Once we are able to put the events of the last 12 months behind us, we will remember how the country came together.

Whether by millions of ordinary citizens conscientiously following restrictions to protect the NHS or health and care staff continuing to work every day to look after the vulnerable, or the many workers such as postmen and women, delivery drivers and supermarket employees, who kept our society moving.

Nearly every day I have meetings with health authorities, local and regional business organisations, and individual business owners, keeping closely up to date with their situations. I also meet officers of our local councils, both district and county, who have been organising the economic response to the crisis and taking on important additional responsibilities.

I have been impressed by the diligent work done by the Devon County Council, which has helped to provide the vital leadership for the successful public health response to the coronavirus crisis in Devon, including supporting the vaccination programme, and is now working hard on an economic recovery plan.

In Torridge, district council officers have managed to distribute funds from the vital Government support schemes at speed in challenging times, helping many businesses survive.

Local authorities throughout Devon have so far received an extra £169-million pounds to support vital local services with further funding confirmed for next year. In addition, they have received over £2-billion in further grant funding since March last year to administer specific schemes, such as providing emergency support for rough sleepers, preventing children going hungry, and setting up local test and trace services.

From the start of the pandemic, the Government committed to ensuring that councils had the resources they needed to support their communities. I am assured that Ministers will continue to allocate councils the resources they need to provide vital local services and to enable Devon County Council to play a leading role in promoting the vital economic recovery that must begin in the next few months once the enormously successful vaccination programme has enabled a full resumption of economic activity.

There is no doubt we have cause to be grateful for the excellent and steady leadership that Devon County Council has shown in the past year, but its task and those of all our local councils will never be greater than in the few years to come.