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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my South West Surrey update No.164. Needless to say it has been a very busy week in Westminster with the discovery of the new Covid variant, a social care white paper and a big boost in the boosters...but first the stats which are not too encouraging I’m afraid.

PANDEMIC UPDATE As of 11am this morning, we have had a total of 10,276,007 positive cases of COVID-19 with 145,140 confirmed deaths in the UK. In the last week the UK coronavirus cases are up only 0.7%, hospital admissions down 6.7% and deaths down 7.8%. However, there have been 16,307 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 248 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 941 active cases in Waverley (although no Omicron cases). Worryingly, the latest 7 day rate (21st to 27th November) for Waverley is 752.2 per 100,000 people, which means that Waverley is in the top 10 worst affected local authorities (7th out of 315) in England. The NHS is still not seeing big increases in hospital admissions although it remains extremely busy.

Don’t forget the Surrey Helpline 0300 200 1008 if you have any pandemic-related difficulties or my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here ([link removed]) .

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

OMICR-HISTMAS Remember Donald Rumsfeld’s ‘known unknowns’? There are plenty of those with Omicron– including its transmissibility, vaccine evasion and whether it causes more serious disease. ([link removed]) We are basically in limbo for another week or so until scientists complete their analysis ([link removed]) but there are quite a few clues suggesting ministers are worried: firstly the lightning speed at which the red list was reactivated over the weekend; secondly the rapid rule change on masks and thirdly the promise to
offer booster doses to all adults by the end of January. On the other hand yesterday theWHO said ([link removed]) that early data suggests Omicron cases are mild and that vaccines should be effective and the Pfizer CEO said today he thought his vaccine would protect against serious illness. ([link removed]) Fingers crossed, but will we learn the bigger lesson about the need to get the whole world jabbed, as Gordon Brown (not often I quote him) and others have been saying? I have my doubts as I wrote in my Herald article this week
([link removed]) , even thoughthe Secretary of State for Health & Social Care ([link removed]) agreed with me on this in Parliament.

LESSONS LEARNT In the meantime, the government has clearly learnt the importance of buying time with new measures on masks in shops and PCR tests for travellers. But the biggest difference will be from massively accelerating the booster programme ([link removed]) , including offering them to all adults. There is also some very good news coming through this morning of 114 million more doses of vaccines being ordered ([link removed]) to see us through until 2023. But why are the regulators, having been so nimble earlier this year, now dragging their feet? France approved two jabs for teenagers before the summer, but it took the intervention of the Chief Medical Officers in the UK to get even one jab approved for 12-15 year
olds back in September, whilst the US and EU are now about to approve Covid vaccines for over 5s. A pandemic is the one time when you need regulators to reassure the public rapidly about the safety of vaccines, but at the moment it feels as though we are in a constant catch-up mode.

SOCIAL CARE Yesterday the government sneaked out its social care white paper. Whilst it’s progress to have a cap, the additional funding of around £2bn a year is far, far less than the £7 bn uplift the Select Committee calculated ([link removed]) (on Health Foundation figures) was necessary. Our number was not plucked out of the air: it was based on demographic change, increases in the national living wage and the original Dilnot proposals. The result is that hospitals will continue to be full of patients who cannot be discharged - numbers that may soon overtake the number of covid patients. I described it as three steps forward two steps
back ([link removed]) in my question to Social Care Minister Gillian Keegan.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

SURGERY STORIES Fascinating variety of constituency calls as usual this week…☎️ The first call was regarding an issue I am getting a lot of messages about, namely the difficulty of getting booster jabs if you are housebound. Something that seemed to happen very quickly and efficiently for the first and second jabs is not now happening - and the 91 year old man I spoke to in Haslemere is typical: as someone who is blind and looking after an equally vulnerable wife he does not want to leave the house, but is very worried about catching omicron from his carers. I have raised the issue with Procare (again) - but surely this should be a priority for GPs given the national ramping up of the booster programme? Yesterday I met Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England and she is on the case as can be seen by this leaked story this morning. ([link removed]) .

