Andrew Jones Archives - Page 18 of 21

‘A costly PR stunt’: calls for an inquiry into Harrogate Nightingale

A senior politician from Ripon has described the Harrogate Nightingale as a “costly PR stunt”, amid calls for an inquiry.

Lord Newby’s criticism comes after NHS England said this week the hospital, which cost £27 million to set up, would be decommissioned at the end of the month.

It has not treated a single covid patient, prompting calls for an inquiry.

Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, said:

“The Nightingales were a costly PR stunt.

“They could never be used as planned because there was never the staffing for them. They were introduced because the government was desperate to be seen to be responding effectively to the pandemic, which at the time looked to be potentially out of control.

“The Harrogate Nightingale should have been closed months ago, in order to avoid the high cost of maintenance and so that Harrogate could begin to plan for its reopening.”

Jim Clark, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Harlow on Harrogate Borough Council, repeated his

call for an inquiry on BBC Look North yesterday.

He told the programme:

“It wasn’t an insurance policy in Harrogate because we didn’t have the staff to man it and I think it’s then been discovered that as soon as it was built it wasn’t essentially fit for purpose.”

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones and Richard Cooper, leader of the Conservative-controlled Harrogate Borough Council whether they supported calls for an inquiry. Neither replied.

Asked the same question on Look North, Cllr Cooper said the location of the Nightingale Hospitals was likely to be considered as part of a wider covid inquiry. He added:

“But we’ve been pleased to host the Nightingale and to host the thousands of diagnostic tests that have been carried out there.”

Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, supported calls for an inquiry, adding:

“Over a decade of Conservative cuts has led to an NHS operating on a shoestring. Whether there was ever the staff to run such a Nightingale hospital, should it have been toward full capacity, needs to be made clear.”

Margaret Smith, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, said the Nightingales were “a legitimate insurance policy” in the early days of covid when it seemed hospitals could be overwhelmed. She added:

“There seems little point in wasting any more public money on an inquiry at this stage.”

Matt Hancock praises Harrogate’s rapid vaccine response

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has praised the speed of the covid vaccination rollout in the Harrogate district.

Responding to a question in the House of Commons yesterday from Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, Mr Hancock said health staff in the district had done an “amazing job” delivering the vaccine.

He said it meant Harrogate had a higher number of residents vaccinated than the national average.

Mr Hancock said:

“May I put on the record my thanks to the team in Harrogate, who have done an amazing job vaccinating over 30,000 people — more than the national average, if my memory serves me correctly?

“I thank my honourable friend for his leadership in Harrogate and for supporting the team there to make this happen.”

Mr Jones had asked if the UK was on track to give everyone their second dose of the vaccine within 12 weeks of the first. Mr Hancock said it was.

Data published last week by NHS England revealed that 48,000 people in the Harrogate district have now received one of the approved vaccines.

Harrogate, Ripon, and now Knaresborough, all have vaccination sites.

In an interview with the Stray Ferret, Dr Chris Preece, a GP partner in Boroughbridge and Knaresborough, said that Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground site was able to carry out up to 1,800 vaccinations a day.

MPs watch: vaccines, coup d’etats and aphrodisiac takeaways

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In February the vaccination programme galloped ahead and prime minister Boris Johnson announced the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown.

We asked the district’s Conservative MPs- Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

Andrew Jones, Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

The MP published his annual report for 2020 which included facts and figures related to his last year in office. He wrote on his website that many copies had been emailed rather than posted as he “does not believe volunteer political leaflet delivery is an essential journey”.
On February 2 Andrew Jones called for a debate in parliament about the conference industry after seeing the “real hardship” his constituents have faced.
On February 12 Mr Jones wrote on his website that by that point 175,000 vaccinations had been delivered in North Yorkshire and York.
Mr Jones chaired a Parliamentary Export Programme webinar, which included a talk from Greg Hatton from Harrogate Spring Water. ‘Exporting is fun!’, the MP told participants.
On February 24, The MP voted down an amendment to the Fire Safety Bill which would have banned leaseholders from being forced to pay for cladding remediation works.
Writing on his website on February 22, Mr Jones praised the government for the vaccination rollout. He wrote: “Although locked down with our everyday lives much restricted there is a palpable sense of relief in the air.”

