service broadcasting. However, since then, the TV landscape has changed beyond recognition.

As you might be aware, Channel 4 is entirely commercially funded, but has been publicly owned since it began broadcasting. It was set up in this way principally to provide greater choice. Today though, audiences can now watch what they want, when they want, how they want, across a range of internet-enabled personal devices. The independent production sector has also grown enormously so that it now supplies content to a wide range of broadcasters and streaming services.

The Culture Secretary, after public consultation, considers Government ownership to be holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon. I believe that a change of ownership will offer Channel 4 the freedom to continue its success as a public service broadcaster long into the future. I look forward to reading further details in a White Paper expected in due course.

I am encouraged that the Culture Secretary will seek to use potential proceeds of the sale to level up the creative sector. Investing the money into independent production and creative skills in priority parts of the country will deliver a creative dividend for all. I am glad to note that the UK film industry made more films than Hollywood in the last quarter of 2021 and with more studios opening in the UK, delivering funding will be key.

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 21 April 2022 - The Shared Prosperity Fund

 

I hope you all had a good Easter and were able to spend some time with loved ones over the extended weekend. Thank you to everyone who continued working through this period too.

Last week it was a pleasure to welcome the Transport Minister to both Falmouth and Truro this week to discuss Cornwall’s new transport plan, electric vehicle charging points, e-bikes and car clubs!

Transport in Cornwall will be excellent and carbon neutral. Our transport system will connect people, communities, businesses and services in a way that enhances quality of life, is reliable, efficient, safe, healthy and inclusive.

We trialled e-bikes in Falmouth, and spoke about car clubs and electric vehicle charge points in Truro. The Minister understood the challenges we have in rural areas with connectivity, but the new Cornwall Transport Plan will be revolutionary for Cornwall.

As well as showing the Minister some key features of our constituency, last week also saw the long-awaited announcement of the funding from Shared Prosperity Fund, the Government’s replacement for European Structural Funds following Brexit.

The Government has confirmed that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will receive a £132million share of £2.6 billion of funding that has been allocated.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will see places that need it most draw up plans this year to deliver on their local priorities, based on a conditional allocation of funding over the next three years. This could include regenerating rundown high streets, fighting anti-social behaviour and crime, or helping more people into decent jobs - helping to revive communities, tackle economic decline and reverse geographical disparities in the UK.

The funding delivers on the UK government’s commitment to match the previous EU funding from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund. However, the fund will be much more flexible and locally led, freeing communities from the bureaucratic, rigid and complex processes of the EU Structural Funds.

Bureaucracy will be slashed, and there will be far more discretion over what money is spent on. EU requirements for match funding, which impacted on poorer places, will be abolished. Instead of regional agencies, funding decisions will be made by elected leaders in local government, with input from local members of parliament and local businesses and voluntary groups.

The Government has always been clear that its replacement funding for the previous EU structural funds would not leave areas any worse off, and today’s announcement proves this.

In fact Cornwall, with its allocation £132million from the Shared Prosperity Fund, has more money per head from this fund than any local authority area in England.

I have been told time and time again by people, businesses and organisations in Truro and Falmouth that a real issue with the previous EU funding was how difficult it was to access and how funding allocated for Cornwall was often targeted at the wrong areas. The UKSPF will improve on this. It will be fit for purpose, administered locally and better targeted, so better value for all.

I am already making representations to Cornwall Council to ensure that Falmouth in particular is prioritised for future plans for this money and will be doing all I can to ensure the UKSPF makes a positive difference for ours and future generations across Cornwall.

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.

 

Access to cash in Truro and Falmouth

The government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, particularly those in vulnerable groups, and has committed to legislate to protect access to cash.

From 1 July to 23 September last year, the government held an Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash.

The government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

On access to free-to-use ATMs specifically, free-to-use ATMs, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. LINK has committed to protect free-to-use ATMs more than one kilometre away from the next nearest free ATM or Post Office, and free access to cash on high streets (where there is a cluster of five or more retailers) that do not have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within one kilometre.

Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.

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.