Labour’s candidate for Truro and Falmouth, Charlotte MacKenzie, talks about Cornwall’s NHS in the week when people across the UK responded to negative Tory comments by adding their voices to say ‘we love the nhs’.
Charlotte would like to hear your stories about Cornwall’s NHS.
Charlotte MacKenzie welcomes transport funding boost for Cornwall
Today’s Labour Government’s funding of £3.85 Million for a transport scheme to support the building of much needed local housing has been welcomed by Charlotte MacKenzie.
Housing Minister John Healey’s green light for Chiverton Cross means that much-needed improvements can go ahead.
Charlotte MacKenzie, Labour’s prospective MP for Truro and Falmouth said:
“This is good news from the Labour Government. It’s putting money into a scheme to invest in our local economy and support much needed new homes.”
Housing Minister John Healey MP said:
“This will create construction jobs, help build the new homes we need and make sure we have the transport in place to support development.
“We are investing to help the country through recession. We are not simply stepping aside to let the recession run its course as the Conservative Governments did in the past.”
Labour’s prospective MP challenges Cornwall Council to meet the need for affordable local homes.
On the day that Cornwall Council appointed its new portfolio holders for Housing and Planning, Charlotte MacKenzie asked Councillor Mark Kaczmarek and Councillor Graeme Hicks to meet her to discuss how the new Council will meet the need for local affordable housing.
Hundreds of people have signed Labour’s petition (on and offline) to meet the need for local affordable homes. The petition will go to Cornwall Council.
Following the meeting on Monday 29 June, Charlotte MacKenzie said:
‘We had a good discussion in which I pressed the new portfolio holders on the need for positive action by Cornwall Council to deliver more affordable homes despite the challenging context.
‘It’s vital that more homes are made available for the 18,000 households on waiting lists in Cornwall. The Council is already committed to completing over 2000 homes each year up to 2011, it will take positive leadership to make that happen in the present climate, and with Government backing more could be achieved.
‘I’m delighted for everyone who is waiting for a new home in Cornwall that on Monday the Government announced it is increasing investment in housing. So that more new homes are completed and more jobs are created in the construction industry.
‘Cornwall Council is a major landowner. The challenge to the new Council is to bid for funding, build, release their land, give go ahead to planning permissions, and adjust allocations policy to meet local needs for affordable homes.
‘Cornwall Council has said it wants to provide more strategic leadership locally. This is their opportunity to make a real difference for people with local housing needs.’
For more information contact Charlotte MacKenzie 01872 261675.
Notes
1. The £1.5 billion housing investment outlined in Building Britain’s Future includes:
o Extra funding for councils and housing associations – to build around 15,500 new affordable homes, of which over 11,000 will be available for social rental and the rest will be affordable housing. More may be built if greater value for money can be achieved.
o Extending the Kickstart programme – to get stalled housing sites back on track, with the aim of delivering an additional 13,000 homes, of which 4,000 will be affordable.
o Investing in the development of public sector land – owned by the HCA, local councils and other public sector bodies to deliver up to 1,250 units of which 500 could be affordable.
On top of the Government’s existing housing commitments and recent announcements in the Budget, the new investment will deliver an additional 20,000 new affordable energy efficient homes over the next two years. 45,000 new jobs will be created in the construction and related industries to build the extra new homes.
2. The investment will be matched with reforms that deliver value for money and recognise rights and responsibilities for those in social housing. While preserving security of tenure, reforms will include:
o Changing the current rules for allocating social housing – not changing those previously required for people in serious housing need (the ‘reasonable preference’ categories) but by enabling councils to manage better local pressures on their waiting lists, and to give more preferences to those who have spent a long time on a waiting list.
o Expanding Choice Based Lettings – to help residents to move nationwide, and support to tenants who need to move to take up the offer of a new job.
o Clamping down on sub-lettings fraud – freeing up more homes for those in need. o Reforming the council house finance system – to allow councils to keep all the proceeds from their own council house sales and council rents.
3. Housing and Planning Minister John Healey MP confirmed that the Government wants local Councils to act. He said: “Together these announcements signal my intention to get local authorities involved in delivering more housing that their local area needs. Councils haven’t built significant numbers of housing for a long time, but with this extra cash and an overhaul of the council house funding system I am giving councils the green light to start building more homes in their area. And we are putting our money where our mouth is to fund new Housing Association developments, get mothballed housing projects back on track, and free up public land for more affordable homes.”
Photo: Charlotte MacKenzie with John Healey MP at County Hall in July 2008.
Today’s announcement of the South West RDA budget for 2009-11 does not include funding to progress the planned dredging of Falmouth docks.
Labour’s parliamentary spokesperson for Falmouth Charlotte MacKenzie contacted the RDA to find out more.
Charlotte MacKenzie said:
“I welcome the fact that investment over the next two years has been confirmed for strategic investment frameworks for Falmouth, Penryn, and Truro, including the planned Environment and Sustainability Institute at Tremough. And that there is a commitment to look at economic opportunities for Falmouth in marine renewables linked to the Wave Hub.
“But people in Falmouth need to know whether the proposed docks dredging and cruise terminal development is being put on hold for two years because of the financial pressures facing the RDA, or whether a strategic decision has been taken not to back the project. I asked the RDA for an answer to this question. It is clear that they are now looking more broadly at how to regenerate Falmouth’s economy.
“Most people in Falmouth see the future of this development as critical to the town’s future success. I will be contacting newly elected Cornwall councillors and others to ensure it continues to get the positive backing it deserves.”
The newly elected Cornwall Council has no Labour members.
Speaking after the elections count at Richard Lander School, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Truro and Falmouth Charlotte MacKenzie said:
“I’m absolutely gutted for Gerald Chin-Quee, who has been a very hard working representative for Falmouth Penwerris for the last ten years. Gerald has always been an honest and straightforward representative of his local community, and helped the Draecena Centre dream become reality. Gerald has played no part in the national issues that many potentially Labour voters are unhappy with at the moment.
“This hasn’t been Labour’s day. We will listen to what people are saying locally, and we have always recognised that the national issues need to be resolved.
“I welcome the fact that there is now no one Party or Group in overall control of the Council after four years of Liberal Democrat mismanagement. This always means that decisions get fuller and more open discussion than is sometimes the case with one Party in control, and Labour will continue to hold Cornwall Council to account for its decisions.
“I would like to thank everyone who came forward to be Labour candidates at these elections and all our hard-working Party activists who leafleted and spoke to people on the doorstep.”
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