Newspaper Column for St Austell area newspapers 29 November 2017

The main news last week was the Budget Statement. There was lots of good news for Cornwall including positive changes to Universal Credit, more money for the NHS and cutting stamp duty for first time house buyers. However, there was also some great news locally for the St Austell area. The Budget included confirmation from the Chancellor that the Government would be providing £79m of funding for the dedicated link road from St Austell to the A30.

This is truly amazing news and represents one of the biggest investments ever in our transport infrastructure in mid-Cornwall. In my election campaigns in both 2015 and this year I said securing this funding would be my top priority for this area and I am delighted to be delivering on this commitment.

This road will provide a direct link from the A30 to St Austell - reducing the journey times and will bring massive economic benefits. In a consultation in 2012 this road was the number one priority for local businesses. It will also solve the problems residents of the villages of Bugle, Stenalees and Roche have been experiencing with heavy traffic going through their communities, particularly close to local schools,  using roads that were simply not designed for that volume of traffic In the run up to the General Election this year, these problems were the number one issue raised with me on the door in these communities and I am pleased, just five months down the line, to have delivered what I promised, and secured the funding from the Government to help solve this issue.

This is a road that many people have talked about for years and I am pleased to have finally got the ball rolling on it as your MP and as part of a Conservative Government. I am very grateful for the support of Cornwall Council officers, local councillors Sally-Anne Saunders and John Wood, as well as the St Austell Bay Economic Forum (SABEF) on behalf of the wider business community.

I have already met with the Head of Transport of Cornwall Council to discuss this news and keep the momentum going. We now have to go through the planning process and hope that construction will begin in 2019. Rest assured that I will be doing everything in my power to ensure this project goes ahead as soon as possible and we get the road built for the benefit of the whole community.

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. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please, either visit the office or 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

NHS Funding

I believe fully in the NHS and its values, and I would like to assure you that the Government is committed to a tax-funded NHS, free at the point of use, wherever and whenever you need it. As Ministers plan a new relationship with the EU, I know they will continue to ensure that the NHS is given the priority it deserves.

Despite tight public finances, the Government has actively supported the NHS's own plan for the future. That is why it is increasing NHS spending by a minimum of £8 billion in real terms over the next five years. This will ensure that by the end of this Parliament, everyone will be able to access GP services at evenings and weekends.

At the recent Budget, the Chancellor announced an additional £6.3 billion in funding for the NHS, £335 million will be spent this year on A&Es to prepare them for any winter pressure they may face.

I wholeheartedly support the Government's increase to the NHS budget. However, the NHS is a public service like any other, and local areas must live within their agreed budgets, otherwise they are effectively unfairly depriving other parts of the NHS of much-needed resources. As I understand, the so-called 'capped expenditure process' is part of NHS England and NHS Improvement's financial planning, which examines how a small number of NHS areas could do more to balance their budgets, and remain on a financially sustainable footing for the long run.

You may be happy to hear that the Commonwealth Fund, a respected healthcare think-tank which works to improve access to healthcare around the world rated the NHS as the best healthcare system in the world, in an authoritative, comparative study of healthcare systems in developed economies. Whilst there is no room for complacency, I am encouraged that the NHS is performing well, despite many years of difficult financial circumstances.

More money is being invested in mental health than ever before, with an estimated record £11.4 billion this year and investment continues to rise. Additional mental health funding has been invested since April 2017, rising to £1 billion by 2020/21 for mental health to support crisis care and perinatal services, and respond to the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. For children and young people, £1.4 billion has been committed to transform mental health and eating disorder services over five years. In Cornwall will have our first adolescent mental health unit build in Bodmin over the next few years. No longer will young people have to travel out of county to get the care they need.

The NHS will earmark an extra £2.4 billion a year for GP services by 2020/21, a 14 per cent real terms increase. This investment includes a £500 million Sustainability and Transformation package to help GP practices add to the workforce and tackle workload.

On top of this, to secure the best value for taxpayers, tough new financial controls have been introduced to cut down on waste in the NHS, including introducing caps for agency staff and management consultants, and introducing central procurement rules. I am glad to say that the limits on agency spending have saved the NHS roughly £1 billion between 2014 and 2016, and the NHS believes there is still significant progress to be made.

I understand that the NHS is putting into practice the Getting it Right First Time scheme, first piloted by orthopaedic surgeon Professor Tim Briggs. In 2016, the Health Secretary announced new plans to reduce infection in the NHS and improve surgical practice, which aims to save the NHS a further £1.5 billion per year, which can be reinvested in patient care.

In recognition of the pressures facing social care in local areas, the Chancellor has announced a package of measures in the recent budget which go even further to help the health and care system. Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £2 billion for social care over the next three years. This will help to ease pressures on the NHS by supporting more people to be discharged from hospital and into care as soon as they are ready.

It is also important to note what’s happening Cornwall. The NHS budget has increased and is budgeted to continue increase as you can see from the table below.

 

Newspaper column 22 November - the fight against plastics in our seas

This week Parliament is focussing on the Budget, which the Chancellor will be giving today.

