Levelling up Penrith and The Border and improving the lives of Cumbrians was debated on the floor of the House of Commons this Wednesday 23rd February.
Penrith and The Border MP, Dr Neil Hudson, proposed and led a Parliamentary debate on levelling up rural communities in Cumbria this week. It was a House of Commons adjournment debate which takes place at end of each day's sitting. They are an opportunity for an individual backbench MP to raise an issue and receive a response from the relevant Minister. Dr Hudson asked questions of Minister of State for Levelling Up Neil O’Brien MP.
Dr Hudson delivered a wide-ranging speech that covered a number of the areas of concern to Penrith and The Border residents. He discussed connectivity challenges, both physical and virtual, the need for continued government support in the hospitality, tourism and farming sectors and the need for the government to pivot away from London-centric ideas. Dr Hudson is also pushing the Government to allow parish councils to be able to meet in virtual or hybrid format moving forward.
An issue that is increasingly problematic is that of second home ownership in Cumbria. Namely, properties that are left empty by their owners and then used by holiday goers in the tourist season periods. Dr Hudson urged the Government to look at and address the issue of affordable housing, sensible planning and sensible measures, so that people can get on the housing ladder and it is not to their detriment when people come in and take second homes.
Dr Hudson praised the impressive community spirit in Kirkoswald and Bampton for their shop and community pub campaigns respectively. He did however stress that Cumbrians should not be depending on community charity to keep their quality of life up to a reasonable standard.
Speaking after the debate Dr Hudson said:
“This was a great opportunity to once again get on the record the many issues that face my constituents across Penrith and The Border. It brings together several campaigns that I have been working hard since my election. For instance my ‘Better Connectivity’ campaign and my consistent support for farmers and agriculture more broadly. I continue to campaign for better and more regular bus services for our communities. I also will continue my campaign to allow parish councils to be able to meet in virtual or hybrid format moving forward which will widen access in local democracy.
The second homes problem is something we need to address head on and there are some positive steps from the Government on this. Penrith and The Border can no longer be treated as the ‘end of the line’ when it comes to sharing Government funds and projects. Talent is spread equally across the UK but we can say with certainty that opportunity is not.”
Responding to Dr Hudson, the Minister said:
“I congratulate my hon. Friend Dr Hudson on securing this important debate. He is a relentless champion for his community, and the many different issues that he touched on this evening are a small selection of the matters he has raised with us.
He raised the issue of second homes, and I am acutely conscious of the strong feelings held by him and his constituents about that. He will know that we recently closed the second homes tax loophole, which was being abused. That was a serious part of the problem, and a serious contribution to tackling it. Partly as a result of my hon. Friend’s work on this issue, we are considering what further steps we can take to address it.
My hon. Friend’s fundamental thesis is completely correct: we must have a levelling-up agenda that works with the grain of what is going on locally. When we go to Cumbria, we see its beauty, all the things that are fantastic about it and the new investment, but we are also conscious that, for many people, it is an area of low pay and one with a need for more high-quality jobs and new opportunities to learn and progress.”
Please find Dr Hudson’s full speech and the debate at the following link: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2022-02-23/debates/5B68C023-97D5-49CE-800D-2123F3274529/RuralCommunitiesInCumbriaLevellingUp#contribution-EED439BF-F18F-421D-87A6-00E09FFF1E04.
