MPs’ Round-Up

MPs’ round-up I’m looking out for you in Westminster

At a time that is fraught with such uncertainty, I know that the disconnect between those charged with taking decisions and those who feel their effects can feel wider than ever. Over the last six months, my team and I have given 55 advice surgeries, replied to over 38,000 emails from constituents, supported over 500 businesses and processed around 200 cases a week from those in need – on everything from PPE shortages in care homes to businesses attempting to navigate a maze of government support schemes. But the last few weeks have also seen some critical debates in Parliament. So here is an update on what I’ve been doing to support people in our part of Somerset. n I spoke in two debates on Government support for the arts during the pandemic. My constituency houses some incredible businesses and freelance workers within the Firstly, I’d like to welcome BVM back and thank Miranda and the editors for the invitation to contribute. Free School Meals for eligible children during the holidays have dominated the news recently. I voted with the government on its amendment to Labour’s proposition of extending Free School Meals during holidays up until Easter 2021: I’d like to explain why. The government’s amendment to the debating motion tabled by Labour which I backed included outlining what has already been done to support families affected by the pandemic. Overall, the package for supporting people is larger than those of comparable economies and Chancellor Rishi Sunak is widely credited with having Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton

creative industries and it’s an area that’s too easily overlooked when economic support measures are being pondered. As a former composer and musician, I’m passionately committed to ensuring the arts community gets the support it needs, and though the £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund, the Job Support Scheme and the Self-Employed Support Scheme have provided a safety

MP for South West

Wiltshire Dr

Andrew Murrison done a good job. This has included upping Universal Credit by £1,000 and distributing large sums to local authorities –including millions to Wiltshire vulnerable people. I’m pleased to net, I’m conscious that there are many for whom this has not been enough to ensure their businesses remain viable. Some key sites (including the Cheese and Grain in Frome) now have support in place, but there’s much more to do. n I spoke in a debate on the Internal Market Bill designed to ensure the UK is able to continue the free movement of goods within its borders –regardless of the outcome of our continuing negotiations with the EU. This is not only economically important, but constitutionally vital in ensuring all four parts of the UK can continue operating as one. n I’ve had innumerable conference calls with ministers and local authorities to ensure covid-related financial support from central government is reaching those in Somerton and Frome who need it most. n I’ve also been discussing the proposals for restructuring say this extends to the 8,000 vulnerable children identified in Wiltshire in the school holidays. Cutting through any partisan political opportunism, what I hope this debate now does is focus attention on better ways of helping vulnerable children whose life chances will have been damaged further by covid. That means so much more than ad hoc meal vouchers, a popular way of dealing with the short term though they may be. I’m thinking about things like lunch and breakfast clubs with catch up activities on the menu as well as food. The levelling up agenda means focusing on children left behind, now with every prospect of lagging behind further because of covid. It means attending to nutritional needs, of course, but also the education and skills that will local government in Somerset to ensure it’s better placed to deliver efficient and responsive services to the most vulnerable. The superb work of our local authorities in coping with the current crisis serves to remind us just how critical they, and the services they provide, really are. I’ve been keeping that question – how the delivery of public services to the most vulnerable can best be structured – at the forefront of my mind. n Only a couple of weeks ago, I was delighted to have the opportunity to take part in a Westminster Hall debate around rural productivity – especially important in a post-Covid recovery context. In that debate, I banged the drum for full dualling of the A303, ensuring our £5bn investment in rural broadband targets our hardestto-reach areas and ensuring that agriculture and food production

Better ways of helping vulnerable kids

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Council – to make provision for is not forgotten. give them a chance to maximise their potential throughout life. Beyond school, it means looking afresh at further education and apprenticeships shamefully neglected in our modern obsession with poorly taught degrees in subjects of little relevance to working lives or the UK economy on which we all depend. I look forward to more news on a rebalancing of our education and skills priorities shortly. Maybe at last we will learn the lessons of economies that have been so very much more successful over the past couple of generations, notably Germany. If Marcus Rashford’s campaign has a lasting legacy, it may not just be about food. I hope it is in getting to the heart of inequality of opportunity in this country.

