Newspaper column 18 August 2021 - Results Week

 

Before I continue with this week’s column I want to pause to reflect on the tragic events from Plymouth last Thursday. We need to stand in solidarity with our neighbours across the Tamar, whose community has been hurt so badly by this shooting, and it is by standing together, in strength against this horrific act, that we can get through it. My thanks go to the emergency services, who responded in incredibly difficult and harrowing circumstances to help those injured and keep the area safe.

Last week saw pupils receive their GCSE A Level and other Further Education results. This has been another very difficult and different year of study and my congratulations go to everyone who has had their results. I hope you will be able to use them to positively move on to the next stage of your lives, whatever they may be.

Now more than ever, it is important that we do all we can to invest in our future generations, and I am pleased to see positive work being undertaken across the educational offer we have in Mid-Cornwall to ensure our children get the best possible primary, secondary and further education that they can.

At the end of July the Government confirmed that pupil funding for schools in Mid-Cornwall has gone up again with an average 3.3% increase this year, although some have seen an increase of up to 30.7%. This further closes the funding gap between Cornwall and other, more urban areas.

We have also seen additional funding for Fowey and Treviglas schools to address specific maintenance issues in their buildings to improve the educational experience.

I am also delighted to see new schools opening and planned in our constituency, including a new primary school at Tretherras, and a new Sky Academy at the West Carclaze Garden Village.

Turning to further education, it is crucial that St Austell, as the largest town in Cornwall, has an excellent further education offer, and I have successfully made the case to the Government for Cornwall College’s St Austell Campus to receive a share of a £1.5billion fund to allow it to re-develop and renew its St Austell base.

This goes along with my work to ensure St Austell has provision for pupils wishing to take A Levels in the town, as well as supporting Cornwall College’s already excellent offer of vocational courses.

I will continue doing all I can to ensure our young people get the best possible start in life, through education and elsewhere, such as helping grow our economy with high paid, high-skilled jobs that will allow our young people to stay and have their careers in Cornwall should they wish to.

Finally on Sunday, given the rapid escalation of events in Afghanistan, Parliament has been recalled, and will sit on Wednesday. I will be hoping to speak in the debate on this extremely difficult situation, where there is no easy answer.

As always, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance. Please do get in touch if I can help – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 11 August 2021 - tourism and more!

Much has been said in recent weeks about the role of tourism in Cornwall. Clearly, we are in the midst of what is an exceptional time with higher demand than ever from those wanting to come here on holiday.

Whilst this current peak is unlikely to continue beyond the next year or so, there is no doubt that tourism will continue to play a major part in our economy. This brings with it both positives and challenges. Tourism not only provides essential work for many local people - one in three households in Cornwall rely on tourism for at least part of their income -  but also supports many more businesses and jobs in the supply chain and supporting services.

A sizeable majority of our local businesses, from retail shops or restaurants and pubs and many other local services simply would not be viable without the additional income tourism brings. Many of the things that make Cornwall such a great place to live, that those of us fortunate enough to call this special place our home, get to enjoy for 52 weeks of the year, would not exist without the influx of visitors.

Clearly there are challenges that having such an influx of people brings. Whether it is the annoyance of traffic jams and queues, or the far more serious issues of the pressure it places on local housing and public services, it is important that we maintain a sustainable balance between the economic benefits and the pressures it creates.

This current spike will pass, but I am also determined that we learn from this time and take appropriate action to ensure measures are put in place, to avoid the challenges we are facing this summer being repeated in the future.

 But I think it is also important we recognise there is a lot more locally than tourism. One of the real joys of the past year or so has been getting a better understanding of some of the other amazing businesses we have here in mid-Cornwall. Particularly it has been incredible to learn of the vital and significant role our constituency has played nationally and internationally in the global fight against the Coronavirus.

It can be all too easy to just see us as a tourism backwater where nothing much else happens. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am not talking about the future potential of things like Spaceports, lithium extraction or geo-thermal energy, which will one day open new opportunities for Cornwall to be recognised as a place for future jobs and industries. I am talking about things happening, in reality, right now.

For example, one of our local businesses played a key role in the establishment of the Nightingale hospitals that we set up and opened in record quick time at the start of the pandemic last year.

Or another local factory that is supplying specialist air filters for ventilators around the world.

Our Cornish China Clay is a vital component of many medical devices that have been even more essential than ever throughout the pandemic. Maintaining production and supply of the raw materials needed for some of the basic, but essential supplies the NHS and health services around the world needed was clearly challenging during the lockdowns, but supplies kept flowing.  

Another company is manufacturing a vital component for the vials that contain the COVID-19 vaccine that is our way out of this pandemic. In fact, 50% of all the of the vials for the vaccine in Europe and Asia rely on a factory right here in mid-Cornwall for their supplies.

Too often we are unaware of some of the incredible things that happen in our local communities, and we can be very proud of the significant role local businesses and local people have played during this pandemic.

I have been pleased to work with these businesses and others to ensure they are able to play their part in the national effort to beat this virus. It is without exaggeration to say many thousands of lives have been saved because of the work they do. The people that work in these businesses are some of the unsung heroes of the pandemic.

Tourism will always be a major and important part of what Cornwall is about. But we should never lose sight of the fact we have a great deal more to offer our country and the world than just being a great place to holiday. Both now, and I believe even more so into the future, Cornwall has much to offer the world and we should feel rightly proud of our contribution.