My decision to vote in favour was the hardest decision I’ve made as your MP. It wasn’t a decision based on projections, graphs or the government’s flimsy economic assessment. It was made as a result of facing uncomfortable truths about the impact of the virus in East Devon.
As I write this, over 100 people are in the RD&E with Covid-19, with a handful struggling to breathe and on ventilators. Most of the staffed beds at the Nightingale Hospital in Sowton are also occupied with numbers growing daily. Over 600 staff at the RD&E are off work as a result of a positive test, symptoms or living with someone who’s in that situation.
East Devon has the highest number of cases in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall with 160 recorded at the time of writing. Combined with concerns highlighted by the Department of Health and Social Care about the unusually high absence rate at the RD&E, I’m concerned that our NHS will struggle to sustain non-Covid services at a time of year where the health system is always stretched to its limits.
I hope Devon can move to Tier 1 as quickly as possible, but it was sobering to realise that East Devon’s rates and our main hospital were some of the deciding factors to place the county in Tier 2. I believe we can get our rates down and I’m in regular contact with management at the RD&E.
It is important to note that our nation is not alone in having restrictions. In France bars, restaurants and gyms will not reopen until 20th January at the earliest. In Germany, the hospitality sector will remain closed in its entirety over Christmas. Even in the UK, more severe restrictions are in place in Scotland and Wales than in England.
Under Tier 2, much more is open than it is closed.
Shops, gyms, leisure centres, community centres, public libraries, hairdressers, personal care, and waste and recycling centres can reopen. Spectators can watch sport with a maximum crowd capacity outdoors of 50% of the capacity of the stadium or 2,000 people, whichever is smaller – a welcome step forward for the Exeter Chiefs and Exeter City FC who are yet to have fans return since the pandemic struck.
Again, I hope Devon will move to Tier 1 as soon as possible – but we all have a part to play to get us there.
Longer-term, the vaccine is a new tool in our armoury against the virus and the roll-out begins this week. This is a momentous occasion that provides fresh hope that we can speed up a return to normal life, reclaim our lives and get our economy moving again.
The UK has secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, with an initial 800,000 doses available. The first vaccines will be administered to the most vulnerable people in the country, beginning with care home residents and their carer’s, all those over 80, and frontline health and social care workers.
The start of this vaccination programme is a positive one, but it will not end the pandemic overnight. We must all continue to play our part and abide by the local restrictions, to suppress the virus and protect the NHS as they carry out this vital work.
I know the impact of the current restrictions will be felt most hard by the hospitality industry and you have my word, I won’t stop fighting to save pubs, hotels and restaurants in East Devon because I recognise the support on offer – such as the furlough scheme, business rates holiday, bounce back loans, and government grants – isn’t enough.
As the PM said, these venues are playing a disproportionate role to help stem the spread of the virus.
I recognised this as soon as the tier for Devon was revealed and sent a letter calling for additional compensation to the Chancellor within hours of the allocation of tiers. The government responded by providing an extra £1,000 for wet pubs forced to close because they can’t serve food. The financial grant support currently on offer is set out below:
- Businesses in hospitality, leisure and accommodation allowed to open will receive up to £2,100 per month. This builds on a grant of up to £3,000 for the November lockdown when they were closed.
- Businesses forced to close, such as wet pubs and bars, will receive up to £4,000 per month. This builds on a grant of up to £3,000 for the November lockdown when they were closed.
Additionally, East Devon District Council have been given £2.9 million by government to provide discretionary support to businesses. Exeter City Council has been given £2.6 million.
I will also continue to put pressure on the government to provide further support for hospitality. I have already met with the Tourism Minister to highlight my concerns and called on the government to step up to support the industry. I have also chaired a meeting of South West MPs with UK Hospitality, the body which represents the sector and I will continue to work with MPs across the region to make sure the South West is heard. Additionally, I will be meeting with the Health Secretary soon to discuss the upcoming tier review for Devon.
Nobody wants these restrictions. We all want to live life as we did before the pandemic. However, we are still losing hundreds of people before their time, every day.
I can’t ignore this reality, I couldn’t vote to remove every restriction with our NHS under stain and I hope you recognise I have a duty to support measures which protect life. I also have a duty to protect livelihoods, and I hope you can see I am doing everything within my role to protect jobs in East Devon.