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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 136. If you’ve been forwarded this email and find it useful sign up to get your personal copy here. ([link removed]) You can of course unsubscribe at any time.

PANDEMIC UPDATE As of today, we had a total of 4,462,538 positive cases of COVID-19 with 127,721 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 5,880 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 246 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 16 active cases in Waverley which feels pretty stable. All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

VACCINE SUCCESS 62,870+ people in South West Surrey have now been vaccinated with at least one dose and around 33,390 have had the second. Nationally, 60 million vaccines have been administered ([link removed]) – another impressive milestone. Brits under 30 could even be offered the coronavirus jab by the end of the week ([link removed]) . The latest R range for England is 0.9 to 1.1 ([link removed].) and in the last week in the UK: coronavirus cases ⬆️11.3%, hospital admissions ⬇️7.1%, and deaths ⬇️43.2%.

EFFECTIVE JABS In perhaps the most encouraging news of the last few days new research by Public Health England has demonstrated that both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are highly effective against the Indian variant ([link removed]) after two doses. This makes the unlocking on 21 June more likely and Boris Johnson has said the decision will be made by the end of the month ([link removed]) . Fingers crossed.

SELF-ISOLATION PAY As someone who has long thought one of our weakest flanks has been the high number of people not self-isolating when asked to, I welcome the news that the government is trialling more ways of supporting people to self-isolate with ‘buddying’ services and alternative accommodation ([link removed]) . But surely the biggest issue is financial - we should boost self-isolation pay ([link removed]) with a straightforward promise to make up any salary lost.

INOCULATING CHILDREN is something we definitely need to look into and I'm sure we will because they can transmit the virus across generations, even if they're not badly affected themselves. I think it's encouraging the US has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for the over-12s ([link removed]) . I would expect something similar here too. The BBC article here ([link removed]) and full interview with Paul Waugh in the week in Westminster ([link removed]) 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

WESTMINSTER WEEK Last week I spoke about the NHS, social care, and travel policy in the House of Commons but also focused on the terrible challenge of dementia at the Select Committee and in the Farnham Herald. Locally, I’ve been focusing on the future of the Bells Piece Day Centre (see below), the Dunsford development and issues that are being faced by the residents of Sandy Lane in Rushmoor - highlights here ([link removed]) .

WEEK AHEAD Tomorrow the Health and Social Care Select Committee will have its third session on children and young people’s mental health ([link removed]) and will specifically examine what more can be done to prevent suicide and self-harm among young people. We will hear from one of the most formidable campaigners I have met, Edward Mallen who tragically lost his 18-year-old son Edward ([link removed]) . On Wednesday, we will have our hotly anticipated evidence session with Dominic Cummings, which will focus on lessons learned from any failures during the pandemic so far. There are clearly the crunching sounds of axes being ground left right and centre but it is also a unique chance to hear from someone who was ‘in the room’ when big decisions were made. Tune in!

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

GREENFIELD SITE I have received numerous concerns about the 300 houses that are to be built on Coxbridge Farm, West Street in Farnham. I have therefore written to Tom Horwood, CEO of Waverley Borough Council to get more information on this project and to discuss valid concerns about the sewage capacity and traffic congestion. I will keep you updated but I totally agree with those who say that infrastructure needs to keep pace with new developments.

FRIMLEY FURORE I spoke to Andy Brooks who has moved on from running the Frimley Health System to become National Systems Policy Adviser for NHS England. We talked about the concerns around the potential dismembering of the Frimley Health System to allow the new Surrey Heartlands system to match the Surrey boundaries. It is a genuinely difficult issue because it will clearly be easier to integrate the health and social care systems if they share administrative boundaries - and it would be hugely beneficial to patients we could finally bring the two systems together. But conversely the Frimley System (of which Farnham is part) is one of the best in the country and it would be a real shame to carve it up simpler for the sake of neater boundaries. Whatever happens - as I have made clear to the NHS - there must be no impact on the excellent service people in Farnham have been receiving.

BELLS PIECE I had an important meeting on Friday about the closure of the day service at Bells Piece in Farnham. This is a much loved service dating back many years for adults with learning disabilities. Present at the meeting were Ruth Owen, the new CEO of Leonard Cheshire, Cllr Sinead Mooney from Surrey County Council and local Councillors Alan Earwaker and John Robini. We all expressed concerns about the closure of the service and the feeling amongst some of the users of the service that they had been left high and dry. What appears to have happened is that a long term trend away from providing services in segregated day centres towards providing them in the community has been accelerated by the pandemic. We were told there was no cut in the funding being provided for such services to the Bells Piece day centre users, but the funding was being spent in different places in the community. That was reassuring...except it then became clear that some of their support has not actually started
yet post pandemic even though the day centre has closed. So we agreed to give Surrey County Council three months to fix the issue, after which we would meet again to confirm that every user of the service was getting alternative care provided. Not ideal to have this kind of disruption, particularly for highly vulnerable people. But I think there is at least a plan in place to make sure everyone is getting support and I and the other councillors will be holding Surrey to account to make sure it actually happens. Will report back.

SANDY LANE RESIDENTS in Rushmoor are extremely concerned about a big growth in cars parked on verges, 4x4 use and damage to the natural environment in their area. So I met with Lisa Fairhead, Kevin Parcell and Jackie Thompson alongside representatives from Surrey, Waverley and the Police to discuss the junction, signage, repairs to the road and verges and the possibility of an order restricting certain types of traffic. Lots of cooperation from the authorities (thanks) and we will meet again to check progress in the autumn.

See my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here ([link removed]) .

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

SALES SOAR As lockdown measures were relaxed and non-essential shops re-opened, retail sales soared 9.2% in April ([link removed]) , according to the latest data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In fact, sales overall were over 10% higher than prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Let the sale surge continue!

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

ANIMALS VS HUMANS This may be slightly irrelephant but a recent YouGov poll shows that 2% of Brits think they could beat an elephant or lion in a fight ([link removed]) , while 5% believe they could take on a Kangaroo. Good to know…
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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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