· Latest figures show over 6,000 more doctors and over 12,000 more nurses working in the NHS compared to last year.

· Part of the Government’s pledge to ensure there are 50,000 more nurses by 2024-25.

This year, many of us have been going out for walks or bike rides in order to exercise. It is also the cheapest and healthiest option to get somewhere if it’s not too far away. I support walking and cycling, noting that many Crawley residents do walk to their local shops or to the town centre, with a much smaller number cycling. If we can encourage more people to walk and cycle while making it easier and safer, then that’s great.

The last four months have been very challenging in many ways. For some people, loneliness which may have been an issue before, may have become more severe. For others, it may have become a new issue since the Coronavirus outbreak.

It is great to see many more local shops opening up this week for the first time in nearly three months. While it isn’t possible for every premises and every type of outlet to reopen, this is real progress. Getting more people back to work, supporting local businesses, and getting our economy moving is vitally important.

· The Government is providing £300 million to local authorities in England to develop plans to keep the spread of coronavirus under control in local areas.
· West Sussex County Council to receive £3,178,715 as part of the launch of the wider NHS Test and Trace Service.

Henry Smith MP has led a group of cross-party MPs in writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer urging him to agree a customised and flexible extension to the furlough scheme for the aviation, travel and tourism industries.

It is good news that the Coronavirus outbreak is well past its peak and on the decline, thanks to everyone’s efforts to stay at home as much as possible over the last couple of months. Social distancing remains important, but it is also important for people’s health and wellbeing to get outdoors to exercise and enjoy the sunshine.

The scale of government support for our town during the coronavirus outbreak has been unprecedented and very welcome. In total, government support for UK local government and communities since the beginning of the pandemic has been almost £27 billion. This includes direct support for our local councils, emergency funding to support rough sleepers, business rates relief, and grants for small business.

· Government is providing an additional £600 million to help reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in care homes
· West Sussex set to receive £13,362,642 as part of this package
· Part of wider support for care home residents and staff, including protecting wages and access to PPE training

The fortitude and community spirit that the majority of people here in Crawley have shown over these last two months has been truly commendable. We hear heart-breaking news each day but the corner has been turned and thankfully the pandemic is claiming less victims each week. We’ve all played a part in limiting the transmission of the coronavirus and it’s still up to us to continue this, as we practice social distancing until such time that enough progress has been made to reduce this practice.