I spent the run up both in Mid-Cornwall and in Parliament, including a busy constituency advice surgery in Newquay and the Anti-Social Behaviour summit in St Austell

I had a packed time in Parliament, speaking in a number of debates, including one on Fatherhood and the importance of the role of fathers in today’s society, and on the role of the UK in combatting marine pollution.

Along with this second debate, I was also pleased, in my capacity as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Protecting Our Waves, to host the Plastic-free Coastlines Reception in Westminster. Those who have followed my work will know this is an issue I have been campaigning on since I was first elected.

Along with Surfers Against Sewage, the reception took place to highlight the issue of marine plastic pollution and promote innovative government, business and community based solutions to protect our oceans and beaches from the rising tide of plastic.

In 1950, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034. Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans and there may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean, altogether weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.

UK-wise, approximately 5000 items of marine plastic pollution have been found per mile of beach and on average over 150 plastic bottles litter each mile of UK beaches.

On top of this, recent studies have revealed marine plastic pollution in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals and 40% of seabird species examined. 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually.

These are all shocking statistics and clearly something needs to be done. With this in mind, it was great to get so many inspirational charities, businesses and government agencies together in Parliament to see just how far we have come in our fight against plastic pollution of our seas.

The Government is listening to the hundreds of thousands of people who have got involved and is taking forward ideas including the consultation on the deposit return scheme for single use plastic bottles and we are very much hoping for more news on this issue in the budget. There is still much more to do, both in terms of raising awareness of this issue and the serious nature of the problem, and in providing solutions to the tide of plastic that is blighting our seas.

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. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please, either visit the office or 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

Child refugees

I strongly support the principle of family unity, but it is important to note that there are already legal routes for families to be reunited safely that are not dependent on our EU membership. The UK's family reunion policy is generous, granting over 23,000 family reunion visas over the last five years, and I can assure you that the Government will continue to reunite refugees with their immediate family.

The EU Dublin Regulation determines the Member State with responsibility for assessing an asylum claim. Under the Regulation unaccompanied children present in another EU Member State can be transferred to the UK to have their asylum claim assessed where they have a qualifying family member or relative legally present and transfer is in their best interests. I do expect cooperation on asylum and migration with our European partners to continue after the UK leaves the EU, and will follow this topic with interest as the exact nature of this cooperation becomes clear during the negotiations.

Britain has a proud record of helping the most vulnerable who are fleeing conflict and danger, and I know the Government is committed to upholding this fine tradition. That is why its response to the migrant crisis has indeed been to establish resettlement schemes from the refugee camps in the region. This allows support to be targeted to the most vulnerable people affected by the crisis, while not creating a strong incentive for refugees to undertake dangerous journeys. By 2020, the UK will have resettled 20,000 refugees through our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, as well as a further 3,000 of the most vulnerable children and their families from the Middle East and North Africa region under the Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Scheme.

Green Belt

I am exceptionally fond of the British and Cornish countryside. While it is up to local authorities to determine the development of new homes through local plans, I would like to reassure you that the Government is acting to protect the Green Belt from inappropriate development.

The Housing White Paper, published earlier this year, emphasised the Government's continued commitment to protecting the Green Belt. Ministers want to amend and add to national policy to make it clear that: Green Belt boundaries should only be amended in exceptional circumstances, when local authorities can demonstrate they have fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting their identified housing requirements; and where land is removed from the Green Belt, local policies should require the impact to be offset.

Planning policy also guarantees strong protection for National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Green Belt also enjoys protection against erosion from caravan and traveller sites. The Government also has an ambitious programme to bring brownfield land back into use in England and is working closely with local authorities to drive this forward. This will ensure that development is prioritised on brownfield sites rather than at the expense of our countryside.

Newspaper column 15 November - Waste and Recycling in Cornwall

The second week of November was another interesting one for me.

In Parliament I was delighted to host a reception for the charity Shared Lives, so my MP colleagues could come along and see for themselves some of the brilliant work this group is doing. Shared Lives provide residential care in family homes for adults with special needs, and following a visit to one of their providers in St Austell earlier this year, I am pleased to have been able to highlight their work in Westminster.

On Friday it was also great to see the Prime Minister announce that the date and time we will be leaving the EU - 11pm on 29^th March 2019 will be set in law. We can now set our Brexit alarm!

As Parliament rose early it has been great to spend more time than usual at home in Mid-Cornwall, and I have been able to attend Remembrance Services in St Austell, Newquay and St Columb Major, visit several local businesses including the award winning Old Barn at Tregonetha, meet with the Leadership Team  at St Mawgan in Pydar School to discuss their plans for the future, welcome the new Vicar at St Goran Church and hold a lively and informative Meet the MP session at the Safe Harbour in Fowey.

One of the issues local people have raised with me recently is the situation with Cornwall Council and their proposed move to fortnightly waste collections with a possible limit to two black sacks per household per collection.

At a time where the powers that be at Cornwall Council got a ton of flak last week for using a consultancy firm from upcountry, at a cost of £75,000 to tell us that we think Cornwall is a great place to live, you would have thought they would have steered clear of any more controversial decisions for a while. However it appears they already have another one lined up!

