Mail Weekly Column: 06 May 2024
Last week I was delighted to announce that rural broadband specialist Voneus are rolling out gigabit broadband on Walney Island, delivering ultrafast connectivity to residents and businesses.
Over 10,000 people live on Walney and it’s staggering that until now the vast majority of residents haven’t been able to access decent broadband. My recent survey showed that over 90% of people who responded were unhappy with their current provider.
I started having conversations with Connected Cumbria, Broadband Delivery UK, and a range of suppliers, and as a result Voneus has agreed to begin roll out to support residents, community hubs, pubs, schools and businesses across the Island. I look forward to working with them to get this done, and to speaking to residents about the benefits they see as a result.
Voneus and I are hosting a drop-in for residents at Walney High School’s Innovation Centre on 17 May from 2-5pm. Do come along to talk to Voneus about what better broadband will mean for you. Find out more here: https://www.simonfell.org/walneybroadband
A fair part of this week at Westminster was focussed on my work as Anti Fraud Champion. Fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales, and can be devastating, so reducing it is vital. I was therefore delighted to discuss with Professor Tom Kirchmaier from the London School of Economics his research using large datasets to predict and prevent fraud; and later to explore with Which? magazine how to improve both the response to fraud and the protection of consumers. Later, I chaired a round table bringing together more than 12 organisations including Credit Reference Agencies, banks and social media companies to consider how to leverage data for better fraud prevention and detection and to improve the police response. There is much to do, but the will to do it is gathering momentum.
On Tuesday I was delighted to join Kerry and Sam from Barrow’s Cheeky Monkeys Nursery in Downing Street to celebrate their roles as Community Childcare Champions. Kerry has always been extremely helpful to me and to the wider childcare community, not least by holding round table meetings with other providers. With the recent Government announcement that, by September 2025, working parents will be able to claim 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from nine months until their child starts school, their visit was particularly timely and I was very pleased to introduce them to the Childcare Minister in Downing Street.
Back in Furness on Thursday morning, I had a busy day meeting constituents and discussing issues such as school uniforms, housing and coastal erosion, and on Friday afternoon held a surgery in Ulverston’s Indoor Market.
Rounding off the week, I went to hear the plans for creating a new community hub at the Old Mart. From there, I crossed the road to the Coro to enjoy PrintFest and some of the brilliant events being held alongside it. PrintFest is an absolutely remarkable achievement. Hats off to the organisers for their vision, and for managing to attract local, national and even international artists to our town for this extraordinary event. My thanks and congratulations to everyone involved.
