**
------------------------------------------------------------
GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my South West Surrey update No.218
A very busy week at the Treasury, meeting pension fund leaders to discuss how they could invest more in UK growth businesses and life science bosses to encourage more medicines to be developed here. I’ve also been closely in touch with Surrey Police and the British Transport Police following a serious assault in Farncombe last Thursday as well as liaising with the Environment Agency about that maddeningly persistent smell in Bramley.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

GREEN, CLEAN AND CHEAP ENERGY REVOLUTION Energy policy used to be a niche area of interest only to a few boffins. But after seeing our gas and electricity bills go through the roof, that is no longer the case. Many of you have written to me saying transforming our energy system must be as much about security as tackling climate change - but this is one area where far from being a trade off, the two objectives go hand in hand. A decade ago less than 10% of electricity came from wind and sun but now it is around 40% - and we have Europe’s second largest renewable energy sector. But we need to get to around a quarter of our energy coming from nuclear, which is not weather dependent, so I have announced funding for both Sizewell C and a competition for small modular reactors - the nuclear technology we have been using on submarines for decades. Today Grant Shapps is announcing a further investment of £30 billion for cleaner energy as well as £6 billion to help improve energy efficiency. I am
also trying to get more private sector investment with a Green Finance Strategy. You can read more about it in my article ([link removed]) in The Times today - but the long and short of it is we need low cost, cheap and clean energy that cannot be influenced by mischief from Putin.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR The government has announced its Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan this week. It is worth saying that since 2010 crime levels have fallen significantly (down 8% in the last two years alone) but this new approach involves zero-tolerance, an increase in police presence in problem areas, a ban on laughing gas and a restorative justice scheme involving people repairing the damage they create. We are one of the safest countries to live in but if you believe (as I do) in broken windows theory ([link removed].) this is a good step forward.

TREASURY UPDATE I started the week by hosting a roundtable ([link removed]) with the UK pensions industry, where we spoke about getting more investment into innovative companies. This is an area where former Farnham Councillor Denise Legal has long urged me to take action so thank you Denise! Yesterday I visited ([link removed]) Scale Space in West London to meet a really dynamic group of life science industry leaders where we discussed important topics such as Medtech, clinical trials, manufacturing, and access to finance. This came together with an announcement this week that four life sciences companies have benefited from the first tranche of the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund which will help our science sector, already the largest in Europe, continue to grow.

COVID CONTINUES - The number of Covid cases in England remains roughly the same, with the ONS reporting that about 1 in 40 of us ([link removed]) currently have the virus. The government’s Coronavirus dashboard ([link removed]) confirms that cases are up by 11.6%, hospitalisations down 1.5% but concerningly, deaths up by 9.1%. As always, vaccines are key to keeping these numbers low, so when called next month, all eligible individuals should schedule their 2023 Spring Booster. ([link removed])

The key number is 0300 200 1008 for anyone with pandemic related difficulties. Also, check out my full list of local groups ([link removed]) working to support vulnerable residents.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

FARNCOMBE STABBING I was shocked - as I know many others were - to hear the news of a stabbing in Farncombe last Thursday. I have been working very closely with both Surrey Police and the British Transport Police, who are leading the investigation. As you may be aware, a 20-year-old man from Cranleigh has now been charged with GBH (with intent) and possession of an offensive weapon. He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear in court next month. An 18-year-old woman was also arrested in connection with the incident but has since been released on bail pending further enquiries. The 15-year-old boy critically injured in the assault remains in hospital in a stable condition and we are all keeping our fingers firmly crossed for his recovery. The British Transport Police tell me that they believe this was an isolated incident of a personal nature but will nonetheless work with Surrey Police to increase police presence locally. They will also be linking in with local schools as part of
the safeguarding strategy they have put in place, and Surrey Police are carrying out a community impact assessment.