Conservative Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

At PMQs on February 10, Mr Smith asked prime minister Boris Johnson how the UK’s vaccine supply chain will cope if the virus mutates. In his response, Mr Johnson said the UK is going to have to get used to the idea of vaccinating and then revaccinating in the autumn as it faces new variants.
7 of Mr Smith’s 11 tweets in February were related to Northern Ireland. February 13 marks a year since he was sacked by the prime minister as Northern Ireland secretary.
Mr Smith announced on Twitter that his father-in-law has gifted him and his wife an ‘aphrodisiac themed’ take away meal to be delivered on Valentine’s Day.
The MP asked people in Ripon to contribute to a consultation on flood defences following Storm Cristophe.
On his Facebook page, he said the £60m scheme to improve the Kex Gill section of the A59 was “brilliant news” for Skipton and Ripon.

Nigel Adams, Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, he is what we found on Mr Adams:

The Minister for Asia twice summoned the Myanmar ambassador Kyaw Zwar Minn to his office following the country’s military coup earlier this month. On February 23 he tweeted: “The increasing use of violence & force against protesters by the security forces is completely reprehensible & must stop”.
Mr Adams paid tribute to Captain Tom Moore following his death at the age of 100. He wrote: “RIP. A true British hero”.
The MP praised the BBC for showing a film of the rock band Muse. “Fantastic”, he tweeted.
In written ministerial answers, Mr Adams discussed foreign powers and fake news. He wrote: “We know that certain states routinely use disinformation as a foreign policy tool and we all have our doubts about the objectivity of the reporting of RT, including through their UK television channel, which remains a tool of propaganda for the Russian State.”

Andrew Jones MP calls for debate on stricken conference sector

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has called for a Commons debate on the stricken conference industry.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Jones said the sector was “central to the economy” of both towns he represented but faced “real hardship” due to the pandemic.

Mr Jones said:

“One sector of business that has faced real hardship is the conference industry, a sector with a long and diverse supply chain, ranging from hospitality to exhibition stand construction.

“Please may we have a debate about that sector, to consider what can be done to ensure that it bounces back quickly, as it is so important for jobs and it is central to the economy of not only Harrogate and Knaresborough, but, of course, other constituencies around the UK?”

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg did not agree to the request but said event venues and organisers could make use of initiatives such as the furlough scheme and various grants.

He added:

“I join my honourable friend in praising the Harrogate convention centre for becoming a Nightingale hospital and therefore being able to help the community widely.”

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and Humber, based at Harrogate Convention Centre.

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber, based at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Judith Rogerson, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for Harrogate and Knaresborough, described Mr Rees-Mogg’s response as “wholly inadequate”.

She added:

“It is striking that Jacob Rees-Mogg’s response on behalf of the government does not answer the question.

“Instead he has talked about the Harrogate Convention Centre helping the community by becoming a Nightingale hospital.

“I’d like to know what the government has planned to help restore the convention centre so it is ready to re-open again as soon as it is safe to do so.”

The convention centre was turned into a Nightingale hospital at breakneck speed last spring for covid patients in Yorkshire and the Humber, but has yet to treat a single person with coronavirus. It has been used for CT scans.

Knock-on effect

The effects of the pandemic on the conferences and events sector in the town have been profound, with several businesses closing their doors for good.

The Kimberley Hotel closed in December, citing the impact of covid and in October family events firm Joe Manby Ltd folded after 46 years.

This month would have seen the convention centre host the BIGGA turf management exhibition, which is an annual three-day conference for green-keepers that is one of the year’s biggest money-spinners for Harrogate — with hotels full and bar tills ringing.

