Catching up with constituents

During the recess of Parliament last week it was great to be at home – despite the wind and rain. It was a great chance to catch up with a wide range of constituents in both one-to-one meetings in my advice surgeries or at their places of work around the constituency, so here is a quick gallop through a few of my meetings.

Supporting local employers is always a top priority. Like many people, I am dismayed at the legacy of growing unemployment for young people. I am pleased that the new apprenticeships the coalition is funding are making a difference to local businesses and young people. During my visit to Falmouth Marine School, I learnt that all the young people who have completed their excellent courses in marine engineering and decided to pursue a career in this area have done just that. Fugro Seacore, a world-leading local engineering company, is growing and employing more apprentices who usually go on to full-time employment in a range of marine engineering roles. Last year it recruited 40 or so new employees to support new contracts like the one signed last week for seabed fixings for a marine power installation in Scotland.

I very much enjoyed visiting GE Money in Truro. While most private enterprise in Cornwall is home-grown, it is good to have some multi- nationals that provide a career structure which links people working in Truro to the rest of the world. I was impressed with the company's practical activities that are enabling members of staff to improve their own health with good eating, exercise and taking part in community activities such as beach-cleans.

I was pleased to meet the team from Natural England to learn more about their important work in the South West, and no week is complete without a visit to Falmouth Docks, this time to meet union representatives at A&P Falmouth and a quick visit to RFA Mounts Bay.

There was good news at my meeting with Andy Brigden and the maritime team at Cornwall Council, as the Environment Agency has approved the funding for the flood defence works for Truro. I was very pleased to learn about the proposed Newham BID (Business Improvement District) and will continue to support the development of this important part of Truro.

I very much appreciated the time the management team at Tremough gave me to update me on developments at both UCF (University College Falmouth) and Exeter University. These are challenging times for both partners as the recent investments in the campus are moving off the drawing board on to the building sites. 

While the next 18 months will see a real boost to local construction jobs, the long-term benefits for both students and local businesses are exciting.

Graduates of UCF are employed by some of the fastest- growing sectors in the UK economy: fashion, design and the digital economy.

Finally, as patron of the Falmouth Memory Café I was delighted to spend an hour joining in the warm, friendly atmosphere of the café as well as enjoying a delicious home-made tea. The thoughtful afternoon's activities prepared by the volunteers were enjoyed by the guests and carers alike.

Concerns about the closure of Falmouth Customs House

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-12598421

Meeting with students at Falmouth Marine School

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/education/MP-visit-gives-students-chance-voice-concerns/article-3281488-detail/article.html

Reforming our democracy

A great deal of time in Parliament last week was spent on completing the Bill that introduces considerable reform to our democracy. During the year before the last General Election I spoke to many West Briton readers. The majority were disgusted with MPs and disillusioned with politics. People told me that MPs abuse of expenses, large donations to political parties and politicians not doing what they said they would do all created a general sense that our politics was broken. All MPs were ‘in it for what they could get out of it’ rather than to serve their constituents and work for the common good.

So what has changed since the General Election last May? The new government is a Coalition – with two parties working together to tackle the huge problems left by the previous government. MPs expenses are published on-line as are what we say and how we vote in Parliament. All MPs have to register their interests and donations over £1,500 are also published. There has been a revolution in openness, with for example, all taxpayers money spent by government departments over £500 published online so ‘armchair auditors’ can challenge how their money is spent.

Parliament has been renewed by a huge influx of new MPs, many of which are older and have had real jobs in the real world before entering Parliament. Most MPs are ‘back bench’ MPs whose job it is to scrutinise the Government’s plans and hold them to account. Backbenchers have new powers in this Parliament to do this – deciding on issues to debate in Parliament and electing Chairmen of the powerful Select Committees.

Other significant reforms have happened. General elections have been fixed for every five years. At the next General Election the number of MPs will be reduced from 650 to 600. Votes will be fairer as they will have more equal weight as the number of voters in each constituency will be much more equal than today. The boundaries of each Parliamentary seat will be changed for every General Election to make sure that as the population changes they remain more equal.

While I am very disappointed that along with my colleagues representing Cornwall we were unable to secure an amendment to the Bill which would have prevented the potential for a Parliamentary seat to cross boundaries into Devon, there are enough people eligible to register to vote to 'keep Cornwall whole' so I hope that will be the case. We'll have to see when the new register of electors is published soon.

Finally, the Bill enabled a referendum on changing our voting system to AV. While I think there are far more important things we could be focusing on, I accept that a deal is a deal, and the Lib Dems made the referendum on the AV voting system the Coalition deal maker, so it must go ahead in May.

I don't believe that by changing the voting system in this way we will improve our democracy. I will be campaigning to keep our reformed system of ‘first past the post’ as I believe it is well understood by people who know how to vote to get the result they want.

A useful discussion with local councillors

At County Hall I today addressed delegates at the annual conference of the Cornwall Association of Local Councils.

The Government envisages a central role for Town and Parish Councils in delivering the Big Society, and I was delighted to be able to outline to Councillors new powers proposed in the recent Localism Bill. 

It was good also to have the opportunity to thank councillors for all their commitment to the communities they represent, their dedication and hard work being all too often overlooked. I also valued the useful discussion that followed and look forward to meeting with them again in the near future.

Have your say on the future of the NHS in Truro and Falmouth

I would like to inform constituents of the below meetings, organised by the NHS in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Tuesday 22^nd February 10.00-11.30:  Lecture Theatre, Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro

Thursday 10^th March 14.00-15.00: The Dracaena Centre, Dracaena Avenue, Falmouth

The meetings are being held to allow local residents to hear about reforms that are being made within the NHS, and to state their views on these changes. All venues are accessible. If you need more information please call 01726 627895 or email neal.chambers@ciospct.cornwall.nhs.uk

Welcoming a full inquiry into Coastguard proposals

I am pleased by the news that House of Commons Transport Select Committee is to conduct an inquiry into the Government’s proposals for modernising the Coastguard. I hope that this inquiry will allow the proposals, and their implications regarding maritime safety, to be fully scrutinised.

More information on the inquiry can be found through the below link:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/transport-committee/news/coastguard---call-for-ev/