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Good afternoon and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 87. As of today, we have a total of 1,369,318 positive cases of COVID-19 with 51,934 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 15,196 confirmed cases in Surrey and sadly 868 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 492 active cases in Waverley. All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

The Prime Minister told us last night that he is having to self-isolate ([link removed]) following contact from NHS Track & Trace which alerted him to the fact that he had recently been near someone who tested positive - in this case a colleague of ours Lee Anderson MP. The PM’s statement ([link removed]) makes the point about how important it is for everyone to follow the social distancing rules and we wish Lee a speedy recovery: as a former coal miner who won the ‘red wall’ seat of Ashfield for the first time for the Conservatives in 40 years he is somewhat of a hero in party ranks.

Lift off on mass testing The Health Secretary announced this morning that by the New Year the UK will have the capacity to do more than a million tests a day. Not only will this rapidly speed up test result times (with a target turnaround of 24 hours) but it will mean working age adults can be tested once a month. This is vital for picking up asymptomatic carriers as we know from countries like Slovakia but also an essential ‘plan B’ for getting back to normality as we do not yet know for sure about any of the vaccines (although we live in hope).

The 'R' rate Over the weekend the ONS announced that the UK's Rate has fallen to between 1 and 1.2, the closest it's been to 1 since early September. Data up to 6 November, the day after England's went back into lockdown, shows infections falling in the north-west but rising in the south and Midlands. Although growth may be slowing in some parts of the country remember scientists are still saying "significant levels of healthcare demand and mortality will persist until R is reduced to and remains well below 1 for an extended period.” You can read more about it here ([link removed]) but the message is clear: do not be lulled into a false sense of security by news about vaccines/testing: this remains a deadly killer.

The key number to remember for anyone with pandemic-related difficulties remains 0300 200 1008 the Surrey Helpline run by Surrey County Council (Mon-Fri 9 am to 5 pm).

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

Exam Result Changes Big news on Friday that the Education Secretary wants to change how students apply for university. The changes - which universities appear to agree with - means that teenagers will get university offers only after getting their A-level results in August. Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State, wants to make these changes fast , potentially from as early as autumn 2023 - more here ([link removed]) .

Housing and Planning Reform On Thursday I went to meet the Housing Secretary to talk about his proposed planning reforms which could see the required number of new house permissions in Waverley increasing by as much as about 40%. I have been campaigning against these changes publicly ([link removed]) and privately as I do not think they would address the fundamental issues we face around affordability and was encouraged that Robert Jenrick did seem to appreciate the arguments I was making. This popped up in the papers ([link removed]) over the weekend and you can see the account of his meeting and his clip in which he even mentions Farnham Councillor Carole Cockburn ([link removed]) here. Fingers crossed for a u-turn.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

Wrap Up Farnham The Farnham Maltings are running a campaign to collect unwanted or unused coats from the people of Farnham and partnering with charities and organisations to get them to those in need. If you work with or know people who could be in need of a warm winter coat and would like to partner up and receive some coats, please get in touch with Erin on [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) as soon as possible.

AGE UK Lots of people have been suffering from loneliness during this year of lockdowns so a plug for AGE UK’s Silver Line, which older people can call day or night for a friendly chat. It is on 0800 470 8090 and their national adviceline (free, confidential and open 8am - 7pm 365 days a year) is on 0800 678 1602.
See my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here ([link removed]) .

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

Ban on Petrol & Diesel Cars coming forward? The Prime Minister is rumoured to be planning to announce this week – as part of a bigger speech on the environment – that the UK will be banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Not only will this have a revolutionary effect on the environment, but it will also create a big opportunity for the UK to become home to the ‘green revolution’ with potentially hundreds of thousands of new jobs being created in the electric car industry - a classic win win.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

It has been a while since I have included a cultural review in this email, but Radio 4’s autumn book suggestions caught my ear this week with some fantastic book recommendations, which you can find here ([link removed]) . I imagine though that these books won't get much of a look in until we have finished President Obama’s memoirs which are published on Tuesday with a serialisation in the Times ([link removed]) .

And finally, while we may not agree politically I have great sympathy for the Shadow Health Secretary, John Ashworth, who found himself in a ‘stormy’ interview ([link removed]) over the weekend.

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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.

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