On Wednesday I took the Transport Minister, Andrew Jones MP, to see the stretch of A30 between St Erth and the Newtown Roundabout. He said, and I quote, 'As we see progress on the A30 in other parts of the county, it highlights even more the need to work on this last stretch to complete the job; that case was made very firmly both by Derek and by local campaigners. The next step now is to work up a scheme and to pitch that scheme into the second Road Investment Strategy. The case is clearly very good and I look forward to working with them.' My job now is to work with Highways England, Cornwall Council and local residents to agree a proposal for the A30 from St Erth through to Newtown Roundabout. In the meantime I have been able to get confirmation that works planned in relation to the West Cornwall Transport Interchange at St Erth Station (Park and Ride) will take place in 2017. We need to bring this forward and I will be asking for this to be achieved. The work at St Erth will improve the safety of motorist and pedestrians alike.
Urgent improvements are also required at the Crowlas crossroads and the Transport Minister and I discussed with local representatives the need to manage the flow of traffic better, particularly at busy times during the day. Too little has been done to address the difficulties along this section of the A30. My fervent hope is that we make the road safer and provide a clear run on the A30 right through to Penzance. It makes good social and economic sense.
On Thursday I chaired a meeting of Care and Support Providers in Penzance. There is a critical need to increase the number of care and support workers so that people can be supported to live safely in their homes where possible. We discussed the difficulties faced by providers and their staff and I will work with the council and commissioners to seek to address their concerns as we develop our plans to integrate health and social care.