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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 141. And first up congrats to England on beating Croatia 1-0 at the football yesterday which I watched for some father and son bonding with my 11-year-old. And good luck to Scotland today. As ever 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 STATS As of today, we had a total of 4,565,813 positive cases of COVID-19 with 127,904 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 5,931 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 246 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 196 active cases in Waverley – a significant increase. All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

DELTA VARIANT The number of coronavirus cases and hospitalisations are increasing due to the Delta strain (first detected in India) and its transmissibility. In the week up to 8th June, the case rate in Surrey was roughly 55.7/100,000 – a 37% increase on the week before. In fact, 91% of all cases are now the Delta variant ([link removed]) , as confirmed by Matt Hancock at the Health Select Committee last week. The surge in cases is reflected in the R number which is up to between 1.2 and 1.4 in England ([link removed].) . More specifically, in the last seven days in the UK: coronavirus cases ⬆️49.3% and deaths ⬆️8.5%. The virus is now doubling every 11 days, with
hospitalisations up a third in the last week so it’s looking increasingly likely that the easing of restrictions on 21 June will be delayed. Only 6.2% of those infected with the Delta variant have had two doses of the vaccine so we know vaccinations work - but for the (mainly younger) unvaccinated one in 250 infections are leading to death. We will find out this afternoon with a press conference at 6 pm and a statement to the Commons at 8.30 pm.

VACCINE UPDATE Nationally, 78.4% of adults have been inoculated once ([link removed]) , whilst 55.9% have had two jabs – an incredible achievement. In South West Surrey, 70,937+ people have now been vaccinated with at least one dose and 47,275 have had the second. Surrey Heartlands is doing a speculator job and as of last week delivered over 1.1 million vaccines, which is above the national average. Of course, everyone aged 25+ is now eligible to receive the jab. Congratulations to the healthcare professionals and volunteers working at the GP surgeries, hospitals, pharmacies, and the Vaccination Centre at Epsom Racecourse.

G7 SUMMIT World leaders have promised one billion coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer countries ([link removed]) in a bid to end the pandemic. The UK will donate 100m+ doses ([link removed]) in the next year. These are welcome but collectively I think we could have been more ambitious because - as well as being the decent thing to do - the chances of a virus-busting variant are massively reduced if we get cases down in poorer countries.

COVID HEROES Huge congratulations to Kate Bingham (the former Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce) and Professor Sarah Gilbert (Oxford vaccine developer) who both received damehoods for their fantastic work on vaccine creation and delivery.

Click here ([link removed]) to meet Sarah’s heroic Oxford team – a nice, reflective video. In other news, England footballer Raheem Sterling was appointed MBE on Friday and scored a goal soon after so that paid off wonderfully. Find out more about the Queen’s Birthday Honours list here ([link removed]) .

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

HANCOCK & HEALTH Last we had a big session at the Coronavirus Lessons Learnt inquiry being conducted jointly by the Science and Technology Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee when Matt Hancock was replying to the Dominic Cummings allegations. The Health Secretary confirmed that that South Korean-style Test and Trace was not considered as an option in the run-up to the first lockdown ([link removed]) . Matt Hancock also disagreed with my suggestion that we were over-focused on testing targets and not asking why too many people were not isolating when requested. I’ll let you decide – video here ([link removed]) . Overall, a very informative and useful hearing.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

TROUBLED WATERS Last summer, some parts of Cranleigh and Haslemere experienced issues with water supply and so I am grateful to Matthew Richardson (Local Government Lead at Thames Water) for providing an investment update which includes: installation of 1,500 smart water meters, fixing over 2,300 leaks, £10m investment to boost production resilience, and agreeing a water sharing scheme with South East Water. These improvements are all very welcome and I will be going to visit the Thames Water plant at Shalford (which supplies most of SW Surrey) in July.

REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE I have had a few questions regarding recycling in Godalming, especially in relation to cardboard. I have therefore written to Richard Homewood, Head of Environmental Services at Waverley Borough Council to see if he has a map or list of different recycling points in and around Godalming. I will keep you updated. More generally the government remains committed to eliminating the scourge of avoidable plastic waste by 2042, as demonstrated by plans to ban single-use plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds. Moving forward, we need to do all we can to stop producing so much waste and cut the demand for the 34 billion tonnes of plastic that will have been manufactured globally by 2050. Click here ([link removed]) to read more about the Resources and Waste Strategy.

ROAD REPAIR UPDATE I have now heard back from Katie Stewart at Surrey Highways. Katie has consulted with colleagues in the Countryside Access Team, who have advised that the Public Bridleway 213 Stonehurst Bridge in Chiddingfold has a collapsed bank. It has been inspected by a Structural Engineer who has advised that it could only be reopened for public use with a temporary width restriction. SCC commissioned a report from the contractors and have now agreed a way forward for repair. However, it is a main river, so they cannot start work on the repairs until consent has been granted from the Environment Agency (which SCC are currently waiting on). With regards to Public Bridleway 199 beside the Winterton Arms, Katie has confirmed that it is not closed and there is generally room for horses to get through. However, SCC will endeavour to monitor the situation with the cars to the best of their ability (so far it has proven difficult to say who is responsible for them, as apparently the
vehicles change regularly). Katie also updated me on the Cranleigh to Godalming route and reassured me that her team is minimising the timings of the road closures as best they can. As you probably know, Run Common Road has been closed for some time due to structural defects caused by badger setts. Hope this helps!

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

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

GDP GROWTH According to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, GDP increased by 2.3% in April 2021 ([link removed]) . The British economy is clearly recovering and is only 3.7% below its pre-pandemic level. More specifically, services ⬆️3.4%, manufacturing ⬇️0.3%, and construction ⬇️2%. This has set tongues wagging as to whether we need the big fiscal consolidation that Rishi Sunak plans.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

NEW NEWS GB News officially went live yesterday in an attempt to shake up UK news and provide competition to the BBC and Sky News. The new news channel is run by Andrew Neil and will provide news, analysis, and debate on current affairs. Andrew boldly declared that his new project ‘will not be another echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset that already dominates so much of the media.’ Good luck to all involved – live stream here ([link removed]) . I look forward to the interviews…

PREGNANT IN PRETORIA A South African woman has given birth to ten babies ([link removed]) – a new world record apparently. Astonishingly, five babes were via natural birth. I can only imagine the upcoming chaos, but huge congratulations. Well-delivered, literally!
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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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