Craig accompanies Broadstairs Town Mayor at Service of Remembrance

Craig Mackinlay MP has joined Broadstairs Town Mayor, Cllr Paul Moore, at a Service of Remembrance at Broadstairs War Memorial, Pierremont.

After registering for the wreath laying, the Mayor led a group of dignitaries, including the South Thanet MP, in a procession from Pierremont Hall to the War Memorial before attending the annual Service of Remembrance.

Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“In this 100th year since the guns fell silent, we remember the millions who gave their lives for our freedom.

“Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Craig supports Ageless Thanet 50+ Festival 2018

Craig with one of his caseworkers, Samantha Wheatley.

South Thanet’s Craig Mackinlay MP supported the annual Ageless Thanet 50+ Festival to provide advice to people over the age of 50 wanting to find out what services, activities and opportunities are available to them across Thanet.

The festival was held on Sunday 4 November at St George’s School in Broadstairs and led by Social Enterprise Kent CIC.

Admission was free and attendees had the opportunity to try new things such as Tai Chi, Japanese drumming, singing, samba, belly dancing and healthy cooking to name just a few.

Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“I was very pleased to support this year’s Ageless Thanet 50+ Festival by offering advice to the huge number of people who visited and intend to live on the Isle in later life. 

“Thanet really is a great place to grow older as this annual event clearly shows.”

South Thanet MP: "Thanet Community Grants Scheme now open"

Craig Mackinlay MP is urging charity and community group leaders in his South Thanet constituency to apply for a community grant worth up to £1,000 after Southern Water established a Community Grant Panel in Thanet.

Southern Water have assured Craig that they welcome applications from across Thanet and are keen to support projects which focus on:

·       Healthy lifestyles

·       Environment

·       Education and opportunities

You can access the application form by visiting https://www.southernwater.co.uk/communitygrants.

Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“There are so many brilliant community projects in South Thanet that could benefit from this fantastic chance to secure funding, get an initiative off the ground, or expand the reach of a service. 

“If you run, or are involved with, a community group or initiative in my constituency, you may be eligible to apply for a Southern Water community grant worth up to £1,000.

“The closing date for applications is not until Friday 30 November 2018 so you have the whole of this month to apply.”

For more information or advice, please contact Southern Water’s Community Engagement Team at community@southernwater.co.uk.

Craig urges South Thanet residents to get vaccinated to help protect themselves against flu

South Thanet MP, Craig Mackinlay, is supporting the annual NHS flu vaccination campaign and is encouraging constituents who are eligible to take up their free NHS jab.

Flu can cause severe illness and even death among at-risk groups, including: older people; pregnant women; and those with a long-term health condition.

It can make the effects of an existing condition worse and makes complications like pneumonia more likely. This is why flu vaccination is offered to at-risk groups each year before the flu virus starts to circulate.

Craig Mackinlay MP said:

“Flu vaccination remains the best protection we have against the influenza virus, and it is vital that those who are eligible have the flu vaccine every year, as the vaccine helps protect against different strains of flu which evolve each year.

“This year even more people are eligible – around 22 million – including social care workers, who were offered free vaccinations for the first time last year, as well as hospice staff for the first time.

“Those aged 65 and over will also be given the newly-licensed adjuvanted trivalent vaccine this year, which is designed to boost the body’s immune response, improving the effectiveness of the vaccine in the older age group.

“For those not eligible for a free jab, many community pharmacies offer the flu jab for as little as £10, so a fairly small fee for added peace of mind.”

Axing of business rates on public toilets “very welcome", says South Thanet MP

Craig Mackinlay MP has welcomed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement in the budget of mandatory business rates relief on public toilets whether publicly or privately owned.

Craig has been lobbying ministers on this issue on behalf of the local authorities in his South Thanet constituency that have complained to him about the costs of business rates on their public toilets.

Welcoming the announcement, Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“I have always been opposed to the notion that public conveniences should be liable to business rates and had lobbied the former Chancellor to get Clause 9 of the Local Government Finance Bill 2016-17 onto the statute book, so was delighted that it made its way that far.

“Because of the General Election last year, however, the Bill did not make further progress and so this perverse situation continued.

