My week in Westminster began by grilling home office officials on our emergency services communications network in my role as a member of the Public Accounts Committee. Currently, our emergency services have an aging communication system which needs upgrading to enable them to share live data about incidents, and quickly get into contact with one another. The government is taking steps to establish a new network but this has been fraught with challenges so that individual emergency services are adopting their own systems to fill the gap. One of government’s big challenges is procuring and rolling out big infrastructure projects. It’s a systemic problem that needs fixing and we, as a committee, are determined to shine a light on this issue to change it for the better.
The Prime Minister’s five pledges matter, and this week, we began to tackle the small boats problem with new legislation on Illegal Immigration to deter and punish all those involved in people smuggling without falling foul of EU political correctness. It was a contentious debate. Some wanted the system for immediate deportation on arrival tightened up. Others wanted the government to look at introducing more regulated safe routes for those seeking to come here – but legally. All of this is being fully considered by government and I expect the bill to be back in the commons after Easter recess.
I have repeatedly asked the Chancellor to look again at the additional support on energy bills that is being offered to businesses which is substantially less than that offered to domestic consumers. This week I raised it again at the Treasury Select Committee. The issue has been made worse by the lack of a regulatory role for Ofgem making the market unfair and uncompetitive. The result is some non-domestic consumers facing horrific bills - up by 800% ! The government is looking at restructuring the market to fix these very issues, but this can’t wait. The Chancellor must act now.
A big win this week as we joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) opening doors to a wider global market. This partnership will see us add £1.8 billion to our economy over the next few years, open up access to bigger markets for UK Businesses to sell their goods to, and will deepen the UK’s ties with countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Mexico. A true Brexit dividend! The Prime Minister’s pledge to drive growth really matters. More such deals are in the pipeline. Good progress on a second pledge this week!
I rounded my week off by talking to Network Rail about the progress being made on the South West rail resilience programme, following the breach in the sea wall almost a decade ago. The final work on the Dawlish sea wall will be finished this Autumn, and the rockfall shelter at Parsons Tunnel should be completed by Christmas! But there is more to do to address the rockfall risk from the cliffs at Teignmouth. Rock fall is a much more frequent cause of line closure than anything else. When the wall came down so did much rock off the cliffs. While the plan to move the line out into the sea has been abandoned, new proposals to nail, net, and monitor water content in the cliffs have not been finally signed off, nor has funding been agreed. That’s not good enough and I will be pushing both the Prime Minister and the Transport Secretary to make good on David Cameron’s promise.
Newton’s Place, a cultural centre like no other at the heart of Newton Abbot ,now housing our museum, our town council and providing community space was officially opened by our mayor Carol Bundy on Saturday. Well done to the town council and the wider team making this vision happen, despite all the road blocks on the way!
As always, if you would like to book a surgery appointment (in-person or virtual) or raise a specific issue, please call my office on 01626 368277 or email annemarie.morris.mp@parliament.uk to arrange an appointment.