2026: Week 43 - Budget, Water and Cats
This week saw the Chancellor, John Healey, announce his first budget. Overall, I would have liked to see the budget go further, although the £100 payment towards energy bills for households in council tax bands A to D is welcome news, as is the removal of energy bill standing charges.
Also, from the budget came the announcement that Devon will be getting a mayor. While I would prefer devolved funding to be delivered through councils, I am pleased that Devon is being included in these plans and is now set to receive more funding through a new mayor.
On a similar note, on Thursday the Government announced that the Local Government Reorganisation plans for Devon have been withdrawn, after it was paused for review back in September. The Minister said that elections will go ahead in May 2027 for existing councils, with elections for new councils in May 2028. However, they also said that LGR plans will be reconsidered, and all the previous options were still on the table.
When the Government first announced the review of LGR plans in September, I asked the Secretary of State whether councils would be refunded the costs they have already incurred. As part of today's statement, the Minister said he has heard about the costs of uncertainty, and that all areas will receive half of the transition funding: £450,000 per new unitary previously announced.
I am pleased to see local councils receiving this support and am hopeful that this is an opportunity for a better plan for Devon.
After attending an event with Surfers Against Sewage and speaking to constituents in Teignmouth about the impact of sewage discharges on rivers, waterways and coastal communities, I launched my petition to ‘Take Profit Out of Water’.
It is very encouraging to see the strength of community action locally, particularly from younger generations. Constituents regularly write to me about these issues, and I too am deeply concerned. Our water system is at breaking point, and water companies continue to get away with discharging sewage into our rivers and seas, paying out large dividends, and failing to invest in fixing leaky infrastructure.
I want to use this petition to take this message from constituents directly to Westminster as I continue to press the Government to abandon the failed privatisation model and overhaul the water industry, so that profit is never again put before the environment, public health or billpayers
Finally, you may have seen a certain feline, Ignatius D. Flufflesworth, in the news this week. On Monday I led a debate in Parliament on reporting road collisions involving cats, following an e-petition started by the charity CatsMatter signed by nearly 200,000 people. I spoke about my daughter’s cat, Ignatius, and how cats are not currently included in the list of animals that must be reported to the police if involved in a road collision. Cats should not be left to suffer on the roadside, and their owners should not spend years wondering what happened to them.