It has been very good to be here at home in South East Cornwall during the summer recess, where I have been busy establishing a new office to serve you. I have recruited new staff and continued working through the thousands of emails and other correspondence about the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for your patience as I have worked to get everything in place.

It has also been good to get out and about on the doors canvassing again over the summer. There’s nothing quite like face-to-face conversations to enable me to hear your thoughts and concerns. Your input is invaluable and helps shape the work I do in Parliament.

In particular, I have received a lot of correspondence regarding changes to the Winter Fuel Payment and understand how hard it will be for many. I have met with Age UK who share my concerns that many in need may miss out. I know thay we have an aging population here, and older Cornish homes can be expensive to heat. This is why I have agreed to be a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group to work cross-party on these issues in parliament.

Help will be available for all those in receipt of Pension Credit, which is a means-tested benefit. Please do apply if you think you might be eligible, particularly those already on Housing Benefit. You can apply online or via the telephone 0800 99 1234.

If you cannot hear or speak on the phone, you can use NGT text relay by dialling 18001 then 0800 99 1234. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays.

On a lighter note, we are lucky in South East Cornwall to have some of the UK’s best bathing spots. From Looe to Lostwithiel, Cawsand to Portwrinkle, there’s no shortage of beautiful places to take a dip. The four Cornwall Labour MPs met with Minister for Water Emma Hardy to ask that the Bathing Water Designation process be reopened as part of wider action on water quality in Cornwall. If you are an organisation that would like to apply, or just fan of wild swimming, please do fill out our Bathing Water Form to stay informed. It is available on our Facebook page, or you can request a link or hard copy via email.

It was a real highlight last week to meet with Torpoint Town Council. It was inspiring to hear their plans to make Torpoint an even better place to live, work, and visit. It was great too to meet the staff at Torpoint Library and Community Hub, and Torpoint Archives and Heritage Centre, which provide many free activities and support. I’ll be back for a cup of tea and slice of cake at Drecklys!

Lastly, a quick update on our upcoming surgery sessions. September is fully booked, but I’m already looking forward to my roving surgery in October. If you’d like to request an appointment, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. As always, I very much want to hear your views, and am here as your representative. I can be contacted via email on [email protected], or by letter at Anna Gelderd MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

Anna Gelderd

Labour MP for South East Cornwall