Last weekend saw the lifting of many of the lockdown restrictions that we have being living under for the past three and half months. For the first time our pubs, restaurants and hairdressers opened.

There were some understandable concerns about the potential for people leaving the Leicester lockdown area and visiting Hinckley and Bosworth to enjoy our facilities, I reported to you last week that I had liaised with our local LPU Commander and the Chief Constable about this.

The weekend passed largely without incident and I would like to place on record my thanks not only to Leicestershire Police but to all of you who overwhelmingly followed the new guidance to the letter.

On Thursday the Government announced the further lifting of restrictions for outdoor theatre and dance venues, grassroots sports, swimming pools, gyms, tanning salons, beauticians and tattooists over the coming weeks.

Earlier in the week the Chancellor announced a whole package of financial measures to support our economy and to get us helping out by eating out.

I‘m sure that we will all be looking forward to these steps and I would urge you to have an enjoyable, safe summer.

Aside from that this week I have:

• Asked the Treasury Minister about bounce back loans and SMEs forced to make redundancies.
• Took part in the Health and Social Care Select Committee.
• Asked the Foreign Office Minister about human rights in Bahrain and globally.
• Asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about what lessons he had learnt from the Leicester lockdown?
• Met with leaders from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College to talk about post-16 education in a world recovering from covid-19.
• Had a ministerial briefing from the Department for International Trade about UK-US trade talks.
• Virtually met with the Leicester and Leicestershire Dementia Group to talk about support for younger people diagnosed with dementia.
• Had a meeting with representatives of the Campaign to Reopen the Ivanhoe Line to understand how I can best help them secure the reopening of the line.
• Met with the Zoos Minister to continue to support Twycross Zoo.
• Held a meeting with the Hinckley and Bosworth School Sport & Physical Activity Network to discuss the future of Primary PE and Sport Premium funding.
• Had my regular meeting with other local MPs and management from George Eliot Hospital.