MPs’ round-up Boost your local traders during lockdown

Here we go again…. We are on the cusp of the pantomime season and, like many, I certainly wanted to be shouting at covid: “You’re behind us!” Alas that is not the case and the virus villain is still very much in our midst. By the time you are reading this I will have voted, with a heavy heart, to bring in a second lockdown. Let me stress: the PM, Government and Parliament have not taken this step lightly. Government pulled every other lever to try to win through without having to resort to another lockdown. We were not successful, and, against a rising tide of positive tests and hospitalisations, no serious Government could ignore the unanimous warning and advice of its top advisors. Our two top priorities must be to ensure the NHS does not implode under the weight of covid and the annual increased demand that the winter months always brings. Our second is to keep The high-profile issue of Free School Meals in holiday time generated a considerable postbag. Politics is to choose and I believe that, given the extenuating circumstances of covid and its financial implications for many, the Government should have continued direct, centrally funded provision for this half term. I hope that a rethink will occur before Christmas. In politics, you have to pick your battles, and this is not one that the Government can win while covid looms large. In the Parliamentary vote I abstained, or as the websites have it, ‘no vote recorded’. It MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare

our places of learning open. We cannot and must not deprive our local young of the keys of learning that they will use to unlock all of life’s doors. At the start of the first lockdown the death of our high streets was predicted. Local businesses across North Dorset rose to the challenge as I know they will do this time. People working from home suddenly found themselves shopping in sounds that I couldn’t be bothered doesn’t it? An thought it would be useful if I explained. When the Division Bell rings you can either vote Aye or No. Your vote is recorded in Hansard. Your colours are nailed firmly to the mast and it’s there for all to see. If you don’t want to vote or cannot vote (a doctor’s appointment or you are caring for a relative) you can be slipped or paired. Both are agreed by your Whips Office and there is a Pairing Whip in the Tory and Labour Parties. If you are slipped you do not vote because the Government thinks it has enough votes to win. If you are Paired the their locality too; pleased to be able to get out and about. They found a treasure trove of unique market town shops, pubs and cafes offering excellent service and quality products. The great food and drink that we produce in abundance across North Dorset was enjoyed and appreciated again. Many made full use of the internet to satisfy the needs of customers. Lots offered click and collect or home delivery services. Independently produced quality takeaway food was available with some pubs doing more weekday trade than if their doors had been open. May I make this plea: it’s not just the national companies that can trade online. Our local businesses are doing so too. The sign on the door may say ‘sorry we are closed’ but the internet keeps them open 24/7. Please use them. Not as an act of charity but because they are good businesses providing great product. So, before you start Whips agree that Mrs X (Tory) and Mr Y (Labour) won’t vote in a particular division, cancelling each other out. A proactive abstention such as mine is a vote taken off the Government tally but with no cancelling out from the other side. So, an abstention is not a ‘couldn’t be bothered’ or ‘too busy’ or ‘didn’t care’ but a very firm message. Around 25 Tory colleagues abstained so the Government’s majority was below the usual 80/90 mark. My abstention followed lengthy conversations with my Whip and the Education Secretary where I made the case that the policy we followed over the summer should be continued. My Christmas shopping remember our local high streets. If you can buy a takeaway lunch, midmorning snack or teatime treat a couple of times a week; especially so if you are working from home and would normally buy a sandwich and cake from a local outlet for your lunch. None of us want to find ourselves saying next year, when we survey a ghost town, ‘I remember when there were shops here’. Our town businesses make our towns. Their doors may have to be temporarily shut but their online business is always available to us. Let’s not pay lip service to supporting local while shopping national. We all have a part to play in this. Let’s support them. I hope and pray that all across North Dorset keep well and safe during this time. North Dorset is a strong and resolute community. We will get through this. There will be a

I abstained to send a firm message

abstention does carry weight – I brighter tomorrow. abstention said to the Front Bench: if there is another vote I am more than likely to vote against the Government. Many in Dorset are financially comfortable so the issue may not be a daily concern. Our beautiful surroundings leads observers to thinking everything is rosy. I know it isn’t. There’s disadvantage in every town and village. It’s not clustered in one area so it’s sometimes hard to spot. Covid is, for many, increasing it. Free School Meals, in and out of termtime, are important. For their sake, and at this time, we need to get the policy right. I will do all I can to ensure it happens.