Some worrying facts:
- There are over 250 young people (16 - 18 yrs) not in employment, education or training. The vast majority of these are concentrated in the South Kerrier part of this constituency.
- Penzance has one of the greatest growing levels of personal debt in the U.K.
- Older people are increasingly isolated due to poor public transport networks, changes in Adult Social Care provision and the rise costs of living.
- Teenage pregnancy is on the increase and exceeds the national average.
- Suicide amongst young people is the third highest cause of premature death in the constituency.
- Drug and alcohol abuse affects significant numbers of families in Penwith.
- The occurance of domestic violence in Penwith is the highest in Cornwall.
- Significant numbers of young people are committed to West Cornwall Hospital due to alcohol abuse and very little 'follow-up' care is currently available to them.
If I am fortunate enough to be elected as the next Member of Parliament for the St Ives Constituency, I have promised to establish a multi-agency panel. This panel will bring forward solutions to respond to these worrying trends and monitor the effectiveness of these solutions.
The way to test my effectiveness as your representative at Westminster will be a reduction in each area of concern.
