Peterborough MP Paul Bristow on lessons learned from government handling of coronavirus, schools returning and being ‘positive’ for the city’s future

In an interview with former BBC Radio Cambridgeshire presenter Paul Stainton as part of his ‘lockdown interviews’ series, the Conservative MP said he did not believe social care had received the same attention as the National Health Service during the current crisis.

He also re-iterated his stance that pupils in certain year groups need to return to school on June 1 to stop disadvantaged children from falling behind, while he spoke positively about Peterborough’s future post-pandemic.

Mr Bristow has been a visible presence in Peterborough throughout the crisis by visiting and championing groups and individuals doing good deeds while working virtually ahead of MPs returning to Parliament on June 2.

And asked if the Government has got everything correct in its response to the crisis, which has seen the UK currently register the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths out of any country, he told Mr Stainton: “I don’t think the Government have got everything right. My job, although I’m a Conservative MP and of course I support the Government, I also sit on the Health and Social Care Committee and it’s a job I take importantly, especially at this time. It’s my job to scrutinise policy.

“The reason lockdown went in place was to stop the NHS being overwhelmed. In the main that’s been a success - the NHS has coped admirably. But because of that real key focus on not letting the NHS be overwhelmed, sometimes, perhaps, we’ve not been thinking about the social care system in quite the same way as our NHS.

“One kind of true lesson that comes from me from this crisis is we can’t let the social care system and our NHS system be separate. We have to combine them.

“A lot has been talked about them working together and being part of one system - that absolutely has to happen now because we neglect social care at our peril as we’ve seen through this crisis.

“One good that I do hope comes from this crisis, we talk so passionately and positively about our NHS - our doctors, nurses and health professionals -but what about those people in social care? They need parity in esteem, and I hope from this difficult time we can do that.”

Mr Bristow has been vocal on supporting the return of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils to school on June 1, and he re-iterated that viewpoint when the issue was raised by Mr Stainton.

He said: “I know and understand why so many parents and so many teachers are worried. It’s a big step going back to normality.

“We’ve asked people to stay at home, socially distance and all the rest of it, and it’s a lot to ask people to go back.

“But let’s remember why we wanted schools to close. Schools were closed not because they were unsafe, it’s because we were trying to reduce the level of infection spread. At that time the ‘R’ rate - the reproduction rate (of the virus) - was well over three.

“Because everyone has done the right thing and people have stayed at home, because people have gone that extra effort, that ‘R’ rate is now well below one. That means the virus is diminishing in number and the levels of infection are now much, much smaller than they were before.”

He also stressed that teachers have been looking after vulnerable children and children of key workers during the lockdown and that “there’s been no significant risk to those teachers”.

He added: “Disadvantaged children are the ones who are going to suffer the most by not being in school. They don’t have access to computers or access to learning.

“The attainment gap has narrowed in recent years and we can’t allow that to grow any bigger.”

Asked about the reported £7 million funding gap Peterborough City Council said it is currently facing due to the crisis, Mr Bristow said he had raised the issue of “fairer funding” with the Government after being elected as MP.

He added: “The Government has given extra money to Peterborough to get us through this Covid-19 emergency. I hope that money has been spent wisely - I’m sure it will have been.

“Once this is over I hope we will have the financial capacity to continue to make the improvements this city needs.”

The MP also insisted that it was not “all doom and gloom” for Peterborough with new businesses coming to the city.

He told Mr Stainton: “Peterborough’s future is bright. Peterborough is, I believe, one of the most confident places we can be now for the future of our country. We’ve got so many advantages.

“The biggest asset we’ve got is our people. If there is one thing I can do with this job - I may only have it for four years, I hope I have it for 24 years - is to make the people of this city feel much, much more positive about the city that they live and grow up in, because I’m relentlessly positive about it and hopefully a positive mindset is contagious.”

The full interview can be viewed in the video at the top of this article.