Wednesday 2 December 2020

Newspaper column 2 December 2020

Last week was another fast moving and significant week in politics.

We had the Autumn Financial Statement from the Chancellor on Wednesday where he laid out the government’s spending plans for the coming financial year. I was pleased to see that we will continue to provide additional support for our public services, with more money announced for the NHS, schools, local government and further investment in our transport infrastructure.

Part of this announcement was the confirmation of development funding for improving railway links within Cornwall through a new Cornish Metro that would provide a direct connection between Newquay and Falmouth. The new service would run from Newquay through Par, St Austell, Truro and onto Falmouth. This would be an exciting opportunity to connect two of Cornwall’s main tourist centres and provide an economic boost for all the communities along the route as well as better connections for local residents.

There is still some way to go in order to make these proposals a reality but the award of this funding is an important step. It shows that the government recognises the potential of this route and the funding will enable more details plans to now be produced to take it to the next level.

As well as the spending review, the big news last week was the announcement of the new tiered system for the next phase of our fight against the Coronavirus. The new tiers had been well trialled but the big news on Thursday was confirmation that Cornwall will be returning to the lowest level of restrictions in Tier 1. Along with the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight, Cornwall will be one of only three areas of England in Tier 1 and the only one on the mainland.

This is clearly very welcome news for us locally, and particularly for local hospitality businesses who will be able to reopen under the lowest level of restrictions in the important period running up to Christmas.

As welcome as this news is, it really does need to be understood by us all that there is no room for complacency. Before we entered the national restrictions at the start of November Cornwall was in Tier 1. But at that time we were seeing the number of cases increase. This has now been brought back under control which does show that the restrictions worked and this was the right action to take. However, the tier we are in will now be reviewed regularly and if it is necessary this can be changed in order to keep the spread of the virus under control. Therefore, it is vital that everyone keeps to the rules, follows the guidance and behaves responsibly to ensure we can remain in Tier one.

With Cornwall being the only place in mainland England in Tier 1 I do understand the concerns many have raised with me concerning the potential of people from other areas of the country coming to stay Cornwall in the coming weeks. I appreciate the concern this may cause to some people.

I do think there are a number of key points that we need to consider to keep this matter in context. Firstly the government has been clear that people who are living in the very highest risk areas, Tier 3, should not travel outside of their area. It is also clear that those living in Tier 2, whilst they are permitted to travel, are legally required to keep to the Tier 2 rules whilst they are here.

It is also worth noting that despite having literally millions of visitors in Cornwall since the lockdown was lifted in July, this has not contributed to a rise in cases. In fact whilst the biggest number of visitors were here in the summer, the number of cases continued to fall. The increase we saw in the autumn was primarily linked to workplace setting, including those travelling to places such as Plymouth for work. There is no evidence that tourists have had an impact on the number of cases in our Duchy.

Providing those who may come stick to the rules, keep within their household groups or bubbles and behave responsibly, which the vast majority do, there is no real cause for concern.

I appreciate the coming weeks will continue to be challenging for us all. But we can see the light at the end of all this as we make further progress on seeing a vaccine that is safe and effective being available. So my plea is, despite whatever our frustrations and concerns, let us all continue to do our bit to keep ourselves, and those around us safe, whilst enjoying the relaxation in the rules here in Cornwall.