Tackling inequality - Government needs to do more

My article in this week’s Cornish Guardian will focus on the issue of inequality.It will be as follows:

Politicians talk a lot about the need to tackle inequality in society, often seeking to address problems relating to low incomes, concerns about deprived communities, and the lack of life-chances for far too many people.

Sadly, inequality seems to be increasing in most major economies, and the World Economic Forum has identified a significantly growing gap between the rich and the less-well-off.

Such assertions have certainly been borne out by report after report in the media.

A report has just been published by the Scottish Parliament that examined the impact of the UK Government’s austerity agenda. Looking at welfare changes announced since 2015, the report claims that those families on low incomes had been “targeted” by the changes, while families with children have been “hardest hit” by the reforms.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions meanwhile showed that more than 5,000 sick and disabled people have had their benefits sanctioned for a period in excess of six months. This has left many families struggling worse than before, with campaigners arguing that disabled people were “not receiving the proper support … to navigate the complex social security system."

There has also been a further report about teachers being significantly worse off – in real terms – than in 2010, because of years of pay restraint. It noted this was leading to a serious recruitment crisis in some parts of the UK.

Central government has obviously responded, bringing attention to some of the positive things that it had done. This included increasing the level of both the national living wage and the personal allowance. But these arguments are undermined by the continuing public sector pay freeze and a harsh approach to many benefit claimants and would-be benefit claimants.

Government claims about fairness and tackling inequality are further undermined by the news that it has launched a "secretive amnesty" for companies who have failed to pay the minimum wage to their staff.

In the last three or four years, many firms have been named and shamed, and had penalties issued against them for such breaches of the law.

But now, some firms are to be allowed to “dodge this process” if they “identify underpayments themselves and refund workers.”

Indeed, HM Revenue and Customs has contacted somewhere in the region of 3,000 companies, who it is thought might be failing to “pay the legal minimum,” and offered them the chance to use the scheme.

I fully agree with the MP who stated that it is not enough for “serious offenders to simply pay the arrears owed.” Central government needs to penalise those who take advantage of the less-well-off, and properly focus on building a fairer, more equal, society.

Leafleting in Bugle division

Over the next couple of weeks, MK members and supporters will be delivering leaflets in support of our local candidate, Dr Garry Tregidga.

The leaflet will thank the 360 people who voted for Garry in the May local elections, and invite anyone interested in finding out more about MK to a meeting at the Rescorla Centre, in Rescorla, on 15th September at 7.00.

If anyone fancies helping out with the deliveries, please give me a call on 07791 876607.

Politics at Indian Queens Primary School

I was very pleased to be involved with the pupils of Indian Queens Primary School in a democracy project, which they carried out earlier this year. Steve Double MP visited the school to talk with the children, and I was one of three councillors who were grilled by them when they visited the offices of Cornwall Council and took over the council’s debating chamber.

The report can be found on the School’s website at:

http://www.indianqueensschool.org/projects/democracy.html

New website for Queens Pit

I am very proud to be a trustee of Indian Queens Pit, and pleased to be able to publicise the fact that the Pit Association has just launched a new website. It includes some historic information about the monument, as well as details about our associated community building. It will also include details about events in the Pit, as and when they are arranged.

The site has been built by Dinah Crellin (DMC IT), who lives in St Enoder Parish. 

The website can be found at: www.indianqueenspit.co.uk.

Will the size of the St Dennis incinerator undermine recycling efforts?

Cornwall Council’s “waste and recycling, street and beach cleansing” contract comes to an end in March 2020.

Work has already started on the options for the next contract, and the Council’s cabinet member (environment and public protection) has spoken about the need to protect the environment by “reducing waste and increasing recycling rates.”

I certainly agree that it is ridiculous that, across the UK, thousands and thousands of tonnes of recyclable and bio-degradable material is dumped in landfill or incinerated, when much better use could be made of such resources.

It is all summed up extremely in the “Wealth from Waste” report which was published a few years ago by the Local Government Association. This stated: “The simple fact is that taxpayers would be better off, the economy will benefit, and more people will have jobs if we grow the domestic market for collecting, sorting and reprocessing recycling … recycling actually brings in cash for the taxpayer and we owe it to today’s hard-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible.”

But in this regard, Cornwall has a long way to go. We only recycle 36 per cent of our local waste, and our performance is significantly behind many other parts of the United Kingdom.

Just look how we compare with Wales. It has just been confirmed by the Welsh Government that they have achieved an ambitious recycling target of 64% – some three years ahead of schedule. One county, Ceredigion, even managed a rate of 70% – the proposed Welsh target for 2025.

But here in Cornwall, there is a complication. The unitary authority is tied into a multi-million-pound “integrated waste” disposal contract, structured around the controversial incinerator near St Dennis, which has just become operational.

It is well documented that I was an outspoken opponent of the incinerator and, in particular, the size of the plant.

Designed to principally deal with Cornwall’s domestic waste, it has an annual capacity of 240,000 tonnes. But each year, we generate about 170,000 tonnes of residual waste (from kerbside collections and household waste recycling centres) – significantly less than the capacity of the incinerator – and that is after we have recycling just over a third of our waste.

The reality is that if we were to meet the government’s 2020 recycling target of 50%, the amount of residual waste would be much reduced and the void within the incinerator – to be filled with commercial waste, possibly from outside of Cornwall – would be even greater.

It just seems to me that, in the minds of many people, the need to fill the over-sized incinerator in Mid Cornwall with waste could undermine or stifle efforts to boost recycling.

[This will be my article in this coming week’s Cornish Guardian].