Lord Randall of Uxbridge kindly congratulated me on on pushing my Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill through Parliament. There have been many pandemic-related challenges, but I'm delighted that the Bill has now completed all stages in both the House of Commons and House of Lords.
My Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill have sucessfully completed passage through the Houses of Parliament. The Bill completed its Third Reading in the House of Lords this afternoon and will now be taken to Her Majesty the Queen to give her Royal Assent.
I have launched my A-Roads Taskforce to address urgent and long-term issues with Dorset’s main roads. The Taskforce had its first meeting on Friday 23rd April. The Taskforce includes representation from elected Dorset Council members, Dorset Highways, and Highways England.
Today, Chris met with the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and discussed the condition of the railway line from Dorchester to Weymouth, following Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons. The discussion included summer Saturday services to the coast from Sherborne and Gillingham.
At Transport Select Committee I praised the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) for its excellent work on rural bus strategy whilst questioning the Buses Minister (Baroness Charlotte Vere) about local transport provision in rural areas. The NFWI’s report on the National Bus Strategy
Following the passing of the HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Chris Loder wrote a letter of condolence to Her Majesty the Queen, and spoke in Parliament about the remarkable life and impact of the Duke.
Chris asks the Government to support and commit to contributing to the Fibre Spine project in West Dorset. The Digital Minister said that he looked forward to working with Chris to deliver the project for West Dorset.
Chris spoke in the House of Commons on the importance of improving broadband in rural areas. He noted that it is unacceptable that over 36% of West Dorset constituents have internet speeds of slower than 30 Mb/s.
