"UK Government abandoned the rural North in the aftermath of Storm Arwen" says CLA

THE Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has said the Government's poor response to Storm Arwen shows no progress has been made in:- 'levelling up' the countryside. The CLA, which represents 28,000 rural businesses in England and Wales, has said the UK Government appears to be uninterested in helping rural communities devastated by Storm Arwen. Thousands of homes are still without power in many small villages, with an enormous toll placed on businesses through damaged buildings and lost earnings. Some farms are reporting as having lost as many as 1,000 trees. Government eventually called in the army for logistical support after a long delay. Whilst Ministers have criticised energy companies, the CLA argued it was Government's responsibility to lead the response. The CLA has called on Government to develop an Emergency Recovery Scheme similar to those created in the aftermath of other natural events such as flooding. As Storm Barra hits rural communities for a 2nd time in as many weeks, the Scheme could help rural communities bounce back more quickly after storms.

CLA President Mark Tufnell said:- "The impact on rural communities in the North of England is every bit as severe as the South East suffered in 1987, but with only a fraction of the Government support and public interest. People in these communities are legitimately asking where is the Government's 'levelling up' agenda? With thousands of homes still without power, I would have expected a huge Government response. In an emergency of this scale, only Ministers have the authority to mobilise support from Government agencies and the private sector to get these communities back on their feet. But that doesn't appear to have happened. No COBR, no emergency response coordination, nothing. As far as I can see, Government has just taken a back seat, passed the buck onto energy companies and walked away. It is shocking. As storms continue to batter communities, there is dwindling hope in the rural North that the levelling up agenda will ever apply to them. Rural communities cannot be not forgotten about, yet again, in their time of need."
 

"Police need resources to enforce mask wearing" says Bill Esterson MP

FINDING places to buy masks again, now they have been reintroduced has been quite a task, also the public is increasingly resistant to the use of masks, but they are extremely important. This lack of availability of masks and lack of willingness to comply with the re-introduction of the mask rules has lead to huge issues for the Police and also shop workers. As a result of this growing issue, Sefton Central MP, Bill Esterson has joined other MP's to call upon the Government to ensure that Police Forces have the resources they need to support shops to enforce new mask wearing rules. Mr Esterson, MP for Sefton Central, applauded the re-introduction of mask wearing in enclosed spaces such as shops, and said the requirement should never have been removed, but said workers needed support to feel confident to enforce the rules. Mr Esterson said the public should respect shop workers who had a right to feel safe in their workplace.

Mr Esterson said:- "Mask wearing is a simple public health measure that saves lives and the Government was wrong to relax the rules. It is right that these laws have come back in, but shop and transport workers understandably feel anxious at the thought of enforcing them. These workers have a right to feel safe in their workplaces. The Police must be looking at this and the Government offering extra resources to help enforcement. This has been made so much harder by 11 years of Conservative cuts to the Police front line. Here in Merseyside, I am very pleased that our Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, is putting 600 Police back on the beat. But 1,500 officers have been cut by this Government since 2010 and many more civilian staff, so unless the cuts are reversed it will be much harder for the Police to enforce regulations like those for mask wearing. The Government should support our Police so they in turn can support retail and transport workers in keeping the public safe."