Newspaper column 15 October 2020 - new COVID rules, more funding for culture, and a new school

Following the landmark announcement confirming a new hospital for our constituency that I detailed in my column last week, the previous seven days have seen even more funding announced for Truro and Falmouth.

Before I get into that, I wanted to touch on the Prime Minister’s announcement of a three-tiered lockdown system nationally on Monday.

The PM’s announcement essentially streamlines the local lockdown measures from around the country and the national rules into a three tier system of medium, high and very high alert. At the moment the majority of the country is on medium alert, which essentially means we follow the same rules as we have been following since September.

In Cornwall we have been able to keep the virus levels down to some of the lowest in the country by working together, following the latest rules and using our common sense. For now these new rules mean we do not have to take any additional precautions, but we must continue to take care and stay safe in order to avoid further virus transmission and inevitably, additional restrictions.

Away from the COVID-19 restrictions I was really pleased to see the Government continue to recognise Truro and Falmouth with additional funding for culture organisations over the last few days, with Truro Cathedral on Friday awarded £146,900 after successfully applying to the Cultural Recovery Fund for Heritage, set up to help the country’s cultural gems survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile on Monday I was pleased to see organisations in Truro and Falmouth, including the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, awarded a further  £952,046 from the general Culture Recovery Fund, to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future.

Away from immediate funding needs, in Parliament this week I was also pleased to secure a meeting with the Secretary of State for Education to discuss a new secondary school for our constituency. When I was campaigning before my election it was very clear how close to capacity our excellent secondary schools in Truro and Falmouth are, and this has been reinforced by my subsequent regular meetings with teachers around the constituency.

Given these continuing trends, we need to explore all opportunities for new secondary education provision for our constituency. I was pleased to raise this at the very top of the Government in Parliament and am delighted that the Secretary of State has offered me a meeting to explore these ideas further. This is the start of a lengthy journey, and I remain committed to doing all I can to ensure the educational prospects for our young people in Truro and Falmouth are the best that they can be.

As ever, I am always happy to help with any problems people or have or to answer any questions about my work.  Please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk, by telephone on 01872 229698 or you can write to me by letter at my constituency office, which is at Lemon Chapel, William Street, Truro, TR1 2ED.