The article below first appeared in Westminster Extra. Nickie writes a monthly column for the paper.
Since I sat down to write my last West End Extra column our lives have completely changed. Coronavirus has affected everyone. It’s affected my family like everyone else’s in ways that I could not have imagined just a few weeks ago.
It has particularly affected my daughter who had been preparing to take her GCSEs this summer. With exams cancelled, young people up and down the country have faced an anxious wait to see what will happen to them next. I’m pleased that the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has moved quickly to reassure students that the cancellations will not impact on the next phase of their lives. I know that the government is working closely with both teachers and exam boards to finalise arrangements for students and these will be available shortly. I also have a younger child now at home and managing his schooling has its challenges! I have always held teachers in high regard, but two weeks of home schooling has made me even more thankful for our outstanding teaching staff.
Coronavirus has also affected my daily routine like everybody else’s. I have been working from home. I have been able to keep in close contact with residents and businesses alike. I have been working closely with both the City of London Corporation and Westminster City Council to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are supported. The key workers providing this support deserve our utmost respect and gratitude. Without them the crisis we are going through would be far deeper.
Lots of people have been in touch to express their concerns about rough sleepers, a particularly vulnerable group in our part of London. There is also some anxiety about the impact that a large street population could have on spreading the virus. For both those reasons, the government has called for all local authorities to house all rough sleepers. 500 beds are available every night of the year under normal circumstances in Westminster, and the Council has assured me it has secured the necessary extra accommodation required to provide everyone in need a bed. Sadly, some individuals have declined the housing offers they have received. This highlights the complexity of the rough sleeping issue we face and why we need a holist approach to tackling it long-term. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outstanding team at Westminster City Council, both councillors and staff who have worked tirelessly to put all the extra support required in place at such short notice. I find the daily email briefings from the council excellent and would encourage you to sign up for them if you haven’t done so already.
As the impact of Coronavirus on our society has deepened, I have remained in close contact with both residents’ groups and the business community. Instead of the regular face to face meetings that I would normally attend, I have begun hosting regular video conference calls for both groups to allow them to raise their issues and concerns with me directly, which I then pass on to the appropriate government minister or local authority. I have been and will continue to work hard to ensure that the unique circumstances of central London are considered when the government is putting together further measures to tackle the impact of Coronavirus.
For now, I cannot stress this enough, we must all continue to follow public health guidelines to limit that impact. We all have a responsibility to ourselves and others. By following advice, we can protect the most vulnerable and ensure a return to normality as quickly and as is safely possible. For the time being we must all stay at home to protect our NHS and save lives.
