We are now in the fifth week of lockdown due to the COVID-19
pandemic. As I thought last week, on Thursday the Government confirmed they
were extending lockdown for at least another three weeks, pushing it into the
middle of May at the very least.
This week Parliament has started sitting again, although in
an another unprecedented move, it is doing so virtually, meaning that the vast majority
of MPs will not be in the Chamber of the House of Commons but instead logging
on via their device and asking questions remotely. This is a massive change to
Parliament but it will be good to be back doing a major part of our job again,
even if it isn’t in the usual setting.
I continue to be a part of regular virtual meetings with my
MP colleagues and Cornwall Council in order to ensure we try to provide as much
support as possible for residents and businesses at this difficult time.
Some notable successes last week included persuading
Cornwall Council to temporarily fund the vital King Harry Ferry service that
links the Roseland to the Falmouth and Penryn side of the River Fal, something
which is critical for key-workers. Cornwall Council will be claiming the money
it has spent on this back from the Government so there is no extra cost to the
Cornish taxpayer. I am pleased to have worked with them and the ferry company
to resolve this.
I have also been contacted by a number of work hubs/shared
workspaces who were not getting support from Cornwall Council due to their interpretation
of the guidance. I have been pleased to have worked with Cornwall Council to
get them to allow discretion to allow business rates support on these cases.
Constituents continue to contact me with concerns of holiday
accommodation remaining open. Cornwall Council has been very thorough in
investigating everything that has been reported to them, and has closed down holiday
accommodation where appropriate. I would encourage anyone who still has
concerns to report them via Cornwall Council’s dedicated email address covid19@cornwall.gov.uk
My information leaflet about COVID-19 has been sent out via
the Royal Mail this week. It is not a political or campaign leaflet and
contains all the relevant information about COVID-19. From Government guidance
to local contact numbers and more. If, for whatever reason, you do not receive
a leaflet then please just let me know and I will get one to you. Not everyone
has social media or access to the internet, so I thought it was really
important to get something through everyone’s letterbox in order to reach as
many people as possible.
Last week I wrote an open letter to all NHS staff, care
workers, teachers and all other key workers on the front line from Cherilyn
Mackrory MP thanking them for their continued efforts in keeping us safe and keeping
the country running. Thank you to everyone for playing their part, continuing
to follow the Government guidance and keeping our communities safe, we will get
through this together.
My team and I are here to help during this crisis. You can
email me at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk, call me on 0207 2193713
(messages will be picked up), and my website www.cherilynmackrory.org.uk and
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thisischerilyn are all regularly updated
with matters relating both to the current crisis and other useful news and
information. Please do get in touch if you need any help or have questions for
me.
No comments:
Post a Comment