GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 119. As of today, we had a total of 4,296,583 positive cases of COVID-19 with 126,155 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 5,750 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 243 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 53 active cases in Waverley, the lowest we have seen for many months (and I am delighted one which no longer includes me!). All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

OVER HALF OF ADULTS HAVE BEEN VACCINATED In the UK, over 27.6 million people have now had at least one dose, while 2.2 million have had their second (4% of the adult population). Boris Johnson got his Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine a few days ago, as did – quelle surprise - the French Prime Minister. In South West Surrey, over 40,000 people have been jabbed. This is brilliant news even for those who have not had it as if you live with someone who has been inoculated, you have a 30% lower risk of getting infected with coronavirus yourself. In the last seven days: coronavirus cases ⬇️4.4%, hospital admissions ⬇️22%, and deaths ⬇️37%, but the UK’s R number has increased slightly to between 0.6 to 0.9.

THE US CLINICAL TRIAL of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with over 32,000 subjects, has shown that the jab is 79% effective against stopping symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% protective in preventing hospitalisation - another stunning endorsement. The study, published this morning, also demonstrated that the vaccine efficacy was consistent across all ethnicities and ages.

BUT THE EUROPEANS ARE TRYING TO RAIN ON THE PARADE with increasing signals that the EU leaders meeting this week will formally block a factory in Holland from exporting AZ vaccines to the UK. Quite some change from this tweet from Ursula von der Leyen saying such a move would be quite wrong. Difficult to know whether blocking exports from one AZ factory would have much of an impact - blocking Pfizer exports would be much more problematic. But even if they blocked Pfizer vaccine exports this report from the Guardian says the EU would only speed its own programme up by one week - and that’s assuming no retaliation by the UK, about which government ministers are being very tight-lipped.

AGED 50 OR OVER AND STILL WAITING? The NHS vaccine booking portal has now expanded to everyone aged 50 or over, with no invite letter required. Click here to make an appointment. Remember both the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines lessen the likelihood of serious illness by 60+% after just one dose.

VACCINE INGREDIENTS Ever wondered what vaccinations are made of? Sugar (sucrose), salt (e.g. sodium chloride), and fat (lipids such as cholesterol) are key components found in COVID-19 (and other) vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine EVEN contains four salts that maintain the pH levels. If you’re a nerd and want to know more, click here.

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

PROJECT GIGABIT was a big superfast broadband commitment in the Conservative manifesto. On Friday, the government revealed £5bn to fund fast and reliable broadband for everyone as we recover from COVID-19. The Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden, said ‘we have already made rapid progress, with almost 40% of homes and businesses now able to access next-generation gigabit speeds, compared to just 9% in 2019. Now we are setting out our plans to invest £5 billion in remote and rural areas so that no one is left behind by the connectivity revolution.’ I was the first Culture Secretary to set a superfast broadband ambition back in 2010 which I had to behind the back of the Treasury because it was not in our manifesto. I wanted to pilot what Boris calls ‘full fibre’ in two cities but was blocked by EU state aid rules. The rest, as they say, is history…

A £56M WELCOME BACK FUND was announced by the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP, to support a safe reopening of our high streets. The funding will help councils increase tourism, improve green spaces and much more - and I will be writing to see if we can get any in South West Surrey. Click here for more information.

THE HOME SECRETARY has promised to fix our asylum system by taking on the criminal gangs who traffic. It is clearly heartbreaking to see how such trafficking goes badly wrong and Priti Patel is right to take a tough stance - but she will know numerous former home secretaries have made similar pledges so these things are easier said than done. Regaining control of our borders seems to have led to Britain having the most open views about immigration in Europe - something that will be welcome on all sides of the Brexit debate. You can read more about Priti Patel’s plans here.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

SAFER SURREY On Friday I had an excellent meeting with the Conservative Surrey PCC candidate, Lisa Townsend, who is hitting the ground running with her campaign including focusing on women’s safety issues and antisocial behaviour in Farncombe. You can learn more about Lisa and her plans here and email her on [email protected].

FARNHAM TRANSFORMATION PLANS are going well exceptionally well and it was good to see further progress on Friday at a meeting chaired by Tim Oliver, the leader of Surrey Council. It’s also terrific to have Farnham Town Council’s support for the plans. On Friday Surrey Council confirmed it has allocated £2m to implement HGV and speed restrictions, road reclassification and possibly cycle routes. For more information about the infrastructure programme, click here.

HOSPITALITY BOUNCEBACK Many hospitality businesses in Waverley have been looking at ways to increase their external capacity with structures such as shelters and gazebos. The new Welcome Back Fund (mentioned earlier) will give businesses such as pubs and restaurants support to set up marquees and extra outdoor seating.  Let’s make this move to an alfresco society permanent!

FARNHAM FOODBANK COLLECTION continues apace and I was delighted to receive an e-mail from a constituent last week who has voluntarily organised a street collection. Great work and hopefully others will follow.

See my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here.

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

25,000 JOBS so far have been supported through the government’s Film and TV Production Restart Scheme. The scheme was launched last year to support the creative industries and will continue for another six months, meaning another 20,000 jobs will be protected.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

THE UK IS 17^TH HAPPIEST NATION IN THE WORLD, according to the World Happiness Report sponsored by the UN. Finland came first (again) and Afghanistan last. Hopefully, next year we will finnish first with our world-leading vaccination programme…

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