Newspaper column 26th March 2024 - The success of our new age of Cornish mining

One of the continuing positive stories for Cornwall in recent years, since I became Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth, is the growth and emergence of lithium extraction as a potential to provide high paid, high skilled jobs in our Duchy and return Cornwall’s mining pre-eminence on both a national and international scale. But as well as this there are also other plans in the Duchy to re-open the iconic and important South Crofty Mine as a going commercial concern.

Last week I was delighted to welcome Minister of State for Industry and Economic Security, Nus Ghani MP to Cornwall to see some of this potential for herself.

 

As well as my role as local MP for Truro and Falmouth, in Parliament I am also Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Critical Minerals. All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal, cross-party groups formed by MPs and Members of the House of Lords who share a common interest in a particular policy area, region or country and I am pleased to chair the Critical Minerals APPG, whose stated aim is to highlight the UK's need for a secure, sustainable supply of critical minerals to deliver the nation's industrial strategy.

 

As Chair of the APPG for Critical Minerals, I am working hard to ensure the future of Cornwall’s oldest industry, and last week I took the Minister visit Cornish Metals at the South Crofty Mine. We saw the fantastic work being carried out to restore this historic mine and get it back up and running to extract the vital critical minerals we all need today.

 

Last year I visited this site for the opening of the brilliant new Water Treatment Plant, which is helping to clear the mine but also to clean the Red River and protect local wildlife. I am so pleased by all the progress which has been made since, and it was a privilege to be there and show the Minister all the work we are doing to get this up and running and make the new age of Cornish mining a reality.

 

As well as this, the Minister also took time during her visit last week to see some of the work being done by both Cornish Lithium and Imerys British Lithium to realise the lithium potential that has been called ‘globally significant’. Along with Government investment to build a gigafactory for the processing of lithium in the South West region, these are exciting times and we should see a lot of return from the investment in critical minerals in Cornwall over the next few years. I will certainly continue to do all I can, both locally in Cornwall and in Parliament, to support the continued growth of this industry into the future.

 

As always, I am fully focused on the job at hand and if there is ever anything at all I can do to help, then please do not hesitate to contact me. 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 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: Gaza, Israel, and a ceasefire

Thank you for contacting me about the situation in Gaza. I appreciate how important this matter is to you, and to so many of my constituents, and can assure you that the Government remains focused on addressing the very serious situation in the Middle East.

Like you, I want to see an end to the terrible suffering in Gaza as soon as possible and for the fighting to stop now. I would like to set out my position on this matter and tell you what the government is doing to mitigate the situation.

I support the UK Government’s position, which is calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. Indeed, the Government made a Written Statement to Parliament on 23 February setting out this position. 

There are several vital elements for a lasting peace, including the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas’ capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.

 

I respect the role and independence of the ICJ. However, I agree with the UK Government that South Africa’s case at the ICJ is not helpful in achieving the goal of a sustainable ceasefire. I share the Government’s view that Israel’s actions in Gaza cannot be described as genocide, and believed South Africa’s decision to bring the case was wrong and provocative.

 

The Court’s call for the immediate release of hostages and the need to get more aid into Gaza is a position the UK has long advocated.  

 

On UNRWA, I am appalled by allegations that any agency staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism. I support the UK's decision to pause any future funding of UNRWA whilst these concerning allegations are reviewed. The United States, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all temporarily paused funding too.

 

The Government is pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight to produce a rapid interim report. The UK wants UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. The UK is working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion – not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza.

 

I want to make clear that the UK remains committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it. The Government is getting on with aid delivery, funding multiple implementing partners including other UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. This support is helping people in Gaza get food, water, shelter and medicines.

 

The commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands and the UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.

 

Indeed, the UK will continue to support the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. 750 tonnes of life-saving food aid arrived in the first delivery and 315 tonnes in the second delivery.

 

On 21 February four tonnes of life-saving aid – funded and supported by the UK Government – were air-dropped for the Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in Northern Gaza by the Jordanian Air Force.

 

Ministers are doing all that they can to get more aid in and open more crossings.

 

Finally, the UK continues to call for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to be respected and civilians to be protected. The Government has previously assessed that Israel is committed and capable of complying with IHL, and regularly reviews its assessment.

 

I do hope the above information is useful in understanding my position and the action taken by the government. I would like to add that while it may seem from the news and social media that parliament is divided on this issue – it is very much not the case and everybody in Westminster wishes to see an end to the suffering in Gaza.

