Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond's Letter from Westminster

From then, non-essential shops can open, and hairdressers – something I am very much looking forward to. Perhaps in the years to come ‘lockdown locks’ might become a style but certainly not now.

Also reopening will be pubs and restaurants but they can only serve customers outside, so wrap up warm. It’s not perfect and it’s not normality but it’s another step in the right direction.

Other good news is outdoor attractions such as Marwell Zoo, in my constituency, and theme parks will be allowed to reopen. Libraries and community centres can open their doors, domestic overnight stays and self-catering UK holidays are allowed and funerals can take place with 30 guests and weddings can have 15 guests.

Of course, this is happening because the government tests have been met which basically means that ministers and experts are satisfied coronavirus rates are low.

But it does not mean the pandemic is over and it is still the case other restrictions remain and these are: no travel abroad is allowed for leisure, there is still to be no mixing of households or bubbles indoors, hotels and B&Bs remain closed and, crucially, social distancing and face masks rules remain in place.

I list them because it is important we remain vigilant. The vaccination programme in the UK, has been incredible with more than half of the population given a first dose but millions have not had the jab and risk catching covid, spreading it, becoming seriously ill from it and potentially even dying.

It is these concerns and that a new variant might render the vaccines less effective that led me to support the extension to the Coronavirus regulations in parliament recently. It allows retired doctors, for example, to continue to help the NHS for longer and allows the Government to act quickly, if necessary. All things I mentioned when I spoke in the debate on the extension.

We have a clear framework with the roadmap and a real desire to ensure we do not lockdown again but we know that there remain things out of our control. We need to only see what is happening in Europe to understand there are real risks. No-one saw the Kent Covid variant coming and so caution is the watchword even as we move towards further relaxation of restrictions.

Also, in Westminster, late last month we had a statement from the Foreign Secretary about putting Magnitsky rules restrictions on Chinese officials in the Xianjiang region.

The Government has been very concerned about the treatment and repression of the Uighur population in the province and has identified four Chinese government officials who have investments overseas. China has now banned some of my colleagues from travelling to China in retaliation. Just a few days ago, in another unwelcome escalation, the BBC’s Beijing correspondent John Sudworth was forced to leave China following harassment, surveillance and threats of legal action.

I also recently met with Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney from the teachers’ union the NEU to talk about the future of assessment and the curriculum, particularly post-Covid.

Too many of our young people are not being given the skills for the modern world and too many are dropping out. I am working with many educators to look at how we can change our education system.

Flick Drummond MP

Member of Parliament for Meon Valley