This is the time of year when we pay tribute and give thanks to all those who work in the public service: those who give up their Christmas and New Year in order to provide vital services through the NHS, the police, fire and rescue and ambulance services, those in our Armed Forces, both here and overseas, those who serve as carers, and of course the families to support them. 

With a population of 190,000 and an area of 837 square miles, Herefordshire is small in numbers but large in size. Herefordians know that it is a heaven on earth, of course, but the truth is that somehow we have never quite been able to get this message out to the wider world. Instead Herefordshire has been regarded as the UK's best-kept secret.

Gazette readers will need no reminder of how important the River Wye is to the identity not just of Ross-on-Wye – the clue is in the name – but to the whole region. As I highlighted recently in the House of Commons, this is a priceless national asset which we must do everything we can to protect and enhance in the face of serious phosphate and nitrate pollution.

There are plans for additional appointments being made available on 4th/5th December (Hereford City) and 18th/19th December (Leominster).  NHS England and the CCG are also looking to bring pharmacies on board to deliver vaccines from next week. More details to follow. 

Just a few weeks ago, there were serious fears across the national media that the booster vaccination campaign might not get going, and that people might be unnecessarily exposed to cover over the winter months.

Readers of the Ross Gazette will need no reminding of my passion about the importance of cleaning up the river Wye. The past two weeks have been important to this project on two fronts.

One of my earliest actions as a new Member of Parliament was to convene a major public meeting at the Three Counties Hotel in July 2010 on the vital local topic of fast broadband.

I left HM Treasury last month, after two years as Financial Secretary. My chat with the Prime Minister was a surprise, not least since it came less than 48 hours after I had completed the landmark Health & Social Care Levy Bill in the House of Commons.

Jesse Norman, together with other local MPs, has written a joint letter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury calling for a three-year integrated spending package in the forthcoming Spending Review specifically focused on cleaning up the River Wye.