HERE in South East Cornwall we want to have more control over our energy to bring down the cost of bills and reduce our reliance on foreign tyrants like Russia’s Putin.

When I speak with families across our area, energy bills are always a top concern, and the same is true for businesses. High energy costs can hold businesses back from growing, meaning that we miss out on opportunities to bring investment into our area that would create more decent jobs.

Securing our energy supply is crucial for us at home and part of combatting climate change. In South East Cornwall, many of us live in older houses that are expensive to heat. Recent announcements like taking £150 of costs off energy bills and the Warm Homes Plan, which is the biggest ever investment in home upgrades in history, are fantastic news for family finances.

We also need to rethink the way that we control energy in our communities. So, it is great to see that Labour’s Local Power Plan is tackling this by delivering up to £1-billion - the biggest public investment in community energy in British history. This will give communities a stake in the places they live, as well as generating profits that can be reinvested locally.

In South East Cornwall, we already have some fantastic community energy projects underway, supporting local people with affordable housing and using renewable energy like solar power. I spoke with Three Seas recently about the incredible work that is underway for the community in Looe to provide 11 affordable flats for local residents. These flats will have solar power capabilities to deliver cheap, green, homegrown energy for the local people who will live in them. I know that there are also plans for other projects in South East Cornwall, so I look forward to working with them to ensure that these are a success and deliver what local people need.

I’m glad to be part of the Department for Energy team delivering this Local Power Plan to help communities express their interest in funding clean energy projects through Great British Energy, with a new “one stop shop” set up for local energy. Please get in contact if you are working on local community energy project and would like more information about what these changes mean for you.

We also need more efficient healthcare closer to home. I am very glad that Callington Health Centre will receive over £21,000 as part of Labour’s NHS clean energy upgrade, meaning less money is spent on energy bills and more resources can be directed into our frontline services.

I am honoured to work on your behalf to deliver cheaper bills and cleaner, more secure, energy. I know that people in South East Cornwall want us to go further and faster so that people feel the money in their pockets. As your MP I will continue to work hard to ensure our local communities get the support we need.