Newspaper column 24 April 2024 - Benefit changes

A big announcement from the Prime Minister last week was that the Government will be consulting on proposed reforms to the benefits system to ensure benefits are targeted at those who need it most whilst ensuring those who are able to work are supported to do so.

The Department for Work and Pensions provides a valuable service supporting people to find work and ensuring a safety net for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. In particular, the DWP offices in our constituency, St Austell and Newquay Jobcentres and St Austell Benefit Centre, do excellent work, with Newquay Jobcentre recognised as one of the best performing in the south west for the way in works with local businesses and community groups in innovative ways to help people find work.

The Prime Minister’s announcement from last week outlines a package of wide ranging reforms to put work at the heart of welfare and deliver on his “moral mission” to give everyone who is able to work, the best possible chance of staying in, or returning to work. The welfare package also includes further measures to crack down on fraud and removing benefits entirely from long term unemployed who don’t accept a job when one is available.

It comes as many more working age people are being awarded benefit for mental health conditions than when it was first introduced over a decade ago, as well as concerns that the assessment process is significantly easier to abuse by individuals who seek to exploit the system.

Total spending on benefits for people of working age with a disability or health condition increased by almost two-thirds to £69 billion since the pandemic, and we now spend more on these benefits than our core schools’ budget or on policing. Given the significant change in caseload and unsustainable increase in costs, it’s clear our current disability benefit system for adults of working age is not fit for purpose.

A consultation on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be published in the coming days which will explore changes to the eligibility criteria, assessment process and types of support that can be offered so the system is better targeted towards individual needs and more closely linked to a person’s condition rather than the current “one size fits all” approach.

Let me be clear, this is not about removing support for those who need it, but the current situation is unsustainable. Not only is it cost taxpayers a huge amount of money. Let’s remember the money has to come from somewhere and it is hard working taxpayers who are footing the bill. The current situation is also making it more difficult for local businesses to find the staff they need. This is holding back our economy locally and nationally.

I am pleased that the Prime Minister has listened to the calls for reform to the system. It is crucial that those with long term health conditions who most need assistance via the benefits system and services provided by the Department for Work and Pensions get appropriately targeted support to enable them to manage their conditions and the way in which it impact their lives. But at the same time, we also need to ensure those who abuse the system are not able to continue to do this..  I hope that the Prime Minister’s announcement will enable both of these things to happen, and I will continue to support our local DWP staff in the delivery of their vital work.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 17 April 2024 - More support for our fishermen

Parliament has now returned from the Easter Recess. In the last week, among other things, I was pleased to meet with Cornwall Council in St Austell town centre about anti-social behaviour, meet with a local company near Newquay about renewable energies, get an update from the team delivering the A30 Link Road to St Austell, and spend time on the doors talking to people about the local and national issues that matter to them in communities across our constituency. Whilst in Roche I visited the Clays Health Centre and met with some of the doctors and staff there. It was good to get an update on their work and I have come away with a few issues to work on, on their behalf. On Thursday I spent time meeting with fishermen in Mevagissey following the Government’s decision to provide compensation to fishermen most affected by the by the zero total allowable catch decision on pollack, which was recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas last year.

I have worked hard, along with my Cornish MP colleagues, to get the Government to provide support for these fishermen, many of whom are based in Mevagissey or Newquay, since I first heard about the upcoming changes and met with the fishermen in November last year. The fishermen were very clear then that the thing they would most welcome would be a compensation scheme. This is because the changes were brought in at short notice, and fishermen did not have the time or resources to be able to adapt their way of working to go after different fish, and as such they were essentially left without a way to make a living  - so seeking compensation to address this was a sensible way forward.

Since I met with the fishermen I have worked with them and the organisations that support them to gather evidence to make the case for compensation. I met with the DEFRA Ministerial team on many occasions, asked questions in Parliament and held a debate on the subject in February.

There was resistance to a compensation scheme from civil servants, essentially because this is a unique situation and has never happened before. However the  Environment Secretary has listened and taken action, recognising the issues faced by the affected fishermen and has used the powers available to him to effectively override the civil servants.

I'd particularly like to thank the fishermen from these communities and everyone who contacted me for working constructively with me to help make the case for this support. This shows the Government is on the side of Cornish fishermen and I am pleased to have played a part in them reaching this decision.

The compensation scheme is very welcome, but it is only the first step, and what we must do next is look at restoring a sustainable pollack fishery, as I highlighted in my debate in February. The Government is working with the fishermen, who know most about their catch, to get the scientific evidence to do this, and I will be working with local fishermen and industry representatives to make this happen as soon as possible.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 27 March 2024 - State Pension updates

The State Pension has been in the news a lot recently for several reasons.

One of the main things I have campaigned on over the years is for the Government to retain the triple lock for the State Pension.

The triple lock is designed to ensure pensioners, especially if they rely solely on the state pension, are able to afford rising prices, or keep pace with the increases in the working population's wages.  It means the state pension rises in line with average earnings growth, inflation or 2.5% - whichever is highest.