 

Thank you again for contacting me about this important matter.

Newspaper Column 19th March 2024 - Cornwall's Tri-Service Officers

Last week in Parliament it was really good to welcome representatives from Cornwall’s Tri-Service Safety Officer (TSSO) programme to Westminster for an event to highlight this excellent Cornish trailblazer role to MPs from across the country.

The TSSO role is one that I am passionate about, and is something we have very much led the way on in Cornwall. TSSO’s are a unique innovative collaborative one between the Police, Fire and Health services. The role started in 2014 with a pilot in Hayle (West Cornwall) and has now developed into 13 full time positions, with more positions planned to be open as we head into 2024 and beyond. I am pleased to say that in Truro and Falmouth we currently have a TSSO in Perranporth and I have been pushing to get another officer to serve the rural communities on the Roseland.

 

The role focuses on prevention, early intervention and reducing vulnerability. When tasked through either service they look to problem solve from a multi-agency perspective. A basic example - while attending a police neighbourhood dispute they may fit a smoke alarm, make a health referral, and signpost a family to a third sector organisation. They also explore suitable pathways to Cornwall Councils services and support. This is to ensure the highest levels of safeguarding are in place for vulnerable members of our communities which the TSSO’s lead on. Problem solving is further enhanced by having access to data across all the services with Information Sharing Agreements in Place.

 

The TSSO’s have some limited police powers under the community safety accredited scheme (CSAS), are retained fire fighters and in addition offer an emergency response for the ambulance service as community responders.

 

The TSSOs are highly skilled motivated professionals there is a bespoke training package developed for them in Cornwall. The team in Cornwall are happy to share their journey and all documents and practices learned. Within this library of documents there are two extensive and thorough independent evaluations evidencing the significant value of the role. The TSSO’s are held to the highest standards of all three services.

 

Apart from the emergency response work, which takes up less than 10% of their time, the role also focuses on improving individuals and communities focussing on vulnerability, particularly in deprived areas and in rural communities that have not traditionally benefitted from a significant emergency presence based in them.

 

Working smarter together to address these issues is an obvious and smart solution, and in doing so the use of TSSO’s reduces frontline demand and improves the quality of lives for individuals and makes communities safer.

 

Last week it was great to be able to introduce our Cornish TSSO team to colleagues in Parliament and even have them meet the Policing Minister to share their firsthand experience of the role and how much it benefits the communities the officers serve in. I hope that the TSSO role’s success will be noted and that this will be another good example of a positive Cornish story that can be rolled out nationally to benefit people around the UK in the future.

 

As always, I am fully focused on the job at hand and if there is ever anything at all I

can do to help, then please do not hesitate to contact me. 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 12th March 2024 - The Spring Budget

The news last week was dominated by the Chancellor’s Spring Budget Statement, which saw a number of positive announcements which I am sure will be welcomed by people across Truro and Falmouth.

The last few years have not been easy for the British economy. We have faced the legacy of Covid, war in Ukraine and the Middle East. These challenges have made life tough for people in Britain.

Since the beginning of 2023, we have been working on five priorities. Three of them are economic. To halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt.

We have made good progress. Inflation has fallen from 11.1 per cent to 4.0 per cent, the economy has performed better than forecast, wages are rising, mortgage rates are starting to come down, the economy has outperformed European neighbours and debt is on track to fall as a share of the economy.

The job is not done. But because of the progress we have made, the economy is turning a corner and we have been able to afford tax cuts as part of our plan to reward work and grow the economy.

Last week’s Budget shows the plan is working. The Budget will:

·       Cut taxes for 27 million working people from April, by again cutting the main rate of employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from ten per cent to eight per cent. Combined with the cut at the Autumn Statement, that is a tax cut of over £900 for the average worker earning £35,400 – giving the average earner the lowest effective personal tax rate since 1975.

·       Cut taxes for two million of the self-employed, by cutting the main rate of Class 4 NICs from nine per cent to six per cent. Combined with the tax cuts for the self-employed at the Autumn Statement, this is a tax cut of around £650 for an average self-employed person earning £28,000 a year.

·       Support half a million families through changes to the High Income Child Benefit Charge by raising the threshold and halving the rate at which Child Benefit is withdrawn, benefiting some parents by an average of £1,260. By April 2026 we will also end the unfairness for single earner families.

·       Reduce debt, with overall debt beginning to fall next year and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting we will meet our fiscal rule to have debt falling as a share of the economy.

·       Freeze alcohol duty, alleviating pressure on the hospitality sector.

·       Maintain the five pence cut to fuel duty and freeze rates for the fourteenth consecutive year, helping keep motoring costs down – a £3.1 billion tax cut for drivers.

·       Cut Capital Gains Tax on residential property sales, encouraging those who want to sell their second homes and buy to lets to make more houses available for families.

·       Increase the VAT registration threshold for small businesses for the first time since 2017, raising it from £85,000 to £90,000.

·       Support and reform the NHS with £2.45 billion for next year and a new £3.4 billion productivity plan, saving money, freeing up clinicians’ time to focus on patients, and cut wait times.

·       Introduce a new duty on vapes, protecting young people and children from the harm of vaping.

·       Reform our tax system – ensuring those with the broadest shoulders contribute a bit more.

Away from the big picture announcements, I was delighted to see the Chancellor recognise my own work in pushing for more controls on holiday lets when he name-checked my work in campaigning to remove the unfair rules which incentivised landlords to make their properties holiday lets rather instead of renting them to local people all year round. This is a fair and sensible step to take and I hope will make landlords consider switching their properties to permanent residential homes for local people, helping ease the housing pressures that we see in Cornwall.

All in all, last week’s Budget was a sensible and pragmatic one.

The choice is clear – stick with the plan that is working under Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives which will deliver a brighter future for the country or go back to square one with Keir Starmer and Labour, who can’t say what they’d do, because they don’t have a plan.

As always, I am fully focused on the job at hand and if there is ever anything at all I

can do to help, then please do not hesitate to contact me. 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 04/03/23 - Supporting Women in politics and the professional world

This Friday, the 8^th of March, is International Women’s Day, and for my column this week I wanted to focus on the work the Government is doing to support more women to reach the top table of Britain’s biggest companies and politics, strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse and crack down on perpetrators of violence against women and girls.

As a woman in politics I am sorry to say that I do receive a lot of abuse. In fact, research conducted by Amnesty International revealed that women in politics are 27 times more likely to face abuse online than their male counterparts.

This is sadly reflected even in local politics too, and just recently Cornwall Council debated on and passed a motion that recognises the abuse that Cornwall Councillors and particularly female Cornwall Councillors, get on a regular basis.

In my time as Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth I have worked hard to champion women’s rights and work with the Government to better protect women and girls from threats they face.

I have previous shared information on the action the Government has taken to elevate violence against women and girls to a crime type that policing leaders must treat as a national threat, as well as launching the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. In 2022 the Government committed over £230 million over three years in its Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, complementing our £300 million investment in their 2021 Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, supporting victims and survivors.

The Government has also put £125 million into practical measures like street lighting so that women and girls feel safer at night, and through the Safer Street Fund and Safety of Women at Night Fund, have invested £125 million to deliver practical support for women and girls across our communities, some of this funding which I have been pleased to see deployed in Falmouth and Penryn to make a real positive difference on our streets for women and girls.

Online abuse is a real threat and a growing one, and the Government has acted by protecting women and girls through the Online Safety Act, delivering on the Government’s commitment to better shield people from harmful content online. This Act creates a new base offence of intentionally sharing an intimate image without consent. The Government is also creating a specific offence of threatening to share intimate image and the sharing of ‘deepfakes’, as well as making Cyberflashing illegal.

The Government is also protecting women by overhauling the laws to protect women from domestic killers, meaning ex-partners who lash out at the end of their relationship will face longer than ever behind bars, protecting vulnerable women, and also introducing longer sentences for partners who murder following the end of a relationship history of coercive and controlling behaviour to be a mitigating factor for abused victims who kill their tormentors.

Finally another step the Government is taking is introducing a plan to guarantee single-sex spaces, ensuring women and girls feel safe wherever they are. They are bringing forward changes that will mean all new non-domestic public and private buildings will be required to provide separate single-sex toilets, and also ensuring that transgender offenders who have committed sexual or violent crimes or retain male genitalia will not serve their sentence in a women’s prison, unless explicitly approved at the highest level.

There is always more to do, but I am proud of being part of this Government that takes women’s rights seriously, so we can celebrate women and our invaluable contribution to all aspects of life, both on International Women’s Day and throughout the year.

As always, I am fully focused on the job at hand and if there is ever anything at all I

can do to help, then please do not hesitate to contact me. 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.