The Prime Minister has announced his five key priorities for the year ahead - halving inflation, growing the economy, decreasing national debt and NHS waiting lists and stopping small boats that cross the channel illegally. Lots of these issues affect people right across Hertford and Stortford and I know many will be relieved to see them addressed and tackled so head on.
In Westminster, the Minimum Service Levels Bill has also been a huge topic of recent focus. It will ensure that vital services, such as health, fire and rescue and transport services, maintain a basic level of function when workers strike. To be clear, this is not about stopping workers’ right to strike. That freedom, of course, needs to be defended. However it must now be balanced with the public’s right to access critical and life saving services. This is especially true when I think of the most vulnerable in our community.
Locally, I held an urgent meeting with Greater Anglia to push for better rail replacement provisions. This came after their announcement not to run replacement buses along the Hertford East/Liverpool Street line during five days of planned engineering works last month. People need to know that the right provisions will be provided for them, wherever and whenever their journeys are affected. I am glad Greater Anglia has taken this feedback from our meeting onboard and is now working towards making sure this does not happen again. They are working with Network Rail to help put better long term contingency plans in place and looking at securing additional rail replacement bus service capacity so that alternative options can always be provided. They also reaffirmed their commitment to working with me to improve services for passengers on the Hertford East line. I continue to monitor this closely and will be sure to update you on any developments.
I am hosting a roundtable for local businesses this month too. It is the perfect opportunity for them to raise any challenges they’re facing, and for me to look at how I can help. The event is taking place at a venue near Hertford on Friday 3rd February from 3pm to 4pm. Please get in touch if you would like to come.
We are now temporarily without a post office in Ware town. Morrisons’ haste to shut it down meant this would, unfortunately, always be the case. I did look at getting Post Office vans to visit Ware in the meantime, but none were available. I have had several urgent meetings to push the Post Office and other stakeholders for action since, and am pleased there continues to be more promising news as a result. Discussions with final applicants to host the new premises are taking place. As soon as a successful applicant has been chosen, more details will be shared. My Facebook group ‘Save Ware High Street’s Post Office’ is the best place to stay updated.