It was introduced by the coalition government in 2010, but there has been debate over whether it can continue in the long-term future due to its costs.

I have been clear in conversations with colleagues in Government that retention of the Triple Lock, particularly while we are experiencing cost of living pressures, has never been more important.

The Government has listened over the past couple of years and kept the Triple Lock. Last year saw the largest ever increase of the State Pension, with a 10.1% increase in April 2023, and next month will see another significant increase, with a rise of 8.5% from April 2024. Combined this means the state pension will have risen by around £1800 in this time. It is absolutely right that we provide pensioners with these increases during these difficult times.

But now we are looking to the future, with a General Election due later this year, and I was delighted to see over the weekend that the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has now publicly committed to retaining the State Pension Triple Lock as a Manifesto commitment should the Conservatives win the next election.

The Chancellor said that although continuing the Triple Lock will be an "expensive commitment… You can only make that commitment if you're confident that you're going to deliver the economic growth that is going to pay for it." As we have seen with the continuing fall in inflation and economic growth indicators brought about by the Chancellor’s sensible management of the economy, this is happening and therefore I am pleased that the Government is doing the right thing and committing to the Triple Lock under a future Conservative Government.

I do understand that some people are frustrated that the Personal Allowance, the amount you can earn before paying tax, will not be going up this year. This is a difficult but necessary decision to maintain income tax thresholds until April 2028 to ensure the tax system supports strong public finances. That being said, the Government has increased the Personal Allowance by over 40 per cent in real terms since 2010, ensuring some of the lowest earners do not pay income tax. Thanks to the PA, in 2021-22 around 30 per cent of earners did not pay tax.

Also in the news last week was the outcome of the Ombudsman’s investigation into issues with the Department for Work and Pensions communicating with women born in the 1950’s over State Pension changes.

The Ombudsman’s report had previously concluded that maladministration under the last Labour Government between 2005-07 has caused injustice, and their report into the DWP’s communication of the changes is now complete and will be put before Parliament. The Government will consider the Ombudsman’s report and respond in due course, having cooperated fully throughout the investigation.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column March 20 2024 - Pharmacy First

As we go through March, last week was another busy and productive one for me in Parliament, which saw me hold a debate on the need for the Government to do more to support our pollack fishermen on Monday, as well as speaking in the Budget debate and the debate on the Bill currently going through Parliament that will see National Insurance Contributions people pay cut from April this year.

As well as this it was also good to take part in a number of meetings, including with Heathrow Airport, one showcasing our Tri Service Safety Officers, and one on fairness of fuel prices, as well an event to promote the Pharmacy First initiative.

I have always been a passionate champion for our community pharmacies and the excellent health services they provide.

As former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Pharmacies it was great to work with our brilliant pharmacies in Cornwall in piloting the Pharmacy First initiative.

Pharmacy First enables pharmacists to utilise more of their medical skills and training. Patients using the service can receive treatment for seven common health conditions from their local pharmacy without the need to visit a GP or have a prescription.

Their pharmacist helps with conditions include sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women. Following the assessment, the pharmacist can then supply the prescription-only medicines, including antibiotics and antivirals, to treat the problem

The Pharmacy First approach not only speeds up access to essential care for patients, but also help to reduce pressure on local GP services by directing people to more appropriate places to be treated. Backed by up to £645 million, 95 per cent of pharmacies across England have opted-in so far, meaning that patients will be able to receive care more quickly without the need to wait for a GP appointment.

The Pharmacy First approach builds on the other measures outlined in the Primary Care Recovery Plan last spring, including tackling the 8am rush by giving GPs new digital tools and providing more GP staff and more appointments.

In combination, the Primary Care Recovery Plan aims to free up 10 million GP appointments a year nationally by next winter, and give the public more choice in where and how they access care.

As the Pharmacy First initiative has already been running in Cornwall successfully for some time, it’s great to see that the rest of the country will now be able to experience the exceptional service that we in Cornwall already have, and it was good to again highlight this at the event in Parliament last week. I will continue to work with the Government to support our pharmacies and the excellent teams that work there, in order to ensure they remain a pivotal part of our health care system.

With all my activity in Parliament it was nice to be recognised last week as the MP who has contributed more to Parliamentary debates in the first two months of the year than any other MP in the South West, and in fact, showed that I made the seventh highest number of contributions in January and February in Parliamentary debates among Conservative backbenchers nationally, and was ranked 11th overall among backbench MPs of all parties across the country.

Of course 2024 is only going to get busier, and I will continue to work hard both in Parliament and in Cornwall to ensure the voices of the people I represent are heard loud and clear.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

Newspaper column 13 March 2024 - Looking back at the Budget

Last week saw the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt give his Budget Statement, with a number of positive developments that will make things better for people in St Austell and Newquay.

I think that most people will recognise the significant and unprecedented challenges that our country has faced in recent years following the COVID pandemic, and then the energy price spike as a result of the war in Ukraine. The Government has spent hundreds of billions of pounds supporting households and businesses through these tough times. Of course, this money has to be found, and this was the backdrop to this year’s Budget. It is a credit to the Chancellor that he has been able to navigate the challenging times and deliver a Budget that addresses these issues while also continues to provide support and relief where possible.

