There has been a lot of speculation on the future of libraries, One Stop Shops in Cornwall. For Helston and the surrounding area, these vital services have been located at two different locations in Helston.

To add into the mix, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP or Jobcentre) have been looking at its long-term commitment in Helston and had recently announced various offices that were under review  – which included Helston.

Myself and my fellow local Cornwall Councillors have argued all three of these services are vital, and it would be a huge blow to Helston, Porthleven and the surrounding area if they could no-longer access these services.

After various meetings with officers about the future of these services, I am pleased to say in a message from two portfolio holders which cover the council services and localisum, they have confirmed the long-term future of the Library, One Stop Shop services and Jobcentre by moving the latter two into the Library. As follows:

“In Helston the Jobcentre will be sharing premises with the library.  This will preserve access to the Jobcentre and ensure the library has a flexible space that will allow it to deliver a modern service.  It will also mean we are able to extend the library’s opening hours.  The Information Service that is currently delivered from Isaac House will be moving to Helston Library too, making it easier for people to access more services in one place.”

This is excellent news and I am pleased the views of local Cornwall Councillors have been taken into account and we have protected three vital services in Helston. My understanding is the Registration Services, which offers Weddings will remain at Isaac House. Issac House is not owned by Cornwall Council and is owned privately.

Defra officials have been undertaking a thorough analysis of the agri-food industry, including the wine industry. We have also been speaking directly to wine producers and trade organisations, to understand what they need from us so they can continue to thrive after we leave the EU.

There is no record of discussions with representatives of the agricultural or retail sectors to discuss the decline in oilseed rape harvests specifically. Defra continues to support the improvement of oilseed rape through its Oilseed Rape Genetic Improvement Network (OREGIN). This network is dedicated to the development of new pre-breeding material with key resilience traits such as resistance to fungal pathogens, improved nutrient uptake efficiency, rooting and establishment as well as improved quality traits

There are currently 16 wild animals licensed by Defra for use by travelling circuses in England. The 16 wild animals are 6 Reindeer; 3 Camels; 3 Zebra; 1 Fox; 1 Macaw; 1 Racoon and 1 Zebu.

Some skin and fur products may never be legally imported into the UK for commercial use. These include seal skins and products and cat and dog fur and products.

If the fur is from an endangered species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), its import and trade will be subject to CITES controls, as will any body part of that species also being imported or traded. These controls are implemented by the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations. The Government has no plans to remove these controls.

Labelling of fur products for consumers is already covered by The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

I represented the United Kingdom at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, alongside my colleagues Fergus Ewing MSP, Lesley Griffiths AM and Michelle McIlveen MLA, on 12 and 13 December in Brussels.

EU quota negotiations, involving decisions on fishing opportunities for the next year for quota stocks in the North Sea, Atlantic, Channel, Irish and Celtic Seas, were first on the agenda, and were ongoing for the entire duration of the Council. This was the third annual Council at which fishing opportunities were set under the rules of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy, which aims to have all stocks fished at sustainable levels by 2020 at the latest.

The UK secured a number of crucial changes to the Commission’s original proposals including, where science supports it, quota increases for fishermen around all parts of the UK. This is due to stocks recovering after years of the UK’s insistence on limiting catches with sustainable scientific limits. Quotas secured include:

• North Sea: Cod +16.5%, Whiting +17%, Anglerfish + 20% Saithe +53% Sole +22%
• Irish Sea: Haddock +25% and Nephrops +8.6%
• Western Channel: Haddock +7% and Sole +20%
• North Sea Hake +12% and Western Hake +9%

The quota settlement for 2017 is worth just over £705 million to the UK, around £34 million more than in 2016.

The agreement means that for 2017, 29 stocks of interest to the UK will be fished at or below their maximum sustainable yield rate (MSY), an increase on 2016, out of 45 such stocks for which MSY assessments have been made. At the EU level, 44 stocks are fished at or below MSY, as announced by Commissioner Vella at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/vella/announcements/agrifish-council_en.

Where the latest scientific evidence supported it, the UK Government argued against unnecessary quota cuts proposed by the European Commission, securing the same quota as in 2016 for many species, including Cod and Sole in the Irish Sea, Anglerfish in the Celtic Sea and Whiting in West of Scotland.

There were some challenges especially on stocks like Bass, Cod, and Megrim in the South West and Sole in the Eastern Channel, where action is necessary to cut fishing mortality in order to allow these stocks to recover. However, we worked hard to secure an agreement that strikes the right balance for both our marine environment and coastal communities.

