Firstly, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!
It has been a busy start to 2021 with the UK officially leaving the EU, and the new Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine roll-out getting underway. Sadly it has not been the start to the year we would all have hoped for with a surge in coronavirus cases and the new strain of the virus increasing the pressure on our health service bringing about another national lockdown.
I know we are all so thankful to the brilliant doctors and nurses in our NHS who have been unrelenting in their care for those who have contracted coronavirus. They have been under enormous pressure for many months now and still there is more to come as the numbers of patients continue to rise. I also want to thank the communities that have rallied together to support the most vulnerable over this period and are once again helping those who have been asked to shield; their support has made all the difference to so many over the Christmas period. The end is in sight with the vaccine programme being rolled out right across the UK with the first Oxford vaccine administered on Monday this week. Chichester also starts administering the vaccine this week with St Richard’s coming online, closely followed by more GP-led community centres up and down the district, which are currently getting final approval.
A new lockdown is not how any of us wanted to kick off the year, especially for young people who will miss out on face to face teaching in school, college and university until half term. It’s also been incredibly difficult for businesses who lost out on vital trade over the Christmas season. To help them through this period the Government have announced a new one-off £9,000 grant to help closed businesses and a further £500 million of discretionary funding to local authorities to support businesses. This comes on top of existing support such as extending furlough and the self-employment support scheme to April and a £3,000 monthly grant to businesses forced to close. Of course, more may still be needed, and my colleagues in the Treasury will keep further measures under review.
Over the Christmas break, MPs were recalled to vote on the Brexit deal delivering on the referendum result and gaining political and economic independence. It is a historic deal – for the first time in the EU’s history they have accepted a zero-tariff and zero-quota trade agreement. The deal also secures judicial independence, and importantly for local fisherman in Selsey, it recognises our sovereignty over UK fishing grounds. We have also agreed to maintain close cooperation on issues around security, international law enforcement, science and research, and much more, whilst enabling us to maintain our high environmental standards and ambitions to tackle climate change. All in all, the deal ensures the UK and the EU will continue to enjoy a close and positive relationship, as firm friends and natural allies.