Mr Jones urged Boris Johnson to provide financial support for the conference and exhibition industry at Prime Minister’s Questions last year but that plea also went unheeded.

MPs watch: lockdown three and hopes for the vaccine

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In January the third national lockdown has dominated life in the district, with non-essential retail and hospitality closing and the majority of school children now being taught from home.

We asked Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, Ripon MP Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

On January 13, Mr Jones revealed on his website that he had visited the Great Yorkshire Showground to check on progress with the vaccination programme. At that point, he said the site had vaccinated over 3,000 people at a rate between 125 and 135 people per hour.
Writing on his website later in January, he called the latest lockdown the one “nobody wanted”. However, he said the vaccines now provide “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Mr Jones was contacted by a constituent in Knaresborough who told him that she had received two pre-packed sandwiches, two mini yoghurts, an apple, an orange and two potatoes to feed her son for five days. ‘This simply isn’t good enough,’ the MP wrote on his website.
At a Commons debate on the Financial Services Bill on January 13, Mr Jones spoke about the cycle of debt that some constituents become trapped in. He said debt is “sometimes very easy to get into and very hard to break out of.”
He voted in favour of the ‘authorisation of criminal conduct’ clause in the Criminal Conduct Bill that gives protection to police or MI5 agents working undercover to commit criminal acts “where it is necessary and appropriate”.
On January 26, Mr Jones voted down an amendment to the Environment Bill to enshrine air pollution limits in law.
Mr Jones met virtually with fellow MPs and figures from the rail industry as part of his role as co-chair of the Transport Across the North APPG.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority published its latest annual report of MPs expenses which revealed that in 2019/20, Mr Jones spent £174,597.97 on accommodation, office, staffing, staff absence, travel and other costs.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

The Ripon MP was appointed an external advisor to a green energy company at a rate of between £1,000 and £2,000 per hour. It’s the second lucrative advisory position he has taken in a year. Both companies have ties to Ireland, where Mr Smith spent time as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 2019/20.
Mr Smith tweeted 13 times in January, including a tweet that marked a year since he helped to broker a historic power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland.
He retweeted celebrity PE teacher Joe Wicks announcing his return to YouTube.
He also voted in line with the government on its controversial ‘authorisation of criminal conduct’ clause in the Criminal Conduct Bill.
The expenses report revealed Mr Smith spent £170,235.42 last year.
Mr Smith was interviewed on the BBC’s Today Programme on Saturday criticising the EU’s decision (and then retraction) to over-ride the Brexit Northern Ireland border deal and create checks on vaccine’s coming into the UK. Mr Smith called the act “almost Trumpian”.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, he is what we found on Mr Adams:

The MP hit out at the Yorkshire Post for running a story about vaccines from Yorkshire being redistributed to the south of England. He tweeted that the story was “irresponsible and sad”. In a public row with a number of conservative MPs on the report, the paper’s Editor robustly defended the story.
The expenses report revealed Mr Adams spent £191,616.52 last year, the most of our three MPs.
He tweeted 16 times in January, including a screenshot that revealed he walked 24,101 steps in one day.
A big sports fan, Mr Adams hailed the England cricket team’s series win over Sri Lanka.
The minister for Asia called on the Hong Kong authorities to “end their targeting of pro-democracy voices.”

52,500 clinically vulnerable people vaccinated in North Yorkshire, says Harrogate MP

52,500 people in the highest priority groups have received a covid vaccine in York and North Yorkshire, according to Harrogate’s MP.

In an e-mail to constituents, Andrew Jones said a further 12,000 vaccinations had also been carried out in hospitals to frontline staff.

Mr Jones said the figures were correct as of Monday this week.

It comes as health bosses said all care home residents and staff in the county would be vaccinated by the end of this week.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told a North Yorkshire Resilience Forum meeting earlier this week:

“I am pleased to say that thanks to the tremendous effort from all of our colleagues delivering the vaccination programme, we are on course to deliver vaccination to all care home residents and staff by the end of this week.”

