John Mann says Chancellor missed the chance to prove he's serious about saving the planet

We heard the Government making sober preparations as Britain prepares to leave the European Union next March.

There were few headline policy announcements, but the Chancellor missed out on a big opportunity to propose a green economic Budget, where protecting the environment and tackling climate change could have been front and centre.

Over the past year, we have been encouraged to be more environmentally friendly, such as reducing the amounts of single-use plastics that we all use.

However, the economic case for being environmentally friendly has not really been discussed.

The Government should be seriously investing in cost-effective green technology.

For example, by investing in geo-thermal technologies in areas like Bassetlaw, the Government could not only help the environment but also save money on importing and transporting oil around the UK.

I will be raising issues like these when I meet the Chancellor in my role as vice-chairman of the Treasury Select Committee.

The Budget did provide some good news for Bassetlaw.

The Government has committed £10 million to clearing orphan waste sites which is something that I have pushed hard for

This money can be used to clear waste sites such as the Trent Valley Recycling Centre in Worksop and will mean that the land can be used for other purposes.

This is welcome news for our area and I will now be supporting any bids that need to be made to access the funds.

On Wednesday in Parliament, there was a debate on shale gas and the involvement of local communities in the process of developing shale gas.

I have argued the case for local people and communities to have a say when it comes to fracking for some years now.

I have tabled an Early Day Motion to promote the case that local people should have a say in local decisions.