2026: Week 8 - Ukraine Permission Scheme and Coastwatch
The February recess always goes by so quickly, this year especially as I spent a large portion of it with the Armed Forces Parliamentary scheme visiting the arctic base of the Royal Marines to see how they are preparing to defend north Norway and the critical arctic sea routes. This seemed particularly relevant given Trump’s recent obsession with acquiring Greenland, although thankfully he seems to have moved onto other issues now that his tariffs are under threat.
Now the business of Parliament is in full swing I have taken part in debates in the House, including thanking the Government for extending the Ukraine Permission Scheme last year, and now increasing the timeframe allowed for Ukrainians to apply for their visa extensions under the scheme from 28 days to 90 days. This has given our Ukrainian guests a little more reassurance. I will however continue to campaign for more certainty for our guests; expecting them to live their lives here contributing to the economy and their communities whilst simultaneously not offering any path to permanent residency feels at best, shortsighted, at worst, a little cruel.
Closer to home I met with the team behind Save the Lido – Teignmouth, and spoke at length with them about their plans to form a CIO (charitable incorporated organisation) to run the Lido. Their business case looks excellent, and I am confident that they have the skills and knowledge to run this important community asset. I will support them in whatever way I can to try and preserve the future of this wonderful facility for the people of Teignmouth and surrounding areas.
Also this week I attended a resident’s meeting of a new build estate, along with a representative from the estate’s developer. The meeting had been arranged because there are still a lot of unfinished issues on the estate even though building started back in 2015. I’m seeing more and more of these types of issues with new build estates, I will always advocate for residents in situations like these.
Finally, It was an honour to be invited to visit Teignmouth Coastwatch (part of the National Coastwatch Initiative) at the weekend, where I had the great pleasure of giving a long service award to one of their dedicated volunteers, who has completed 10 years of service.
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was set up in 1994 to restore a visual watch along the UK coastline after most small Coastguard stations were closed down due to Government cuts.
When two Cornish fisherman lost their lives off the Cornish coast right below a recently closed Coastguard lookout, the local people decided to restore a visual watch, and the first NCI Station was opened at Bass Point on The Lizard.
Other stations quickly followed, and today there are 60 operational stations, including Teignmouth, keeping watch around the British Isles.
Each station is manned by a team of fully trained volunteers who keep a daylight watch for up to 365 days per year. Stations are equipped with telescopes, radar, marine VHF radios, telephones and electronic weather instruments as well as up-to-date marine charts. It is a fantastic charity and if you are at all interested in the work they do, please pop along to the Lookout at Eastcliff in Teignmouth to find out more.