Ms Bloor added that officials were making “good progress” towards vaccinating all healthcare workers by the end of the month as well as the February 15 target set by the government for all priority groups.

Vaccinations in the Harrogate district are being administered at the Great Yorkshire Showground. However, a mass vaccination hub opened on Monday in York, which offers jabs to those within a 45 minute distance.

Health bosses announced a vaccination site will be opened in Ripon, but details on its location have yet to be confirmed.

Officials have also said people in the district can wait for an invite to the Great Yorkshire Showground instead of travelling to York.

MP hits out at covid vaccine supply reports

Mr Jones also hit out at reports that the supply of coronavirus vaccines to Yorkshire will be halved next week.

In his email, he addressed “covid-19 fake news” and went on to say a story regarding vaccine supply “was wrong”.

It follows reports in the Health Service Journal that the North East and Yorkshire will see its supply halved next week because it is ahead of other regions in vaccinating its eligible population.

The HSJ reported that the region is set to see does available to GP-led sites down by 200,000 compared to this week.

Mr Jones has said reports of the halve in supply are “wrong in terms of numbers and trend”.

He said:

“Reports that the number of vaccines supplied to our region are being halved are just wrong.

“I have checked this with the NHS and the number of vaccines supplied to our region this week is 364,000, next week it will be 300,000 and the week after that 350,000.

“The story is wrong in terms of numbers and trend.”

However, Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director of primary care at NHS England, told BBC Radio 4 Today programme that vaccines were being diverted away from areas like the North East and Yorkshire.

She said:

“Yes I really understand my colleague’s frustration, particularly in this case it happens to be in the northern areas, they’ve done an incredible job getting through their cohort priorities one and two, so their care home staff and residents, their over 80s and their health and social care staff.

“And so while we have a supply that is constrained we need to make sure that goes to the areas where people are not vaccinated, because what we have to do, our priority is to make sure that the top priority groups are vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“So we need to target our deliveries to make sure that they are going to areas where there are more people left to vaccinate in the priority cohorts.”

Harrogate district MPs claim £536,000 in expenses last year

The Members of Parliament serving the Harrogate district claimed a total of £536,449 in expenses last year.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which monitors expenses, published its annual report yesterday.

The report reveals the total expenses for all MPs in 2019/20, including accommodation, office, staffing, staff absence, travel and other costs.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate, spent the most of the t hree district MPs with an overall spend of £191,616.52.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, spent £174,597.97 and Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, spent £170,235.42.

All MPs were within their budgets set for office, staffing and accommodation spend.

Of all MPs in Parliament in 2019/20, Mr Adams ranked 294th of those who spent the most while Mr Jones was 389th and Mr Smith 496th.

Roger Godsiff, who was MP for Birmingham Hall Green until he lost his seat at the 2019 General Election spent the most with £265,668.31. Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, claimed the least with £7,391.51.

Andrew Jones, Conservative MP Harrogate and Knaresborough

Office spend – £20,761.73
Staffing spend – £145,085.64
Accommodation spend – £1,457
Travel and subsistence spend – £7,293.60

Julian Smith, Conservative MP Ripon and Skipton

Office spend – £12,564.65
Staffing spend – £151,729.18
Accommodation spend – £2,540.57
Travel and subsistence spend – £3,226.02
Other costs – £175

Nigel Adams, Conservative MP Selby and Ainsty (which includes rural Harrogate)

Office spend – £9,823.58
Staffing spend – £127,512.06
Staff absence spend – £21,523.51
Accommodation spend – £21,990.74
Travel and subsistence spend – £10,766.63

Andrew Jones MP ‘shocked’ by ‘inadequate’ free school meals

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has spoken of his “shock” at the inadequacy of free school meals and called for urgent action.

