Our progress in getting to grips with the coronavirus has been steady and this week the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that the alert level has been lowered from 4 to 3 – a move I’m sure we all welcome. This is important, especially for those who have been shielding in total isolation for whom the end is in sight. At present, the guidance to shield will lift from 1st August, however, from the 6th July some of the stringent measures will be relaxed so people can begin to see family and friends. It will be a big change as those in this group won’t have left home at all in months and I personally can’t wait to see my parents - absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder! I know this has been incredibly tough and has challenged people’s mental health, so thank you to everyone who has made that sacrifice. We are not out of the woods yet and it is important that people follow the guidance closely and adhere to strict social distancing at all times when out of the home.
In other news, you may have seen the Prime Minister’s announcement that Whitehall is getting a shakeup, with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office merging with the Department for International Development. The ambition is to ensure that UK foreign policy is joined up and works in our strategic interest.
When the announcement was made the PM was clear that our development programme – currently set at 0.7% of GNI will not be decreased. Personally, I think that is a good thing as the UK has a remarkable international reputation for helping vulnerable people and those most in need with vital aid programmes.
In the last parliament, I visited Tanzania to see the impact of UK aid on the ground. Whilst there I saw the effect we were having on people’s lives; educating children, safeguarding women vulnerable to rape and assault in refugee camps, and developing trade and employment opportunities. All in all, our aid was providing people with hope. Children there, despite having so little, believed they could be anything, whether a doctor, or pilot, or most popular - a professional footballer. This aspiration and opportunity is thanks to the British people not giving up on them.
I am a huge supporter of our aid programme, however, we are accountable to British tax payers who want funding to be targeted, to do the most good for those in need, whilst also considering British interests. The new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be up and running in September.
