Another Covid outbreak has occurred in the Mid Norfolk food processing sector – this time at Cranswick Foods in Watton.

(Exactly as I feared and warned was likely to happen during the Banham Poultry outbreak back I in the summer because of:

• Slow centralised response of NHS Track and Trace of staff after that Banham Poultry outbreak
• Lack of staff furlough support
• Lack of culling compensation for affected companies)

That’s why I am working closely with Breckland Council, Norfolk County Council and Public Health Norfolk’s Gold Command Taskforce to ensure this time that LOCAL agencies are allowed to run the operation in order to:

• Move FAST to isolate the disease and Track and Trace staff who need to isolate
• Help avoid lockdown of Watton
• Get the Cranswick Foods plant back up and running as safely and as fast as possible

We cannot have another unnecessarily long and damaging shutdown – as we had at Banham Poultry in Attleborough.

Rest assured, I am working tirelessly on this issue and will provide further updates soon.

To read my letter to the Secretary of States at DHSC and DEFRA, please click here.

No child should ever go hungry in Britain. Ensuring that is a test of our collective decency and humanity. We are living through a national crisis. With so many people suffering as a result of this crisis, all of us want to make sure the most vulnerable are protected. That instinct for helping each other in times of crisis is the bedrock of our shared values of compassion and shared humanity as a nation.

This is a crisis the like of which none of us have ever seen.  It calls for unprecedented measures: that’s why I totally support the PM and Chancellor of the Exchequer in taking the unprecedented step of spending “whatever it takes” to get us through the crisis stronger and more united, and to “Build Back Better”.

This virus and the economic lockdown to control it has hit every family in Britain. But it has hit the poor and the vulnerable hardest of all.

As a One Nation Conservative – author of our Values Declaration which the PM backed and fought the election on as a One Nation Conservative last year – I believe it is vital that we do whatever it takes to ensure the Covid crisis doesn’t widen and entrench the opportunity gap and disproportionately hold back the less advantaged.

Marcus Rashford has led a truly inspiring campaign and I was proud to support him in the summer and work with my colleague Rob Halfon MP to call for Free School Meal vouchers when schools were closed in the summer. That was the right thing to do.

Last week the Opposition used its weekly Thursday afternoon debate to criticise the Government and call for the FSM scheme to be extended.  As with every Opposition motion attacking the Government there is a 3 line Whip to vote against it.

I raised with Ministers the importance of ensuring proper support for the most vulnerable children at risk of food poverty.

Ministers gave clear undertakings that:

• The Government has made available over £9bn in additional welfare payments targeted at the most vulnerable families
• Councils have been given over £63m for support for Covid relief including local food box relief targeted at the most vulnerable (£1m for Norfolk - but I have since discovered much of this has already been spent.)
• The Government is introducing a new School Support Fund to help schools continue to offer breakfast clubs and support to vulnerable families
• Ministers and officials believe this is a better way to target support at the most in need. (Free School Meal Vouchers don’t help families with children of pre-school age and are a complex and problematic mechanism because they involve the Government telling parents what is and is not considered an essential purchase, whereas cash via benefits, and food parcels via councils, is more targeted.) 

On the basis of these assurances I was persuaded to allow my proxy vote to go by default for the Government’s weekly three line Whip routine rejection of the Opposition Day motion attacking the Government.

With hindsight I think that was a mistake. Last week was not a moment for tribal political games in Parliament.  We should have had a proper debate about how best to target support quickly to the most in need. Last week’s tribal Parliamentary politics let down a nation looking for a spirit of joint working for the common good.

Having funded “eat out to help out” this summer, I cannot see why the £20m cost of free school meal vouchers for Half Term is prohibitive.

That’s why I’m now calling for the Government to:

• accept we misjudged the mood and got this wrong last week
• thank Marcus Rashford for his work, and thank the many businesses and residents providing food to local food banks
• commit to funding free school meals this half term and through to Easter
• AND continue to ensure that all children and families are supported through the £9bn of extra funding for the benefits system, local council support and the new School Fund.

