I hope all of my constituents had a Happy Christmas and New Year. I know for many, this past year was difficult in many ways. However, I hope that the continuation of our remarkable vaccination programme, with a particular focus on booster jabs- will see us out of this pandemic for good. I hope that 2022 is a better year for everyone.
My office has been busy during 2021, and has dealt with almost 5300 individual constituent enquiries and helped with a wide range of problems. MP’s can assist their constituents in a variety of ways, from making private enquiries on your behalf, to raising matters publicly in the House of Commons. If you, or anyone you know, needs assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.
The 8th December marked one year since the first COVID-19 vaccine was given, here in the UK. Since then, 133,955,004 doses of the vaccine have been given- including 34,586,810 booster doses since September. I am especially pleased that GP Services in Mid and South Essex, have administered nearly 1.2million vaccinations since December 2020.
Since we began the ‘Get Boosted Now’ campaign in December, we have doubled the rate of vaccination from 450,000 doses a day to a peak of more than 900,000 per day.
This is a remarkable achievement, and I would like to extend my thanks to all the NHS workers, volunteers and community groups who have given their time to making this possible.
Everyone over the age of 18 is now eligible to receive their booster dose, providing their second dose was over 3 months ago. Getting your booster is the best way to protect yourself and those around you from the new Omicron variant.
Book your booster dose here.
Under our current situation, our vaccination programme is not yet at the point where we are able to do away with other measures. Unfortunately, due to the high infection rate of the Omicron variant, we have seen a large surge in coronavirus cases in the last couple of weeks.
It is particularly concerning that cases are unfortunately rising among the older and more vulnerable groups, with hospital admissions also rising, doubling around every 9 days. This will continue to put considerable pressure on our NHS.
Because of this, it is important that we continue with our balanced approach. I ask that those in my constituency continue to follow government guidance – by continuing to work from home where possible, wearing a face covering on public transport and indoor places, and regularly testing- especially before attending higher risk venues, or meeting those who are especially vulnerable.
Over 1,000 volunteers across mid and south Essex are giving their time to help the national vaccine effort- but we need lots more. As a volunteer, you can give as little or as much time as you want.
Our best defence against the new Omicron Variant is to speed up our booster jab rollout. In line with national ambitions, 370,000 booster jabs need to be offered across mid and south Essex by the end of the year. This is 40% higher than we have offered to date.
Up until now, we have administered around 7.5k vaccines a day – now we need to deliver around 22k a day. We made a good start in December, with more than double the usual number of jabs taking place each day.
Find out more about volunteering.
The free trade agreement between the UK and Australia was signed on the 16th December. This historic trade agreement marks a big step towards being an independent trading nation, and I am pleased that it will deliver benefits to many parts of the country, including here in the East of England.
The UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement could boost the East of England’s economy by around £140million, especially in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and medical and pharmaceutical industries. Last year more than 1,600 East of England businesses exported goods worth over £490million to Australia last year- the new free trade agreement will see this increase, and will support jobs and businesses all over our region.
I recently wrote to the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst, asking him to let me know what is being done to increase Police presence in Maldon.
He assured me that their Chief Inspector Scott-Haynes, is currently in negotiations with Maldon District Council to identify more space within the building to increase Essex Police’s footprint.
He informed me that the Essex Police has increased their policing teams through the precept increase for both Local Policing Teams and Community Policing Teams. He also informed me that the special constabulary support in the Maldon area has, and continues to grow. Currently there are 36 local policing team officers and 15 special constables using Maldon District Council as a permanent office. Negotiations are currently being led by Essex Police’s Head of Estates for a doubling of the available space at the council and plans have been drawn up on how this space will be used.
I am committed to making our constituency a safer place, and am pleased that steps are being taken by Essex Police to facilitate this – by increasing the number of police in our area.
