Couldn’t agree more. Now is the time that something should be done about the state of many of the roads and pavements in Chantry. Also time to put aside the blame game about who is responsible for the lack of action over a number of years, whether its the fault of the Labour County Councillors or the Conservative County Council the reality is that we are where we are and it isn’t good enough.

I will be out in Chantry most of tomorrow delivering the remainder of my transport survey envelopes and talking to residents.

Clearly the past few days have been regrettable and I’m well aware of the stress and anxiety this has caused a number of my young constituents who have worked very hard for their A levels (many of whom my office has been supporting over the past few days). Any approach to awarding exam grades at a time when exams have been cancelled comes with its own shortcomings and this will be the case with this new approach also.

However, in light of the events over the past few days I think this was the correct decision. Ofqual were responsible for developing the algorithm for awarding grades and to say that I’ve been concerned about some of the patterns that have been emerging would be an understatement and many of the stories I’ve heard have been worrying. It’s positive news that GCSE students have this certainty ahead of receiving their grades this week and that hopefully the kind of upset and anxiety we’ve seen this week can be avoided.

Wherever exam results are handed out it won’t always be good news for everyone and there will always be some that will be disappointed however at the very least the whole system needs to be underpinned by a sense of fairness. I do have concerns about grade inflation and clearly teachers predicting grades isn’t the same as students actually sitting and passing exams but in the absence of exams and the shortcomings of Ofqual’s algorithm there appears to be no alternative. I have been communicating my concerns to Ministers over the past couple of days following discussions with constituents and I’m glad this announcement has been made.

Thanks to all those who let me know their views on the ‘orange wands’ which have been popping up on Ipswich’s roads. It’s clear from the responses that these bollards are almost universally unpopular with cyclists and motorists alike. And I’ve now written to Suffolk County Council to call for them to be taken down and under no circumstances made permanent.

I agree with many of the comments people have made, particularly the concerns around whether these bollards actually make our roads less safe in a number of cases and the impact on emergency vehicles. I’ve included many of these concerns in the letter but it’s disappointing that a lack of consultation on these changes meant these concerns weren’t properly heard before public money was spent.

I’ll follow up with County Council to make sure this issue is addressed.