The day started at 9.00 with a re-scheduled meeting for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Coastal Communities to discuss the Year of the Coast 2023. It was essentially an information briefing to introduce members of the APPG to the Year of the Coast 2023 initiative and ideas for how they can get involved and support the activity. The Year of the Coast was originally planned for 2021 as a celebration of the completion of the England Coast Path but was moved to 2023 due to Covid-19. The initiative focuses on rebuilding coastal communities from the devastating impacts of Covid-19 – it is also a year of celebration, highlighting all our diverse coast and communities have to offer.
The session also included an update from Natural England on progress with the England Coast Path national trail, a reflection on 10 years of the Wales Coast Path and an introduction to Ocean Literacy. We heard from the National Tourism Academy, Natural England, Wales Coast Path and Cardiff University. The National Tourism Academy has provided an online toolkit which MPs and local authorities will find useful to maximise focus on the Year of the Coast 2023.
There followed a further APPG for Coastal Communities meeting on coastal erosion. The impact of coastal erosion is occasionally highlighted through the media featuring the loss being experienced by individuals and coastal communities. We listened to a comprehensive overview of the current challenges and opportunities through the perspectives of the Environment Agency, a climate change focused pressure group One Home, a coastal local authority and an individual who was personally experiencing the impacts of coastal erosion. It was clear from the discussions that we need more cross-governmental action, a review of coastal planning policies and a funding mechanism for adaptation.
I then rushed over to the Chamber for Scotland Office oral questions; I had a question about how the UK Government can further work collaboratively with the Scottish Government and Scottish businesses to best utilise the extensive UK Government overseas network (of embassies, British Council and so on) to maximise opportunities to promote the Scottish brand and businesses overseas. In order to improve economic growth, we need UK businesses, including SMEs, to export more. This will enable them to grow their businesses, employ more people and boost our economy. I am arranging an event later this year with the Federation of Small Businesses, the Department of Trade and UK Export Finance to ensure our local businesses have the information and support they need to grow their export opportunities and businesses.
Prime Minister’s questions followed – Rishi is really getting the hang of this now and did really well! I then attended a ministerial briefing regarding the minimum service levels legislation. The Government respects and values public sector workers and is committed to taking a reasonable approach to avoid prolonged industrial action. It wants to meet trade unions for ‘honest and constructive’ conversations about what is fair and affordable in public sector pay settlements for 2023-24, and the Secretaries of State have reached out to unions, inviting them to sit down and discuss the evidence that the Government will be submitting to the pay review bodies. If the pay offer is accepted, discussions will take place between government departments and unions in the coming weeks on issues including pay evidence, workload and conditions in the public sector. These discussions will help ensure the evidence submitted to the pay review bodies is as considered and informed as possible, including reflecting areas of common ground. The independent pay review process is the right way to set public sector pay – it provides independent, expert advice and is a neutral process in which all parties play a role. A balance must be struck between giving workers a fair and reasonable settlement and taking steps to continue to bring down inflation and protect households’ budgets.
The Government also has a duty to the public to ensure their safety, protect their access to vital public services, and help them go about their daily lives. The Government will always protect the ability to strike, but it must be balanced with the public’s right to life and livelihoods. This is why we are bringing in new laws to ensure a basic level of service in some of our most crucial sectors when industrial action takes place. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which passed its second reading in the Commons last week, will ensure that vital public services (broadly similar to the list set out in the 2016 Trade Union Act) will have to maintain a basic function and deliver minimum service levels during industrial action, where voluntary levels are not agreed. The legislation will ensure that specified services - which could include healthcare, rail, fire and border security - cannot shut down completely when workers strike, in order to maintain critical and in many cases life-saving services.
Following this ministerial briefing, I attended a meeting with Lord Markham, the health minister responsible for the new hospital programme, along with other East Sussex MPs to discuss the progress and the road ahead for the new hospital programme for Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill – East Sussex Healthcare Trust. The programme is on track and we have asked for a ‘roadshow’ type engagement with our local communities to highlight the plans. The ESHT hospital programme is in cohort 4 – to be completed in the second half of this decade. This programme is to provide new buildings and refurbishment at the Conquest, Eastbourne DGH and Bexhill Community Hospital.
Next, I spoke in the debate on the prevention of spiking incidents in Westminster Hall. More needs to be done about spiking, whether it is further or a change in legislation. Spiking is illegal under various clauses of various laws, including the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, but there is support for amending existing law to include the offence of spiking in all its different forms. Due to speaking in this debate, I missed a drop-in event on diesel vehicles and air pollution, which I had hoped to go to. Plans often have to change at the last minute in Parliament!
I then met up with a colleague from Conservative Central Office to discuss incumbency and my campaign plans before attending the Women’s Lobby reception briefly, following which I attended the Holocaust Educational Trust event, which was very moving.
All in all, a busy day!