As mentioned last week March is Brain Tumour Awareness month and over 100,000 people have signed a petition to secure ring-fenced research funding across all parts of the brain cancer spectrum. I’m engaged in finding a way to physically hand the petition to the PM!
The Government launched a much-needed national Love Seafood Campaign last week as part of a determined effort to do all that it can to support our coastal communities. As a nation, we should be eating more of the fish that we catch. The Love Seafood campaign will focus on increasing domestic consumption of UK seafood. It will promote species including: langoustines, crab, lobster, scallops, oysters, clams, mussels, squid, cuttlefish, turbot, plaice, sole and monkfish. The campaign will run throughout March and is a first step, and part of our wider ambition to ensure greater domestic consumption of UK-caught seafood #LoveSeafood. The Government is committed to supporting our seafood and fishing industries across the UK, as well as creating opportunities to grow domestic and international demand for our high-quality UK seafood.
The Budget has been well received and there are some interesting aspects relating to the road to net zero emissions which may have been missed in the general press. Energy innovation: In line with the commitment to double spending on energy innovation, the government is announcing support for the development of new solutions to cut carbon emissions and accelerate near-to-market low-carbon energy innovations: A new £68 million UK-wide competition to implement several 1st-of-a-kind energy storage prototypes or technology demonstrators; and A £4 million UK-wide competition for the 1st phase of a biomass feedstocks programme, to support the rural economy in making improvements to the production of green energy crops and forestry products.
In addition the Chancellor has created a new Bank of England mandate: The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will now have to align monetary policy with the UK's environmental goals. This follows a similar recommendation from the Environmental Audit Committee in their recent Growing Back Better report. The bank has an excellent record in highlighting the financial risks from climate change, above all other central banks, and was the first to publish its own climate-related financial disclosure.
The increase in support for businesses to take on apprentices is a welcome step for small businesses in West Cornwall. My experience of taking on apprentices is very positive and for Cornwall, apprenticeships offer businesses opportunities for recovery, growth and well-paid skilled jobs for people who otherwise may be tempted to leave the Duchy.
A further ‘shipment’ of native trees arrive in mid-March which will take me well-passed the 20,000 trees I promised to ‘deliver’ across the constituency. You can volunteer to plant these trees and I can promise a Covid-safe exercise within the lockdown rules! Email Derek.Thomas.mp@parliament
