Regular readers will know post-16 transport is a key issue I’ve been campaigning on for some time now to stop rural youngsters being penalised with either eye-watering transport costs or forced to take negative life-changing decisions. This week I am delighted to say that I have had a major breakthrough. After successfully lobbying Eden District Council to provide schemes for the worst affected areas such as Alston where the nearest college is more than 20 miles away, I took the campaign to Cumbria’s new unitary authorities and Westmorland and Furness has responded positively to my requests and confirmed it will provide £500,000 to extend three schemes for the next academic year. These are: continuing to provide transport for Alston Moor students to get to college, and Ullswater Community College students to access Myerscough College’s premier land-based education facilities which I visited last week, as well as extending the Eden Travel Bursary Scheme for isolated individuals across the entirety of Westmorland and Furness. This is wonderful news not just for the young folk who will now be able to follow their dreams, but for our wider communities that will have business needs fulfilled, a bolstered economy and more informed and engaged citizens.
Our brilliant young people are one of our greatest assets and regularly visiting schools I’m continually impressed by how thoughtful and driven they are. Since my last column, students at Armathwaite Community School grilled me on the pressing issues of the day and I met with a group of students at William Howard School to discuss their education campaign to help the millions of children who are out of school globally.
Another issue I’m increasingly concerned about for our young people is vaping. It is a complete myth that these products are harmless for our young people - children are already developing health, wellbeing, and behavioural issues. Without knowing the long-term effect vaping has, I’m concerned that we are blindly stumbling toward a major public health crisis. That’s why I welcomed a Government crackdown on rogue firms that exploit loopholes to hand out free samples to children, which facilitates nicotine addictions in kids and boosts demand. This follows a £3 million investment in specialised illicit vapes enforcement squads, new educational content and a national call for evidence. Having expedited these reforms through the debate I led on the issue in parliament, I’m really heartened by the direction of travel. The marketing of these products to children is shameful and I’m pleased the Government’s next step is to review bolstering fines, banning non-nicotine gateway vapes, tackling disposable vapes and working more closely with schools to educate youngsters and crackdown on the illicit trade.
My main parliamentary news however is that after 18 months of gathering information, quizzing experts and compiling our findings, our official inquiry into Rural Mental Health that I instigated has now been published. In our important cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report we have expressed deep concern about how rural communities disproportionately suffer from unique mental health challenges without equitable access to care. It has been a long-fought personal campaign of mine to shine a light on this underreported issue. Tragically I know from my own veterinary profession just how over-represented rural sectors are in mental health and suicide statistics and so I’ve spoken up consistently since my maiden speech for Government support. It also links closely to my campaign working with the 3 Dads Walking to put suicide awareness on the
national curriculum in order to better protect our young people. We met with the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan this month and I’m positive change is coming, change that will filter up through society so everyone is better equipped to deal with their mental health.
On EFRA issues, we have started a vital inquiry to support tenant farmers who have been impacted by the well-intentioned Environmental Land Management Schemes, I attended the Prime Minister’s UK Farm to Food Summit at Number 10 to discuss food security, and I visited Barfoots Farm on the South Coast to discover more about their world-leading sustainable horticultural practices which could help improve the UK’s soil health.
This week I also led an EFRA Committee delegation to the Animal and Plant Health Agency HQ in Weybridge. This site is our primary defence against animal disease outbreaks and requires a major upgrade to remain resilient. I’ve been pushing for more funding for a long time now and while £2.8 billion is undoubtedly a massive sum, the cost of an animal disease outbreak down the line could be astronomically higher – just look what happened with Foot and Mouth and the legacy that it still leaves for our rural communities
Animal welfare is of course a specialty of mine and so I’ve been busy pressing ahead on a range of issues; first among which is the abhorrent puppy smuggling trade that has continued to thrive since the pandemic. Recently I visited a Dogs Trust rescue centre where I heard of further devastating cases of underage puppies, heavily pregnant dogs and those which have had their ears brutally cropped all being imported. Recently Government has divided up the Kept Animals Bill into individual bills, so the most critical policies can be delivered upon faster and more efficiently. I have had assurances from the Secretary of State that Government is now better positioned to deliver on key manifesto pledges around pet theft, livestock theft, primate owning reform and zoo reform.
