Newspaper column 24 February 2021 - The Road to Recovery

On Monday, the Prime Minister laid out the roadmap as we look to come out of lockdown. With the success of the vaccination programme, where we have vaccinated one third of our population, including all those most vulnerable to the virus, we are in a position to look to a summer free from restrictions.

In his statement to Parliament the Prime Minister set out the four measures that will be used to test our progress: the continued roll out of the vaccine, the reduction of those needing to be hospitalised and deaths from COVID, that the infection rate does not cause further pressure on the NHS and that new variants of the virus do not undermine the effectiveness of the vaccines.

Taking these measures, we will now enter a three month process of gradually unlocking our society and economy. There will be four steps in this process, and each will be assessed over a five week period before we move onto the next phase.

Phase one will begin on 8^th March when we will see all school children and college students return to the classroom. This will be supported by twice weekly testing of all secondary and college pupils.

At this time, we will also we able to meet one other person from outside our household outside for leisure, rather than just exercise as we are currently limited to. Also, care home residents will be able to nominate one named person to visit them – I know this will be very welcomed by many.

As part of Step one, we will go further and make further changes which will take effect on 29 March, when schools go on Easter holidays. It will become possible to meet in limited numbers outdoors, where the risk is lower. The Rule of Six will return outdoors, including in private gardens, and outdoor meetings of two households will also be permitted on the same basis, so that families in different circumstances can meet.

Outdoor sports facilities – such as tennis and basketball courts, and open-air swimming pools – will be able to reopen and formally organised outdoor sports will resume, subject to guidance.

From this point, 29 March, the legal requirement to ‘stay at home’ will be lifted, although we should all remain cautious and limit our travel as much as we can.

Step two will begin, subject to the four tests, on 12 April. At this time non-essential retail will reopen, as will personal care including hairdressers and nail salons. Indoor leisure facilities such as gyms will re-open, as will holiday-lets, but only for use by individuals or household groups.

We will begin to re-open our pubs and restaurants outdoors, there will be no curfew or limitations around a substantial meal.

We will aim to begin step three on 17 May when most restrictions on meetings outdoors will be lifted, subject to a limit of thirty people. And this is the point when we will be able to see our friends and family indoors - subject to the Rule of Six or the meeting of two households. We will also reopen pubs and restaurants indoors along with cinemas and children’s play areas, hotels, hostels, and B&Bs. Theatres and concert halls will be able to open their doors, and sporting events will be able to welcome spectators.

The final step will begin no earlier than 21 June. With appropriate mitigations, we will aim to remove all legal limits on social contact, and on weddings and other life events. We will re-open everything, including nightclubs.

I am aware that there will be those on both sides of this matter who will feel unhappy with this plan. Some will feel it is too cautious and slow, while others will feel concerned we are moving too quickly. I believe it is a sensible and measured plan that provides a timeframe for everyone to work to.

I remain concerned at the impact this gradual approach will have on some of our local businesses and I will continue to push for further financial support for those businesses who will not be able to open without major restrictions for many weeks to come.

 

Newspaper column 10 February 2021 - Space ambitions and university students

I hope you are all well as we continue through the lockdown.

While we have all been limited with our movements due to the Covid restrictions, I have still been able to contribute to debates in Parliament by speaking virtually in the Chamber via video link. While this will never be a real substitute for the cut and thrust of debate in Parliament, it still allows me to take part, raising issues on behalf of constituents and championing causes for Mid-Cornwall, whilst being able to look at the beautiful Cornish coast from my window!

In the past week I have been able to ask questions of Ministers and take part in debates in Parliament about the future of airspace, our space industry, and also on support for university students during the pandemic.

I welcome the Government’s ambition to have 10% of the global space industry in the UK. It is right that, particularly post-Brexit, we aim to be a significant player in this increasingly important global sector. However, in order to achieve that aim, we will need to have a launch capability here in the UK. We lead the world in the design and manufacture of satellites—particularly small satellites—but we currently then ship them to the other side of the world for launch. Having our own launch capability in the UK will not only be important in an ever more uncertain world but will reduce costs and the environmental impact.

Cornwall is ready to play a major part in this through Spaceport Cornwall, which will be one of the world’s first horizontal launch sites for satellites. With the successful first satellite launch of our partners Virgin Orbit last month, we are now in a position to launch satellites from Cornwall next year that will bring much-needed well-paid jobs to Cornwall and attract business investment, which in turn will aid the Government’s levelling-up agenda in one of the poorest parts of the UK. It will also help to inspire our young people to pursue qualifications in STEM subjects and open up career opportunities in electronics and engineering.

