On Monday Parliament returned from summer recess. It is always bit of a shock to the system to get back to the weekly commute after spending the summer in Cornwall. But I am ready to get back to the main job of an MP of representing our constituency in Parliament.
There is plenty to get to work on in the coming weeks ahead.
One of the most important issues continues to be the current housing situation
in Cornwall. Whilst I have been working on this throughout recess, the return
of Parliament will enable me to do this more effectively.
We are expecting new legislation on planning to come to
Parliament in the coming week and I am hopeful that this will include new
measures that will enable local councils to manage the number of second homes and holiday lets through the
planning system. This is something that I have been asking the government to
put in place for several months now and it was encouraging to read in some of
the national papers this weekend that these measures are being considered.
I am sure there will be a great deal of work still to do to
ensure the right measures are put in place, but this will be one of my priorities
over the coming weeks.
Of course, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues
and I am sure there will be plenty of debate on things like the vaccine roll
out, particularly for children, booster jabs, vaccine passports and what
further steps the government needs to ensure we continue to keep on top of the
virus through the winter. In my role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the
Health Secretary I am sure I will be kept very busy.
I will also be continuing my work on a number of the ongoing
projects for our constituency such as the A30 link road, Spaceport Cornwall,
securing the London flights for Cornwall Airport Newquay, upgrading the Newquay-Par
railway branch line and lithium extraction.
However, I am also very much aware that I am your voice in
Westminster and so I always want to know what matters most to you. To this end
I have launched a new constituency autumn survey, so you can let me know the
issues you feel should be focused on in the coming months.
You can find the survey on my website here
https://www.stevedouble.org.uk/st-austell-and-newquay-autumn-myplan-survey
It takes just a few minutes to complete so please do take a
look and let me know your thoughts.
This will come off the back of my recent businesses survey
when I asked local businesses to give me their thoughts on the way the
government has supported businesses through the pandemic, the challenges they
face and their thoughts about the future. Thank you to everyone who completed
that survey. If you are interested you can read the report here:
https://www.stevedouble.org.uk/st-austell-and-newquay-business-survey
I am aware that many local businesses continue to face a
number of challenges as we seek to recover from the past 18 months.
Particularly I know that many are struggling to find the staff they need. I
will continue to do all I can to ensure these concerns are heard and addressed.
Finally, once again this weekend we saw Cornwall hosting
another international event as the first leg of the cycling Tour of Britain
passed through the county. Starting in Penzance and ending in Bodmin the
cyclists peddled across the Cornish countryside and our constituency got to
host a large part of it as the route passed through Newquay and St Austell as
well as several villages along the way.
A huge well done must go again to Cornwall Council, the
Police and everyone involved in ensuring everything went smoothly. It was
actually quite incredible to beyond the way the race was organised as it sped
through the towns and villages along the way with the minimum of disruption. It
was another opportunity to showcase Cornwall in all her beauty. But I think
more importantly it demonstrated our ability to host these type of events. Following
the G7, this will have enhanced our reputation as a place that can manage large
prominent events and put on a great show. Hopefully this will put us in a great
place for other such events in the future.
