Ruth Edwards MP writes her September update for the local communities in Rushcliffe.
In Westminster we’ve been debating the UK Internal Market Bill, which will ensure that businesses can continue to trade across our country as they do now, when we complete our exit of the EU at the end of the year.
The Home Affairs Select Committee, which I am a member of, has been examining the difficult issues around illegal migration across the English Channel in small boats. We have been taking evidence from the border force, the United Nations, charities and the most affected local councils.
Support for the economy, for businesses and skills, has also been dominating the agenda. Last week the Chancellor announced his Winter Economy Plan, which will support the wages of those working fewer hours due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions and help businesses with cashflow at this difficult time.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee introduced more flexible higher education loans, free college courses for adults without a-levels and more training opportunities in growing sectors.
Earlier this month, I took part in a debate on support for jobs and businesses over the pandemic. I thanked the many businesses across Rushcliffe for the work they had done to protect our communities in lockdown.
To recognise the huge importance that local shops have in our communities I launched the Best Local Shop Award in the summer. A few weeks ago, we announced the winners, as voted for by you.
The winner was The Good Weigh in Lady Bay and the runners up The Little Boutique in Keyworth and The Bottle Top in Ruddington. Many congratulations to all and thank you to those who voted. You can find out more about these fantastic shops here.
I am conscious that the lockdown pressed pause on many of the constituency campaigns I had started work on. In the last month my team and I have been working hard to get these up and running again over the last month.
I have been lobbying the Rail Minister for more trains in Radcliffe on Trent station and this week my survey on the issue is hitting the doorsteps across the village. Please do fill it in and help me build a strong case for a better rail service.
Look out for the launch of my report into flooding issues in Rushcliffe next week and, very shortly, the launch of a new campaign, J9, which aims to provide more safe spaces across Rushcliffe for victims of domestic abuse to come and talk to someone and be able to access the support services available to them.
Finally, I am conscious that many of you, like me, will be concerned about the new rises in coronavirus cases across Rushcliffe and the UK. I wish I had better news, but inevitably it is going to be a tough winter for us all.
The Government is trying to walk a fine line between the harm caused by the spread of the virus and the harm caused from partial lockdown measures. I appreciate that the situation is hard for everyone and I want to thank you for all that you are doing to help supress the virus and save lives.