WE are blessed with wonderful countryside in this area and so many of us benefit both physically and mentally from taking part in outdoor activities.

The value of health benefits associated with outdoor recreation in the UK has been estimated as between £6.2bn and £8.4bn in 2020 and an estimated £2.1bn would be achieved through averted health costs if everyone in England had good access to nature.

That is why our Government has made a commitment that everyone should live within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space - such as a woodland, park, wetland or river. Our £14.5m Access for All programme is helping to improve access especially for those with disabilities.

The funding has enabled installation of new gates, walking routes and motor scooters in many areas; also, when complete the new King Charles III England Coast Path will be England’s longest National Trail and the longest continuous coastal walking route in the world at 2,700 miles long. It is good to see many farmers locally involved in increasing public access through Countryside Stewardship schemes too and many are taking up the nature options in the new Sustainable Farming Initiative schemes, such as creating nectar rich wildflower strips and managing hedgerows so that the countryside experience is increasingly nature filled.

Still on a health theme, I voted in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that was vociferously debated in Parliament this week. Shockingly smoking kills around 700 people every year in Somerset alone and it is the cause of many other related illnesses, including lung and heart disease. Nationally 75,000 GP appointments a week are related to smoking, and it costs the NHS £17bn a year. I went to Parliament to help achieve a better future for generations to come, and this legislation will help do that by ensuring that children aged 15 or younger - anyone born on or after 1 April 2009 – can never legally be sold tobacco products. By 2040, these proposals will ensure that smoking is phased out completely among young people. 

Tackling rural crime has been a priority of mine since being elected and I’m pleased to report that we have made some progress. I’m therefore deeply disappointed with claims from the prospective Lib Dem Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate suggesting that our police force is not taking rural crime seriously. The truth is quite the opposite as explained by our own PCC, Mark Shelford in another article within this paper. 

Finally on a completely different note, I have long been clear that the volume of sewage discharged into our waters is utterly unacceptable. It’s why our Plan for Water, which I was pleased to instigate as the then Water Minister, means more investment, stronger regulation, and tougher enforcement, tackling every source of pollution and ensuring swift enforcement action is taken against those who break the rules.

The Plan also included a commitment to create a new Water Restoration Fund, and I am pleased to say this has just been launched. It will take money from fines and penalties imposed on water companies that pollute and channel it directly back into improving our waterways. This builds on other action recently taken including a ban on water bosses’ bonuses when criminal breaches have occurred, subject to consultation; plans to quadruple water company inspections and the launch of a whistleblowing portal for water company workers to report breaches.

I know just how important our precious waterways are to you all and this new fund together with these other measures demonstrate that this Government is taking cleaning up our water extremely seriously.

Rebecca Pow MP (Cons), Taunton Deane