Latest news with #MarkusCampbell-Savours
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cumbria firm awarded £4.5 million grant from government
A CUMBRIAN manufacturing company has been awarded a government grant of almost £4.5million to try and convert waste gas at the plant into energy. Futamura Chemical UK, based in Wigton, a leading global manufacturer of sustainable cellulose films and materials that employs 270 people in the town, has been awarded a grant of £4,486,851. The money is part of a £14million project that will see the Station Road plant convert waste gas to energy. The grant will help the company to reduce carbon emissions, improve efficiency and cut energy costs, support jobs in Cumbria and 'promote growth as part of the Government's wider economic plan'. Futamura, based in Wigton for over 90 years, manufactures flexible packaging films that are derived from wood-pulp, with the firm said to be 'excited' following the announcement of the grant. The company's managing director Adrian Cave said: "I don't think in my career, there has been a project that I have been more excited about. "At Futamura we are passionate about our NatureFlex and Cellophane products, and that includes ensuring we continually evolve and utilise greener manufacturing processes, to further reduce our environmental footprint. "Transformational projects such as this WSA installation invariably are expensive and have a medium to long term payback. "Companies like ours do require support financially and this IETF energy efficiency grant has resulted in this project coming to fruition. We are very grateful for this support." The cash is part of the government's Plan for Change to support low carbon projects in energy intensive industries through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). Markus Campbell-Savours, Member of Parliament for Penrith & Solway, welcomed the news. He said: 'I congratulate Futamura on securing this investment, one of the largest grants to be issued in this round of IETF funding. "This government is committed to helping industry reduce its energy consumption and this project will enhance the sustainability and future of this 90-year-old business. "This is a huge boost to Wigton and the hundreds of workers employed at the site."
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Free breakfast club pilot coming to three Penrith schools
Three schools in Penrith and Solway are set to take part in Labour's new 'free' breakfast clubs scheme. Culgaith CE Primary School, Broughton Primary School, and Wigton Nursery and Infant School will be among the first to offer the taxpayer-funded scheme to all primary-aged children. This initiative is part of the UK Government's plan to deliver on their manifesto promises. Markus Campbell-Savours, MP for Penrith and Solway, said: "The Government funding for new free breakfast clubs is great news for Culgaith CE Primary School, Broughton Primary School, and Wigton Nursery and Infant School. "It means the 54 pupils at Culgaith, 147 at Broughton, and 162 pupils at Wigton will be offered a free breakfast before the school day starts. "It's essential that our young ones start the day with the energy a good breakfast brings. "And it's great for their parents as they'll be able to get off to work that little bit earlier. "I can't wait to see the government deliver this manifesto promise across all primary schools in Cumbria." The breakfast clubs will provide a meal to pupils every day, in addition to acting as childcare. The clubs are estimated to save parents up to £450 a year in direct costs. However, opponents argue costs are ultimately passed on through taxation. The scheme is part of Labour's commitment to tackle child poverty. According to the government, of the 180,000 children who will be part of the early adopter schools nationwide, around 67,000 attend schools in deprived areas. Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state for education, said: "Free breakfast clubs sit right at the heart of Labour's Plan for Change, breaking the link between background and success for families all over the country. "Breakfast clubs can have a transformative impact on the lives of millions of children, feeding hungry tummies and fuelling hungry minds, so every child begins the day ready to learn. "Alongside our plans to roll out school-based nurseries and get thousands more children school-ready, this government is delivering the reforms needed to give every child, wherever they grow up, the best start in life." The three schools are part of the first 750 schools to take part in the scheme, which will start in April. The clubs come alongside other measures announced by the government, including a cap on the price of branded uniform items.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Labour constituencies most unhappy about the ‘tractor tax' – and the MPs who could lose their seats
The pressure is building on several Labour MPs to revolt against government plans to change rules on inheritance tax for farmers, analysis by The Independent can reveal. On Monday, hundreds of protesting farmers blocked Whitehall before MPs entered Parliament to debate a petition calling for a U-turn on Rachel Reeves' controversial proposal. Under the chancellor's plan, a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate will be introduced on farms worth more than £1 million from April 2026. But it has sparked a furious backlash in farming communities and created a problem for many newly-elected Labour MPs in rural constituencies. Analysis of the signatories of a petition, called 'Don't change inheritance tax relief for working farms' and signed by 150,000 people, shows the Labour-held seats with the highest number of constituents signing it. It comes as Save British Farming and the Countryside Alliance urge MPs to act on the issue or face losing their seat at the next election. The Labour seat with the highest number of petition signatures (768) was Penrith and Solway, held by Markus Campbell-Savours. Mr Campbell-Savours, who has more farms in his constituency than any other Labour MP, voiced reservations on the policy in a speech in the Commons last year. More recently, the MP, who won his seat last year with a 5,300 majority, organised a survey of farmers over concerns he had heard on the viability of family farms and supply chains in Cumbria as a result of the plan. He did not respond in time to The Independent for comment. The Labour seat with the second highest number of signatures (686) was Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, where MP Steve Witherden became the first Labour representative to express doubts about the proposal last year. Third was the Derbyshire Dales, where MP John Whitby won the seat with a majority of just 350. A total of 666 people have signed the petition in his constituency. In Mr Whitby's maiden speech in October, he pledged to stand up for the farming community in the Dales. MP David Smith's constituency of North Northumberland and MP Anna Gelderd's of South East Cornwall had 599 and 576 people signing the petition respectively. Of the Labour MPs to win on the tightest majorities, MP Sam Carling's constituency of North West Cambridgeshire had 294 signatures. Mr Carling won with a majority of just 39. In the Forest of Dean, 400 people signed the petition where MP Matt Bishop won with a majority of 278. Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, whose constituency Suffolk Coastal had 325 people sign the petition, told The Independent she had passed on farmers' concerns to the Treasury. She added: 'But at the heart of the challenges facing our farming industry is that of profitability. Without profitability, farmers cannot sustain their businesses or plan for the future. This isn't to take away the real concerns that farmers have about the Agricultural Property Relief, but it has exposed a real and fundamental problem facing the farming industry.' Ms Riddell-Carpenter is one of 46 Labour MPs who has signed an open letter to six major supermarkets calling for a better deal for farmers. But farming leaders have called on the MPs to do more. Liz Webster, founder of Save British Farming, which organised Monday's tractor protest in Whitehall, told The Independent: 'If they don't have a rethink we will be going into a depression and they [Labour MPs] will pay for that. As we saw with the financial crisis in 2008, many Labour MPs lost their seats and this is going to be a lot worse than that. 'If they want to have a future they need to think again and influence the parliamentary party to understand the implications of what is going on and why we need food security.' Mo Metcalf-Fisher, from the Countryside Alliance, said: 'These figures alongside, wider public opinion polling, should serve as a reality check for MPs serving rural constituencies. 'The family farm tax is deeply unpopular and risks overshadowing every other conversation about the countryside under this government. Labour MPs in particular, many of whom represent rural communities for the first time, need to stand up and speak out, before it's too late.' Last month a government spokesperson said: 'Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20 per cent, rather than standard 40 per cent, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. 'This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.'
