I have spent the last few days seriously considering whether a second lockdown is in the best interests of North Cornwall and I can honestly say this is one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as your Member of Parliament. 

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended for a month with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked and further economic support announced.

On Thursday 24 September, the Chancellor announced our Winter Economy Plan – the next phase of our planned economic response to coronavirus, following the Prime Minister’s address to the nation.

Local MP Scott Mann has urged all those people in North Cornwall who are eligible for the flu jab to get one this winter, as the Government launches its drive to vaccine 30 million people.

In response to this crisis, the Government have introduced one of the most generous packages of measures in the world and ​certainly the most generous in our nation’s history.

On 8 July, the government set out its next step towards economic recovery and securing the UK’s long-term prosperity in our Plan for Jobs.

We are protecting the NHS so it is there for people when they need it

• From just 2,000 tests per day in March we now have the capacity to conduct over 300,000 tests per day – with 311,113 tests available on 5 July.

Yesterday we announced the next phase of our careful reopening of the economy, with outdoor sports facilities, competitive grassroots sport, open-air performances and beauty businesses to return from 11 July. 

On behalf of Cornwall’s Members of Parliament, I have launched a campaign calling on people to shop locally now that retail is allowed to re-open.

Communities and businesses across Cornwall have benefited from £444m in government funding since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, helping to support some of the most vulnerable people, alongside the sectors that have been hardest hit.