I begin with some very sad news this week as I have been informed that Lady Geraldine Scott-Hopkins passed away last week in her centennial year. Lady Scott-Hopkins was the wife of the late Sir James Scott-Hopkins, a World War II veteran and later, the Member of Parliament for North Cornwall between 1959 and 1966. Geraldine, who married Sir James in 1946, supported her husband throughout his distinguished political career, at home and abroad. My deepest condolences go out to the whole family at this difficult time.
Following the recent Autumn Statement where the Chancellor made the biggest tax cuts in a generation, Parliament remains busy for me both in terms of Government work, and constituency business. I began my week with meetings concerning the legislation to ensure that minimum service levels can be met despite industrial action taking place. I was then in the House of Commons for an Urgent Question on Migration before an event for Cat’s Protection, which many constituents had contacted me about and asked me to attend. Later in the week, I took part in a roundtable on devolution in England and a Christmas showcase at Downing Street.
I was back in the constituency on Friday for another busy day of meetings with constituents and organisations. One of these meetings was my quarterly meeting with the health services in Cornwall where we discussed the recruitment drives they are undertaking across the county and the links they have with the education providers including the outstanding Truro and Penwith College STEM & Health Skills Centre in Bodmin which I recently visited, they offer a variety of health disciplines and levels including; T Level Health; several Level 6 apprenticeships including Operating Department Practitioner, Registered Nurse Degree (Mental Health Nursing and Adult Nursing), Access to Higher Education (Nursing/Human Sciences) as well as courses for professional development for 19+, in what is an amazing facility for a vital sector. Also discussed was the dentistry provision in Cornwall and ensuring it gets the funding that is allocated to it by the government. At a meeting recently held with colleagues and Andrea Leadsom the new Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, dental services across the country were discussed and is the minister's top priority, she is looking at bringing in processes so that funding allocated to dentistry can only be spent on dentistry and not be reallocated by the NHS to the general pot. I was also given an update regarding a new GP site in Camelford, which we have been working on for several years with the newly merged practice, the land has now been secured for a new building which is great news, I will continue to work with Camelford Surgery and the NHS to get the much-needed new premises.
Since my election in 2015, my office has actioned over 60,000 cases on behalf of North Cornwall residents. If you require my help with anything, including benefits, the NHS, or raising a concern with the Government then please contact me via [email protected] or 01208 74337. I hold advice surgeries, if you would like to meet with me then please get in touch.
I am currently running a survey on my website to find out your views and priorities for North Cornwall. If you would like to take part, please visit https://www.scottmann.org.uk/tell-me-your-views. Paper copies of the survey can be made available on request by telephoning 01208 74337.
