This week has seen the first £300 of a series of three cost of living payments that targets continued support for those on the lowest incomes with 8 million households qualifying, including 8,400 here in Fylde.
It is a sad reality that those living with sight loss will be overrepresented in this group, with several inequalities remaining, particularly in terms of employment opportunities, despite improvements in recent decades.
While inflation is now falling, the impact of these prices rises are still being felt and will be particularly difficult for those living with sight loss and other disabilities, many of whom also experience higher costs in their daily living.
I am proud to be a champion of the RNIB in Parliament and on Monday I attended their event on the cost of living. The afternoon provided the opportunity to meet with representatives from the charity and people living with sight loss to learn more about these challenges and the work being done to overcome them. This included a demonstration of screen reading software and the small steps we can take to make our social media more accessible, something I will be bearing in mind with my own account.
One of my favourite aspects of being a Member of Parliament is meeting with the local people and organisations who make such a difference to other people’s lives. On Thursday I met with Mick Steel, from North-West Blood Bikes Lancs & Lakes, for an update on the fantastic work that he and his team do, helping vital medical supplies make it across our region to the emergency situations where they are needed.
They are unseen heroes whose efforts to support our NHS services are invaluable and we must not lose sight of the real risks they encounter when making deliveries, particularly when out on remote roads that are especially treacherous in bad weather. With the Blood Bikes team being made up volunteer bike enthusiasts it is particularly important that we recognise their efforts, something I want to see done formally, and I am calling on Ministers for their help in doing so.
The Coronation period has now arrived, with Friday seeing the start of celebrations at Lytham Hall, and I was delighted to kick off the festivities with the planting of a Coronation Tree. The coming weeks will see fantastic community events taking place the length and breadth of the United Kingdom to celebrate the Coronation.
While the height of British pageantry will be on display in London, I know that Fylde will also rise to the occasion, showing the very best of our sense of civic pride. Locally, we have screenings, Coronation Big Lunches and Community Help Outs planned and I am looking forward to attending some of the countless events taking place.