I spoke to Farnham resident Jeremy Ricketts who has been campaigning for a long time over his concerns about the health impacts of chlorine in household sanitary water. I said I would write to Dr Jenny Harries, CEO of the new UK Health Security Agency, to ask her if she has any evidence on the issue or plans to research it. Jeremy’s concerns have been rejected countless times by the authorities but it is part of an MP’s job to keep being a voice for constituents so I am happy to do so.

I then spoke to a Haslemere barrister about how remote court hearings improved productivity and were helping to deal with the backlog in the criminal justice system - but that courts are starting to require cases to be heard in person once again in some parts of the country. There obviously needs to be national consistency in the guidelines but there is also surely a long term role for remote hearings (called CBP) for certain cases. I spoke Justice Minister James Cartlidge about this in the voting lobbies last night and he was very sympathetic but pointed out that constitutionally it is a matter for the judiciary to decide independently of ministers.

Finally I had a heartbreaking call with a Farnham resident whose GP surgery did not spot his lung cancer which was terminal when it was finally diagnosed. It is incredibly difficult for GPs to diagnose cancer correctly every time, but essential if we are to improve our cancer survival rates. The new diagnostic centres at Frimley and Milford will help but there are also other issues which we are looking into in my select committee inquiry into cancer services. As always, to request an surgery appointment, please email me: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

ARE YOU A SPORTING STAR? Waverley Borough Council, in partnership with David Lloyd in Farnham, are giving away 15 free annual memberships to aspiring talent during 2022 and the deadline for budding Emma Raducanus has now been extended until 13th December. The scheme was established to help those gifted in their particular sports by offering discounted access to a variety of services and equipment. Applicants need to be at least 10 years old and be able to demonstrate their sporting skills. To apply or find out more, click here ([link removed]) .

SHOPPERS RETURN TO WAVERLEY Just over five months after the end of England’s third lockdown, footfall counters (hired through the government's Reopening High Streets Safely Fund ([link removed]) ) are showing that people are really starting to return to Waverley’s High Streets. The counters in Godalming, Cranleigh, Haslemere and Wey Hill show that since the end of June, there’s been a 23% increase in footfall and to give an extra boost to small businesses, on Saturday 4 December, everyone is encouraged to shop locally on Small Business Saturday ([link removed]) . I too will be out after my son’s football (maybe another ofthose delicious waffles ([link removed]) at Broadwater Park?) visiting independent shops in our community. I have been championing this through my SW Surrey Bounceback campaign
([link removed]) and WBC are supporting an initiative called 'Click it Local ([link removed]) ' - an online marketplace funded by the Additional Restrictions Grant ([link removed]) , enabling residents to shop from the borough's participating independent businesses via one website. To get £10 off and free delivery until 15th December, enter the code WAVERLEY10 at the checkout. Voucher T&Cs can be viewed here ([link removed]) , and details about how retailers can be part of Click it Local can be found on the FAQ section. ([link removed])

IT’S IN THE BAG Help The Hygiene Bank ([link removed]) to support 450 people in need - each year, The Hygiene Bank launches an appeal to support those who are homeless, women and children at risk, and care leavers in supported housing, to receive the hygiene products they need. This year, at donation points across Surrey, you can help by giving essential toiletry products, along with a luxury item or two. Donation points can be found here ([link removed]) by entering your postcode.

DUNSFOLD PARK GARDEN VILLAGE Planning officers at Waverley have now created a draft Supplementary Planning Document ([link removed]) (SPD), which if adopted, would lock in a strategic framework for building houses on the site. The draft document is now open to have your say, until Monday 20 December 2021. It can be viewed online, in person (WBC main reception or Bramley library) and comments can be submittedhere. ([link removed])

AND FINALLY… No, you haven’t woken up from a strange dream - Donald Trump really did just refer to Winston Churchill as a ‘handsome man’, in what can only be described as a bizarre two-hour long interview by ex- UKIP-leader-turned-GB news host, Nigel Farage. They must have been stepping up to the plate to fill the entertainment void following the removal of contestants from the I’m a Celebrity Castle…

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