For 2017, sea bass catch limits from vessels using fixed gill nets were set at 250kg per month for unavoidable by-catch – a reduction of around 80% from 2016 - while hook and line commercial fishermen saw their potential catch cut by around 23%. The restrictions on recreational angling will remain the same as in 2016.

Proportionate quota uplifts were agreed for demersal stocks subject to the landing obligation in 2017. As in 2016, the Government will continue to support the English inshore fleet to adapt to the landing obligation, by allocating to them the first 100 tonnes of quota uplift of a species and 10% thereafter. There will be additional quota uplift in 2017 for new species such as North Sea cod and North Western Waters Pollack.

A paper was presented on Climate Change Effort Share Regulation and Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), discussed alongside the ‘any other business’ item on agroecology. Many Member States, including the United Kingdom, were broadly satisfied with the proposals outlined in the paper. The UK intervened to argue that a methodology should be found to ensure a fairer distribution of credits between Member States.

After this, the Council agreed Conclusions on tackling unfair trading practices in the farming supply chain. The UK managed to secure a wording change that lessens the chance in 2017 of burdensome EU legislation that could hinder our current work in this area, as undertaken by the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

There then followed a political discussion on new regulation for organic produce, which will continue into the upcoming Maltese Presidency.

Several other items were discussed under ‘any other business’:

• Austria lodged a request to maintain the current level of support for first generation biofuels, supported by other Member States. While noting this remains the responsibility of Commissioner Cañete, Commissioner Hogan informed Council that the reduction of support was very modest, pertaining to a very small part of the biofuel sector.
• France debriefed the Council on a conference of Mediterranean countries that took place in Tirana, Albania, where agricultural and rural development and migrations in the Mediterranean zone was discussed.
• Commissioner Andriukaitis informed the Council about the first meeting of the Food Waste Platform.
• Commissioner Andriukaitis also updated Ministers on the work of the expert group on accelerating sustainable plant protection products. The advisory group recommended speeding up approvals of low-risk active substances, measures to stimulate businesses to apply for authorisations and the identification of low-risk products already on the market.
• Commissioner Andriukaitis announced that the new regulation on plant pests was now in force. The Commission sees this new legislation as allowing a much more proactive approach to the prevention of the entry of new pests into the EU. Malta, as incoming Presidency, mentioned plans to establish fora to take forward further discussion on identifying further action.
• The Slovak Presidency explained that the Commission had issued a guidance note expressing a preference for the use of the Plant Breeders’ Rights framework, rather than the Patent Legislation to register new strains. This was welcomed by a range of other Member States.

On 23 June, the EU referendum took place and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation. Leaving the EU will present us with opportunities to better manage fisheries in our waters and become global champions for sustainable fishing, while protecting the marine environment.

It might seem daft, but public toilets are liable for business rates (officially called Non-domestic Rates NDR), even though they are not something I would call a businesses, more of a service. Cornwall Council has previously lobbied Central Government over the unfair burden of charging business rates on public toilets. No matter if they are run by a Town and Parish Council, a community group, or Cornwall Council.

The good news is the Government has tweaked the legislation and will give local council’s the powers to award discretionary relief from April 2018 under the Local Government Finance Bill. I welcome this.

However, there is a sting in tail. On one hand the Government allows Cornwall Council not to levy this charge, but it will be the local authority who have to pick up funding shortfall in funding.

Applying these powers to the public toilets that are the responsibility of Town and Parish Councils in Cornwall would create a £156,000 funding shortfall for the Council.  If the powers were applied to all public toilets in Cornwall, the shortfall would increase to around £250,000. That’s a lot of money to lose.  I believe the Government should compensate local authorities for any such funding shortfall. It has done previously with other business rate relief measures.

In the past, Cornwall Council collected business rates  and sent them to the Government, who in turn gave the Council a percentage back. Then, we collected and kept part of the NDR with the rest going to the Government. Now the Council keeps all, but gets no grant from the Government.

Retaining market access between the UK and the EU will be a significant benefit to the food and farming sectors in both the UK and Europe. In 2015, the UK exported £11 billion of agri-food and drink products to the EU, and imported £28 billion. We aim to secure a mutually beneficial deal that delivers market access for the benefit of food and drink producers both in the UK and the EU.

Back in September 2016, Helston Town Council decided not to apply for a Road Closure for the Porthleven Road during Flora Day 2017. I was very concerned this was an error and would put the public at risk as my previous blog highlights.

Several months on and at last weeks Helston Town Council meeting I congratulated the Mayor, and the Councillors for agreeing to reconsider their previous decision. In reaffirming my concerns, I wrote another letter to the town council. My second letter is as follows:

“Further to my letter dated the 7th September 2016 which expressed how I was very disappointed that Helston Town Council had decided not to apply for a Road Closure for the Porthleven Road on Flora Day 2017; I am pleased this issue is being discussed again by the Town Council.

