Bracknell MP James Sunderland thanks the community it is united response against coronavirus. He writes;

WHEN I submitted my previous article for Bracknell News in early March, no-one could possibly have foreseen the events that would unfold since then.

Coronavirus is now upon us with a vengeance, but I have been greatly reassured by the way in which society has responded to the crisis. May I please commend everyone in Bracknell, Crowthorne, Finchampstead, Sandhurst and Wokingham Without for the fantastic way in which our community has already come together – we will get through this.

At the local level, volunteers have come together right across the constituency to lend their support. The advice from the Government is unequivocal at this stage, namely to ‘Stay at home – Protect the NHS – Save Lives’.

Please do not travel unless you must, as you will put others under unnecessary pressure and risk a further spread of the virus. Those with underlying medical conditions have been told to self-isolate at home and will be supported.

Indeed, I have been greatly impressed by the sheer number of people who have already stepped forward to help those who are vulnerable, and it goes without saying that everyone in the NHS and all of our key workers are doing a fantastic job. Thank you also to our teachers and school staff, councillors, public sector staff and everyone else involved.

Within Bracknell Forest, the Healthwatch Team are working wonders to cover the entire area and similarly in Wokingham, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau are providing an effective focal point for the delivery of essential supplies and medicines.

Please do contact the respective councils for advice, go online to the supermarket websites, ask your local councillors for guidance or in the unlikely event you get no response, please contact my office. To be frank, we are receiving over 500 letters and emails on an average day, but we are working around the clock and endeavouring to respond individually and personally to every query. If nothing else, we can advise and signpost accordingly.

At the national level, I am confident that the Government continues to do everything it can to provide support for those who need it.

The last few weeks in Parliament have been particularly challenging but it has been an obvious measure of necessity that all parties supported the emergency legislation through to Royal Assent.

Of course, nothing is perfect, the bill was inevitably rushed through and policy amendments continue to be developed, but this is a fast-moving global pandemic and I am pleased that all departments have been flexible and agile in their approach.

Even though Parliament is now on recess, MPs still have every opportunity to hold the Government to account and I have a direct line through to the Cabinet Office. The tempo is fierce – everyone wants everything now – but new measures continue to emerge and I intend to keep serving the people of Bracknell as best I can.

Finally, now is not the time for a debate on the extent of state intervention, police powers or the full merits of the emergency legislation – the day for this will come – but these are unprecedented times which require unprecedented measures.

I am painfully aware that not everyone fits into the bracket for state aid, whether for employers or employees, and I continue to lobby on this with respective ministries.

But over £350bn has already been committed by central Government to fight Covid-19 and we are seeing greater state intervention than at any time since World War Two.

So, my clear advice please is to get behind the national effort, heed the medical and scientific advice in full, notably on social distancing, volunteer where you can to help others, check out the gov.uk website for regular updates and read the news. And above all please, let’s look after those who really need our help.