That the Chancellor has been able to take the positive steps that he took in last week’s Budget is also testimony to his sensible management of our country’s finances over the past year.  to help guide our country and economy through challenging times. Inflation is down from 11.1% to 4.0% and wages are growing.

This has allowed the Chancellor, in his Budget, to cut taxes for 27 million working people from April, by again cutting the main rate of employee National Insurance Contributions from 10% to 8%. Combined with the cut at the Autumn Statement, this gives the average earner the lowest effective personal tax rate since 1975.

As well as this, the Chancellor has cut taxes for 2million self-employed people, by cutting the main rate of Class 4 National Insurance Contributions from 9% to 6%.

The Chancellor has also announced support for half a million families through reforms to the High Income Child Benefit Charge by raising the threshold and halving the rate at which Child Benefit is withdrawn, benefiting some parents by an average of £1,260.

The Chancellor has also frozen alcohol duty, easing pressure on the hospitality sector, as well as maintaining the five pence cut to fuel duty and freeze rates for the fourteenth consecutive year, helping keep motoring costs down – a £3.1 billion tax cut for drivers.

It is also good to see the Chancellor recognise times are still tough, and in doing so, extend the Household Support Fund for another six months, as well as assisting people who need to claim Universal Credit by giving them more time to payback emergency budgeting advance loans.

As well as the headline announcements from the Budget I was also pleased to see my campaign to reform the taxes paid by holiday let owners pay off. This will encourage holiday let owners to instead let their properties to local families, all year round. I look forward to working with the Chancellor’s team on the detail of how this will be implemented to ensure it does not penalise anyone unfairly.

There is plenty more to do, but as we move into Spring, it is good to be doing so with a positive Budget behind as a sound foundation for the future.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

Newspaper column 6 March 2024 - St Piran's Day and a busy week leading up to the Budget

On the week of St Piran’s Day, I hope you were all able to spend some time on 5 March reflecting on what makes our Cornwall so special, our unique culture, heritage and history.

On St Piran’s Day I was delighted in Parliament to host a ‘Taste of Cornwall’ event, to showcase some of the best food and drink companies from Cornwall on a national stage. From St Ewe Eggs to St Austell Brewery and Knightor Vineyard, there were a huge variety of Cornish businesses represented and suffice to say, the event was very popular. Thank you to everyone who made the journey and it is good to see ‘Brand Cornwall’ doing so well.

It was also good to see the Prime Minister wish the Cornish people and everyone who lives in Cornwall a Happy St Piran’s Day. This was part of his response to my question to him last Wednesday in Prime Minister’s Questions. My question was about the future of the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. The Shared Prosperity Fund is £132 million allocated to Cornwall to replace EU funding. It has supported dozens of businesses and organisations around Cornwall, as well as funded projects across the duchy, ranging from plans to fix the harbour gates in Charlestown which were successful last year, to an ambitious £2million Youth Employment Programme (Yep!) spearheaded by Cornwall Council and Careers South West which launched last week.  

The Shared Prosperity Fund is confirmed for this spending review period up to the end of March 2025 but, as with all Government funding, decisions regarding the fund’s future are a matter for the next spending review, hence my question. I was pleased in his reply to get assurances from the Prime Minister that the Government remains committed to an ambitious levelling-up agenda in Cornwall.

Last week I was also pleased to go to the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean campaign for 2024. The Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign and this is its 9^th year, as well as marking the 70^th anniversary of the formation of Keep Britain Tidy.

Last year more than 400,000 bags of litter were pledged to be collected during the duration of the campaign. That’s a huge amount of rubbish removed from our environment! This year it is taking place from 15 - 31 March, and you can pledge to pick up a bag of litter – or more via their website on the link below:

https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/

After Parliament rose for the weekend on Friday I was delighted to visit Trenance Academy in Newquay, who have recently been recognised as an Oracy Centre of Excellence.

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.

In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners they are empowered to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.

It is also a route to social mobility, empowering all students, not just some, to find their voice to succeed in school and life.

Trenance Academy have recently been accredited as an Oracy Centre of Excellence in recognition of their commitment to developing their students’ confidence and competence in spoken language, embedding it across teaching and learning within the school. It was great to visit the school and talk to the staff and pupils about this excellent achievement.

This week, the headlines will be dominated by the Chancellor’s Spring Budget. I will go into this in more detail next week, as it will happen after I have to send my column in, but in the run up to the Budget I have asked the Chancellor to consider taking more measures to incentivise landlords to rent properties to families all year round instead of using them as holiday lets, as well as pushing for more support for our tourism and hospitality businesses. International challenges still mean that we are facing a lot of pressures around the costs of living, but I am sure the Chancellor will be looking at all options available in order to deliver a Budget that works for everyone.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

Newspaper column 28 February 2024 - The Speaker and Lee Anderson

The conduct of the Speaker during the SNP’s Opposition Day Motion on Gaza was very much in the spotlight last week, prompting a large number of constituents to contact me expressing concerns about what they saw as a worrying break from longstanding parliamentary convention.