The thing we need now is for the regulations to be put in place. Horizontal launch, which is basically little different from a large passenger jet taking off, until it reaches altitude for rocket launch, should not be bogged down by unnecessary regulations that are required only to cover vertical launch. I therefore asked the Minister to look carefully at the regulations to ensure that they differentiate between launch mechanisms and are fit for horizontal launch so that Spaceport Cornwall can lift off as soon as possible.

I also questioned the Minister on behalf of university students from Mid-Cornwall. I have been contacted by many students and their families who are concerned that they are still being made to pay their rent in full for their university accommodation despite not actually being at University or able to attend lessons in person due to the pandemic.

While it is welcome that some universities and accommodation providers are providing partial rebates to students, too many still are not. I asked the Minister join me in urging all those accommodation providers to show some flexibility and provide a partial rent rebate wherever possible, and was pleased to hear them agree with me and urge all providers of university accommodation to give a partial refund for this period in which students cannot all access their accommodation.

These are just two of the contributions I have made to Parliament in the past week. There are always issues to be raised on behalf of the communities I have the honour to represent and it is good that even in these difficult times, I am able to do so and fulfil my role as MP on your behalf.

Remember although I office is closed all of my staff and I are working from home. We are currently assisting several hundred local residents every week with a wide range of issues, both COVID related and wider issues such as housing, benefits, health and employment matters. If there is anything you feel we may be able to help you with please do not hesitate to get in touch – email: office@stevedouble.org.uk or call 01726 839279

 

 

Newspaper column 3 February 2021 - Good news with vaccine rollout

 

Last week saw more progress with the vaccination as the latest figures, released on Thursday showed that 74,192 COVID-19 vaccines have now been given in Cornwall, with 78.9% of people over 80 now having received their first jab. In Cornwall every care home where it is possible to deliver the vaccine safely has now received it.

Nationally 5 in 6 people over that age 80 have now had the vaccine, along with 2 in 3 people aged between 75-79. On Saturday 598,000 people received the vaccine across the UK, a new daily record. In Cornwall we are seeing delivery of the vaccines ramping up in a similar way.

With the mass vaccination centre opening at Stithians Showground last week, and another one opened at the Royal Cornwall Showground this week, these figures will continue to accelerate as more supply of the vaccines becomes available.

I hear good news stories every day from people who have had the vaccine and continue to be impressed by the commitment shown by all involved in the vaccine rollout. One such story, that gained national publicity at the weekend is the impressive efforts by St Austell Healthcare, who administered an additional 1,000 vaccines within 24 hours of being notified on an unscheduled delivery, clearly pulling out all the stops to make sure the people who need it most get the vaccine.

In more positive news, on Thursday, Novavax published phase 3 trial data from its UK study for its COVID-19 vaccine, showing it to be 89.3% effective in preventing coronavirus in participants, as well as being effective against the new UK variant.

This is the vaccine trial that I participated in, although I don’t yet know whether I received the actual vaccine or a placebo, so I am pleased to have contributed in a small way to this good news.

Thanks to the work of the government’s Vaccines Taskforce, the UK has secured 60 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine to be delivered in the second half of this year, if approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, who will assess whether the vaccine meets robust standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.

This is all good news, but I couldn’t finish my column without touching on some of the negativity from the end of last week concerning the EU and its appalling behaviour around the handling of the exporting of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. Make no mistake about it, one major success of Brexit so far has been that the UK has been able to get its own vaccine rollout up and running quickly and in doing so start vaccinating people in greater numbers than members of the EU.

This was thrown into the spotlight last week when the EU became angry that Britain was getting its UK-made contracted supplies from AstraZeneca while it was yet to begin. In retaliation the EU announced it was introducing export controls on coronavirus vaccines made inside the EU to try to protect its supplies, including threats to put checks on the Northern Ireland border to prevent vaccines produced in the EU from reaching the UK. The Brexit deal ensures there are no obstacles to trade between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

 

Their decision united many people, including The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, in condemning their actions, and forced a quick u turn from the EU – which was very welcome.

The UK-Ireland border was one of the most difficult problems to overcome in the recently agreed Brexit deal, following the UK's departure from the EU. During the negotiations the EU lectured us about the importance of respecting the detail of the arrangement and respecting the Good Friday Agreement; how peace in Northern Ireland was at stake. Yet the impression the EU gave last week is that those concerns can be quickly disregarded, if the EU feels its interests are at stake.

I was pleased that the Prime Minister rose above this and calmly addressed this issue which forced a u turn from the EU. Whilst we all understand the importance of addressing this pandemic at a global scale, we cannot allow the EU to ride roughshod over contracts and agreements in place simply to cover their bad handling of the situation. The UK has done more than any other country to use our resources to support the global effort and I am sure we will continue to do so, but not at the expense of our own citizens.