This week in the constituency has been one of the most
eventful for me since the election. Last
Thursday morning the Prime Minister announced the ground-breaking Deal for
Cornwall (“the Deal”). He then travelled
to County Hall in Truro to meet with leaders from Cornwall Council, the Local
Enterprise Partnership (“LEP”), Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS) and
the Cornish MPs to continue discussions about implementation of the Deal.
On Thursday evening the PM then met with the MPs to discuss
a number of issues, including the Government’s continued commitment to invest
in Cornwall. Then on Friday morning I accompanied him again as he met with
tourism business leaders at the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
The Deal for Cornwall has provoked significant debate since
it was announced. The six Cornish MPs
were involved in the discussion at Westminster and we are committed to working
together to bring sensible change to Cornwall.
Cornwall Council had prepared their “Case for Cornwall” that
proposed the devolution of wide-ranging powers to the Council. In contrast, the Deal for Cornwall spreads
the devolved powers across a number of bodies working together.
I have been campaigning for the integration of health and
social care services for some time.
While the NHS is currently managed by central government, our local
council manages social care. This is a
barrier to communication and integrated care.
The result is that patients remain in hospital beds, the so-called
blocked beds, while they wait for a place in a care home. An integrated countywide solution will help
alleviate this pressure.
I also campaigned on job creation; and the Cornwall and
Isles of Scilly LEP will play an even greater role in our economic future. The
LEP and Cornwall Council, working together, have been given greater power to
assign European funding to growth projects in Cornwall.
We have also been given the chance to improve our transport
system. The Government is already investing more in our roads and railways than
we have seen for many years. Now we have the chance to have greater management
over our bus services to make sure we have an integrated public transport
system that works for Cornwall.
This deal is a partnership between the Government, the
Cornish MPs, Cornwall Council, the LEP, and the health authority. It is not
just about giving more powers to Cornwall Council.
Cornwall is in many ways a unique place and we face a number
of challenges that require different solutions to those made possible when
services are run from central Government.
For most of my life people in Cornwall have expressed that
the Westminster Government (of all political parties) has felt remote and
detached from Cornwall. I believe we should see the Deal as a positive step
that addresses this remoteness and has some great possibilities that we should
be focusing on.
We clearly need to make sure that these changes are
implemented in a sensible way that ensures positive outcomes for Cornwall. We are now being given a unique opportunity to
stand up for ourselves and take responsibility for a number of key services.
