GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my weekly update - no.259.

Last week’s highlight was visiting the site for the new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre at the Royal Surrey – very motivating as I completed a half marathon this morning as part of my marathon training where I am hoping to raise enough money to get us over the £500k mark. But the more significant national news was inflation falling to 3.4%, well below market expectations.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER 

INFLATION DOWN Inflation has now fallen to 3.4%, the lowest it has been for two years and down from its peak of 11.1% when I became Chancellor. As I say in this video, it is especially encouraging that food inflation, which I know has been a particular strain on family finances, is down from 20% last year to 5%. I know it has become a slogan to say ‘the plan is working’ but when it comes to inflation it really is…not least the very difficult decisions in the Autumn Statement of 2022 when I became Chancellor with somewhat of a baptism of fire. Even more encouraging is that we are on track to hit the Bank of England 2% target in the next month or so which then makes interest rate cuts possible - bringing down the cost of mortgages in particular for many families.

PARLIAMENTARY SHOWDOWNS The week has been one with lots of parliamentary appearances for me. I faced Rachel Reeves during Treasury Oral Questions in the House of Commons (clip below) and later that day I was also in front of the extremely civilised Lords Economic Affairs Committee. I was surrounded by past mandarins - who actually asked some extremely smart questions on public finances, debt and fiscal rules. Part of my plan to grow the economy is backing our fast growing sectors like the Creative Industries (we are now Europe’s largest film and TV production centre) so on last Friday the Prime Minister and I visited Sunderland to announce a £450 million investment to develop Crown Works Studios, the largest film studio outside the South East which will employ over 8,000 people. 

SMOKING AND VAPING The bill to create a smoke-free generation and crack down on youth vaping was laid in Parliament yesterday. Smoking is the single biggest preventable killer in our country and costs the NHS a huge amount so this is a big change meaning none of my three children (aged 9, 11 and 13) will ever be legally allowed to buy a cigarette. It has taken us longer to figure out what to do vaping: it is less damaging to health than smoking and an important tool for helping smokers quit. But we don’t yet know about the long term addictiveness of the chemicals they used (including nicotine) which is why it is not recommended for those who don’t smoke. The litter created by disposable vapes is also a curse, particularly at Farncombe Station. So we are banning disposable vapes, putting duty on refillable ones, increasing the duty on tobacco and making it illegal for anyone under 15 to ever be able to buy a cigarette. Some libertarians will quibble with some of this but as a Dad I am just pleased my children are never likely to smoke.

WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY

SPADES IN THE GROUND AT THE ROYAL SURREY Check out the video of me breaking turf on the Royal Surrey’s new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre with CEO Louise Stead. Our local efforts with fundraising have raised £470,000 and that will go a huge way to making sure the centre offers the best possible care. Great progress – but we are not there yet! Congrats also to the Royal Surrey for being awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating by the CQC including in their maternity department.

QUIZZERS GET READY Never ones to let the grass grow under their feet… the brilliant Friends of The Cancer and Surgical Innovation group are busy finalising their next fundraiser for the Royal Surrey’s new Cancer Centre. This time it’s an exciting fish and chip supper and quiz in Cranleigh. It’s taking place on Friday 12th April at 7pm in St, Nicholas Church Rooms, Church Lane, Cranleigh GU6 8AR. Tickets, including your fish and chips, are an amazing £20 each and available to buy here. What’s more, there’s a fabulous raffle with lots of first class prizes donated by several businesses in and around Cranleigh. There will also be a pay bar on the night. What’s stopping you?

UNSTEAD NATURE RESERVE I had a great morning with Richard Acton and his team of brilliant volunteers at Unstead Nature reserve last week. Unstead Nature community group, together with Thames Water, have turned the site into a haven for all kinds of wildlife and animals, including rare species. The Dunlin bird has returned for the first time in 10 years and the Caspian gull had its second recorded sighting. I thoroughly recommend a walk around this hidden gem for a peaceful half hour– huge congratulations to the team for their impressive work.

GRASSROOTS SPORTS FACILITIES IN SURREY In the period between 2021 and 2025, the government will have invested over £400 million into grassroots sports facilities. As of January this year, that includes £1.3 million specifically for our area, including for new pitches at Rodborough School and Woolmer Hill Recreation Ground, new floodlights at Burford Lodge Recreation Ground and Busbridge Junior School and goalposts for Weybourne Recreation Ground. I know all of these developments are really valued by local sports groups so it is great news. 

CRANLEIGH AND ELSTEAD NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS Good news that the High Court ruled that the Elstead, Weyburn and the Cranleigh Neighbourhood Plan referendums can go ahead. Both were halted last minute after High Court intervention and we have since learned there were errors on housing and boundaries on maps in both plans. Waverley Borough Council will frustratingly but inevitably have incurred significant costs in re-running both of these referendums. But these plans are so important–  they mean local people get to decide what development happens (and where) in their local area. Because of recent changes implemented by Levelling up Secretary Michael Gove, protections given by Neighbourhood Plans are now extended from 2 to now 5 years–  preventing inappropriate development. I hope the new referendum dates are out very soon! There is also information on the BBC website here. 

THAMES WATER MEETING The next public meeting with Thames Water to discuss the water outages in Godalming, Milford, Bramley and surrounding areas will be held on 12th April. We will be joined by senior representatives from both Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water to discuss progress on water resilience in our area and follow up on compensation issues. It will take place at the Wilfred Noyce Centre in Godalming between 17.00 and 18.15. Tickets are of course free but please make sure to reserve one here.

NATIONAL READING QUIZ Fantastic to hear that Weydon School is in the regional heats of the National Reading Champions Quiz– happening today. Best of luck to them!

HOGS BACK BREWERY Congratulations are also in order for Hogs Back Brewery who have been shortlisted for the national Sustainable Business Award by the Society of Independent Brewers! I also wrote about pubs in my Herald column this week— take a look here.

DAFFODILS Spring seems to be in the air so there is no better time to visit daffodil hotspots– two of which are in Surrey.

SOCIAL MEDIA If you would like more regular updates of my work locally and nationally, do follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), WhatsApp or Instagram. 

JOIN ME Want to get more involved locally? Email me at [email protected] to join my growing team supporting our work in our community. We have lots of sessions scheduled each week in different areas so lots of opportunities to join!

CANVASSING PICTURE OF THE WEEK… We had a great time with my 9 year old knocking on doors in Ash last weekend - come and join us next time! 

AND FINALLY…  A big congrats to Farnham for being named one of the best places to live in the UK according to the Sunday Times. I lived there long before it was famous, just sayin’...

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