It was deeply disturbing to hear the Prime Minister say that the Covid-19 emergency would mean many families would lose loved ones before their time. And there can be no doubt that the measures that have been brought in to tackle this virus are causing severe disruption for very many people.
But the best scientific advice is that this will help us slow the disease and save lives. We need to do all we can to protect the elderly and those with health conditions which make Covid-19 especially dangerous for them.
At all stages, the Government is being guided by the science and we have some of the leading scientists in the world providing expert advice. We also have one of the best healthcare systems in the world with staff who are hugely professional and dedicated. I want to express my thanks to all NHS workers as they cope with increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases.
I have raised many issues in Parliament since my last e-newsletter: I called for more help for the self-employed during this crisis; I urged the Foreign Secretary of get Brits stranded aboard back home; I appealed for action to ensure that everyone who is ill or self-isolating can have food delivered at home; I demanded the best standard of personal protection equipment for NHS and social care workers; and I advocated a big expansion in testing for Covid-19. A number of video clips from Parliament can be viewed on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theresavillierscb.
Of course there is great anxiety about loss of income caused by self-isolation and the new measures on social distancing. The Government wants to ensure people are not penalised for doing the right thing. A £330 billion package to help businesses and keep workers in jobs is going ahead, in addition to the plans set out in the Budget. Yesterday the Chancellor announced substantial support for self-employed workers. Nowhere else in the world has such a generous scheme for self-employed people.
These support measures are unprecedented in our peacetime history and the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have said that they will do “whatever it takes” to get the economy through this trauma.
We all now need do our bit to reduce the harmful effects of this virus and keep ourselves and others safe.
A link to the Covid-19 pages of the www.gov.uk website can be found here which sets out the latest information. Advice from the NHS is available here. Guidance on local matters related to Covid-19 can be found here on the Barnet Council website. For non-medical queries relating to Covid-19, Barnet Council can be contacted on [email protected] or 0808 281 3210.
Some suggestions on how to volunteer to help people during the Covid emergency are on my website here.
The health threat we are now facing is as bad as any for a hundred years. Although the situation feels very grim, this country has endured many difficult times in our history, and shown that we can come together in a shared national effort. We will rise to the challenge and we will get through this.
With warmest wishes
Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers
Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet
Villiers welcomes Government help for self-employed people
Responding to concerns raised by constituents, Theresa Villiers MP has spoken up in Parliament to ask for more help for self-employed people during the Covid-19 outbreak….
Speech in Parliament on Covid-19 crisis
In the debate in Parliament on emergency legislation on Coronavirus, Theresa Villiers MP highlighted the vital importance of providing the best personal protection equipment for NHS workers...
Police must keep up the pressure against muggings in Barnet
Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has called for more police action to stop muggings, following over 50 attacks on local children and young people….
Campaign to clean up air quality in Barnet
Cleaning up the air we breathe is a vital element of Theresa Villiers' plan for improving life in Barnet. In this article on her website she sets out some of her recent work on this issue….
Call for justice for Tamils at the UN Human Rights Council
In the final days before the Covid-19 crisis hit, Theresa Villiers visited the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to lobby for justice for Tamils who were the victims of war crimes during the Sri Lankan civil war….
High rise blocks for New Barnet Victoria Quarter are "a betrayal"
Revised plans to develop Victoria Quarter, the former gas works in New Barnet’s Albert Road, will be strongly opposed by MP Theresa Villiers because high-rise blocks of flats would be an overdevelopment of the site.
How to contact Theresa
Your local MP and her team are working hard to respond to constituents’ concerns, both on Covid-19 and the other issues routinely raised with MPs. We have, however, had to adopt some changes to working practices to reflect the latest public health guidance.
If you need Theresa’s help you will need to email her on [email protected], ring her constituency office on 020 8449 7345, or write to Theresa Villiers MP, 163 High Street, Barnet, Herts, EN5 5SU.
Face-to-face surgery meetings are still possible, where they are absolutely necessary, but these are being kept to a minimum to reduce risk and to comply with the rules on social distancing. Surgeries will therefore generally take place by phone. That means that Theresa’s regular drop-in surgery that normally happens on the first Saturday of the month has been cancelled for April and May. No surgery face-to-face meetings will take place without a pre-booked appointment.
