GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my South West Surrey update No.227 -
This week has been another dramatic one at Westminster with the Boris Johnson Privileges report, new inflation statistics and a further rise in interest rates. I have also had some very productive Farnham meetings about which more below.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER
INFLATION UPDATE Inflation remains stubbornly high - even though food inflation, one of the biggest pressures on family finances, is starting to ease. As I told the media this week, we are going to stick to our guns to bring it down no matter what the pressure. Why is our inflation higher than other countries? Like Italy (but unlike nuclear France), we use a lot of gas to heat our homes (74% of households use gas) which makes us susceptible to high energy prices; we also import about half of our food which means like countries like Germany we have suffered high food inflation. And like America we have low unemployment so a tight labour market has led to service inflation in the hospitality industry. We therefore have more of these factors in combination than others - but the good news is they should all be transitory provided we keep on plan. I have already met food producers and the competition regulator the CMA to understand what more can be done to bring grocery prices down and I will meet all the regulators on Monday. Ultimately though we do have to continue to support the Bank of England in everything they do to squeeze inflation out of the system as I mention in this video.
INTEREST RATES Unfortunately, many of you will have heard that Interest rates have risen again as the Bank of England battles to slow soaring prices. The Bank raised rates to 5% from 4.5% - I fully appreciate this is difficult news to hear for many people – but we simply must get inflation lower.
MORTGAGES I also know that many are worried about mortgage rates at the moment. 1.3 million households will have to renew their fixed rate mortgage before the end of the year and they could face an annual increase of up to £3,000. Mortgage lenders are required to offer tailored solutions to people in difficulty with repossession only allowed as a very last option. I met with the principal lenders at a roundtable this morning and so today I agreed with the banks and the principal mortgage lenders three very important things.
1: Anyone can talk to their bank or their mortgage lender and it will have no impact whatsoever on their credit score. That's really important.
2: If you are anxious about the impact on your family finances and you change your mortgage to interest only or you extend the term of your mortgage and you want to go back to your original mortgage deal, within six months, you can do so, no questions asked. No impact on your credit score. That I think is going to give people a lot of comfort and stop people worrying about having conversations with their banks when they are worried about their financial situation.
3: For people who are at risk of losing their home in that extreme situation, the banks and mortgage lenders have a number of things in place. The last thing that they want to do is repossess a home, but in that extreme situation they have agreed there will be a minimum 12 month period before there's a repossession without consent.
BORIS JOHNSON I had several emails at the end of last week and the start of this one about the Privileges Committee’s report into whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament. As someone who voted publicly to remove him as Prime Minister last year, you will know my views on the partygate issue. But the country now needs the Conservative Party to unite so that people in government can focus on fixing the many problems we face (not least the economic challenges) so I decided it would be better to abstain in the vote. I appreciate some will disagree with that decision (as others did when I spoke out against Boris last summer) but hopefully this is a point from which the country and government can now move on.
COVID INQUIRY On Wednesday afternoon I gave evidence to the Covid Inquiry. I have already published my views when I was Chair of the Health Select Committee but this was the official public inquiry and covered pandemic preparedness during the period when I was Health Secretary. You can watch the clip here under Day 7: 21 June 23, from h 3:22:00.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY
GREEN SPACES I was very concerned to read reports and see the pictures of the amount of litter on Peperharow Road via the Godalming Community Board this week. I therefore wrote to Chris Wheeler (Environment Head at Guildford and Waverley Council) and Richard Homewood (Head of Environmental Services) to raise concerns. As many of you will remember, reducing single-use plastics in the constituency is a key aim of my Green Spaces Campaign and I have organised many litter picks in the past but it is disappointing still to be seeing these sorts of pictures. I will report back when I hear from them. CANCER CAMPAIGN As fundraising and planning continues for the Cancer and Surgical Innovation Campaign, I thought I’d highlight another important piece of equipment on the shopping list for the new facility that we hope to help fund. Don’t ask me what it does but it’s a piezosurgery unit used for oral and maxillofacial surgery which costs £7,000. Using ultrasonic vibrations helps avoid damage to important soft tissue structures like nerves, blood vessels and the delicate sinus membrane, meaning postoperative discomfort is reduced. For more information including how to donate, please visit royalsurreycharity.org.uk/surgery
FARNHAM SCHOOL HEADS On Friday I dialled into an excellent meeting with Farnham school heads. Main concerns raised were about processes by which children with special education needs were funded and placed. There was concern at the pressures on SEND provision in Surrey and the impact on school finances of having to support children with complex needs without additional support - and the long timescales needed to secure such support through EHCPs. There was also worry about the lack of educational psychologists, partly caused by a recent requirement that they should have a doctorate. I will take up the issues with Tim Oliver, Leader of Surrey County Council and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
CHALLENGERS My next meeting was with Challengers, a brilliant organisation based in Farnham and Guildford which offers support to families with disabled children. I have known Challengers for many years and the respite they give to families is life-changing. They also help children who have been excluded from school. However, funding from Surrey has recently been focused on children who need overnight respite, often mandated by law, which has put providers of day respite under pressure. That means having to turn away families in need. I spoke to Gennie Dearman who runs the centres as well as a number of parents and will take the issue up with Tim Oliver, leader of Surrey County Council.
FARNHAM BOARD Finally I joined a Farnham Infrastructure Board meeting where excellent progress is being made in the very ambitious plans to transform the town. It was expertly chaired by Tim Oliver, leader of Surrey County Council, and there really is an extraordinary amount of work happening. Best of all, traffic modelling has now been completed so we can look at the impact on travel times of the different options being considered. These plans could see an enormous 40% reduction in town centre traffic - brilliant for pedestrians, cyclists and pollution reduction. Thank you to all involved for the real momentum that exists behind these plans.
JOIN ME Want to get more involved locally? Email me at [email protected] to join my growing team supporting our work in our community.
AND FINALLY… I wonder what some of my colleagues in Parliament would do if Whatsapp went down– perhaps carrier pigeons might be a good backup, drawing inspiration from this police force?
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