My view on this issue is exactly the same as it was beforehand. This road must be closed on the grounds of public safety due to the sheer number of people attending Flora Day and the Fair. Without a Road Closure it will put the public in danger from vehicle movements

Furthermore, not closing the Porthleven Road will lead to serious congestion due the amount of traffic trying to navigate the area both near the Fairground Car Park and at the junction to Furry Way. This will in turn increase the risk for the public.

There is a minimal cost to having a Road Closure, as the cost of applying for one can be absorbed into the other application for the event.

The viewpoint of Cornwall Council should pay for this because it receives around £1400 in payment from the Fair is not possible. As you know this income is used to maintain the car park and keeps it free. Without the income, it makes my role more difficult in arguing against making it a fee paying car park.

I have asked the Fair operators for a contribution to help with the minimal costs for operating a Road Closure but as yet, I have not had a formal response to this request.

This closure has proven to work in the past, and I strongly believe it should continue. I urge you as public servants to reconsider your previous decision and apply for a Road Closure for Flora Day 2017.”

In the months between my two letters , I have been talking to the Fair operators, Anderton & Rowland to see if they would help out financially. I am pleased to say they agreed to my request for £500 to help with the small costs of a Road Closure. All credit to Anderton & Rowland for this, as they understood the importance of this Road Closure (their response came just after I sent my letter).

I am very pleased to say, Helston Town Council  at last nights during one of their committee meetings, they have reconsidered their original decision and will now go-ahead and apply for a Road Closure for the Porthleven Road for Flora Day 2017.

Whilst I disagreed with their original decision, credit to the town council for now applying for this Road Closure. Thank you.

Since Defra was created in June 2001, there have been 39 instances covering 9 Senior Civil Servants who have taken sickness absence for mental health reasons which amounts to 535 days. However, for reasons of anonymity it is not possible to provide a monthly breakdown in the answer as the numbers are too small to report.

Defra is committed to reducing work related absence due to mental illness. We have an active Wellbeing network (Break the Stigma) which shares best practice, activities and events relating to all aspects of wellbeing. Mental health has been a key priority since the network was established. Defra’s Wellbeing Advisors work closely with the network’s organisers to support events and develop group communications including a series of inspiring blogs by staff.

Our Employee Assistance Provider can be contacted 24/7, 365 days a year and employees can receive up to 6 sessions of free counselling. The Charity for Civil Servants which is another superb source of support, also offers advice on a wide range of issues.

The planned increases to charging in Cornwall Council car parks will not go ahead as planned.  In understanding the concern, the Leader has said in a letter to various members that:

“we recognise that the time-frame given to the Parking Service and town representatives between the approval of the budget in November and the deadline for the new Order at the end of January allowed little time for dialogue”. 

The Leader followed on by saying

“we have therefore agreed to delay the implementation of the proposed schedule to allow further discussion to take place” (abridged version).

This is good news, and I thank the Leader for stepping in and trying to find a way forward. However, it is not clear how long this period of discussion will be. Myself and Porthleven Town Council wrote and highlighted how harmful the increased could be locally, especially the introduction of the after 4pm charging. In this period of ‘discussion’ I will again raise the issue.

However, what surprised me is car parking charges is such an emotive issue, few took the time to actually officially complain about it. As from the consultation, there were only 17 (me being one of them) individual responses from Cornwall Councillors, 15 from town and parish councils (Porthleven TC included), six from business groups, and 78 from the public. Though, credit to the 47 Councillor who signed a letter to the Leader and CEO expressing their concerns on the proposed charges.

My previous blog on the proposals can be found HERE

The number of additional staff the Department has employed on both fixed term and a permanent basis since 23 June 2016 until 23 January 2017 is 215.

This figure includes internal transfers and Civil Servants from Other Government Departments.

We have been able to provide early certainty on payments to 2020 with the guarantees of funding. No decisions have yet been taken about future support beyond 2020. Before issuing detailed proposals, we will shortly be publishing for consultation two Green Papers setting out our ambitions for food, farming, and the environment. We look forward to working with industry, rural communities, and the public to shape our plans for the future outside the EU.

Today, at Cornwall Council’s packed Cabinet agenda was an item named European Capital of Culture.This was a request for £536k to be assigned to a bid for Capital Culture of the year in 2023. Basically, this money would be used to work up a bid in a competitive process in a winner takes all prize. There really is no prize for second place apart from being a few hundred-thousand lighter in the bank balance.

