These are the most abnormal of times that each and every one of us are living through at the moment and I first want to start by saying that I am hugely grateful to you and your family for your patience during this time of great challenge in all our lives, and I can entirely appreciate the frustration – as I feel it too.
The commemoration of VE Day on Friday was not the same as it would have been in normal circumstances, but it was a special moment where we all came together as a country to pay tribute to that generation, to remember their sacrifices, and to honour their legacy. I have to say I thought the programme of events came together beautifully as a fitting tribute and in the vast majority of instances we saw communities across the country come together in a managed, responsible, socially-distanced way. That said, I think many of us would concede, not least in the glorious sunshine, that it probably did bring into sharp focus just how difficult it is not to be able to see loved ones, to not be able to partake in the activities and the simple pleasures of life that we enjoy, and to not be able to go about our business as freely as we are so accustomed to, for an extended period of time. Without question, as the weeks go by, it gets harder too.
But be in no doubt - those sacrifices that each and every one of us have made over these past few weeks, although in a very different way to that generation back in the late 1930s and early 1940s, have made a huge difference – driving the rate of reproduction, or the ‘R’ rate below 1, helping to dramatically reduce the prevalence of the virus in our communities and flattening the curve, and to get us well on the road to beating this dreadful virus altogether. I know it is an enormous relief to us all that the death rate is falling and the transmission rate is slowing even further. I also want to say that my thoughts, and those of the whole community here in Corby & East Northamptonshire, are with those who have lost loved ones through this dreadful disease, at this most difficult of times for them. We are also thinking of all those who are currently battling with the virus and willing them on to pull through.
The progress that has been made in recent weeks directly led to the Prime Minister being able to make an important announcement last night about the way forward as we move into the next phase of the emergency response, and I thought you might be interested to have sight of the letter I have received from him, which succinctly summarises the situation as it stands today.
As you will see, the country remains in a state of ‘lockdown’, but if we don’t squander the progress that our hard graft as a nation has secured to date, we will now begin to work through a coordinated, phased plan to release the restrictions, restore our economy and get our lives back to a new type of normal. It undoubtedly won’t be easy, but if we all play our part, follow the Government guidance, act sensibly, applying common sense, and stick to the rules, we will get there. As with all previous phases, this one is also informed by the very best medical and scientific advice available, and I know that each of the measures are, and will continue to be, kept under constant review. Bluntly, the plan is conditional on the progress we make in the days and weeks ahead.
With that in mind, the Prime Minister came to Parliament this afternoon to elaborate on these plans and to release ‘OUR PLAN TO REBUILD: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy’, which includes the roadmap to lift the restrictions step-by-step. It can be accessed here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/884171/FINAL_6.6637_CO_HMG_C19_Recovery_FINAL_110520_v2_WEB__1_.pdf
No doubt over the days ahead this will be the source of great debate and the detail behind the individual announcements will hopefully clarify matters and provide reassurance to people as to the rationale behind the various steps being taken, how they will work in practice, and what is expected of us. I know that the Government advice on the ‘Gov.uk’ website will be updated accordingly to reflect this, and I would encourage anyone with any questions to consult the guidance there in the first instance, but it may take a little time for some aspects to be finalised given the need to consult widely with businesses, the unions, various public sector bodies and others on the detail. I will also be keeping my dedicated Coronavirus website tab up-to-date with the latest information, which you can find at the following link: https://www.votepursglove.co.uk/covid-19-coronavirus. Of course, should you have any queries thereafter, please do feel free to get in touch and I will gladly seek appropriate advice accordingly on your behalf.
Locally, there continues to be strong coordination on the ground across our various public services in responding to this challenge, and as Northamptonshire MPs, we are kept well updated and are readily able to feed local views and concerns into the system, in order that they can be addressed and solutions found where they are required. The same applies nationally – Ministers are actively engaging with us and I continue to feed local views and ideas back to them about the ‘lockdown’, the package of support to help people, businesses and communities through this period, and the plans for the recovery thereafter. I am really grateful to all those constituents who have fed various ideas, issues or concerns through to me, which I have then relayed to Ministers in our discussions – in many cases, solutions have subsequently been identified, and on some issues there remains work to do. As we move into this next phase, I will continue to do my bit to help inform both the local and national response, in order to get it right for people here in Corby & East Northamptonshire.