“In the case of conveniences in Wingham in my constituency, business rates cost the council in excess of £2,000 per year to support a non-revenue earning public service.

“So this week’s announcement will be very welcome not just to Wingham Parish Council and Dover District Council, but by local authorities up-and-down our country.”

Craig secures assurance on glucose monitoring system prescription from East Kent NHS CCGs

After lobbying local NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Craig Mackinlay MP has welcomed their recent decision to allow the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system to be prescribed on the NHS to sufferers of type 1 diabetes. This decision was made following a recent review and evidence of the benefits the glucose monitoring system can have to coping with the disease.

The list of CCGs that will be following this new policy include: NHS Thanet CCG, NHS Canterbury and Coastal CCG, NHS Ashford CCG and NHS South Kent Coast CCG. It is expected that prescriptions for the glucose monitoring system to patients with type 1 diabetes will start later in the New Year.

This issue made national headlines earlier this year with calls across the country to end what is being known as a prescription ‘postcode lottery’, where glucose monitoring systems may or may not be available on your local NHS depending on where you live.

Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“I’m delighted that our local East Kent CCGs have decided to end the postcode lottery and provide the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system on the NHS, which has even been highlighted in the national media.

“No one should underestimate the impact that type 1 diabetes can have on your daily quality of life, which is something that we all take for granted.

“If not monitored properly, it can sometimes result in blindness or require amputation if complications arise.

“Thanet in particular has been shown to have a higher rate of diabetes than the rest of the UK and, although this is not immediate, it is a significant step in the right direction.”

Craig wins commemorative coin to mark the UK’s exit from the EU

Craig Mackinlay MP’s campaign for a commemorative coin to mark the UK leaving the European Union received the support of Government today after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, agreed to a special Brexit 50p coin in the Budget.

After putting the idea to ministers back in April, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Robert Jenrick, agreed with the South Thanet MP that “there could be an argument for one to commemorate the next chapter in our national story.”

Mr Jenrick passed Craig’s recommendation onto the Secretary of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee on the Design of Coins, Medals, Seals and Decorations (RMAC), Dr Kevin Clancy, who advises the Chancellor on such matters.

The Royal Mint will produce the coin, which will be available in Spring 2019.

Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“The 50p coin has long been the coin of choice to mark important dates in our history.

“Such coins were produced on our accession to the European Economic Community, the UK's Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the completion of the Single European Market, and even one for the 100th Anniversary of Beatrix Potter.

“The truly vast number of previous commemorative 50p coins cover many landmark events, some quite surprising, and so a coin that marks the UK’s exit from the EU is very appropriate.

“I am grateful to the Exchequer Secretary, Mr Jenrick, for the keen interest he has taken in this matter and to the Chancellor for giving the idea final approval.”

Economic forecasts, business rates and post office re-openings

Parliamentary business has been fairly light over the past two weeks, but that will change this week with the Budget debate. As ever seems to be the case, much has been trailed in advance. Tax receipts are £13Bn higher than forecast at this time last year. This tells us a couple of things; the economy is in good shape, reflected in low unemployment figures and wage growth, rising exports and Brexit resilience far higher than the doomsayers would have you believe. Secondly that forecasts are rarely to be trusted. If you were to ask a dozen economists for a forecast, you’d get 13 different answers with none of them proving correct. The lesson here is not to believe the constant stream of negativity that we’re fed on an almost daily basis.

I look forward to fuel duty being frozen for the 9th year, infrastructure spending particularly on roads, new money for mental health support in schools, help by way of business rate reductions to smaller businesses and additional funding for the Universal Credit system. At the heart of UC is to make work pay in all circumstances, I am hoping that some of the rougher edges of the system, notably the withdrawal rate, can be amended. Currently an additional £1 of earnings can lead to a loss of 63p of UC as well as a tax and National Insurance charge. This is too high and can be a disincentive to work, particularly if travel fares and additional child costs are taken into account.

It was a pleasure to open two new Post Office counters, one in Newington Road, Ramsgate and one in Broadstairs, replacing services that had been lost. With traditional banks closing branches across the country, Post Office services become ever more important for banking transactions as well as providing more traditional postal services.

