By Jerome Mayhew MP
With more than half the population now having received their first Covid jab, and with over 25% having received both doses, there are positive signs of a return to normality over the next few months.
It’s been good to see our local shops, pubs and sporting groups getting back into action, and I have enjoyed being able to meet so many constituents across Broadland during the parliamentary Easter recess.
It has been a busy time in parliament. I was recently appointed a “Sustainable Agriculture Champion” – looking at ways to help our farmers make the most of science and technology, play their part in the “green revolution”, and ensure our food supplies are both secure and sustainable.
And I have served on the Bill Committee scrutinising the government’s plans to create an Advanced Research & Invention Agency that will help bring together the best minds to find solutions to some of the problems that face us all today.
The government has now launched Project Gigabit, with Broadland one of the areas to benefit in a second wave of investment in high-speed internet connections over the next year to 18 months.
And I was pleased to be able to speak in a debate on the Post Office Horizon (IT) scandal, calling for the government to provide appropriate levels of compensation to those sub-postmasters who have had their lives turned upside down through false accusations of fraud and theft made against them.
The “roadmap” for the country’s Covid recovery is proceeding as planned. By 17 June, all being well, all restrictions will have been eased and life will be close to normal for the first time since March 2020.
This will be great news for our tourism, events and hospitality businesses. Local unemployment, which we have all be worried about, has now started to fall and I hope this trend will accelerate as we emerge from lockdown.
As ever, if there is anything I can help you with, please do get in touch via email. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or via my website.
Jerome Mayhew, MP for Broadland