This Friday parliament is considering daylight hours; some might say
an appropriate issue to debate as we are wrapped in winter gloom. It
is a subject that a number of people have written to me about and as
we live in the most south easternly corner of the country, where
England first sees the sun rise, it is an issue of some relevance to
our area.
The Daylight Savings Bill is being introduced to parliament by my
colleague Rebecca Harris and if passed would require the Government to
conduct a full analysis of the benefits of moving the clocks forward
one hour, to give us more daylight in the evenings. If this report
concluded that this could be good for the whole country, then the
Government would conduct a three year trial period.
If we made this change it would mean in the Folkestone and Hythe
constituency that we would always have daylight between the hours of
9am in the morning and 5pm in the evening; even (give a minute or two)
on 21st December, the shortest day of the year.
The switch being considered in the Bill gives us darker mornings,
offset by lighter evenings so the question under discussion is really
what is better for us. Research shows that we use more energy in the
evenings than the mornings, so lighter evenings could help reduce our
electricity consumption and lower bills.
Road traffic is at its busiest between the hours of 3pm and 6pm, and
there are around three times more road casualties involving children
in the evening rush hour compared to the morning rush hour; so lighter
evenings could help to make our roads and pedestrians safer,
particular children coming home from school.
Research from the Home Office has shown that an extra hour of daylight
in the evenings could reduce crime, as this mostly occurs in the
evenings after dark. The Age UK charity has also stated that it
believes elderly people will feel safer in the evenings with more
daylight.
A final point for consideration for our leisure and tourist economy is
that lighter evenings could be good for trade, with people being more
inclined to stay out later between March and September. Considering
all of these points I have decided to support the Bill so that we can
have a full study of the benefits produced by the Government.
We’ve had a full blast of winter this week and with more snow
forecast. The weather can be disruptive to the normal routine, but
also fun, particularly for children and the young at heart. With the
prospect of a prolonged cold spell I know that people will be
concerned about their heating bills. I recently held an advice surgery
with the Home Heat Helpline who give free guidance to people about how
they can lower their bills. There are also a number of programmes,
particularly for pensioners and people receiving benefits, which
support home insulation and energy efficiency schemes. If you have not
already spoken to them you can contact their helpline on 0800 33 66 99
or visit their website www.homeheathelpline.org.uk