Campaign Responses

Mel receives a huge volume of campaign cards, letters and emails from constituents concerned about a variety of issues.

While individual constituency enquiries will be answered by email or letter, the growth in the volume of generic campaign correspondence now being received (sometimes receiving hundreds of identical or similar letters on the same issue) means that he no longer responds to these individually but instead posts a single response here.

The time this saves is very significant and is spent addressing the considerable and often complex individual casework that he receives. In the case of letters, posting a single online reply compared to returning hundreds of responses in the post also saves the tax payer hundreds of pounds a year and is more environmentally-friendly. Be assured, Mel takes all generic campaign emails/letters very seriously and has posted his responses to them below.

Deep Sea Mining

Dear Constituent.

Thank you for writing to me on deep sea mining.

The Government set out its ‘precautionary and conditional’ approach in the following Written Answer:

Access to Nature and the Right to Roam

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about access to nature and the right to roam.

The following Written Answer explains the Government’s intention ‘to ensure that everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a blue or green space’:

The Use of Cages in Farming

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me on the use of cages in farming.

Defra has provided an update in the following Written Answer:

Energy Charter Treaty

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me on the Energy Charter Treaty.

The responsible minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Rt Hon. Graham Stuart MP, has given the latest position:

Gambling Review

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about gambling regulation.

The Government has now published its White Paper ‘High Stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, and this is available on the government website.

Access to Cash

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me on access to cash.

Protecting access to cash forms part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022, as the Economic Secretary to HM Treasury, Andrew Griffith MP, explained in the following Written Answer:

Environmental and Human Rights Due Diligence

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me on environmental and human rights due diligence.

The Government has given its position on this matter in the following Written Answer:

Plastic Pollution

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me on this matter.

The Government has taken a range of actions to tackle the problem of plastic pollution, particularly from single-use sources.

Animal Welfare: superbugs in our waterways

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me on the prevalence of ‘superbugs’ in our waterways.

Defra has given a firm position on the unnecessary use of antibiotics:

Fracking

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me on fracking.

The Prime Minister reasserted the moratorium on fracking when he took office.  The position was set out clearly in the following Written Answer: