IT'S been a very busy few days on Zoom, Teams, and occasionally in person, meeting companies and organisations with an interest in delivering better connectivity in rural areas.

Since I took on the role from the Government of the UK’s Rural Connectivity Champion, I’ve been meeting with everyone who has an interest in improving things – from companies digging trenches in the ground for fibre cables, to technology providers seeking to bridge the gap, and to consumer groups discussing why this matters.

By midweek, as the rain lashed down outside, I’d met 11 organisations, all of whom had a different insight into what might move things forward. On Thursday and Friday I ventured out from Furness to Penrith and Silloth to see some more organisations delivering on the ground.

On Thursday it was Fibrus, the company awarded the Building Digital UK contract for Cumbria, and therefore a key player who will connect fibre broadband to 60,000 homes in our area and beyond. On Friday I met Voneus, a firm that uses a range of technologies to extend fibre broadband to hard-to-reach areas – another vital aspect for us locally.

Rural connectivity matters: to keep villages alive; allow people to bank, shop, learn and communicate; businesses to set up and grow; and to enable people who don’t live in cities and towns to experience the benefits of new (and essential) technologies like smart meters and electric charging points.

I’m determined to help move this agenda along – not least for my own constituents in High Furness and elsewhere on the peninsula who are limited in choice and access, including - unbelievably - the 10,000 people on Walney without full fibre because the Openreach cabinet is full.

There are many more meetings to be had before I compile my thoughts for ministers. Connectivity comes up time and again in my discussions with constituents, and as I look forward to embarking on my Summer Surgery Tour on August 14, holding surgeries in every ward in Furness, I'm sure it will come up again. If you have a view about this topic and would like to share it, please drop me an email: simon.fell.mp@parliament.uk

In addition, on Tuesday, I met Dame Sarah Khan who is preparing a Review of Social Cohesion and Resilience in the UK for the Levelling Up Secretary. Given the tensions we have experienced over the last few years with the protests from the far right, and as a result of well-known issues, I was glad to be able to do so.  We spoke in detail at Barrow Town Hall not about how the community is responding, and also the challenges such those faced by policing and the role played by social media in all of this. I look forward to reading her review.

Finally, in spite of the rain, it's been wonderful to see so many wonderful things to do in the community. From the fab events at the Dock Museum, to drop in clay workshops at Farmer's Arms at Lowick, there's so much to do. This Saturday I relived my childhood and took the railway from Ravenglass to Boot with my own children, them sitting and watching the same landscapes I did at their age. Magical.