While many were thinking about turkey and presents, the Labour government was working right up to and immediately after Christmas.

There was a blizzard of announcements that may have been missed by those preoccupied with preparing for a visit from family and friends.

Firstly, and for some most importantly, the government has announced and additional £889-million boost for GP funding. We all know how incredibly difficult it is to get an appointment with our local understaffed and overworked doctor. But this money is designed, alongside reforms to deliver a better experience for patients, to end the 8am scramble for appointments and begin the process of the return to the family doctor, like my father many years ago at Pool Health Centre, as it was known then.

The next announcement was an extra £12-million for potholes and highway maintenance in Cornwall. We all know just how terrible the road surfaces have got over the last 14 years. That needs to change. Although times are tight, recognising the importance to businesses, workers and families alike, the government is prioritising the repair of our broken road surfaces. An extra £12-million will not fix the entire problem. But it is as start and there will be more to come.

Next came further details of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which, I think, will be a game-changer for thousands of children and teachers across Cornwall. The Bill will cover areas such as teacher training, pay and conditions, an enhanced curriculum which will be built on an independent review, schools places, the ability for the state to act when a school is failing, and much more focus on home schooling, to ensure that all children are getting the education that they need to prepare them for adulthood.

Next up was an announcement particularly close to my heart: the government’s commitment to banning bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. Bees are an absolutely vital part of our natural environment and yet their numbers are in steep decline. In Europe bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides are banned but in the UK the Conservative government failed to act to protect bees. The Labour government will be implementing a complete ban.

Finally, for young people and publicans alike, the ritual of having to find ID when buying a pint is time-consuming for the publican and, if the young person has left ID at home (a common occurrence in my family), it’s embarrassing. In the worst case scenario, it can lead to friction at the bar. One absolute guarantee is that young people rarely leave their phones at home! So, the Labour government will launch a new barcode scanning system that digitally stores the age of the young person. A simple but pretty full-proof method that will also hopefully deal with the market in fake IDs.

So as we enter a new year, this is just a tiny glimpse of what is to come. Rest assured, 2025 will be a packed agenda of change, as the government continues on our path of a decade of renewal.

Perran Moon

Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth