The Budget that the Chancellor delivered last week continued
the Government’s plan to reduce the deficit and balance the books – as a
country we are still spending around £1billion per week more than we earn and
tough decisions need to be made in order to leave the country in a better state
for our children and grandchildren.
However, there was still plenty of good news for Cornwall in
the Budget.
First on the list is more money for our social care system. I
was delighted that the Chancellor announced that an additional £2 billion will
be given to councils in England over the next 3 years for adult social care.
We are all aware of the pressure our local care system in
Cornwall has been under recently. I have worked with my Cornish MP colleagues to
lobby the Government for more money for Cornwall and am pleased that we will be
getting a sizeable share of this new pot of money.
Cornwall will be getting a total of almost £24 million over the
next three years, £12,068,325 for this coming year, £7,939,590 for 2018/19 and £3,943,423
for 2019/20.
Cornwall Council can use this money to commission new care
packages for the coming financial year. This will enable mainly frail, elderly
people to be better supported in order to enable them to continue living safely
at home and also, in particular, help reduce the number of older patients who
get stuck in hospital – sometimes for many months – despite being medically fit
to leave, because the current social care system in Cornwall fails to provide
the support they need to return home.
This is great news and I look forward to working with
Cornwall Council to ensure this money is spent sensibly for the benefit of
those people who need it most.
We also saw good news on business rate for small businesses
and local pubs. I am sure this will make a big positive difference to the many
who have contacted me about this in recent months.
Under the new measures, any business coming out of small
business rate relief will benefit from a cap which prevents the rate that it
pays from going up by more than £50 per month. The Government will also provide
a £1,000 discount on business rates bills for all pubs with a rateable value of
less than £100,000, which includes 90 per cent of all pubs in England.
I am concerned about the proposed rise in National Insurance
Contributions for those who are self-employed. I have already stated my
opposition on this to the Government. I am pleased the Prime Minister has
acknowledged the concerns that I and many Conservative MPs expressed and
confirmed there will be a delay on a vote on this legislation while the impact
is considered. I will make sure concerns of local self-employed people are
heard as these discussions continue. If you are affected by these changes
please get in touch and I will be more than happy to hear how you think they
will impact upon you.
As
always, my team and I are here to serve the whole constituency and work hard to
make a real difference to the lives of everyone needing support. If there is an
issue you would like my assistance on then please contact me on either 01726
829379 or office@stevedouble.org.uk. Additionally, I hold regular, appointment
only, advice surgeries across the constituency. Dates of these can be found at:
www.stevedouble.org.uk/events