A constituent in Knaresborough told Mr Jones she had received two pre-packed sandwiches, two mini yoghurts, an apple, an orange and two potatoes to feed her son for five days.

The Conservative MP said on his website this “simply isn’t good enough” and that he would ask children’s minister, Vicky Ford to investigate the issue “as a matter of urgency”. He added:

“There are reports that the companies distributing this food have been paid £30 for a week’s food but you could buy what my constituent received for a few pounds. Fortunately my constituent can manage this week but that isn’t the point.

“Surely it would have been better and cheaper to give parents a loaf of bread and the ingredients to make their own sandwiches rather than send supermarket pre-packs? It would have been more nutritious too.

“What has been sent seems to me to be completely inadequate. Whichever companies are being used to supply the meals need to buck their ideas up and do it pronto.”

Mr Jones voted against free school meals last year and his comments have drawn criticism from political opponents.

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats tweeted:

“We were shocked that he voted against giving free meals to low income kids in the first place.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party tweeted:

“Ten days worth of food costing £30! Cronyism in all its glory, profiteering from poverty and neglecting the very children that need to receive healthy, substantial food! Let’s hear our MP justify this!”

MPs watch 2020: the year of coronavirus, Brexit and free school meals

Each month the Stray Ferret tracks what the three MPs in the Harrogate district have been up to in Parliament and their constituencies.

As this is the last month of the year, this time we have provided a round-up of the activities of Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams throughout 2020.

The district’s three elected Conservative representatives in the House of Commons have a combined 30 years’ experience as MPs but nothing could have prepared them for 2020 and the arrival of coronavirus.

As always, we asked all three if they would like to highlight anything in particular. Once again, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here are some of the key moments from Mr Jones’s year:

Fresh from a fourth straight general election victory, Mr Jones began the year by speaking out on his website against what he described as the toxic nature of modern political campaigning. He wrote: “Politics needs to grow up and step away from this old-fashioned and frankly US-style attack ad approach. I hope over the next few years – at least locally – there will be agreement to adopt a more positive approach.”
In April, at the height of the first lockdown, Mr Jones warned constituents about the dangers of covid: “This virus doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor, by race, by religion, by nationality, by gender or sexuality or by political allegiances.”
One of Mr Jones’s nine tweets in June was that he found some car keys near to Tewit Well in Harrogate.
On his website in June, Mr Jones wrote to the head of Bauer Media to “seek assurances” about the future of Stray FM. The radio station rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio in September.
On August 2, Mr Jones hailed Harrogate Town’s win at Wembley as “the best news in ages”. He also tweeted about Notts County’s non-existent equaliser, which was quickly deleted. This led to the Stray Ferret’s Paul Baverstock suggesting that Mr Jones might not have been actually watching the game.
Mr Jones released a statement apologising for the government’s u-turn over A-Level results. He said: “I am sorry for the distress and uncertainty this has caused pupils. In all about 20 students contacted me personally and I am writing to each of them”.
Mr Jones refused to comment on a Stray Ferret story involving a police investigation into allegations of missing Porsche sports cars from GMUND in Knaresborough. The company was run by Andrew Mearns, while his wife Cllr Samantha Mearns was a company secretary until late 2018 and is now a caseworker in Mr Jones’s office.
At Prime Minister’s Questions in October, the MP urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to commit to a support package for the conference and exhibition industry.
In October, Mr Jones voted against an opposition motion to extend the provision of £15-a-week school meal vouchers throughout the October half term through to the Easter 2021 holidays. Following a backlash, Mr Jones responded in the local press and in a local Conservative news bulletin email. The email said: “I know that many of you will have seen the coverage about free school meals during the holidays in the news lately. I hope that people who know me, or who have been helped by me, would realise that I would not vote to increase child hunger or ensure children starve.”
Mr Jones said on October 20 “a blanket national lockdown is wrong and local interventions are what we need now to tackle this crisis”. On November 2 he voted in favour of a new national lockdown.

