WITH the reopening of indoor hospitality this week and the bulk of local businesses trading once more, it truly feels as if we are emerging from our nearly five-month long lockdown hibernation in anticipation of a summer of fun and festivity.

In the House of Commons, there is also a feeling of renewal with the beginning of a new parliamentary session marked by the Queen’s Speech outlining the Government’s draft laws and proposals for new legislation. The Speech focused on the people’s priorities and will help the Government deliver on pledges made in the General Election, which helped pave the way for the overwhelming Conservative majority.

In the coming months, Bills will be presented to Parliament that spread economic growth and opportunity more fairly across all regions of the country, fight crime with tougher sentences, widen home ownership, create new adult retraining and skills options, and improve broadband and mobile services.

Having lobbied Ministers to support York’s health service to prevent a backlog of non-Covid care, I am reassured by the planned Health and Care Bill that will join up care across different NHS bodies, and improve access to health technology and new innovations. Given recent significant funding boosts for York NHS, with nearly £6.5 million for upgrades across York Hospital Trust and A&E in late 2020, I am especially pleased by the firm confirmation that all necessary funding is guaranteed to tackle coronavirus.

It is also a period of new beginnings at the Office of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire Police following the election of the Conservative candidate Philip Allott. I have campaigned for Philip for over a year and recently welcomed him to the constituency, alongside the Home Secretary Priti Patel MP, to discuss the Government’s efforts to clamp down on pet thefts. I look forward to working with Philip on local priorities, such as ensuring our suburbs and villages see increased patrols as North Yorkshire Police continue their recruitment drive; improving the 101 non-emergency service leading to shorter response times; and more action to tackle antisocial behaviour. I would like to thank Julia Mulligan for her service over the past nine years and for her assistance on cases I raised with her.

While the relaxation of lockdown gives us reason to be optimistic, I am disappointed for local travel agents regarding the limits of the green travel list and have pushed for transparency from the Government so the public can independently assess the data behind each country’s allocation. I raised this matter at Transport Questions following on from Leeds-based airline Jet2 announcing that it was cancelling all flights until the end of June, citing ongoing uncertainty. I support the premise of a traffic light system but it should enable our travel industry to plan confidently; otherwise the international travel sector may be more restricted this summer than last despite our incredible vaccine rollout.

Having previously raised support for the travel sector at Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions, I am setting up meetings with the Secretary of State as well as the Aviation Minister following visits to Conexo Travel in Haxby and Savannah Travel in Fulford. This will allow me to directly pass on the experience of businesses in York and I will be lobbying for whatever support they require to weather this storm until regular business can resume.

The key to unlocking further international travel and to reclaiming our freedoms from restrictions has always been our hugely successful vaccine programme. While there has been concern about the new Indian variant, all evidence at the time of writing indicates that the vaccine offers protection against this new strain of coronavirus. This could not be displayed more strikingly than the widely shared BBC map of vaccine take-up in Bolton compared to a map of new cases in the city.

This is why it is so important that as soon as you are eligible that you book your appointment. By the end of the week, all over-35s should be able to book online at the NHS website putting us firmly on target for all adults to receive a dose by the end of July. The vaccine saves lives so please don’t delay.