Banking just in time…
Last year, with the support of Brixham Town Council, I ran a campaign to open a new Banking Hub in the town. This successful campaign saw Brixham recognised as a “most in-need town” in the second tranche of the nationwide initiative. As a result, the Town Council is now working to confirm the location of a new Banking Hub that can meet the financial needs of residents. This one-stop hub will allow multiple banks to provide much-needed services to businesses and locals from one location.
This new hub could not be coming at a better time. This week, the Post Office reported that over July, £800 million was withdrawn in cash across their network – a 20% rise year-on-year. The reasons for such an increase are many, but perhaps the most sizeable is down to the cost of living. People budgeting are often more likely to move towards cash use over contactless. Plus, having access to financial advisers and money experts ensures that we are all the more aware of what support and assistance are available to us.
For years we have been told that the use of cash was a thing of the past, however, rural communities and towns like Brixham show that it is quite the opposite. This Banking Hub could not be arriving at a better time. Its presence will help established businesses and attract investment, along with supporting residents during this difficult period.
Dentists
The South West has been found to have the worst access to dentists in the country. In fact, the BBC found that in Devon, no practices were accepting new adult NHS patients. Devon MPs have been highlighting for many months that the situation across the county is dire. It has been beyond frustrating that we have been rebuffed time and time again with platitudes about money being made available, without any discernible change in the situation.
We must ensure dental practices are fulfilling NHS contracts, but we should also encourage overseas dentists with the relevant qualifications to practice in the UK in order to address the urgent need. Devon MPs, this month, will be speaking to the Health Secretary to demand further action and to ensure he recognises that rural communities are often the worst impacted due to fewer transport links. We all understand there are backlogs, but each day that goes by without a solution leaves more and more constituents in pain and without the services they should be able to expect.
Torbay Steam Fair
It was an honour to open Torbay Steam Fair 2022. Tony Brooks and the committee pulled off a fantastic three-day event over the weekend past. As I said in my opening remarks on Friday, it was nice to be at an event that had more hot air than Westminster!
The Steam Fair’s triumphant return, the first event in three years, was not only a welcome sight but also a great reminder of the UK’s historical engineering capabilities. Across the globe, British-made equipment helped build towns and cities as well as farm the land and mine the earth. These extraordinary pieces of equipment are the living embodiment of the ingenuity and innovation of our predecessors. I can only hope that we can, once again, channel that ethos.