The deadline for submission is nine-months away which leaves little real-time for a comprehensive winning bid. Whereas the others in the competition like Dundee have had over a year to date be working on their bid. In fact, the average ECOC bid takes two to three years (as highlighted the ECOC application guidance) and Cornwall will have less than 9 months from start to finish. Not good odds to wager over £536k on. The report also highlights:

“Bidding for ECoC is complex and requires a significant budget. Financial support will be required to support the bidding process. Based on intelligence from other bids and an officer assessment of the resource required to deliver a credible bid by October 2017 it is calculated that a budget of approximately £536,000 will be required. This will be spent on cultural activity which will be linked to a large-scale community mobilisation effort, PR and marketing, a creative director and bid team. This is considered a modest budget for a bid to be ECoC”.

In an ideal world, this sort of thing might be rather nice, but I put this on the nice-to-do list, rather than being strategically important to do. I say this because the Council for the last several years has been cutting and reducing services you and I receive because of the budgetary pressures the Council face from the cuts in funding and increased demand for services. But despite these pressures, a cool £536k can be found for working up this bid, or what is in reality, one massive punt. My view is we should be concentrating on our core business, rather than chasing ego-badges like this.

However, if the £536k is not bad enough, then wait for this. If the bid is actually successful, then the Council will be required to contribute to at least £10m to make the whole project work. Yes £10m, probably more. With all the pressures we are already we are facing, this money would have to be found from existing budgets, or borrowed. As there is nothing in the current four-year budget plan.

For me, this £10m (and the £536k) could be spent far better on the most vulnerable, where it would have far greater and long-term positive benefits, or protecting libraries and other key service that are under pressure rather than a grand title of ‘Culture Capital’.

The programme title is European Capital of Culture, yet for some reason this is being sold as a Truro-Cornwall bid. My belief it is being sold as a Truro-Cornwall bid is to appease those who think funding is Truro-centric. If it was to be Cornwall wide, then the cost of putting this on would spiral. I heard from a member of the City Council that Truro City Council knew nothing of this bid up to a few days ago. Not a great start really is it?

In the report, it claims “It is reasonable to assume that the economic
impact of winning the competition could be circa £100m over the course of the year”. Yet who benefits from this? The tax payer doesn’t, as the only way the Council could recoup its costs if it received income from business rates from newly created businesses as a direct result of the successful bid.

In trying to convince the Cabinet today, there was a two page list of people saying how wonderful this would be. Yet, these people from well-known organisation have not committed any cash to this. We can all say how wonderful something is if you are not paying for it.

I was the lone voice in the Cabinet today. I could not support this bid as it is flawed from the very start and has next very little chance of winning. This bid is a waste of £536k and I believe this money could be spent on more vital service areas.

I voted against this. And I am glad I did.

The Government takes a science-based approach on the authorisation of genetically modified (GM) products, and is consulting the devolved administrations (DA) on the proposed approval of three types of GM maize to be considered at an EU meeting on 27 January. An EU decision permitting the cultivation of these crops will not apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland because the DAs have an agreed exemption. Nor would the crops be expected to be grown in England, because they are designed to control insect pests that are not a problem for farmers in the UK.

The EU School Milk Scheme under which the UK claims around £3.5 million of EU funding annually plays a valuable role in encouraging the consumption of dairy products and contributing to the development of healthy eating habits from an early age. A much larger nursery milk scheme for children under 5 is funded by UK Health and Education departments and is worth £67million a year. We will continue to participate in the new EU school scheme from 1 August 2017. We will need to consider the longer-term approach to school milk provision as part of future domestic policy and we will ensure consultation with stakeholders in relation to any future scheme for the UK.

In order to deliver grants to farmers under the scheme by the European Commission’s deadline of 30 September 2017, it was necessary to use equipment that had already been costed by Natural England. The permeable ammonia-recycling crust was not on the list of equipment that had been previously costed.

We want to deliver a Brexit that works for the whole of the UK. We will work very carefully to ensure the right powers are returned to Westminster and the right powers are passed to the devolved administrations. No decisions currently taken by the devolved administrations will be removed from them.

All Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2016 payments issued, and included in the published performance results, are complete based on the current 2016 claim information held by the Rural Payments Agency. Those who have received a BPS Financial Support Payment are not and therefore not included in the reported figures paid.

Food security is dependent on a number of factors including increasing production sustainably, reducing waste and ensuring open markets around the world to facilitate trade.

The UK’s current production to supply ratio is 76% for indigenous-type foods and 61% for all foods. This has remained steady over the last decade and is typical in the context of the last 150 years.

The Government wants to grow more and sell more British food and will be publishing a 25 year Food and Farming Plan.