"Last Wednesday was an extraordinary day as far as good news for our region is concerned. It all began with the announcement by Education Secretary, Justine Greening, of the expansion of the Opportunity Areas programme to include Fenland and East Cambridgeshire which means £6m more funding for this region.
"I am truly delighted that, having lobbied on behalf of East Cambridgeshire, raising the issue in the House of Commons and facilitating a meeting between head teachers of local secondary schools and Justine Greening herself to press the matter further, that our voice has been heard. We are one of only twelve Opportunity Areas in the country.
"East Cambridgeshire and Fenland rank very low on the Social Mobility Commission index and this extra funding, separate to any other income stream and in addition to the fairer funding formula sums which I have written about previously, is something my colleague, Steve Barclay MP, and I have been passionately campaigning for.
"The Opportunity Areas programme helps ensure, amongst other things, that children get the best start in the early years, that they continue to access high quality education at every stage of their schooling, that access to university is increased and that schools work in conjunction with local employers to improve young people’s access to advice and experiences. The programme also focuses on creating opportunities outside school to “raise sights and broaden horizons”. The Department of Education will work with each Opportunity Area to respond to local priorities and needs and I couldn’t be happier that East Cambridgeshire is now on this pathway.
"On the same day it was announced that, due to the “dedication and skill” of their staff, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, is now out of special measures having had its rating changed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from "inadequate" to "good". This fantastic turnaround merits much praise and I’m sure Addenbrooke’s will continue on this positive journey of improvement going from strength to strength.
"As if that wasn’t enough good news for one day, Ely Museum then announced that they have received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund which will enable them to kickstart their redevelopment project to completely transform the museum over the next 4 years.
"The saying goes that a week is a long time in politics. Last week it would be fair to say that a day was indeed a long time in South East Cambridgeshire politics!"