I was in the Commons on Wednesday evening when proceedings descended into chaos – due to the Speaker’s mishandling of Labour’s amendment to the SNP’s Opposition Day Motion, allowing Labour to hijack what should have been another party’s motion. By convention and as confirmed by a letter to him from the Clerk of the House of Commons, the Speaker should have selected the SNP motion for a vote before proceeding to allow a vote on any amendments.

Instead, the Speaker unilaterally decided, against the clear advice of his own officials, that MPs would first vote on Labour’s amendment to the SNP motion – following reports of an imminent rebellion among Labour MPs and alleged threats from Labour on the Speaker to replace him after the general election unless he selected their amendment for a vote.

Crucially, in his statement apologising to the House later that evening, the Speaker said his decision was primarily motivated by violent threats made against MPs.

This for me is the fundamental reason why I no longer have confidence in his role as Speaker: He has given a very clear message that threats of violence and abuse against MPs can change what happens in Parliament.

As legislators, we need to be free and able to speak our minds in Parliament without fear or favour. This is vital to our ability to represent our constituents effectively. Instead, the Speaker told the baying mob that you can threaten an MP and change how Parliament works. I am afraid this simply is not acceptable in our democracy.

I have therefore signed a motion expressing no confidence in the Speaker. Heeither succumbed to pressure to assist the Labour Party or given into threats of violence – indeed I believe it was likely a combination of the two – neither of which represents a valid reason to alter longstanding parliamentary protocol in such a drastic way to undermine our democracy.

I also believe Sir Keir Starmer has much to answer for due to his alleged part in influencing the Speaker, and I hope he will be giving a full account of his actions to the House this week.

The withdrawal of the whip from Lee Anderson MP over the weekend also captured the attention of some constituents. Lee was wrong to accuse Sadiq Khan and the senior Labour leadership of being under the control of Islamists without offering any evidence to support his claim.

In doing so he missed a far more important point, which is the left’s apparent tolerance and in some cases encouragement of extreme elements of all backgrounds taking to the streets to openly call for the abuse and intimidation of our democracy while causing illegal disruption to the public.

These groups include Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, and a number of pro-Palestinian marches in London of late, some of which were hijacked by militant Islamists expressing support for the actions of Hamas and calling for the destruction of the state of Israel, including projecting the antisemitic and arguably genocidal slogan “from the river to the sea” on to the side of Big Ben. The Speaker cited security threats posed by these violent extremists to MPs as the reason behind his decision to change Commons procedures on Wednesday.

No MP deserves to be intimated or harassed in the course of their work. In recent days many of my colleagues from both sides of the House have spoken bravely and openly about receiving death threats to them and their families as becoming part of the norm of working in Parliament. Last week also saw several so-called protestors affiliated with Greenpeace charged with criminal damage following their attempt to illegally invade the Prime Minister’s home in North Yorkshire in August.

Let me be very clear, I support the right to peaceful protest. This is why I supported legislation introducing by the Government enshrining the right to peaceful protest in statute, while bringing forward measures to protect the public from illegal and violent protests.

Emotions often run high in politics and people rightly want to have their say on important matters facing the country and the world. But there is a growing sense that a small but significant minority are trying to subvert the democratic process through violent means. This cannot be condoned and I will continue to call for our hard-won democracy to be protected in Parliament.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

Newspaper column 21 February 2024 - New powers to control holiday lets

This Monday saw the announcement by Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove of new regulations and powers for councils to better control holiday lets.

The uncontrolled spread of holiday lets is a big issue in Cornwall, and has undoubtedly contributed towards the significant housing issues we are seeing in the Duchy, with many homes that could house local families instead occupied for only weeks or even days per year by holiday makers.

While tourism and hospitality are vital parts of our economy in Mid-Cornwall, both for those who work in tourism and hospitality businesses, and also those who supply them, there has to be a balance to this, and in recent years some communities have experienced this tipping too far in towards second homes and short term holiday let accommodation, meaning local people who would otherwise live and work in these towns and villages all year round are finding it increasingly difficult to do so.

The figures on this are stark, and in a debate in Parliament last year, I spoke about the numbers of short-term holiday let accommodation listings on Airbnb and the like in Cornwall (18,989) compared to long term rent listings on Rightmove (895), clear evidence of the scale of the problem we are facing.

Better controlling the number of holiday lets and second homes by regulation and addressing the imbalance of holiday lets in the communities most impacted by them has been a goal of mine for many years, and is something I have successfully campaigned on, leading the Government to include measures in the Levelling Up Act, which became law last year. This includes measure such as closing the business rates loophole, which allowed some holiday let owners to get away with paying neither domestic rates or business rates, and also charging double council tax to second home owners, something which Cornwall Council will be able to do from 2025.

