Dear Constituent,

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, is joining a number of colleagues in calling on the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid to recognise the role of unpaid carers and confirm they will be prioritised for booster vaccines this Autumn.

This spring, the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation recognised that unpaid carers should receive the vaccine as a priority, along with those working age adults with underlying health conditions. The decision was made to ensure that carers were able to continue providing vital unpaid care, and to prevent them from infecting those they care for.

However, the interim JCVI advice recently published makes no mention of unpaid carers, and no confirmation of their prioritisation for booster jabs in Autumn has been given. As a result, over 50 MPs have signed an open letter organised by Barbara Keeley (MP for Worsley and Eccles South) calling on the Government to issue urgent clarification.

The letter states that failure to prioritise unpaid carers would “risk giving the impression that the Government neither understands nor values the immense contribution” of unpaid carers. It calls for a “prompt response” and clarification from Sajid Javid.

Speaking after signing the letter, Andrew Gwynne said:

‘’Unpaid carers are incredible, and their vital role in the response to the pandemic has all too often been overlooked.

It’s so important that we receive confirmation from the Government that unpaid carers will be given priority for any potential booster jabs in August. This is to ensure that they can continue to provide vital unpaid care, and don’t infect those that they look after.

We can’t afford a delay on this, we need confirmation from the Health Secretary urgently.’’

To read the open letter in full click here. 

THE STOCKPORT SHAPES ALLIANCE - KEEPING CHILDREN ACTIVE AND HEALTHY ⚽🏃‍♀️ 🏊

I had a brilliant afternoon today visiting All Saints Primary School, Heaton Norris, to hear more about how the Stockport Shapes Alliance - born out of the Schools Sports Partnership - are doing great work across Stockport to keep children active and healthy.

It’s great to hear that Government funding has been announced for another year so this fantastic initiative can continue.
 

A massive thank you to Jude and Dan from Shapes, and Nicky and Ruth at All Saints for their time this afternoon.

Thank you to Denton Methodist Church for inviting me and Allison to their “Open Air Service” last Sunday. It was lovely to join people from across the town in worship, song and prayer.

It was even nicer because one of my favourite teachers, Mrs Jackson, who taught me in Year 3 at Russell Scott Primary School back in 1981 was there too. She’s 90 now, and is still as brilliant as I remember her 40 years earlier!

 

🏆CITIZENS’ AWARDS: Ava-Grace Bancroft and Stephen Power🏆

Last Saturday I was joined by Councillors George Newton and Claire Reid to present awards to Ava-Grace and her grandad Stephen. Ava-Grace is a very brave, selfless amazing little girl, who was diagnosed with Leukaemia about three years ago at the age of 6.

She has had some really difficult times and struggles with her health, but amazingly got to ring the bell in 2020 to signify the end of her chemotherapy, although she still has a long journey ahead to ring the bell to signify the ‘all clear’ from cancer.

Throughout her battle Ava-Grace has made it her goal to raise money with the help of her granddad in particular to give back to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Ward 84, who have helped and supported her through her difficult times.

She has set up a page (with her granddad) where people very kindly donate the most amazing prizes to help Ava-grace help as many children on Ward 84 to make it as pleasant as possible while they are there.

Ava-Grace also presented £200 to Cllr George Newton’s charity bike ride to Blackpool in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support!

What an amazing family. A truly well deserved award to both Ava-Grace and Stephen. Well done!

 WATCH: We all want to see the relaxation of restrictions, but the Government’s decisions will lead to more incidences of #LongCovid. I ask what extra support they’re putting in place to help those developing Long Covid and to employers whose workforce might be affected. Not sure about the answer…

 WATCH: Labour has secured an Urgent Question asking the Government what action they're taking against perpetrators of racist online abuse. What members of the England football team have been through is atrocious. I welcome the Government's proposal to extend Football banning orders to racism online. We also need the social media platforms to step up too.

 WATCH: At the Home Affairs Select Committee we are looking at how the UK is dealing with the changing circumstances of COVID-19. I ask Elizabeth Hegarty from Heathrow about the impact of the virus on managing the UK border at the airport.

 WATCH: The Transport Secretary has announced important changes for international travel for those who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. I ask what he's doing to assist those who had the Indian-manufactured version of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, which many European countries don't accept.

 WATCH: The proof of the levelling-up pudding is in the eating. I urge the Leader of the House to help push with Ministers my Restoring Your Railways bid for Denton and Reddish South stations, and my Levelling-up fund bid for Reddish.

In this week's Tameside Reporter I've written about how proud I am of what this England team has achieved both on and off the field. I also call on social media companies and politicians to do more to tackle the despicable racism members of the team have faced. Read the full article here.