In recent months there have been significant concerns raised with me about the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in West Craven, culminating in a break-in last week at a local nursery. That’s why I invited the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, Andrew Snowden, to visit Barnoldswick with me last weekend and talk to local residents about their concerns, and what is being done to address the situation.
The good news is that there are more visible patrols planned including the mounted branch in the weeks ahead. That’s on top of the undercover police presence in the town, which has already led to people being arrested.
Meanwhile, I continue to push Ministers on the need for more funding for Airedale Hospital. The hospital has had some good investment in recent years, including the new award-winning £16m Intensive Care Unit that I was able to visit earlier this year. However, most of the hospital buildings have serious structural issues due to them being built with aerated concrete back in the late 1960s. I’ve been working closely with the Keighley MP, Robbie Moore, on securing additional funds for the hospital which serves many Colne and West Craven residents so well.
Down in Westminster, it was good to see the Prime Minister’s Windsor Framework pass its first vote in the House of Commons. This is a new agreement with the EU that smooths out trade in Northern Ireland and should help get the Stormont Assembly back sitting again too. It also marks an improvement in our relationship with the EU but outside of it, in line with the 2016 referendum result. Although delivering Brexit has been fractious, the EU is still a key trading partner and the UK’s ally on a number of big issues from climate change to Ukraine. There’s a lot of good that can come from having an improved relationship with them.
There’s a busy week ahead with the Finance Bill to enact the measures announced by the Chancellor in the Budget, and also the small boats legislation that will allow the government to remove people who arrive in the country illegally. Most people agree that having tens of thousands of people arrive in our country on dinghies each year isn’t right, and so I’ll be supporting the Bill to help stop the boats.
