Cumbria council overhaul approved, P&O chaos, and new nuclear calls
The overhaul of Cumbria's councils was given final approval this week.
The Lords nodded it through on Monday to complete the parliamentary process, but not before concerns were raised by Labour peer Lord Liddle, who is also a county councillor.
He said dividing Cumbria into two authorities is "unsustainable", and "involves splitting services that are vital yet fragile, such as social care and child protection, in the space of 12 months. I fear the consequences for the most vulnerable in our society as a result."
Local government minister Lord Greenhalgh responded: "It does not need to be the case that councils split the commissioning of adult social care and social services... They can commission together."
The reorganisation has been controversial throughout. The government has said it's about simplifying things, by replacing the current county council and six districts with unitary authorities responsible for all services.
Last summer, ministers chose to split the county east and west, rejecting three other proposals for redrawing the map. Legal challenges by the county council have failed over the last couple of months.
So now elections will happen on 5 May, for councillors who will oversee the transition, and then sit on the new Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness councils from when they formally take over on 1 April 2023.
Meanwhile, P&O Ferries crossings from Cairnryan to Larne in Northern Ireland were halted on Thursday morning. The company sacked 800 staff across the UK, planning to replace them with cheaper agency workers, and saying it had to act to secure its future.
Scottish Secretary, and Dumfries & Galloway MP, Alister Jack said it was "very concerning news", with P&O "an important employer in South West Scotland, supporting many jobs in the local area." Rather embarrassingly, two cabinet colleagues wrote to a former chair of P&O Ferries who left his role last year, before realising their error.
The UK and Scottish governments have both said they are reviewing their contracts with P&O, but it's unclear if they are able to, or will choose to, do much about the company's actions. It's also unclear when P&O sailings from Cairnryan will resume.
Finally, the war in Ukraine and soaring fuel prices have put a renewed focus on the sources of our energy.
Cumbrian Conservative MPs Mark Jenkinson and John Stevenson are part of the Nuclear All-Party Parliamentary Group, which called on Thursday for the UK government to invest in a new generation of large and small nuclear reactors.
Potential locations could include Moorside, next to Sellafield, and Chapelcross near Annan.
The government's response did not come in time for our 6pm programme on Thursday, but includes: "We are firmly committed to building more nuclear power here in the UK... We will set out full details of our energy supply strategy later this month."
It's not clear exactly when that energy plan will come, but the big moment to look out for this coming week is the Chancellor's spring statement on Wednesday, with Rishi Sunak under pressure to do more to tackle the cost of living crisis.