This week I had the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister about the help and support available to small and medium sized businesses in Fylde to break into new and exciting markets overseas. A great deal of work has gone on over the past year to strike new trade deals around the world, opening up new export opportunities.
We have some fantastic businesses, large and small here in Fylde. The success of major employers like BAE Systems, which is selling Fylde-built jets in markets around the globe, is vital to our local economy. But smaller, locally owned firms are also making their mark. Nature’s Aid, Tangerine Holdings and Helical Technology are among those firms helping ensure the Fylde continues to punch well above its weight when it comes to exports. I am sure there are many more I was not able to fit into my speech in The Commons. There are always new markets to break into and new products to pitch overseas and I want to ensure the Government is providing the tools for Fylde firms to meet their export potential. The Prime Minister’s response was positive and I look forward to meeting more local business leaders keen to fly the flag for the United Kingdom and for Fylde around the world.
Closer to home the Government has, in recent weeks, started to reveal more detail of new legislation on leasehold reforms. There are many homes in Fylde which were sold as leaseholds, particularly on the new-build estates which have sprung up over the past decade. I know homeowners face a number of challenges, not least ongoing worries over ground rents and problems with management companies and the fees they charge. It is important we deliver a fairer system for leaseholders, one in which costs cannot get out of control and in which homeowners have the chance to buy their freehold at a fair price.
There is already a bill on the way through Parliament which will address some of these problems for new-build properties. More significant reforms are to come and I have been feeding the views of Fylde residents in to Ministers, making clear the need to put home owners at the heart of any new laws. I intend to keep up the pressure on behalf of the many leaseholders here in Fylde.
Finally for this week, from today the Plan B Covid restrictions come to an end. I received an update this week from healthcare providers in the North West making clear that while the Omicron peak has likely passed, pressures remain. The easing of restrictions is, in my view, the right thing to be doing. But we must still remain cautious and show courtesy and respect to others, particularly those who might be more vulnerable to this virus or who may not feel as confident getting out and about. It has been a long road to this point but I know many local people and businesses are looking ahead to the spring and summer with cautious optimism, a sense I very much share.