As well as this, the Government consulted on measures to set up a register of holiday lets, and on introducing a requirement for property owners who want to change their properties to holiday lets to have to apply for planning permission under change of use. On Monday the Secretary of State confirmed that the Government will be adopting both of these proposals.

Under the reforms councils like Cornwall Council will be given greater power to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process. This will support local people in areas where high numbers of short-term lets are preventing them from finding housing they can afford to buy or to rent. This will apply to many of our rural and coastal communities in Cornwall.

Meanwhile, a new mandatory national register will give local authorities the information they need about short-term lets in their area. This will help councils understand the extent of short-term lets in their area, the effects on their communities, and underpin compliance with key health and safety regulations.

It is good to see the Government now taking decisive action to make these changes, which will allow councils to see the scale of the problem via the mandatory register, and then better manage the number of holiday lets in tourist areas through the planning system . This will allow councils to have the ultimate say on the numbers of holiday lets in the communities most affected. I look forward to seeing these changes brought in by Cornwall Council and used for the good of Cornish communities.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 14 February 2024 - Dental Plan!

Parliament has risen for February Recess which means that this week I am working in Cornwall and look forward to being out and about speaking to as many people as possible about my work and your priorities for me as your MP.

I am currently running a survey on your priorities for 2024, which readers are very welcome to fill out – you can find this on my website via the link below:

https://www.stevedouble.org.uk/st-austell-and-newquay-constituency-2024-priorities-survey

Last week was a really busy and varied one, and I was pleased to welcome two Ministers and the Prime Minister to our constituency to discuss a variety of issues, including apprenticeships, flooding, and, with the Prime Minister the launch of the Government’s NHS Dental Recovery Plan.

Access to NHS dentist services continues to be one of the issues raised with me most often by local people and this is something I have spent considerable time collecting evidence on and lobbying the Government for change.

The Prime Minister has listened, and last week the Government launched the NHS Dental Recovery Plan, which will create 2.5 million more NHS dental appointments over the next year.

This will have a big impact on the delivery and availability of NHS dental services in Cornwall. For example, the practice the Prime Minister visited, Gentle Dental, does treat NHS patients, some of whom I met last week, but is currently not taking new adult NHS patients, only children, due to lack of capacity, hence making waiting lists much longer – an issue we see throughout Cornwall. The changes and funding announced via the NHS Dental Recovery Plan will enable dentists to take new NHS patients on, reducing the waiting lists and making NHS dental treatments more widely available for all.

Backed by £200 million of new Government funding, the NHS Dental Recovery Plan sets out a package of measures to deliver 2.5 million additional NHS dental appointments over the next 12 months, ensuring they are where they needed most, and expanding preventative care for younger children to help reduce tooth decay.

To help improve access in the short term, new dental vans are being launched to help reach more isolated communities, including in rural and coastal areas. In the longer term, around 240 dentists will be offered one-off payments of up to £20,000 for working in under-served areas for up to three years, helping to attract new NHS dentists and improve provision of care in areas with the highest demand.

Further measures include introducing a New Patient Premium payment to incentivise dentists to treat around a million new patients who have not seen an NHS dentist in two years or more. The scheme will be introduced within weeks, ensuring that patients can benefit immediately. The minimum value of activity will also increase from £23 to £28 and high-performing practices will also be able to deliver extra work on top of their contracted activity, ensuring that NHS work is more attractive to dental teams.

Trainee dental places will be expanded by 40 per cent as part of the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, as the Government looks to target the expansion into areas of the country  such as Cornwall which are underserved by the dental workforce.

Expanded prevention care is also being rolled out for younger children to help reduce tooth decay and improve the nation’s oral health. The Smile for Life programme will offer parents-to-be further advice for baby gums and milk teeth with babies and toddlers in nurseries having tooth brushing as part of the daily routine, so that every child in primary school will see tooth brushing as a normal part of their day.

The Government will consult on wider reforms to the dental workforce and contract in 2024, taking the long-term decisions to ensure that dental services can be there for families for the years to come.

There is more to do and I will continue to push for further reform in order to ensure residents of Cornwall are able to access NHS dentists wherever they live, but in the meantime these steps will help in improving the access we currently have, and as ever, as your MP it is good to be able to highlight these concerns and push for the change that we need with the Prime Minister when he visited Cornwall.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 7 February 2024 - National Apprenticeship Week

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, an opportunity for the education and skills sector to celebrate the achievements of apprentices around the country and the positive impact they make to communities, businesses, and the wider economy.

Over 70 per cent of careers are now accessible via an apprenticeship and the Government has delivered over 5.7 million apprenticeships since 2010. I am a big supporter of the apprenticeship qualification as a way to earn while you learn – getting the real and practical skills that let people start their careers getting real experience in the field they want to work in while getting paid. I have employed two apprentices myself during my time as MP and have seen firsthand the positives this qualification brings to those who take it.

On Monday this week I was delighted to welcome Robert Halfon MP Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education to the Eden Project to celebrate the start of National Apprenticeship Week. The Minister visited Eden to discuss their unique apprenticeship programme and meet with Horticulture, Arboriculture and Sustainability apprentices.

