MP welcomes Storm resilience Minister’s visit 

The MP for West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Andrew George, will welcome Cabinet Office Minister, Dan Jarvis MP, when he visits Cornwall today. Mr George had the support of the Commons Speaker in summonsing the Minister to the Commons on Tuesday to answer his questions about the Government’s decision not to declare a national emergency and to put more government resource in support of the response following the Storm Goretti a week ago. 

Mr George will join Mr Jarvis on his visit. 

Mr George said, “Though a week late, I’m pleased the Government agrees the impact of the storm deserves more government attention. The situation on the ground was worse than the assurances given by service providers. It was clear to me by the time Ministers spoke to me at the weekend that they were basing their view on overly optimistic assurances in the briefings provided to them, and on the very limited ability of those most affected to communicate their circumstances. There were substantial “known unknowns”, but these were largely overlooked in the first 48 hours after the storm. 

“Though of course I believe the Government’s decision not to declare a national emergency was wrong and would have been different if it had happened in London and the south east, I’m sure we can agree we must all now concentrate on other matters and the consequences.” 

Mr George explained these consequences include:  

1. 1. Supporting those who are still struggling and traumatised
2. Helpingpeople and communities restore services (there are still many peopleoff-grid (broadband, power (still on generators or experiencing outages as the reconnections prove fragile)) 
3. Checkingon vulnerable people who were off-grid and unable to communicate their vulnerability
4. Helpingthe recovery of services, such as nursing and care homes which were damaged and are not fully functioning
5. Learninglessons re. contingencies and resilience (we are now clearly lessresilient in respect of communications) 
6. Thankingfrontline workers and community volunteers.