Newspaper column 18 February - more funding for Cornwall

As we continue to head through lockdown and what seems to be a relentless battle with poor weather, particularly for those of us on the coast, there was more good news last week as the COVID-19 vaccine effort continues to go from strength to strength, with now more than 14,500,000 people having received their vaccine as of this past Saturday.

The national Lockdown measures are also working, with the virus being pushed back everywhere, including in Cornwall,  where the rate of infection has fallen to 81.1 cases per 100,000 population, close to the where it was at the end of Lockdown 2, at the start of December, and a third less than we had at the start of the current measures.

Both the COVID-19 restrictions and the increasing numbers of people being vaccinated will help keep the numbers of new cases down, and with people in many parts of Cornwall aged 65-70 expecting to get their first Covid vaccination from this week, this will only continue to improve.

In other news, along with the new secondary school announced for Perranporth recently, I was delighted to see the Government recognise the excellent work of the Roseland Academy in Tregony and provide them with funding to be one of two Teaching School Hubs  to help other schools and teachers in Cornwall.

The hubs, backed by £65million of new government funding, will provide high-quality professional development to teachers and leaders at all stages of their career and play a key role in helping to build up trainee teachers as they enter the workforce.

This will further level up the quality of teaching, allowing every child to receive a world-class start in life no matter where they are born.

This will help support existing teachers and encourage others to join this exciting career path, while recognising the particular challenges they are facing during these difficult times.

I look forward to seeing these plans progress and become a reality later this year.

Last week I was also pleased to see that Cornwall Council will be receiving a £1.1million share of £125 million in government funding to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children,

The funding will help ensure victims and their children who need it are able to access life-saving support such as therapy, advocacy and counselling in safe accommodation, including refuges.

The money will fund a new duty on councils to ensure victims and their children are able to access life-saving support in safe accommodation – a key part of the government’s landmark Domestic Abuse Bill.

Along with the funding for victim support services announced last week and the continuing call for evidence the Government has put out to gather evidence on how better to stop these crimes and help those affected by them, it is good to see these issues being dealt with.

As ever, if you need my assistance with anything then my team and I are here to help. Please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698.