Alicia Kearns MP for Rutland on achievements in county
Alicia Kearns MP for Rutland discusses the achievements which have taken place in the county recently.
Out and about in our wonderful communities over the past week, I had the privilege of attending a brilliant service at St John’s Church in Ryhall to celebrate its recently completed restoration and renewal programme.
The church was in urgent need of repair and I am in awe of the community, who, led ably by Sandra Chapman, ran an incredible fundraising effort with the residents of Ryhall raising the money needed to achieve this fantastic milestone.
It never ceases to amaze me what our communities can achieve when they pull together and all involved have worked so hard to ensure that the village can seek refuge and joy in this church for hundreds more years. By saving a building at risk, the project has not only saved a vital piece of heritage at the heart of Ryhall, but for the whole country, and I hope this project will serve as an inspiration.
I also had the pleasure of meeting the team at The Rutland Late Night Pharmacy in Oakham. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the amazing work the staff do here, who not only played an invaluable role in vaccinating members of our community during the pandemic, but also providing a vital health service to so many across Rutland. People often don’t realise just how much expertise and skill pharmacists have, so do pop in to see the friendly team here if you need any advice on a primary care problem.
It is fantastic to see valuable causes such as that of St John’s Church benefit from Government funding. However, there is still much more that must be done to ensure that our rurality is not a hinderance to the funding we receive.
This week in Parliament I called upon the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to address the historic imbalance in funding our local authorities receive.
I am proud of our levelling up bid and I will continue to do all I can to secure the funding for health and transport services that our communities deserve.
I know that farming is central to many of these communities across Rutland and I have worked hard recently to lobby the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire on my Public Order Bill Amendment.
This amendment will ensure better protection of our farmers from the completely unacceptable actions of vegan militias and I look forward to receiving further updates on this bill over the coming month.
With less than a month to go until Christmas, it has been an absolute pleasure to judge more than 300 outstanding entries for my annual Christmas card competition. A huge thank you to all of our talented pupils across Rutland who took part and helped make this year’s competition such a resounding success. After much deliberation and an incredibly tough decision, I am pleased to announce that our overall winner is Avie Hallows from Swallowdale Primary School.
Finally, to brighten up the cold winter months with some festive shopping cheer, I am delighted to open nominations for Rutland and Melton’s Favourite Independent Shop Awards 2022. This competition seeks not just to celebrate, but to also help raise the profile of our wonderful independent shops as we all go about our Christmas shopping. Last year thousands of you voted, naming Foxy Lots of Melton as overall winner of the competition. Head to my website now to cast your nominations before December 12 – I look forward to seeing which amazing local businesses you nominate this Christmas!