As we move forward, I very much hope that everyone will engage constructively together to make this work and to ensure a speedy recovery for our country from this hugely challenging period. Partisan posturing and bickering have no place right now – we have a common objective of preserving life and responsibly lifting the restrictions, and that must be our focus. I know that if we continue to work together as a country, in the spirit that has characterised the last few weeks, I am confident that we will get there. Rather like at the weekend where we commemorated VE Day, and we marked that important national moment and reflected upon the huge sacrifices of that generation and all they did in the face of adversity, we must do so again in the here and now. The circumstances are of course very different, but that spirit of common-cause, of resilience, and of community, matters now just as much as it did then. Day in, day out, we are seeing the very best of our country and our community – our amazing doctors and nurses and our remarkable social care staff working tirelessly under great pressure, all of the exceptionally dedicated key workers and public servants who are diligently fulfilling their duties around the clock, and the volunteers who are moving heaven and earth to help others in all of our cities, towns, villages and streets. We continue to say “thank you” to them all and pay tribute to the huge contribution they are making.
The weeks ahead will continue to be enormously challenging and we must not be complacent – together, let’s stick the course, stay alert to the risks the virus poses to us all, act responsibly to ensure we do not allow it to spread, and ultimately, save lives. Thank you for all you have done, and continue to do, in support of this most important national effort – the challenge of our time.
With best wishes,
Tom Pursglove MP
Member of Parliament for Corby and East Northamptonshire
Local engagement, help and support – April 2020 in numbers
To give local people an idea about the work I have been doing on the ground, actively raising local issues, feedback and concerns, and taking up individual cases, I thought it would be useful to include the pie chart below which includes the data for the month of April. Notably:
Last month, my office received well over 2,500 emails from local residents and 512 specific new cases were created for individual constituents.
Predictably, the vast majority of these cases related to Coronavirus and the wide ranging impacts that it is having on our society, with over 90% of the cases being linked in some way to it.
And, at the start of May:
In the first 11 days of this month, so far, I have received over 750 emails with 120 new cases being created, with more coming in all the time.
Once again, almost all the correspondence received so far has been linked to Coronavirus, but I will provide another full update at the end of the month.
Of course, if I can ever be of any assistance to you or your family, please do not hesitate to get in touch – I am always really happy to help!
• Good news for people with concessionary bus passes, as they can now be used at any time of day or night. This 24/7 service is there to help the vulnerable and elderly in Northamptonshire to access essential services and shops during the Coronavirus lockdown.
• With large amounts of people working from home, Recycle Northamptonshire want to remind people to park sensibly so that the waste collection vehicles in the county can safely navigate our roads and continue to provide their service uninterrupted. If roads are blocked it could lead to bins not being collected on time.
• Around all the wonderful work going on in our community and the national effort to fight Coronavirus, I am really saddened to hear of the small minority of people who, disgracefully, are trying to take advantage of vulnerable people at this hugely challenging time. I am aware of several scams, and urge you to stay extra vigilant. Be suspicious around phone calls, texts and emails you weren't expecting, or people claiming to be from the Government, HMRC, or the local council. More information and advice, here: https://bit.ly/2HtMqE9.
• Notice to country park season ticket holders - Northamptonshire County Council are planning to extend the expiry date of season tickets to compensate for the closure of the car parks. Please keep your ticket safe and do not amend the dates yourself, and please don’t dispose of tickets that expired after the 24th March 2020. The Customer Service Centre is currently busy assisting with the council’s COVID-19 emergency response, so they ask that you do not call in with season ticket queries. When they know the date that the car parks will reopen, more information will be provided about the extension on the country parks website.
