March heralded the Spring Budget which set out the Government’s plans to drive down inflation, support people with cost-of-living pressures and reduce debt. Considering the immense global challenges facing the UK economy, I’m proud that our compassionate agenda has focused on helping families with schemes such as expanding free childcare, extending cost-of-living support by £94 billion and increasing pension allowances, which will really help the NHS with experienced doctor retention. Locally, with our well-documented transport challenges the fuel duty freeze should give peace of mind to those who travel by car and we’ve rightly continued to prioritise tackling regional inequality, so places like Penrith and The Border are supported.
Budget day was also significant as I was joined by Nenthead Primary School’s only two Year 6 pupils who toured the Houses of Parliament before quizzing me on the issues close to their hearts. Then, like London buses, you get four schools all at once with youngsters from Morland, Lanercost and Culgaith also joining me in Westminster to learn more about my role, Parliament and how laws are made. It genuinely is one of my favourite parts of the job, hearing from our brilliant young folk, particularly in London where our rural youngsters are able to access the Mother of Parliaments and clearly gain so much from seeing the capital for themselves.
Yet one threat to our children I’m becoming increasingly worried about is vaping. It is rightly illegal to sell vapes to under-18s but with more and more young people vaping, and having access to e-cigarettes locally, I am worried we could be sleepwalking towards a public health crisis. In the short-term our children could be developing health, wellbeing and behavioural issues associated with vaping and in the long-term we just don’t have enough data to know how bad the consequences might be. In the Commons Chamber, I raised this with Justice Secretary, who reinforced that our Government is committed to tackling the illicit trade among children and I look forward to progressing this issue.
From cleaning up our communities, to cleaning up our waterways, we’ve also made significant progress with the unacceptable levels of sewage discharged by water companies. I have shared in people’s outrage on this issue and campaigned for tougher measures for quite some time so I’m really pleased that Government, water companies and regulators are finally uniting behind some of my, and my colleagues’, proposals. I’ve long called for a range of measures which have this month come to pass. From unlimited fines for water companies who offend and more transparent monitoring of the issue to water company dividends linked to environmental and customer outcomes and more than £1.6 billion of Government investment into vital infrastructure to improve water quality. The tide is finally turning on this immoral blight on our landscapes and I’m proud to have led the charge from Conservative environmentalists.
We have now been without Cumbria County Council and the six lower tier districts for two weeks. I’ve put on record my reservations from the outset about this retrograde local government reorganisation in Cumbria especially with the decision to push ahead with an East-West split. That said we now have to make this work, and I have vowed to work collegiately with local councillors of all political colours to deliver on the people of Cumbria’s priorities. There are three key areas of concern I wrote to the new Unitaries about that could see a retrograde decline if not addressed properly and promptly by council leaders. They
are: utilising the Conservative Government’s £1.5 million investment in local bus services, making sure fair, affordable and sustainable transport is provided for 16-18-year-olds to access training or education, and ensuring garden waste services are provided fairly to all those paying the same council tax rates. I look forward to swift action by councillors and will be monitoring progress closely.
Progress has also been made on my mental health campaign. Since raising it in my maiden speech, I have fought for parity of esteem between mental and physical health. This month I had the privilege of contributing to a debate triggered by Andy Airey and the 3 Dads Walking’s petition for safe and age-appropriate suicide awareness. I also met with the charity Baton of Hope ahead of their exciting UK-wide tour and the UK’s Youth Mental Health Ambassador, Dr Alex George. All conversations seem to come back to the need for preventative measures to avoid crises and getting suicide awareness on school curricula, I believe is a great first step.
As the only veterinary surgeon in the Commons and representing a rural area with animals at its heart, I try to give a voice to pets, livestock and wild animals that lack one. This month, I led a roundtable with transport leaders to stamp out illegal puppy smuggling, quizzed the Environment Secretary on Biosecurity and the return of the Kept Animals Bill, supported the ban of trophy hunting imports, and worked with cat charities to make sure pet theft laws stand up to scrutiny.
I wish our farming community well at this busy time with lambing and calving and may I take this opportunity to wish everyone across our region a happy, restful and peaceful Easter break.
