Dear Constituent,

We are currently living through some unprecedented times and I understand the sacrifices we are all being asked to make in order to save lives and to help our NHS. It is in times like these that we show the best of Britain, we come together in national unity, examples of this is the 'Clap for Carers' that takes place every Thursday at 8pm to show support for our brave NHS workers, the many of volunteers that are helping at food banks, helping the vulnerable with food and prescription deliveries across the town, the many business that have been in touch with my office asking how they can help and initiatives such as Ipswich School creating valuable PPE Visors that can be used in medical environments. 

I have no doubt that together, we will defeat COVID-19 and come back stronger but if we are to do this, we need to stick with the social distancing rules in place, even if it means unfortunately not seeing your friends and family over Easter. I have recently had symptoms of the virus and have been in self-isolation all week and I would like to thank people for their warm wishes.

Below I explain some of the other issues that I have been working on in March such as pressuring Network Rail for some much needed improvements on the Ipswich to London line, asking my first question to the Prime Minister during PMQs and welcoming the Home Secretary, Priti Patel back to Ipswich.

Together, we will defeat Coronavirus 

The coronavirus is not just a health emergency but an economic one too. And throughout this crisis the Government has promised unprecedented intervention to match the exceptional health measures set out earlier in March.

Many constituents have been in touch with me over weeks to tell me of the concerns they have for their livelihoods in this difficult time. It’s absolutely vital that households and businesses are economically secure so we can all focus on our health and that of our loved ones.

In the last few days I have launched a COVID-19 Information Hub on my website that aims to answer many of the questions I am receiving, whether you are an employer, employee, self-employed or have a general health related question such as possible COVID-19 symptoms. 

Of course, I understand this won’t answer everybody’s questions and the situation remains fluid and we will keep the page updated as new advice is published. If however, you still have any questions, you wish to speak to someone in my office or you have an enquiry that is personal to you, please email tom.hunt.mp@parliament.uk.

If you are someone that would be interested in volunteering to become a Community Volunteer to help vulnerable people such as delivering their weekly shops or picking up prescriptions, you can sign-up on my website on COVID-19 Information Hub.

'Talking with Tom'

We are living through extraordinary times and I'm fully aware of how difficult things are for many of my constituents at the moment. Particularly many of the elderly and more vulnerable members of our community and those being advised to self-isolate.

For many of those who live alone and have been asked to self-isolate, loneliness may well become a key issue for many within our community. It's for this reason that I am working with AGE UK in setting up "Talking with Tom" system so that anyone who wants to talk to me on the phone can register to do so and secure a time slot. I'm happy to discuss any issue and to provide company to anyone in my constituency during this difficult time. Whether you want to discuss the weather, your family, concerns about the virus or my first few months representing you as your MP and what I'm up to at the moment, please do get in touch with my office to set up a time to talk to me. If you know anyone who might be interested in this, please do pass them my details.

If people would like to book a slot to talk to me, they should call 01473 599155 or email me on: tom.hunt.mp@parliament.uk, where one of my team will get them booked in to receive a call from me at a time that suits them.

Home Secretary, Priti Patel Visits Ipswich

My first Question at PMQs

Letter to Network Rail

Earlier in March I wrote to Network Rail to once again raise the concerns about the disruption on Ipswich to London line. Passengers have faced unacceptable delays and cancellations over the past months and these continue despite previous assurances from Network Rail that things would improve.

I travel between London and Ipswich twice a week and I have found the unreliability of the service frustrating. But for my constituents who travel to London every day for work it’s close to intolerable, as many of them have written in to tell me. I’ve set out this message clearly to Network Rail and asked them to set out the detailed steps they are taking to turn things around.

I have also raised the problems passengers are facing with the Secretary of State for Transport and I will continue to provide updates when I have them.

Visit to Stoke High School

A big step in the right direction

Budget 2020

It seems a long time ago but in March, the Chancellor delivered the first Budget of my time in Parliament but there are clear signs that our campaigns are already beginning to cut through. A lot of focus will rightly be on Rishi Sunak’s robust measures on coronavirus but there are other important elements of the Budget which will benefit Ipswich too.

The Chancellor has come down on the side of working people with a complete suspension of business rates for small retailers, freezes in all alcohol duties and fuel duty, and £1 billion extra for the removal of dangerous cladding. These are all issues I’ve been calling for action on in Westminster and I’m pleased the Chancellor has responded.

I would have liked him to go further by cutting beer duty rather than just freezing it but this is clearly a step in the right direction. Ipswich’s pubs play a crucial role in our town’s economy and community and I won’t stop making the case for more support for them.

There was further good news for road users as well, as A14 improvements will be included in the £27 billion fund for the Strategic Road Network. The A14 must be a priority if we’re going to get to grips with congestion in Ipswich.

'Good day calls'

Commonwealth in 2020

To mark Commonwealth Day I gave a speech in the House of Commons on the Commonwealth in 2020. The people of the Commonwealth share a unique relationship based on bonds of history, culture, language and much else. I made the case that this relationship isn’t just lived across continents but in places like Ipswich too. Many Commonwealth-origin people have made Ipswich their home and make enormous contributions to the life of our town.

Unfortunately, for too long this hasn’t been reflected at the state level as we’ve neglected our relationship with the Commonwealth as members of the EU. But now we are out, we can make up for lost time by re-engaging with our Commonwealth partners on issues like trade and immigration.

I gave the example of India which the EU has failed to do a trade deal with since talks began as far back 2007. With India’s economy growing at around 7% a year and with a population of over 1.3 billion, this is exactly the type of deal we should be looking to strike as an independent and global nation.

Given these positive opportunities for the future, it was a shame the Labour benches used this debate to recite the worst moments of British history. I think it’s telling that they are more interested in pointing out everything that’s wrong from the past rather than talking about what we can do in the future.

I also raised the Commonwealth personnel who serve in our armed forces to fill the gaps we have. At the moment, after serving at least four years in our military they are faced with costs of £2,400 for them and each of their family members who wishes to stay here. Given that they sacrifice so much on our behalf, I’ve called on the Government to waive these exorbitant fees. If anybody should be exempt, it is them.