• There is a new and free online service, backed by British Gas, that brings together volunteers and people who need help with essential household tasks in their local area. @LocalHeroesUK, which you can find on Twitter, offers a free, easy and flexible way to ask for help with the essentials, or to give some time to support your local community during the COVID-19 outbreak. If you need assistance or want to volunteer you can sign up, here: https://communities.localheroes.com.
• A notice from Northamptonshire County Council - Household Waste Recycling Centres will be open again from Monday 18th May for residents to dispose of essential household waste. NCC are asking that only essential journeys are made to the HWRCs, and for residents to only use them if waste or recycling cannot be stored safely at home without causing injury, harm, or risk to health. If waste can be temporarily stored in a way that does not pose a risk, NCC are asking people to keep it at home and not make the journey to a HWRC. Additionally, and in line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate COVID-19, should not visit household recycling centres. Social distancing measures will be present to protect the public and staff, with clear signage on display which will include restricting the number of vehicles allowed on site at any one time, and a one way system for vehicles and pedestrians. With the expected increase in visitors to sites, and reduced capacity to comply with social distancing rules, it is anticipated that queues are highly likely. As such, officers will be on hand to help marshal traffic to ensure that no obstructions are caused. Sites may have to close temporarily throughout the day if demand becomes too high, to enable safe operations and allow traffic to disperse from the highway. Up-to-date information is available, here: https://tinyurl.com/y77eulwh.
• I really welcome the recent announcement providing greater clarity on the discretionary element of the small business grants scheme, along with some extra resourcing, which will undoubtedly address a small number of challenging cases I have been taking up with the councils locally. You can find more details, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/top-up-to-local-business-grant-funds-scheme. Well done to Ministers for listening to the feedback and acting on it – it’ll make a big difference!
• The Friday before last, I had a very productive virtual meeting with representatives of Northamptonshire Highways, local developers and residents, to discuss concerns relating to the historical flooding problem along Brick Kiln Road in Raunds – something I have been consistently raising and pressing for a solution to be found. I was pleased to hear that works to rectify the problems will begin in due course, with the scheme details currently being finalised, and I hope that once completed, the lives of local residents and those travelling along this stretch of road will be dramatically improved. Despite Coronavirus, my work on the key local issues and concerns local people raise with me continues!
• A particularly concerning aspect around our collective national effort to fight Coronavirus is the impact it is understandably having on people’s mental health. In response, I am pleased that our local councils and the NHS have launched a mental health support line, and whether you are feeling lonely, anxious, frightened, or struggling with other issues, there is friendly, professional support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling 0300 330 1011.
• The FA, the Premier League, and the Government (through Sport England) have jointly launched a £9.5m ‘Pitch Preparation Fund’ to support grassroots clubs facing challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and to help them get “match-ready” for when restrictions are lifted. The fund, which will be delivered through the Football Foundation, will provide financial support in the form of grants to clubs across the country struggling to maintain their football pitches in the wake of disrupted revenue streams. It is open to football clubs and voluntary organisations that maintain their own natural grass pitches and have at least 12 months’ security of tenure; clubs with suitable tenure for a 3G artificial grass pitch are also eligible to apply. Local clubs can check the full eligibility criteria and apply, here: https://footballfoundation.org.uk/grant/pitch-preparation-fund. The application window is open now and closes at 9pm on Monday 25th May 2020.
If you have anything you would like to be featured next week, please email all the details to pursglovet@parliament.uk.
Also, if you have taken any photos of constituency landscapes or landmarks, which could be featured in my ‘Community Notices’ headers, please send them in and I will try to use as many of them as possible (and credit them accordingly!), as a celebration of the fantastic place we live and work in. I know we have many budding photographers in our community and it would be great to showcase their work, particularly as so many of us are going about our now unlimited daily exercise by walking in our stunning local countryside!
LOBBY CAMPAIGNS:
As you might be aware, I respond to standard campaign emails via my website, here. For ease, I also wanted to share the links to the most recent replies, which you can find below:
