I KNOW that many constituents are disappointed that while North Cornwall has responded exceptionally well to the pandemic, the national situation required us to enter a third full lockdown.

I share this disappointment with you, and I know that by asking people to stay home once again to protect the NHS it will take its toll. The situation is not ideal, but unlike the first lockdown last year, we now have a vaccine which is being rolled out across Cornwall and the rest of the UK at a great pace.

The nature of the pandemic means that the response to it must be fluid, and I am also aware that many parents were preparing to send their children back to school in the first week of January; some children even attended their first day prior to the lockdown being announced.

Our teachers and educational staff have done a fantastic job of switching to online and remote learning at short notice and continue to deliver lessons to their students.

The government hopes that children will be able to return to the classroom after the February half-term but in the circumstances, it is not possible for exams in the summer to go ahead as planned. The Department for Education will accordingly be working with Ofqual to consult rapidly to put in place alternative arrangements that will allow students to progress fairly. I will continue to update you on this as more information becomes available.

In supporting the lockdowns, I have also made it clear to colleagues in Westminster that the maximum levels of support for our employers and businesses must be made available. I am pleased that the Chancellor has announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring, including a £594 million discretionary fund which has also made available to support other impacted businesses.

This comes in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and extension of furlough scheme.

The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.

A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities.

The new one-off grants come in addition to billions of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.

The government has also provided 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, £1.1 billion existing discretionary funding for Local Authorities, the furlough scheme now extended to April and 100% government-backed loans, extended until March.