The Government has confirmed that they are talking to the European Union about how they can cut the tax on petrol and diesel for rural areas like North Cornwall.
Cornish Liberal Democrat MP Dan Rogerson asked Government ministers to cut fuel duty further for rural areas like his North Cornwall constituency by extending the 5 pence per litre reduction in tax on fuel - currently in operation on the Scillies - to mainland areas.
Responding for the Government, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Greg Clark confirmed that the Coalition are talking to the European Union about how they can extend the rural fuel duty to mainland areas.
Government to talk to EU about cutting fuel tax in rural areas
The Coalition Government has today confirmed that they are talking to the European Union about how they can cut the tax on petrol and diesel for rural areas like North Cornwall.
During Treasury Questions Cornish Liberal Democrat MP Dan Rogerson asked Government ministers to cut fuel duty further for rural areas like his North Cornwall constituency by extending the 5 pence per litre reduction in tax on fuel - currently in operation on the Scillies - to mainland areas.
Mr Rogerson welcomed the cancellation of planned 3 pence per litre rise in tax on petrol and diesel that was announced last week, but said that more needed to be done to make it easier for people in rural areas to be able to access employment opportunities.
North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson has been putting his language skills to the test in a new video to promote the Cornish langauge. He's shown in his Westminster office giving directions to a visitor.
Fears that police budget cuts will lead crime increase
A new report has warned that Devon and Cornwall Police may not be able to provide "an efficient or effective service". The claim was made in a study by the HMIC, the organisation which carries out independent inspections of Police forces on behalf of the Government.
The Force is losing more than six hundred officers between now and March 2015 - and almost four hundred backroom staff. It is all part of more than fifty million pounds worth of cuts the force says it is having to make. John Andrews reports.
Police service 'may not be effective in the future'
Devon and Cornwall Police has been named as one of three police forces which may not be able to provide an efficient or effective service for the public in the future.
The judgment came in a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
In our professional judgment (and having considered local context, including police cost to the taxpayer), there is a risk that three forces may not be able to provide a sufficiently efficient or effective service for the public in the future.
– HMIC
Lincolnshire and the Metropolitan Police were the other forces named.
Almost 6,000 fewer officers will be on the policing frontline in three years' time as a result of the Government's budget cuts.
The number of non-frontline officers is almost halved, with 7,600 going by 2015, the report said.
Some 137 police access counters, such as in libraries and supermarkets, will also open to help offset the closure of 264 front desks.
The figures do not include those for Britain's biggest force, the Metropolitan Police, or for Cheshire, as they have not yet produced their plans.
MP calls for more police officers for Devon and Cornwall
A West Country MP says Devon and Cornwall police should be entitled to extra money to pay for a hundred more officers. The force is losing 700 officers and a further 500 staff due to budget cuts.
Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall, told Parliament the way funding was worked out meant the force was being unfairly treated - and this will affect both morale and services.