BRAMLEY SAGA CONTINUES Last Friday, local volunteers noticed the awful smell had returned, and led them to the river. Very worryingly, some sort of chemical film was seen on the surface of the water - so a huge well done to local campaigner Jane Austin, along with local residents Charlotte and Claire, for obtaining a sample and reporting the incident to the Environment Agency (EA). I have raised this directly with Alan Lovell, Chair at the EA, and asked him to facilitate the collection and testing of the sample. Alan has since informed me that his staff attended the site on Saturday to assess the stream. They confirmed that very small amounts of oil were visible, but that there was no evidence of significant, ongoing contamination. Given the heavy rainfall on Friday (the smell is always worse after a downpour), Alan thinks the oil resulted from urban surface water drainage, but the EA did collect more samples yesterday morning. I will of course keep you posted, but in the meantime, if there
are any further incidents, please report them directly to the EA hotline on 0800 807060.

GREEN SPACES - As you may remember, one of the key objectives in my Protect our Green Spaces campaign ([link removed]) is to improve our local environment by reducing the use of single use plastic. Earlier this year,I wrote to the CEOs of every supermarket in South West Surrey ([link removed]) to ask what they are doing to facilitate easy and efficient in-store recycling, and to understand what steps they are taking to expand their recycling capabilities. I recently received a response from Elisa Elschner, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Lidl, who says sustainability is one of Lidl’s top priorities and that they are working hard to increase the recyclability of their packaging. As part of this effort, Elisa confirmed that Lidl have eliminated 1.5 billion single-use plastic items from their products and packaging, committed to reducing their own label plastic packaging by 40% by 2025, and committed to making 100% of own label and
branded packaging recyclable, reusable, refillable or renewable by 2025. I look forward to hearing back from the other supermarkets.

SECRETARY OF STATE VISIT - For those of you who might have missed my newsletter last week, Thérèse Coffey (Secretary of State at DEFRA), will be visiting us in South West Surrey in June so I can explain just why we want the Surrey Hills to be a national park - and why we need more done on river sewage. If there are any additional concerns you would like me to raise with Thérèse please do let me know via email at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

AN EVENING WITH ANITA DOBSON was a big hit as well as raising money for a great cause! Fundraising group, Friends of Royal Surrey Charity, held ‘An evening with Anita Dobson’ at Elstead Village Hall last Saturday to raise funds for the new cancer and surgical innovation facility at the hospital. The former Eastenders actress recounted some wonderful stories of her life and acting career to the sold-out audience of 100 people. Many thanks to Miss Dobson for her time and support at the event, which raised over £2,000 towards Royal Surrey Charity’s Cancer and Surgical Innovation Campaign ([link removed]) . Huge thanks also to Cllr Jenny Else and her team who organised the evening.

JOIN ME Want to get more involved locally? Email me at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) to join my growing team supporting our work in our community.

LOCAL EVENTS - Don’t forget to swing by Godalming between 10am - 4pm this Saturday for the town’s Spring Festival ([link removed]) , where you can enjoy an array of artisan street food and drink, local farm produce and a traditional hog roast. There will also be ample entertainment for kids at the Pepperpot, and for adults - a cider festival at the Star pub!

AND FINALLY… As regular readers will know, I am once again running the London Marathon on Sunday 23^rd April (yes, I know I’m a glutton for punishment)! So, I’d like to ask for your support for this amazing campaign ([link removed]) which will transform cancer care at the Royal Surrey. Please visit my Just Giving page ([link removed]) and pledge whatever you can – thank you in advance for your generosity.

As always, if you know anyone (a friend or neighbour perhaps?) who might like to receive this email, please do forward it on. Anyone can sign up here ([link removed]) to receive them and can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the box below or emailing me.

This email and any attachments to it (the 'Email') are intended for a specific recipient(s) and its contents may be confidential, privileged and/or otherwise protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this Email in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email, and delete it from your records. You must not disclose, distribute, copy or otherwise use this Email. Please note that email is not a secure form of communication and that the Conservative Party ('the Party') is not responsible for loss arising from viruses contained in this Email nor any loss arising from its receipt or use. Any opinion expressed in this Email is not necessarily that of the Party and may be personal to the sender.

Promoted by Sean Donovan-Smith on behalf of Jeremy Hunt MP and South West Surrey Conservatives, all at 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6TD.

============================================================

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
South West Surrey Conservative Association . 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road . Hindhead . Surrey, GU26 6TD . United Kingdom