Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards writes her monthly column for the community.
Ruth writes:
It feels like October has flown past faster than an autumn leaf falling. At home it’s the time when we bring the apples in and process all the honey from the hives, so our kitchen resembles the aftermath of Winnie the Pooh’s house party for much of the month.
In Parliament, I have joined the select committee for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy which scrutinises the work of this department.
My main interests on the committee are energy and the security of global supply chains, especially in terms of digital components like semiconductors and critical minerals.
We are lucky to have the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre in Rushcliffe, based at the British Geological Survey in Keyworth. It is so important that at a time of heightened global tensions we secure our supply chains, especially now we have seen the impact that disruptions like COVID and the war in Ukraine have caused.
This disruption has driven up energy prices, fuelling inflation. This is why the Government launched its Energy Price Guarantee at the beginning of the month, capping the unit price of gas and electricity for households and the wholesale prices for businesses, charities and public sector organisations. You can find out more about the support here.
Please be aware that there are lots of scammers trying to take advantage of this support and to con people into giving out their financial details. You don’t need to give out your details to access this support. You can find out more about how you will receive it on the Government’s website.
In the long term it is vital that the UK invests in new, clean ways of generating energy. I heard more about the opportunities we have for leading the world in the production of Small Modular Reactors on a recent visit to Rolls Royce in Derbyshire.
This month we also took the J9 campaign on the road to Parliament. As many of you know we have been setting up J9 safe places across Rushcliffe.
Our aim is to have one in every village. J9 trains people in any customer facing job, whether you work in a shop, pub, doctors’ surgery or a school. Anywhere people might go in their every-day lives. It takes people through how to respond to survivors of domestic abuse and to give them the details of local refuge services and help them to make that vital call. Loads of colleagues turned up to more about how they can roll out J9 in their constituencies. One was Rishi Sunak, days later he became Prime Minister. I’m so glad we got the chance to put J9 on his radar and for the support he has given the programme.
I am delighted to see Rishi become Prime Minister, I supported him both in the summer and in the more recent leadership contest. He is a dedicated, hardworking family man with a clear plan to tackle the issues we face at home and abroad.
