Bringing all the stakeholders together on the site of the proposed Wellington Rail station for the first time was an exciting moment. It brought home the real progress we have made over the many years that I have been proud to be the local MP and as Chair of the Devon and Somerset Rail Group. I’m keeping up the pressure at Government level and linking to our team on the ground which has been undertaking the detailed work to get us to this stage. Everyone involved must be commended. Next on the agenda will be bringing the Rail Minister to the area to see the scheme first hand.
As a nation of animal lovers, and the proud owner of two cats myself, I was pleased to visit the Cave Veterinary Specialists centre in West Buckland recently - one of the county’s leading animal hospitals, to see the expert surgical and medical care they provide. Employing 120 staff they are also an important part of our rural economy. On a personal note, I was so grateful to my own local vets, Kingfishers in Taunton for the professional care they gave my cat Raffa last week. So good to have him back home after his big operation.
Back in Westminster I had a successful meeting with the Social Care Minister and the Chairman of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Whilst the £2m allocated by Government to help unblock beds at Musgrove Park Hospital is extremely welcome, we wanted to highlight the urgency required and the need for transparency from the local authority who have been allocated the funding as well as the need for targets for delivery. The Minister gave assurances that the local authority will be required to report back on the pipeline of transfers to social care and similarly the NHS will be reporting on discharges to the local authority.
Finally, on the wider stage, the announcement of the Windsor Framework which rebalances the Northern Ireland Protocol, restores the consent of all communities, and charts a new way forward for Northern Ireland. This deal is a major breakthrough and marks a pivotal moment in UK-EU relations – it is in both our interests to now focus on our shared priorities in Europe and on the global stage.