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Ripon, here are some of the key moments from Mr Smith’s year:

In February, Mr Smith was sacked as Northern Ireland secretary. Despite lasting just 204 days in the role, he was widely praised for his work, including brokering talks between rival political parties to restore a power-sharing government at Stormont.
In May, the MP contacted the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, offering support after she received death threats for speaking out over Dominic Cummings’ decision to travel with symptoms of covid-19, against government advice.
In July, Mr Smith voted against protecting the NHS in a future trade deal with the US. Unlike Mr Jones, he wrote to the Stray Ferret to explain why he voted this way. He said: “No future trade agreement will be allowed to undermine the guiding principle of the NHS.”
Throughout the year, Mr Smith has raised residents’ concerns about the 1,300-home Ripon barracks development to local health leaders and Harrogate Borough Council officials, including chief executive Wallace Sampson.
The Stray Ferret revealed in August that Mr Smith has been appointed as an external advisor to a hydrogen company at a rate of £3,000 per hour.
In September, he abstained on both Internal Markets Bill votes, which related to Brexit. Opponents of the bill said it could lead to a trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
That month, the MP visited Ripon Cathedral to view its new £6m design plans, which include new toilets, a cafe and the creation of rehearsal space for Ripon Cathedral Choir.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural parts of the Harrogate district.

In rural south Harrogate, here are some of the key moments from Mr Adams’s year:

The arch Brexiteer celebrated January 31 when the UK left the European Union. He wrote on Facebook: “Today is a historic day but tomorrow, the work to take our country forward continues with renewed enthusiasm.”
In April, the MP offered his “thoughts and prayers” to prime minister Boris Johnson, who was in hospital with coronavirus. He wrote: “The Boris I know is a fighter and will defeat this.”
In July, Mr Adams hit out at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer saying he had an “obsession” with undermining the Brexit vote.
In September, he criticised environmental group Extinction Rebellion after it blocked vehicles from leaving a printing press in London, causing disruption to several national newspapers. He called the group “socialist anarchists masquerading as well-meaning hippies”.
In October, Mr Adams voted against the amendment to the Agriculture Bill. In a post on his website, he defended his decision. He said: “Several people have been in touch who appear to have been misled into thinking that Tuesday’s vote on the Agriculture Bill was somehow a vote against our high food standards. This is not the case. In fact, the amendment to the bill which was defeated was well meaning but I believe unnecessary as well as having some negative unintended consequences.”
Ahead of a planning committee hearing into 72 homes in Spofforth in November, Mr Adams’s office confirmed to the Stray Ferret that he had made representations to councillors ahead of their decision, which was ultimately to refuse the plans in their current form.

‘Show patience’ on covid turnaround, says Andrew Jones MP

Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has said people must “show patience” before the UK turns the corner on coronavirus.

Reflecting on the year on his website, Mr Jones said many people would be glad to see the back of 2020.

But he added we “can be certain life will slowly return to normal” due to vaccinations and improved care for severe cases of covid although it will take “some time.”

Mr Jones wrote:

“As we quietly move into the new year we must show patience and further restraint as that process takes place.”

Coronavirus vaccines began at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground on Tuesday. People aged over 80, care home residents and care home staff were first in line.

It is believed about 900 vaccines a day are being given although the NHS has yet to reveal figures.

In further reflections on 2020, the Conservative MP praised the public, private and voluntary sectors for rallying together during a year like no other.

He wrote:

“We didn’t need a pandemic to know how brilliant our public services are but it was a very powerful reminder.

“We have though learnt some things about ourselves and one another which I hope we can carry through into 2021 and beyond. And we have also learnt lessons that reinforce that which we already know but perhaps didn’t recognise enough.

“Community matters. We looked out for our neighbours who were elderly or less well than us. We got in touch with support organisations to volunteer our services. Street-based groups sprang up to help those around them.”

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Knock-on effect

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MP hits out at covid vaccine supply reports

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