Another busy week in Westminster as we head into the first of three bank holiday weekends this month! The Public Order Bill is now going on to receive Royal Assent, meaning the police can put a stop to the relentless reoffending and significant disruption caused by a selfish minority of extreme protesters. Clearly a fair balance needed to be struck so that the right to protest is not undermined. That I think we have now achieved.
The Non-Domestic Rating Bill had its second reading in the House this week, making technical alterations to how business rates are set. I was particularly pleased to see that the very unfair rules which have prevented small rural business receiving a 100% rates reduction have been changed. Previously small rural businesses would qualify for both rural rates relief (a 50% deduction) and small business rates relief (a 100% deduction), but the legislation would only award them the smaller rural rates relief!
Health questions in the Chamber gave me a chance to ask the government about the way it’s managing its medicines costs - suggesting it should change! Governments around the world want to keep prices down to manage their medicines budget. The way governments do this is by negotiating a good price given the volume they are buying from the company – but then require those companies to pay them back a percentage of their turnover for sales beyond the agreed amount. That reimbursement figure is huge and well out of line with what other countries require. The voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) is currently up for renegotiation. Its terms need to be fairer to stop medicine development moving to other countries where the price is better – limiting UK patient access.
I was once again fighting the fight to ensure the Dawlish railway resilience programme is fully funded and completed. As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I was able to raise the issue with the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport, the most senior civil servant in the department. She has promised to investigate and write to me on both the issue of rolling over funding for phase 4 of the programme, if it can’t be completed within agreed timelines, and on the moratorium imposed on future work planned for Phase 5.
Later in the week, and again as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I was able to raise equally important issues concerning water use. Much publicity has been given to sewage outflows and pollution, but less attention has been given to water catchment and retention. I have had many frustrated constituents ask me why we have now had a hose pipe ban imposed after one of the wettest Springs on record and South West Water are visibly allowing water to escape from their reservoirs.
Surely there should be a national strategy to invest in and build the new reservoirs, identify abandoned quarries to be used and to establish desalination plants to enable us to collect and store the water we need? It can’t be down to individual water companies because the geography and geology will determine the best location – not water company boundaries. It would appear there is no such strategy – I suggested there should be!
I was also concerned to understand how they thought telling people they needed to reduce individual water consumption to 122 litres a day from the average UK use of 145 litres a day, would change our behaviour without some justification and guidance. Most of us think we only use 20-40 litres a day. If we don’t believe the numbers, we won’t do anything. I suggested that in addition to water metering and providing water efficiency grading on washing machines, they should set out in a national campaign how much each activity actually uses. A typical full bath is 80 litres, a washing machine load uses 50 litres a cycle, and the dishwasher 14 litres.
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.