Goverment must pay heed to local opinion

The first week back in Westminster saw the final stages of the Postal Services Bill being debated.  The Bill will provide the Royal Mail Group and Post Office Ltd with the sustainable financial plan they need.  There will be no more forced Post Office closures and instead new investment and new ideas will be encouraged.

During this transition, I am particularly keen to see that our local post offices (many of which are small businesses and all provide essential services to local people) continue to maintain their vital income from the Royal Mail and the Government so that these services can remain, particularly those such as enabling pensioners to cash their pensions cheques.

I have received assurances from Ministers regarding both concerns.  I am also determined that the new Government learns our lessons regarding the change of location of the Falmouth Post Office.  I want to ensure the new regulation of postal services enabled by the Bill prevent Post Office Ltd from ignoring the legitimate concerns of local people.

On Friday, I again met with Falmouth Coastguard and will be making representations to Vice Admiral Sir Alan Massey, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency who is the architect of the modernisation proposals currently being considered.  I will continue to do all I can to ensure local opinion is heard loud and clear in Westminster.  In addition to personal representations I am pushing for a debate in Parliament with the Minister.

Using the helpful information received from constituents, I took my campaign to prevent customers of fuel oil from being ripped-off back to the Minister responsible.  I want to ensure the Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has the information it needs to take action.

On Monday, I welcomed the Localism Bill which will provide the enduring legislative foundation for a new, decentralised Britain, where power is returned to the people to which it belongs.  I believe that communities should have the freedom to manage their own affairs in their way and be empowered, not suppressed, by Government.  The Bill will enact new rights allowing local people to shape and influence the places where they live, revolutionising the planning process by passing power down to those who know best about their neighbourhoods.

The Bill includes many policies aimed at enabling communities to build genuinely affordable homes for local people.  The Community Right to Build enables communities, voting with a simple majority in favour, to grant themselves planning permission to build new homes.

The success of many of the policies detailed in the Bill, including the Community Right to Build will depend on who in each community has the right to vote.

With one in 20 properties in Cornwall a second home and in some villages and hamlets a significant percentage not being lived in full-time, it is essential that any confusion about who can vote in the local referendum is resolved.

I have raised concerns with the Electoral Commission and in Parliament about confusion over second or multiple home registration and believe that it is essential to have this issue fully considered, debated and resolved by the time the Bill enables these powers in Cornwall.