Is it too soon to say the worst of Omicron is over? Covid will no doubt always be with us in some form, but expert opinion seems increasingly confident that the Omicron peak may have passed.
Hospital admissions appear to have plateaued and are slowly decreasing, helped by the fact that 91% of over-12s having now received at least their first vaccination nationally. Here in Gloucestershire that figure is even higher. And in my last briefing with local hospital bosses, there were no patients in Cheltenham or Gloucester ICU. That’s really encouraging news.
The UK is likely to be the first northern hemisphere country to emerge from pandemic status. Whilst this is not a competition, it is helped by the fact we are the most boosted country in the G7. We also have very strong supplies of antivirals, which helps limit the severity of cases.
Meanwhile, the economy has surged back, and jobless figures in Cheltenham are now lower than they were before the pandemic.
All this is positive, but now is the time to confront the critical issues that are approaching – issues around the cost of living. That’s why, this week, I met the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to discuss measures that I want to see to support the people of Cheltenham with fuel bills. Global gas wholesale prices are beyond our control of course, but there are things Government can and should do to support those who are struggling.
As I reminded him, Cheltenham has three neighbourhoods which are in the bottom decile of income per head anywhere in our country. They will be hit hardest of all.
Support is already in place in the form of the Warm Home Discount, launched in April 2011, which has helped over 2.2 million low-income and vulnerable households, including individuals with a disability. Then there’s the Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment too.
But we need to go further, and I will continue to work with the Chancellor to help him deliver practical solutions.