With the capital cost of solar panels reducing significantly, electricity so produced by this source is finally in reach of more traditional methods of energy production such as coal and gas. There has been a perversity in the business rates system in that businesses doing the right thing and investing in solar panels to produce electricity for their own use, often on the roof of their warehouse for instance, suffered a business rate revaluation (upwards) reflecting the enhanced value of their premises. However, such businesses feeding the electricity produced into the national grid do not. Confused – so was I, so I raised this with the Energy Minister in Parliament who gave an assurance that this differing treatment would be addressed.

MPs have the opportunity of proposing a ‘Guest Beer’ to be sold in the House of Commons. I was therefore pleased that I could invite Mike Beaumont from the Four Candles, Broadstairs to Strangers Bar to enjoy his locally brewed ‘East Kent Bitter’ which is the guest ale to be enjoyed on a cross party basis over the next couple of weeks.

I hope to see many of you at the Ageless Thanet Festival to be held at St. George’s School, Broadstairs between 10am and 3pm this coming Sunday 4th November. I will be on hand with my caseworkers to offer an on the spot MP surgery. Somewhat worrying with it being for the over 50s that I now qualify to attend!

Craig calls for a cut in beer duty ahead of Monday’s Budget

Craig Mackinlay MP has called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to remove the retail price index (RPI) inflationary increases in beer duty, and to cut duty on lower strength beers, in the forthcoming Budget.

The South Thanet MP also led successful calls to freeze beer duty in last November’s Budget, which was celebrated at the time.

He is now hoping the Government will go even further by removing the RPI increase and cutting beer duty to reduce pressure on the UK’s pub and hospitality sector.

Craig Mackinlay MP commented:

“The pub trade is at the very heart of Britain’s heritage, contributing £23 billion to the UK economy and supporting 900,000 jobs.

“In South Thanet alone there are 104 pubs and 1,395 jobs reliant on the industry.

“Pubs need our support, as patrons, and from the government with fair tax.

“Beer duty has increased by 60% over the last 17 years and now the UK has one of the highest rates of tax in Europe. 

“It’s a shocking fact that between 2008 and 2013, under the fuel duty escalator, the UK lost 58,000 jobs and 5,000 local pubs closed, whilst the Treasury received less and less additional revenue from the policy.

“Any further increases to beer duty will present additional challenges for the industry and I fear this will cause more pubs to close.

“That’s why I am asking the Treasury not to let history repeat itself in the forthcoming budget and immediately remove the policy of annual RPI inflationary increases for beer duty.

“We should also incentivise the lower-alcohol beer market so that beers brewed at 3.5%ABV and below are subject to less duty.”

Beer brewed at the Four Candles Alehouse in Broadstairs goes on sale in House of Commons bar

South Thanet MP, Craig Mackinlay, has arranged for beer brewed at a micropub in Sowell Street, Broadstairs, to be sold in the Strangers’ Bar in the Houses of Parliament.

The Strangers' Bar currently has six casks of Four Candles East Kent Bitter. Of the 326 brews the micropub has created, East Kent Goldings and Target hops are at the heart of the full-bodied4.4% bitter being offered to MPs, Lords and Parliamentary staff.

As Britain's Smallest Brewpub, the Four Candles Alehouse can only brew 11 casks of each batch. They have been running for six years and brewing for four.

Four Candles boss, Mike Beaumont, commented:

“It was suggested a while back by our MP, Craig Mackinlay, who put a word in with the bar’s manager.

“We’re hoping that a drop of the good stuff will ease the pain of the Brexit negotiations.

“It’s probably a one-off as the bars in Parliament offer lots of different beers, but this opportunity is a first for The Four Candles Alehouse as Britain’s smallest Brewhouse.

"It was a great surprise to be asked and a privilege to be able to send our beer here."

Craig Mackinlay MP, added:

“I’m delighted for Mike that Four Candles’ beer is being sold in the House of Commons Strangers’ Bar.

“I hope that this opportunity for a local brew to be served in Parliament sets Mike up for further success.

“Mike’s excellent ale was very well received by all who tried it.

“I was very pleased to help a growing and successful business from Broadstairs.”