Local MP Tessa Munt ‘cut the ribbon’ at the opening ceremony on Saturday to celebrate the launch of the new-look Gurney Slade Post Office.

Sub postmistress Karen Weller organised a community day to celebrate the official re-opening of the Post Office and shop.

People were invited to Gurney Slade Post Office to enjoy wine and cheese, coffee and cake and to take part in fundraising for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

The revamp came about as part of Post Office plans to modernise the network and extend hours for customers. Customers now benefit from opening hours being extended by an extra 21 hours and 30 minutes a week.

Tessa Munt MP said:

Local MP Tessa Munt is celebrating today’s launch of a new and innovative scheme which will pay residents in Somerset for the ‘green’ heat they generate at home.

The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is the world’s first long-term financial support programme for renewable heat, offering homeowners payments to offset the cost of installing low carbon systems in their property.

Tessa said:

“I’m thrilled that this innovative scheme has now been launched. Many people in rural Somerset are either stuck with expensive oil or LPG

or are trying to find the money to switch to greener ways of heating their homes and water.”

Local MP and Wells Lion Tessa was delighted to welcome her fellow Lions for a tour of the Houses of Parliament this week.

After making room for Tessa on the coach up to London, the group toured both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, before having lunch in the cafe.  They then watched the Speaker’s Procession at the opening of the day’s proceedings in the House of Commons, and listened to questions from MPs to Ministers from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

The visit was popular and a huge success.  Tessa said:

Please have your say on the Somerset pre-submission Minerals Plan.

There’s one week left to comment on Somerset County Council’s pre-submission Mineral Plan Development Plan Document (DPD).

Having begun consultation on 3 March 2014, the closing date for comments is 6pm on 14 April 2014.

The Somerset Minerals Plan sets out the County Council’s approach to planning for sustainable mineral development in Somerset until the year 2030.  The Somerset Minerals Plan includes information and policies on crushed rock, building stone, and peat. The Plan also outlines Somerset’s position on shale gas extraction, also known as fracking.

The Plan also outlines how Somerset’s communities, biodiversity and historic environment will be protected from adverse impacts of mineral extraction.

The pre-submission Minerals Plan, Response Form and a Statement of Consultation are available on the County Council website:

The below statement was read at the Mendip District Council on Monday evening on behalf of Tessa Munt MP:

Thank you Mr Chairman.

Monies from Section 106 Agreements are not raised by billing Council taxpayers in the Mendip District. 

The loss therefore of £500,000 – half a million pounds – of Section 106 funding for affordable housing for young people in Street by this Council is absolutely catastrophic.

But unfortunately, this is just one of a number of examples of failures relating to Section 106 funding.  This particular mess stands out because of the huge amount of money involved, but when other cases are considered, it reveals systemic failure.

A couple of years ago, a man from Cheddar walked into my office and told me what had happened to him and his family.

Mark had joined the Metropolitan Police and worked in the ‘TSG’ – a unit of specially trained officers who deal with terrorism and serious public order threats.

In 2007, Mark and six officers arrested a couple of youths and took them to Paddington Green Police Station in North London, where they were put into the cells.

Around midnight, Mark and five of his colleagues were told that because the seventh officer had detailed complaints about their aggressive and violent behaviour towards the youths, the six of them were sent home – with two later suspended and the remaining four moved to separate teams.

Seven years later, these six officers are still awaiting proper justice.

Local MP Tessa Munt joined villagers and Parish Councillors at the weekend for the unveiling of a new life-saving defibrillator.

The equipment, used to guide bystanders through the steps which can save the life of a cardiac arrest patients, is sited on the wall outside the Memorial Hall in Binegar Lane.

Welcoming everyone, Gus Halfhide, said:

“We were faced with the task of raising £3,000, but thanks to the generosity of many people, we are now in possession of this new piece of life-saving equipment.”

Tessa Munt: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what consideration the Church Commissioners gave to the historical or other interest of the residence at the Bishop’s Palace at Wells before planning alternative accommodation for the bishop in accordance with section 4 of the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure 1943. [191893]

Sir Tony Baldry: Section 4 of the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure 1943 applies only where the Commissioners propose to exercise a power conferred by that Measure—that is to say, to transfer a house to the diocesan authority, convert it for use for other purposes, sell, let or otherwise dispose of it, or demolish it or part of it. The Commissioners have not exercised any of those powers in relation to the Palace, as the intention is that the Bishop will continue to work and worship there.

Tessa Munt: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will publish a complete list of the grounds considered valid for the purposes of an objection to the exchange of the house of residence of the Bishop of Bath and Wells by the Bishop’s Council and Standing Committee. [191894]

Sir Tony Baldry: It is for the Archbishops’ Council, or any committee appointed by it to consider the objection, to decide whether the objection should be upheld or not. That decision will depend on the specific facts of the particular case. The Archbishops’ Council is required by virtue of the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Regulations 2009 to consider “all relevant circumstances”, which includes but is not limited to the grounds of the objection. There is therefore no such list in existence.

The Government has approved a rise in the National Minimum Wage to £6.50 per hour later this year, with more than one million people set to see their pay rise by as much as £355 a year.

The rise will take effect in October, as Tessa’s boss and Business Secretary Vince Cable has accepted in full the independent Low Pay Commission’s recommendations for 2014, including plans for bigger increases in future than in recent years.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has said the rise, the first real terms cash increase since 2008, is manageable for employers and will support full employment.

The National Minimum Wage rates from 1 October 2014, as recommended by the LPC, will be:

Local MP Tessa Munt met 10-year-old Mimi in Westminster on 11 March to discuss the impact of type 1 diabetes on people’s lives at a Parliamentary event.

Mimi Astle from Cheddar was chosen to attend this special event called ‘Type 1 Parliament’ by JDRF – the global type 1 diabetes charity. She was one of sixty adults and children who live with the condition to be selected from across the country to represent their area.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic and challenging condition. The exact cause is unclear, but it is not linked to lifestyle or diet.  A child diagnosed with it at the age of five faces up to 19,000 insulin injections and 50,000 finger prick tests by the time they are 18.