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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my South West Surrey update No. 158. Following the death of Sir David Amess ([link removed]) last Friday it has been a subdued week in Parliament. I was actually walking around Winkworth Arboretum ([link removed]) when the news came through and feel very sad for him and his family as he was such a decent, nice man who spread sunshine wherever he went. I have been immensely touched by the many messages of support I have received locally but don’t propose to change the way I work. MPs being accessible to their constituents is part of the DNA of our democracy and in a way, what happened last week makes it even more precious to hold on to.

PANDEMIC UPDATE As of 11 am this morning, we have had a total of 8,589,737 positive cases of COVID-19 with 139,031 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 11,974 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 243 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 620 active cases in Waverley. In the last week in the UK coronavirus cases are up 17.2%, hospital admissions up 11.2% and deaths up 21.1% - all numbers going resolutely in the wrong direction. According to the ONS 890,000 or 1 in 60 people now have the virus in the community in England ([link removed]) . This is up from 1 in 70 the week before. The most alarming stat here is that having hovered around the 7,000 mark for weeks, the number of people actually in hospital jumped significantly over the last couple of days to 7749. The NHS Confederation and the BMA have already called for "Plan B''
([link removed]) to be implemented (masks and Covid passports) and I think Sajid Javid may have been laying the ground for this with his very stark warnings yesterday strongly recommending mask use and for people to meet outside ([link removed]) . But the main reason for our higher case rate than countries like France and Germany is that our vaccine immunity is wearing off, so we need to turbo-charge booster jabs asI asked the vaccines minister this morning. ([link removed]) I also pushed the new CEO of NHS England on Tuesday to do the same. ([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

THE ENVIRONMENT BILL was debated again in the House of Commons last night and sent back to the House of Lords.This is a crucial piece of legislation ([link removed]) that will help us meet our net zero ambitions and protect our natural environment. The House of Lords had made a number of changes to it around air quality, protection of bees and the discharge of sewage. The government made a decent case that amendments on air quality changes weren’t needed but I wasn’t prepared to vote down the suggestion from peers that water companies should have a statutory duty to do all they can to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage, something championed by my Conservative colleague Philip Dunne.

CLEARING THE NHS BACKLOG was the focus of this week’s select committee session and we started by hearing powerful testimony from a patient called Sarah Lambrechts about the toll on her life of constant delays to having surgery ([link removed]) . Money yes, shorter waiting times yes - but she also talked about getting the culture right and a sense that the NHS didn’t care about her as a person - well worth a watch. More positively the Institute for Fiscal Studies told us that over the next two years the funding was “about enough” (precious words for any Health Secretary to hear) although did warn of a £5bn shortfall in three years’ time. The Kings Fund and - importantly - Amanda Pritchard, the new CEO of NHS England, basically agreed, saying that the extra funding the NHS is due to receive over the next three years will be enough for an additional 9 million checks, treatments and tests
([link removed]) . Sensibly no promises are being made about clearing the backlog because we don’t know how many ‘phantom patients’ will materialize over the next few years after the artificial suppression of waiting lists during lockdown. Siva Anandaciva from the King’s Fund tellingly warned that it would take longer than 3 years to clear the backlog and even doing that would not return us to the 92% elective care standard.

999, PLEASE HOLD It isn’t just lorry drivers where staff shortages are causing massive issues - during the Select Committee session it emerged that there is a shortage of 999 call handlers ([link removed]) . Amanda Pritchard told the Select Committee there had been a surge in demand and we therefore lacked some capacity in that particular system. I also asked the Secretary of State about this ([link removed]) and he seemed to suggest there were plans to address this to be revealed in the near future. I’ve followed up with some written parliamentary questions to get more detail.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

HUNT MEETS BON-GOVEY Yesterday I met Michael Gove - for the first time in his new role as Secretary of State for Levelling Up. The purpose was to discuss concerns about the way the planning system works, particularly the risk of neighbourhood plans (such as Farnham’s) being overruled when the planning authority, in this case Waverley, has not kept a 5 year housing supply up to date. Carole Cockburn, who is my guru on this issue, says that the 2 year grace period neighbourhood plans should be extended to 5 years which I put to Michael Gove. He seemed open to making the change as you can see from this video. ([link removed]) I also talked about other issues such as developers sitting on permissions they had received and the general pressure on areas like ours with high levels of green belt, AONB and AGLV.

