This week I’ve launched a new petition to step up our campaign on the NHS dental crisis. This follows a motion brought forward to Cornwall Council, by Councillor Rosie Moore (Wadebridge East and St Minver), which proposed piloting a new NHS dental teaching clinic at the Goods Shed in Wadebridge. The aim is to increase access to appointments by allowing supervised dental students to deliver basic care in a dedicated community space. It’s a model that’s shown promise elsewhere, and I’ve been working with local stakeholders to explore how it might work here in North Cornwall in light of the dental crisis we face.

But despite having cross-party support and the backing of the Council Leader, the motion was ruled out of order by Cornwall’s Director of Public Health, who cited a lack of consultation. This was disappointing as I raised the proposal with him directly several months ago, and Cllr. Moore’s motion itself focused on partnership working, rather than legally-binding commitments. We really need constructive, effective next steps on such a pressing public health issue. You can sign by typing bit.ly/dentistryNC into your web browser, or via my Facebook page.

I also appeared on the BBC Politics South West programme last week to highlight the deeper context of these health inequalities, and the chronic underinvestment that underpins them. I pointed out that while the North and Midlands are set to receive up to £45-billion for ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’, Cornwall is once again being completely left behind. We’ve no direct buses to major hospitals, children without access to dentists, and some schools funded at the bottom of the national league table. The inequality is glaring, and I won’t apologise for fighting to close that gap.

That’s why I joined Cllr. Hilary Frank at a parliamentary event with the F40 campaign group this week, pushing for fairer school funding. Many of our rural schools in North Cornwall are particularly hard hit by outdated per-pupil funding formulas, and I’ll be raising this with Ministers in the weeks ahead.

Separately, many of you have been in touch about proposed changes to parking across Cornwall, including on the Camel Trail and at Kit Hill. A public consultation is being held by the council and is open until February 4. You can respond via the Council’s website, and I’ll be passing on local views raised with me on the car parks directly to the Transport portfolio holder too.