Politics isn’t just about doing the right thing but being seen to do the right thing and reinforcing the best values of our nation through this crisis.

The nation is looking for the Government to match the spirit of community support for the most vulnerable - which I am proud we have largely done for the last six months through the unprecedented support from the Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Whilst there are genuine policy challenges with how to target the right help through the benefits system to those most in need - this week - when parents face Half Term without school meals - is not the time to have the debate.  The immediate priority should be avoiding any child going hungry.

—

Finally, this last week has unleashed some foul and vicious personal attacks on MPs via social media which only serve to inflame tensions and entrench positions.  I know and understand that the whole country is feeling the pressure and anxiety about the next few months. Tensions are high.

But the idea that I and other MPs who took a similar view of last week’s vote don’t care about poor children going hungry is unfair - and some of the attacks on MPs as “child killers” is excessive and unacceptable.

As a One Nation Conservative I am deeply committed to social justice, fairness and a deep belief that with privilege in life comes added responsibility.   This is the core of my mission as a Member of Parliament and your representative in Mid Norfolk. It’s why on each election night I make so much of my pledge to represent EVERYONE in Mid Norfolk equally: regardless of whether or not they support me. 

I believe that is fundamental to try and restore trust in our Parliamentary democracy.

Covid is a huge challenge for us all – and particularly the future of our Market Towns and High Streets.

That’s why I was delighted to meet with Stuart Green, the Mayor of Dereham, on Friday evening to discuss a longer term Partnership of the key stakeholders in the town, and a longer term strategy for how we can make sure the community thrives and prospers.

A lot of great work has been done by the Town Council already and, with the support of our local councils, councillors and community groups like the aboutDereham Partnership, I am certain that we can help Dereham develop a Vision for itself – one that has at its heart a beautiful, more pedestrianised High Street and Market Place, with businesses growing around it and all of the fantastic opportunities they will bring for residents, especially our youngsters.

To learn more, please view the video below.

Every week, someone working in UK farming takes their own life.

There’s a tsunami of anxiety in the rural industries – a vital component of our wider Norfolk and Eastern economie – as farmers face a ‘perfect storm’ of:

• Brexit Trade uncertainty
• Threat of cheap food imports from “Free Trade”
• Extreme weather and climate change
• Bans on crop protection products
• Quango bureaucracy

That’s why I was delighted to join the latest event of Lloyds Banking Group’s “The Big Conversation” programme – which aims to bring together local voices including MPs, farming leaders and financial experts to explore the road to economic recovery in the region.

We ALL need to #BackBritishFarming if we are to help face and overcome the challenges facing this key industry and tackle the iceberg of silent mental health suffering that affects so many working within it.

To read more about the event, please view the EDP article here and here

To learn more about my previous participation in the programme (in Lloyds Banking Group’s ‘Mental Health in Agriculture’ webinar), please click here

To learn more about my work on the Agriculture Bill, Trade and Farming and Food Standards, please click here and here    

While I am very proud that we have managed to secure the £300 million required for the first phase of A47 dualling and improvement schemes, it is imperative that we now get the rest dualled in order to improve safety and ensure that Norfolk has the 21st century transport system it deserves. Only then can we unlock the true economic potential of our great county.

We must also hold Highways England, and those working with them on the improvement works, to account to ensure that the committed schemes are delivered in a timely fashion – with proper mitigation packages put in place to support the communities affected before, during and after construction. (To learn more about my work with a local A47 Rat-Running Taskforce, please click here)

That’s why I was delighted to join the latest A47 Alliance meeting (virtually on this occasion) – speaking up for businesses and residents in Norfolk, and working with local councillors, council officials, business leaders and community groups as part of our ongoing efforts to drive forward this crucial campaign (both here in Norfolk, as well as in Westminster).

Six years after the £300 million was committed, we are still awaiting the commencement of construction on these vital schemes – including the key North Tuddenham-Easton dualling works in Mid Norfolk. Meanwhile, people are dying in tragic accidents and business investment is on hold.