It is clear that Cornwall does have some work to do to catch up with the rest of the country in terms of recycling. However the needs of Cornwall, with its unique geography and large number of small rural communities, are very different to more urban areas that often have higher recycling rates. Have Cornwall Council actually thought about the issues households would face with overflowing waste sacks and food being left in situ for two weeks at a time? The seagulls would have a field day at least.

You would have thought that Cornwall Council would have consulted with their public before putting such a big decision on their Cabinet’s agenda for this week but aside from a few posts on social media, this seems to have been lacking. It is telling perhaps that the new/old Liberal Democrat/Independent regime at the council are more willing to spend thousands of pounds asking consultants from upcountry what they think, than they are asking their own electorate, the people of Cornwall, what we think.

Cornwall Council is, of course there to represent and serve of the people who live in Cornwall. Sadly it seems that once again those in charge are focusing elsewhere instead of what really matters.

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. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please, either visit the office or 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

Newspaper column 8 November - Changes to letting and service charges

Last week was a busy one for me. In Parliament I spoke in a number of debates, including leading one on proportional representation via my role on the Petitions Committee, and also contributed to the tax on beer and pubs debate, which with St Austell Brewery a major employer in Mid-Cornwall is particularly important to us ahead of the upcoming Budget.

Following this, I came back to Mid-Cornwall for a packed few days, including meetings with Cornwall’s leadership board, filming my slot on BBC’s Sunday Politics, a busy constituency advice surgery in St Austell and selling poppies with the Royal British Legion ahead of Remembrance Day this coming weekend.

Meanwhile last week also saw the introduction to Parliament of a new draft bill to ban letting fees.

While the Government is taking many positive steps to increase and encourage home ownership, it is also crucial that we protect those in the rented sector, which has long been under regulated and has not provided enough protection of both tenants and landlords alike. Whilst many letting agents provide a good service, it is clear that there are some who do not.

The draft Tenant Fees Bill will set out the Government’s approach to banning letting fees for tenants, helping millions of renters by bringing an end to costly upfront payments.

Evidence shows the level of fees charged are often not clearly or consistently explained, leaving many tenants unaware of the true costs of renting a property.

This latest action will help improve transparency, affordability and competition in the private rental market. It will also prevent agents from double charging both tenants and landlords for the same services.

As well as these changes, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid last week announced plans to crack down on letting and management agents who make tenants, leaseholders and increasingly home owners on new estates, pay overpriced service charges.

Government data estimates that services charges paid to management companies total between a staggering £2.5 billion and £3.5 billion a year, a vast amount of money.

Many leaseholders and home owners share the cost of maintenance and repairs, including for open spaces, paying service charges. I have had many complaints about landlords and letting agents arbitrarily increasing service charges.

The Government is in the process of bringing measures to protect consumers from unfair costs and overpriced service charges as well as providing ways to place more power in the hands of consumers by giving leaseholders and owners more say over their agent.

As ever with Parliamentary Bills, its passing through Parliament will be a lengthy process and the devil will be in the detail. I will be closely monitoring this Bill as it proceeds to ensure concerns that have been raised with me by tenants and landlords in Mid-Cornwall are reflected in the finished legislation.

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. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please, either visit the office or 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

Newspaper column 1 November - The Bloodhound

Last week I had the privilege of seeing the Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC) during its test run at Newquay.

The Bloodhound SSC is designed not only to go faster than the speed of sound (supersonic) but to over 1,000mph, smashing the current land speed record, which is 746mph. The Bloodhound will cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds. The Car is powered by both a jet engine and a rocket, which together produce more than 135,000 horsepower: that’s more than six times the power of all the Formula 1 cars on a starting grid put together.

The Bloodhound came to Cornwall Airport Newquay because of the length of its runway – something that makes it an ideal place to trial the car ahead of its full attempt.

It is particularly good to see that all of the schools in Cornwall have been invited to visit the Bloodhound during its time at Cornwall Airport Newquay. One of the stated aims of the Bloodhound project is to inspire the next generation about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM subjects.

It is crucial that future generations embrace and do well in STEM subjects, to ensure the UK remains at the cutting edge of global science and technology development. I hope that witnessing the tremendous achievements of the Bloodhound first-hand will ignite or fan the flames of creativity among our pupils from schools in Mid-Cornwall and set some of these children up for having a lifelong love of STEM subjects.

Also while I was with the Bloodhound team I had the chance to have a good chat with Richard Noble, the project director and former world record holder behind the project. Richard is an inspirational character and it was great to be able to talk to him about his ventures, previous achievements and future plans. His enthusiasm for innovating and pursuing such an extraordinary goal is plain to see and something which I would love to see grow with similar high tech ventures in Mid-Cornwall.

With our world now an increasingly digital one, I have always championed bringing new businesses to Cornwall whose work forces can work remotely from our beautiful county. It is important that we get not just more jobs for Mid-Cornwall, but jobs that are highly skilled and better paid, therefore improving our economy and the living standards of all of us who live here.

Attracting high-tech investment in the spirit of the Bloodhound project is a good start but there is much more to do. I will continue to do all I can both locally and in Westminster to realise this goal.

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. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please, either visit the office or 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