FRIMLEY PARK HOSPITAL Had a good catch up with Frimley CEO Neil Dardis ([link removed]) about the situation at the hospital. Overall demand for A & E is high with 400-450 visits a day (compared to 380-400 day pre-pandemic) but they are coping, as one would expect from an excellent hospital, very well. A lot of that is thanks to their integrated care model which has seen them invest a lot in community care alongside the excellent links they have built up with Farnham GPs. He also told me about some important redevelopment they need to do to remove 'concrete cancer' from some of their buildings.

SURGERY STORIES A wide range of issues raised in my constituency surgery yesterday. One Farnham resident called to talk about his wife's fentanyl prescription which has been going on for 11 years with no help to reduce dependence on it. It feels like a classic case of someone’s care falling between the cracks so I am going to take the issue up with Fiona Edwards who runs the Frimley Health System. I also spoke to a Chiddingfold resident whose small company is having a terribly unfair contractual issue with the MOD so I have offered to intervene with the Defence Secretary. Finally I spoke to another Farnham resident who can't access pension credit because his wife is not of pensionable age so am raising the issue with the DWP secretary as it feels discriminatory to penalise a husband for the age of his wife. All these stories have one thing in common: ordinary people struggling to get a decent response from large government-run bureaucracies, a risk I became very aware of (and tried to
address) as Health Secretary. Our system needs MPs to support people in these circumstances and it was a role the late Sir David Amess, to his credit, absolutely relished.

WAVERLEY SUPPORT - Next month is business month in Waverley, so do take a look at this link ([link removed]) for free local business support opportunities. In addition, WBC’s Executive Committee has agreed to launch a new Thriving Communities Commissioning Fund, offering financial support to not-for-profit organisations delivering health and wellbeing services to Waverley residents. The scheme offers an opportunity for local voluntary organisations to work in partnership with the council to support vulnerable and disadvantaged people. It will prioritise the improvement of people’s health and wellbeing, enabling access to information and guidance, reducing social isolation/ loneliness, and building stronger, better connected communities. There is an overall provisional budget of £687,105 per year (over three years) and the bidding round is open for five weeks from 14 October. For information about how to apply, click here.
([link removed])

GRAYSHOTT GIGABIT ([link removed]) Good progress ([link removed]) has been made since Grayshott Gigabit, a small local company I met last Friday, started rolling out fibre broadband in Grayshott, Hindhead and Churt and there’s now gigabit fibre in the ground for several hundred homes. Connections to homes will start following the completion of this first part of the main network. As they move to phase 2, they will prioritise areas with the highest levels of interest and pre-registrations (so sign-up here ([link removed]) to boost your chances - with no obligation). If you’d like to know more before signing up, you can attend one of their open evenings w/c 28th October at their offices in Hindhead (1 London Rd, Hindhead GU26 6AB).

FARNHAM INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMME - Click here ([link removed]) to read the latest residents e-newsletter. In short, progress is being made and we will soon be on the point of going out to public consultation.

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

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

COST OF LIVING INCREASE SLOWS Inflation for September was 3.1% down slightly from 3.2% ([link removed]) the previous month. The fall was probably a statistical blip and the Bank of England has warned interest rates are likely to rise as inflation is still well above their 2% target. One to keep an eye on but no one seems to be expecting more than a small rise.

AND FINALLY Reality TV can have a positive impact as this couple, who met on Blind Date ([link removed]) , are, surprise, surprise, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. They’ve had a “lorra lorra laffs” over the years and here’s hoping to a few more. I wonder whether any Love Island couples will make it as long! Rather more wholesome than Squid Game…

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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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