Rest assured, I remain firmly committed to pursuing this campaign in the weeks and months ahead.

Pubs are so often at the heart of our communities and rural heritage, playing a key part in keeping our villages and towns vibrant.

That’s why I was delighted to support the Gressenhall Community Enterprise (GCE)’s campaign to save The Swan Pub in their village – which will now return to its traditional name of The White Swan.

Having launched a community share scheme in the summer, the GCE exceeded all expectations and raised an outstanding £260,000 in just six weeks! 420 different investors contributed! On top of that, they have been awarded £100,000 by the ‘More than a Pub’ scheme run by the Plunkett Foundation!

The pub, which dates back to 1790, will now be refurbished and transformed into a vibrant hub to meet, eat and drink – showcasing what can be achieved when a community comes together with a shared aim and a passion for delivering it.

Serving locally sourced, reasonably price food and beverages, the pub will be utilising intelligent design and technologies to create a highly energy efficient building – as the GCE aspire to a net-zero operating model. It will also host a number of informal and organised community events as part of the GCE’s drive to enhance community cohesion and reduce loneliness.

To stay up to date with all of the exciting progress, please do visit the campaign’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and website

The GCE’s most recent Blog posts can be found here and here as well.

Well done to the GCE and all those who have supported them! I very much look forward to enjoying a meal and a pint there in the (Covid permitting!) not too distant future.

(Here are some photos from the outstanding fundraising campaign…)

As society looks to move towards a much greener and healthier way of life, the importance of public transport is undoubtedly going to play a huge role in helping people get about. So are walking and cycling routes, which for too long have been overlooked.

That’s why I welcomed the opportunity today to speak with senior staff at Highways England, as well as representatives of the team responsible for walking and cycle routes at Norfolk County Council, about future opportunities in Mid Norfolk.

A number of our local councils are undertaking exciting work looking at how existing routes can be improved and new routes added, and I am keen to support them with that in any way I can. The significance of these routes will only increase in the years ahead – and it is key that our planning system actively seeks to encourage their development if we are to combat the traffic congestion problems already affecting many of our communities, reduce the number of polluting vehicles on our roads and get people into much more active and healthier lifestyles.

How about a proper cycling and walking Plan for Mid Norfolk? One that better connects our communities and caters for commuters, tourists and school children alike!

Rest assured, I look forward to continuing this conversation with our local leaders and community groups in the months ahead.

We all deserve to feel safe in our own homes – and that includes from the scourge that is flooding!

That’s why, over the years, I have spoken out on behalf of those in my constituency who have been affected by this issue – raising their cases and queries with the relevant authorities, as well as campaigning for greater recognition of the problem in planning legislation and lobbying departments to support those who have suffered as a result of flooding events.

While this is an issue that has impacted various different parts of Mid Norfolk over my time as an MP, I am aware that the Watton and Wayland area is home to some particularly bad ‘black spots’ – and that some of those have been very adversely affected over the past few weeks and months.

It is for that reason that I have been in regular contact with the Watton Neighbourhood Plan Drainage Working Group – who work tirelessly to represent affected businesses and residents, and provide vital local knowledge to those at Norfolk County Council’s Flooding Department, the Environment Agency, Anglian Water and others who are responsible for developing proper mitigation plans aimed at preventing further flooding in future.

I am pleased to report that the Watton Neighbourhood Plan Drainage Working Group are part of the National Flooding Forum organisation and have therefore been contributing to it submission to the Government’s ‘Planning for the Future’ consultation.

In support of the Working Group, I yesterday sent the NFF’s submission directly to the Secretary of State himself too – and highlighted how existing communities like Watton, Carbrooke and Saham Toney (along with any future developments in the years to come) deserve better protections.

The planning system is the first place those protections should be, and that’s why I emphasised the need for greater importance to be given to the issues of surface and drainage water flooding going forward.

If YOU have been adversely affected by flooding this year, please do get in touch. The more information groups like the Drainage Working Group and local authorities have, the better chance we have of developing the mitigation plans required to prevent such problems in the months and years to come.