Three weeks ago the Prime Minister laid out his roadmap out of lockdown and this week we had an extremely positive development. The Maritime Minister Robert Courts announced at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ports and Maritime that domestic cruising could restart on May 17, in line with other restrictions being eased in the hospitality and tourism sector. This is a very welcome step in the right direction for our cruise members and the supply chain which supports our £10bn a year cruise sector. We spoke to the BBC about the announcement.

To ensure all stakeholders are working together on this restart, we have written to the Scottish Government asking for a meeting so that all of those involved in domestic cruising can work together and align plans.

Our engagement with the Department for Transport continues and this week members of my team met with officials from the Global Travel Taskforce. We were pleased to hear from officials that the GTT report will now be published on April 12, rather than just being sent to the Prime Minister that day. Our ferry and cruise members need as much time as possible to implement whatever policies come out of the GTT so this news that the report will go live in April is something we welcome.

We were also pleased to see the development yesterday that the enforcement of post-Brexit border controls on inbound European freight will be delayed from July to January 2022. This is a pragmatic decision from the government and will allow our members and port operators the time needed to align with the changes to our trading relationship.

I was delighted to announce this week that Royal Caribbean Group, the owner of three global cruise holiday brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, and one of the world’s largest cruise operators, has re-joined the Chamber. The Royal Caribbean Group is known around the world and I am thrilled we have strengthened our cruise representation at the Chamber.

Next Thursday sees the second instalment of the Seafarers UK quiz. This time around I will be joining the former Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani as co-host. It should be great fun, for a great cause and if you haven’t booked your place yet there is still time. Just head here to book.