It was also good to meet with the Minister and the Head of Cornwall College to discuss their plans for their new St Austell Campus, after I worked with the college to secure the millions of pounds of funding required to do so. Colleges throughout Cornwall offer excellent apprenticeship schemes, particularly Cornwall College, which is specialising as a ‘Careers College’, specialising in apprenticeships.

The Cornwall College Group, which includes campuses in both St Austell and Newquay, as well as elsewhere in the Duchy, is the top-performing college for apprenticeships in the South West, 11.8% above the National Average, and as such is one of the leading providers of apprenticeships in the UK.

It was great to discuss their current success and plans for the future with the Minister and I hope that some of Cornwall College’s great ideas for the future can be used to inspire best practice around the country.

You can find out more about apprenticeships available through Cornwall College via their website: https://www.cornwall.ac.uk/apprenticeships/

Up in Parliament on Wednesday, at the time of writing, I am scheduled to be speaking at the Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase.

 As the former Chair of the Hospitality and Tourism All Party Parliamentary Group I am particularly keen to work with this sector, and given how important it is to Cornwall, ensure that working in this area is a stable career prospect for people of all ages and those within all social groups.

The hospitality sector is the country’s third biggest employer, employing over 3.5million people and I am looking forward to bringing a Cornish perspective to the event, and speaking to some of the 200 apprentices from employers from across the country will be there showcasing their skills.

Over my time as MP the apprenticeship qualification and the Government’s work to promote and expand it has been a real success story both in Cornwall and nationally. I will continue to work to ensure apprentices, employers and providers like Cornwall College are all given as much support as possible to ensure this continues.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 31 January 2024 - A busy week in the life of an MP!

Last week was a particularly varied and busy week, both in Parliament and  Cornwall. I am often asked what a ‘typical’ week for an MP is like. Although no two weeks are ever the same, I thought this week I would write about how I spent my time last week.

Firstly, in my column last week I wrote at length about the work I have been doing to push for more funding for public services in Cornwall.

I was therefore very pleased last week to get a phone call from the Local Government Minister saying that more funding was going to be allocated to Cornwall Council for this coming year. I was pleased to see the Government listen and revise the local authority settlement figure, giving around £5million more to Cornwall Council to help it in delivering essential services such as adult social care, as well as an increase of around £1million via the Rural Services Delivery Grant. This additional funding of over more than £6million is welcome but I will continue to make the case to secure as much as possible for Cornwall to reflect the challenges in delivering services to our rural and coastal communities.

Another part of my role as MP is to champion the local successes we have in Mid-Cornwall in Westminster, and I was pleased last week to attend the All Party Parliamentary Group for Deep Geothermal Energy’s meeting in the House of Lords to highlight the innovative work being done within the green deep geothermal energy sector in Cornwall, particularly via the Eden Geothermal Project. It was good to meet with Eden Project co-founder Sir Tim Smit to promote this exciting sustainable energy solution where Cornwall is leading the way,

Support for our young people remains a major part of my role, and in the past week I was pleased to take part in a number of events to do just that. I was pleased to attend the National Autistic Society’s parliamentary reception where I heard inspiring and powerful stories of parents who raise and care for children with autism. I am grateful to the many constituents who wrote to me inviting me to this event as part of the NAS’s campaign to engage with parliamentarians, and look forward to reading a copy of their Let Every Autistic Child Learn report, which you can find on their website  https://www.autism.org.uk/

In the House of Commons I spoke in a debate on children who are not in school. I spoke about the situation regarding school attendance targets and how these targets, set by Ofsted and Department for Education are driving what I believe is counterproductive behaviour by some schools.

In particular I spoke about a number of cases that constituents have raised with me where some schools appear to be taking an overbearing, heavy-handed approach to attendance targets, leaving little flexibility for children who are facing particular challenges, and threatening parents with fines for not bringing their children to school.

I have secured a meeting with the Minister following the debate and look forward to discussing what more can be done to ensure policies are applied sensibly and appropriately by schools in the future and parents receive the support they need.

When I got back to Cornwall later in the week, it was great to go out and spend some time in and around Bugle talking to local residents, in particular popping into the recently opened Bugle Pharmacy to talk to the owner Sarbjit Singh about the vital role the pharmacy plays in Bugle and the surrounding area. I remain a passionate champion of community pharmacies and the role they play in our healthcare system, and it was great to see this recent addition thriving.

On Friday I spent most of the day in Newquay meeting with businesses and residents and proving some feedback on the progress I had made with issues that have been raised with me. It was particularly good to meet with the CEO of Newquay Orchard and get an update on their latest plans and offer my continued support for the amazing work they do.

