Local News From Every Source
Mr Speaker and Honourable Members, last year the Government of Bermuda took the first steps towards delivering on its promise to implement universal health coverage for all residents.
Our vision for healthcare seeks to ensure that –
“all people have equitable access to needed informative, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative essential health services, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that people do not suffer financial hardship when paying for these services and critical medicines.”
Mr. Speaker,
This morning, I rise to provide this Honourable House and the community at large with an update on the opening of Signature Schools and the introduction of signature learning programmes in our two senior schools, the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy. This is undoubtedly a significant milestone achieved in the ongoing work of Education Reform for our Public School System. Work that has covered some 30 months of belief and determination.
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Speaker, today I laid, for information, the Annual Report of the Registry General for the year ended December 31st, 2021. The Registrar General recognizes the essential role that vital statistical information plays in planning for the provision of services in areas such as tourism, health, education and housing, to name a few, and has performed his duties to a high standard in the recording, collating and presenting of the data to be included in the Annual Report.
Mr. Speaker, as we look back at the third quarter of 2022, Bermuda has seen momentum build after two years of a decimated global tourism industry. By the end of August, Bermuda welcomed over 98,000 air visitors to the island. While we are seeing growth, year-over-year, we have not yet achieved the volumes of 2019. The Bermuda Tourism Authority projects Bermuda’s year-end visitor volume to be approximately 56% of 2019.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring extremely positive news in relation to an election pledge made by this Government in its 2020 Election Manifesto – to improve the quality of life for all Bermudians.
Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues in the Chamber today and the listening public shall already be acutely aware: housing prices, mortgage interest rates and rental prices have been on a continuous rise worldwide.
In Bermuda, the monthly rental rates range as follows: