Last weekend I was honoured to attend the Act of Remembrance
at the War Memorials in Newquay and St Austell. The ceremonies were very
different than normal this year due to the current restrictions to protect us
from the spread of Coronavirus. However, it was right that we continued to mark
this important date in our civic life by paying our respects to those who died
in the defence of our country and show our thanks to those who continue to
serve in our Armed Forces.
The events were well organised and I am very grateful the
Royal British Legion and our Town Councils for their work in organising them.
I was very pleased with the further announcements from the
government of additional support for businesses, workers and families during
this new period of national restrictions.
The Chancellor announced on Thursday that the furlough
scheme would be extended until March and the government would be covering up to
80% of wages for eligible staff. I know this has been welcomed by many local
businesses as it will enable them to keep their staff on over the winter.
The Chancellor also announced a further round of support for
self-employed people, with another three month payment of up to 80% of average
income available. As we enter the winter I know this will be a vital means of
support for many locally.
There will also be another round of business grants
available with up to £3,000 available to those businesses that have been told
to shut for the next four weeks. In addition to this Cornwall Council will be
receiving over £5million for a further discretionary grant fund. This will be
available for them to use to support local businesses and the economy through
the winter. I certainly hope they will ensure these funds are used wisely to
best support our local businesses, who although not forced to close will be
severely affected by the new restrictions.
The other big announcement at the weekend was for more
funding to help families through the coming months. £170million was made
available nationally that will go to local councils to be used to support
families most in need over the winter. It has been confirmed that £1.8million
of this fund will be coming to Cornwall.
I am pleased to see the government delivering on their
commitment to support families and that no child should go hungry this winter.
Following the recent political storm regarding the decision to not extend free
school meals into the school holidays I made it clear I believed there was a
better way and that I would be pressing the government for more funding to be
made available.
This additional money will be very welcome, and I hope that
Cornwall Council will use it to ensure that it gets to those who need it most.
This is not just those families who qualify for free school meals, as there are
many families who do not qualify, for a number of reasons, who still require
support at this time.
Finally, I know that the coming weeks will once again be a
tough time for many locally. As always, my office team and I are here to help.
If you need advice, guidance or help in any please do not hesitate to get in
touch. You can email me at office@stevedouble.org.uk
or call 01726 829379 and we will do what we can to help.