Finally, on Saturday I met with Gabriella and Kaydon - two of our local members of the Youth Parliament. We had a wide ranging discussion about what it was like being an MP and working in Parliament, my work for our constituency and how to get involved in politics.  Encouraging local young people in politics is always something I enjoy and happy to make time for, and it was great to see Gabriella and Kaydon’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for their role.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

Newspaper column 24 January 2024 - Funding for public services in Cornwall

As I have said previously, my return to the backbenches at the end of last year has allowed me to once again speak up in Parliamentary debates on behalf of St Austell and Newquay, something which you are unable to do when you hold a position in Government. This is one of the things I most enjoy about working in Parliament.

Last week, I had another opportunity to do just that as I held an Adjournment Debate on the funding of public services for Cornwall. An Adjournment Debate is a debate held at the end of business in the main chamber of Parliament. It gives an MP the chance to raise a subject of their choice and get a response from the relevant Government Minister.

In the debate I made the argument that due to a number of factors including our geography, rural nature and seasonal pressures, that the funding we receive for our public services, particularly our health service, education, local government and the police needs to change to reflect the true cost of delivering those services in Cornwall.

Firstly on Geography, Cornwall’s position as a narrow peninsula with only one neighbour in Devon impacts the delivery of services. Counties in the middle of England are surrounded by other local authorities, police forces, fire services and health services that they can share resources with. If there is a particular challenge in one area, they can draw on services from the surrounding counties to help it with that specific incident. We do not have that in Cornwall. In most of Cornwall, we have to provide our own resilience because there is no one else nearby to come and help.

Moving on to our rural nature, it is no secret that the delivery and administration of rural services costs more. Nearly half of all people who live in Cornwall live in communities of fewer than 3,000. That rurality and sparsity presents real challenges for delivering services because of the additional travelling that has to take place. Our police and fire engines have to travel further to reach those communities, school travel is a very big challenge, as well as for those working as in-home carers.

I also spoke about the impact of seasonal pressures, with around 5 million people a year coming to Cornwall on holiday, and putting massive additional pressure on our NHS, ambulance service and police in doing so.

The Government has made moves to help with these issues, introducing the rural services delivery grant, for example, and promising a review on police funding, but more needs to be done and this is something I will keep the pressure on the Government to come through with.

Of course in Parliament, there is much more that goes on than just the debates, and in the past week alone, on this matter, I have also met with the Minister for Local Government to discuss the provisional local government finance settlement for 2024 to 2025 and its implications for Cornwall Council, as well as writing to the Chancellor and Prime Minister in support of further changes ahead of the Spring Budget.

The Government already recognises Cornwall in a number of ways as being special and having particular challenges, and this now needs to be reflected in the way our public services are funded. We need the true cost of delivering those services in Cornwall to be reflected in the amount of money we receive. I hope that following my debate, the Minister will reflect on the points I made and continue the conversations with myself and my Cornish MP colleagues, to ensure that Cornwall gets the funding it needs, so that the people of Cornwall can get the public services we deserve.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 17 January 2024 - Actions to defend our interests abroad

 

Last week saw some significant developments internationally with a number of steps taken to help safeguard our interests abroad, as well as with the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Over the past couple of years we have seen significant cost of living pressures, and some of the main reasons for these have been due to conflict abroad and the subsequent impact on supply chains and energy costs. Decisions such as those made last week will help safeguard and futureproof the UK against future issues such as this.

The Ukraine conflict has been one of the biggest international issues over the past two years, and the UK led the free world’s response to Putin’s illegal invasion. At home we welcomed those Ukrainians who needed refuge, while in Ukraine we provided equipment and training to their forces to help them fight back.

2024 will be a critical year in the Ukraine conflict, Putin’s forces have been pushed back and Ukrainian territory reclaimed, but it has become a war of attrition and at this time Ukraine needs her allies more than ever to prevent the tide turning and the positive progress that has been made being lost.  

With this in mind, on Friday the Prime Minister signed the historic UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation. This is the start of a 100-year alliance that we are building with our Ukrainian friends.

It sees us increasing our military support to £2.5billion – taking the total of UK military aid to more than £7billion. With even more gifted directly from the UK’s equipment inventory, and £200million will be used to produce and procure thousands of drones, manufactured in the UK, including for surveillance and long-range strike drones.

As the Defence Secretary said on Monday, ‘there is no such thing as an isolated conflict’, and if the war in Ukraine is lost, and Putin gets his way, this would lead to increased prices at home in the UK and the destabilisation of the entire region. Therefore the Government has my continued full support in continuing to back our friends in Ukraine.

Another area where we were forced to take decisive action last week was as a critical part of the US-led international operation to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

As an island nation we have always been dependent on the sea, and globally 90% of all world trade is by sea. Of that 90% some 15 per cent of the world’s shipping passes through these narrow shipping lanes.

We have seen recently that the Houthi rebels from Yemen, a Shia Islamist political and military organization, have, with the backing of Iran, persistently violated the law by menacing commercial vessels in the region. Again this disruption to shipping has a snowballing impact on the UK, causing more and more increases in our costs of living.

And last week the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary authorised air strikes in retaliation against the Houthis, along with the US, dealing them a blow and reducing their capabilities to disrupt international commercial shipping going forward. 

In both Yemen and Ukraine, it is right that the Government has taken action now. Although doing so does take funding, not doing anything would result in far more costly problems later down the line, not just for the Government, but for all of us.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

 

Newspaper column 10 January 2024 - Positive news to start 2024!

Parliament has returned this week after the Christmas Recess. Last week it was good to be working in Cornwall, including continuing to deliver my annual update to properties, as well as my specific update to park home owners about some of the work I have been doing on their behalf.

2023 was dominated by the cost of living pressures that we have been experiencing due to Putin’s war in Ukraine. This and needing to pay for the support the Government provided during the pandemic, as well as reducing the backlog on NHS services caused by the pandemic, has meant the Government has had to make difficult decisions on raising taxes during this challenging time in order to balance the books. As we look ahead through 2024, there are encouraging signs on the horizon when it comes easing these cost of living pressures.

November’s figures showed that the Chancellor’s shrewd and careful management of the country’s finances over the past year has meant that inflation has fallen to 3.9% meaning the Prime Minister met his target of halving inflation in the course of 2023. This means that prices are rising more slowly now than at any time in the past two years. We are actually seeing drops in the prices of petrol, and lower inflation will enable the Bank of England to reduce interest rates which will mean good news for mortgage payments.  

This weekend, there was more good news, as 27 million people will get a tax cut, as the main rate of employee National Insurance will be cut by two percentage points, from 12% to 10%.

This reduces National Insurance by more than 15%, saving £450 this year for the average salaried worker on £35,400.

Millions of people working different jobs across hundreds of industries will now be better off. An average full-time nurse will save £520, a typical junior doctor £750 and an average teacher £630.

Along with the increases in the state pension and benefits as well as the rise in the national living wage and tax cuts for the self employed, all due to come into effect in the coming months, just about everyone will see more money in their bank accounts which I am sure will be very welcome.

The Chancellor has made it clear that this is only the start of proposed tax cuts. In the next couple of months we will see the annual Budget Statement and I will certainly be making the case for more tax cuts, to help hard-working people, whilst also ensuring they are measured and balanced with the need to keep on top of public spending.

It has undoubtedly been a very difficult time for households and businesses across our constituency. But all the signs are that this coming year will continue to see things improve.

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 3 January 2024

 

Firstly, I'd like to say I hope everyone had a good New Year and are looking forward to 2024.   

  

Next week I will be heading back to Parliament as Christmas Recess ends after spending some time in the constituency with my family and meeting with constituents and businesses.   

  

I am looking forward to getting back to Westminster and continuing to work with the government to ensure households in mid-Cornwall are represented. I appreciate that the past few years have not been easy. We have faced extremely difficult times with the cost of living and energy increasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.   

  

It is only because of the long-term decisions made by this government that I believe we are able to see many positive measures for the people of Mid-Cornwall come into effect in 2024.  

 

National Insurance will be cut for working people this month as well as maintaining the triple lock for pensions in Mid-Cornwall and increasing benefits in line with inflation from April.  

  

We will also be increasing the National Living Wage and helping businesses in the constituency with the biggest permanent tax cut in modern British history as well as backing pubs, breweries and distillers by freezing alcohol duty to August.  

 

One issue that has been raised with me, both by local parents and by childcare providers, has been the urgent need to reduce the cost of childcare for working parents.  The current model has often been described as a hindrance to helping parents get back into and continue in work.

That is why I am glad to see the government will begin the rolling out of the largest ever expansion of funded childcare this year.  

From April 2024, eligible working parents of two-year-olds will get a new offer of 15 government funded hours per week. From September 2024, eligible parents will get 15 government funded hours from nine months until their children start school, and from September 2025, this will rise to 30 hours.  

This will help more parents in Mid-Cornwall to increase their hours or return to work, as part of wider government support for families as well as cut the cost significantly for those already paying for childcare.  

  

As we look ahead to 2024, I will also continue to work on the number of exciting opportunities here in Mid-Cornwall to grow our economy, attract investment and create the jobs for the future.  

 

One of these is the development of lithium extraction which will revive our local mining industry and put it in a great position for decades to come. I have always said that mineral mining is in our DNA in this part of Cornwall, we have been doing it continuously for centuries, and I believe we will continue to lead the world in this sector for decades to come.  

 

I am excited to see what’s in store for Cornwall’s lithium industry in 2024 as it is a key element in battery production and will be one of the most sought-after natural resources into the future. It is great to see us leading the way in the development of renewable technologies and I look forward to seeing this industry grow and develop.   

 

This year will also see another general election and while the speculation as to whether this will come in the spring or autumn continues, my team and I will be ready whenever it is called. I am pleased to confirm I will be standing again and seeking a fourth term as your MP.   

     

Please be assured that I will continue to stand up for what I believe is right for our constituency, county and the country, whatever the challenges. I have always sought to be a ever-plain-speaking Cornishman who puts our constituency first and I hope to be able to continue to do so in the future.   

  

If you have any questions about my work or think I can help you in any way, then please do get in touch and I will more than happy to assist.   

  

As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk