Aylesbury MP Rob Butler on the reopening of pubs

This Letter from Westminster comes at a pivotal time for our local economy. Pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and barbers have joined the swathe of high street shops that are now open for business.

Having spoken to the owners and staff at several local pubs, including the much-loved Black Horse in Lacey Green, I know how keen they are to welcome their customers back.

The sight of shoppers and diners in our town and village centres is extremely positive, but there are undoubtedly still difficult times ahead.

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Last week, the Chancellor announced a huge package of support that will protect and create jobs, which was very welcome news.

In my constituency of Aylesbury alone, 14,500 jobs have been protected by the government’s furlough scheme, with thousands more across the rest of the county, and I am extremely pleased that the government remain committed to protecting livelihoods.

The next challenge is to bring staff back from furlough successfully and I hope that local firms will look to the Job Retention Bonus scheme if they need help.

This will award employers £1,000 for every employee who returns from furlough and remains continuously employed through to January.

As we start rebuilding our economy after coronavirus, I am keen to seize the opportunity to build back greener.

I recently spoke to local residents at a virtual lobby on climate change, so I know how important this is to people across Bucks.

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The newly announced Green Home Grants will help people to make their homes more energy and cost efficient; a win-win.

As I said in parliament recently, I have no doubt that the entrepreneurial spirit here in Bucks will help us in the economic recovery ahead.

However, it is still vitally important to focus on the number 1 priority of saving lives – and we can all play our part in helping to do that.