Monday 28 March 2011

Taking part in the Cornwall Fire Fighters Ladies Driving Challenge

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Women-welly/article-3385607-detail/article.html

Seeking assurances on Libya, and speaking up for Falmouth Coastguard

On Monday, having spent a great deal of time reflecting on my responsibility and with a heavy heart, I voted for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.

I am reassured by the answers to questions provided by the Prime Minister that our involvement will be limited to the terms of the UN Resolution.  The leadership of the mission will be transferred to NATO.  

Parliament will be kept regularly updated and we will have the opportunity to question the Prime Minister on a regular basis.

I will be watching closely to ensure that these commitments are honoured.

My continued support for our participation in the international effort in Libya is conditional upon those commitments.

On Wednesday, I welcomed George Osborne’s 2011 Budget, and the relief that it will bring to hard pressed families across Cornwall.  Lifting many low-income earners out of tax and starting to tackle the high prices of our fuel and water bills.

Since my election I have been lobbying Minsters to recognise the effect of rising fuel prices upon the lives of my constituents.

Labour’s fuel price escalator, which would have added almost another five pence to the price of a litre of petrol from April 2011, has been abolished.  The Government has also delayed any duty increase.  It has, in fact, brought down the main duty rate by 1p with immediate effect and introduced a fair fuel stabiliser.

Another drain on the finances of Cornish families has also been tackled in the Budget - our high water bills.

Working together with Cornish Coalition MP colleagues, we have ensured Government recognition of our burden of high water bills and secured the pledge in the Budget of dedicated Government funding to bring the cost of our SW Water bills down.  A consultation document - allowing the people of Cornwall to have their say on how this should be done, will be published soon.

On Thursday, I led a debate in Parliament about the future of the UK Coastguard service.  I was pleased to be joined by MPs from around the UK and representing all political parties.  I was delighted that the Minister, Mike Penning MP emphatically confirmed that no final decisions have yet been made about the MCA proposals to modernise the Coastguard service, inherited from the last Government.  The former Labour Minister responsible for the MCA confirmed this point.  Mike Penning MP clearly stated it was “not a done deal” and he is welcoming new proposals.  Falmouth Coastguards have submitted alternative proposals and we will be discussing them with the Minister at Falmouth Coastguard Station on April 26th.  I will continue to make sure the voices of Falmouth Coastguards and local peoples’ concerns are heard loud and clear in Parliament.

My colleague, Sheryll Murray MP, spoke movingly during the debate and it was with great sadness I learned of the loss of her husband while fishing at sea.  A salutary reminder of the dangers our fishing communities face each day.  My thoughts and prayers go to Sheryll and her family.

Friday 25 March 2011

2011 Budget: Lower fuel and water bills for Cornwall

I welcome George Osborne’s 2011 budget, and the relief it will bring to hard pressed families across Cornwall.

In recent years petrol has become a huge expense for people living in Truro and Falmouth. High petrol costs put pressure on the finances of people across the UK, a pressure that is even more pronounced in rural areas like Cornwall.

Since my election I have been lobbying Minsters to recognise the effect of rising petrol prices upon the lives of my constituents. I was therefore delighted by George Osborne’s announcements on fuel in Wednesday’s budget.

Labour’s fuel price escalator, which would have added almost another 5 pence to the price of a litre of petrol from April 2011, has been abolished. The Government has also delayed any duty increase. It has, in fact, brought down the main duty rate by 1 pence with immediate effect and introduced a fair fuel stabiliser.

As part of the fair fuel stabiliser, fuel duty will increase by inflation in years when oil prices are high. In years when the oil price falls below a set level on a sustained basis, however, the Government will increase fuel duty by RPI plus 1 penny per litre.

Another drain on the finances of Cornish families has also been tackled in the budget, the high rates charged by South West Water.

The Budget recognises that the South West is a region burdened with high water bills, and pledges dedicated Government funding to bring the cost of water down for local residents. 

A possible way in which that special funding might be organised is shortly to be released a consultation document- allowing the people of Cornwall to have their say. I will keep constituents closely up to date as to developments in this important matter.

Thanks to the measures outlined in the budget, the following years look set to see hard working Cornish families enjoying the benefits of lower fuel and water bills. After years of Labour neglecting the economic needs of rural areas like Cornwall, such benefits are well deserved. 

2011 Budget: Support for Cornish business

The 2011 budget marks the continuation of the Government’s ambition to making the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.  Small businesses are at the heart of that vision.

Small businesses in Cornwall will now benefit from the following raft of incentives and support measures announced in the budget:

  • ·         There will be an extra 1 per cent cut in corporation tax from April 2011, meaning that corporation tax will fall from 28 per cent to 26 per cent
  • ·         There will an extension of the small business rate relief holiday until October 2012. More than half a million eligible UK businesses will continue to benefit from reductions in their bills. Around 330,000 businesses across Britain will pay no rates at all.
  • ·         The Green Investment Bank (GIB) will get £2 billion extra, meaning it will have a total £3 billion of capital. There will be an extra £15 billion of private sector investment in green projects over the course of this Parliament. Much of this money will come to Cornwall, the ‘Green Peninsula’ and the home of some of them most dynamic renewable energy projects in the UK. 
  • ·         The scrapping of stifling additional business regulations drawn up by Labour, and the simplification of the existing business tax system.

I am confident that combined effect of these measures will reduce the bureaucratic burden on businesses from Saltash to Sennen, and offer the financial support that will allow those businesses to grow.

The Government is putting the growth of small business at the centre of Britain’s economic recovery plan. Cornwall, a land of shop-owners, stallholders and technological innovators, will be at the very heart of this exciting push for growth. 

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Unemployment falling in Truro and Falmouth

The Government’s extensive measures to promote business and job growth, such as increased business rates relief for small businesses and a reduction in unnecessary bureaucracy, are beginning to take effect in Truro and Falmouth.    

I was pleased to read the newly released figures from the Office of National Statistics last week which revealed that unemployment is continuing to fall in the Truro and Falmouth constituency.

The number of unemployed claimants in Truro and Falmouth in February 2011 was 1,543. This compares to the 1713 unemployed claimants recorded in the constituency in February 2010.

With the Work Programme, the Government’s key initiative to help people into work, taking effect later this year, and up to a hundred new highly skilled jobs being secured Falmouth Docks in the past month, I look forward to watching unemployment continuing to fall over the next year.

Other sources of job creation in Truro and Falmouth over the coming years include the construction, already begun, of a £13m Innovation Centre at Tremough, and Falmouth based marine drilling specialists Fugro Seacore’s £3 million contract to help install a pioneering wave energy device off Orkney.  

Growth and job creation continues to be the Government’s priority as the economy recovers from thirteen years of Labour mismanagement.   



Tuesday 22 March 2011

Voting with a heavy heart for UN sanctioned intervention in Libya

I spent a great deal of time over the week-end reflecting on my responsibility in Parliament this week.

I attended Monday’s debate on supporting the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.

After listening to the majority of the debate, I decided with a heavy heart, to support the motion.

My decision was informed by the speeches of not only the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition but Sir Menzies Campbell and a fellow backbench MP Kris Hopkins of Keithley. 

Those speeches can be found through the below links:

The Prime Minister:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110321/debtext/110321-0001.htm#1103219000645

The Leader of the Opposition:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110321/debtext/110321-0002.htm#1103219000749

Sir Menzies Campbell:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110321/debtext/110321-0002.htm#1103219000790

Kris Hopkins:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110321/debtext/110321-0002.htm#1103219000800


I am reassured by the answers to questions provided by the Prime Minister that our involvement will be limited to the terms of the UN Resolution. The leadership of the mission will be transferred to NATO. Parliament will be kept regularly updated and we will have the opportunity to question the prime minister on a regular basis.

I will be watching closely to ensure that these commitments are honoured.

My continued support for our participation in the international effort in Libya is conditional upon those commitments.