Dear john,

Another update on the Storm Arwen situation and the latest on hotel accommodation, reimbursements, today's picture, vulnerable people and more.

Please do share this information to anyone who might need it.

I appreciate how frustrating it is to be on day 6 without power. This is a mammoth operation, I am continuing to push for things to go as fast as possible, but I am grateful to the teams out working hard to get us reconnected.

CURRENT SITUATION

Today, I have been out in the constituency, checking in with residents in areas still affected. Power continues to be restored in the constituency, but there are clearly areas that are still without power.

WELFARE

Project teams comprising Northern Powergrid, Local Resilience Forums, Northumberland County Council and emergency services have been deployed to areas still impacted focusing on visiting all those off supply to provide information and signpost them to support and welfare measures in place.

If you are worried about friends and family, please ask them to get in touch either with Northumberland County Council or with my team. We can arrange a welfare check.

You can contact the County Council via:

Contact Centre (for general queries): 0345 6006400

Northumberland Communities Together (for anyone struggling with food supplies or other essentials) Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm: 01670 620015

One Call (for concerns about vulnerable residents or safeguarding issues): 01670 536400

COMMUNITY HUBS

A number of Community Hubs are currently in operation across the affected areas for people needing support after Storm Arwen.

The below list which also describes the offers, is accurate as of 2.30pm 2 Dec:

Falstone – Black Cock Inn – hot food / warmth

Ponteland – Leisure Centre – hot water/showers / Hot Drinks (HIVE Cafe)

Ponteland - Merton Hall – hot water / food / drink / warmth / phone charging

Hexham – Leisure Centre – hot water / showers (Hot drinks HIVE Cafe)

ALTERNATIVE ACCOMODATION AND FOOD

If you are not able to stay with a family member or friend PLEASE take advantage of the reimbursement offer from Northern Powergrid as below:

If any customer is without power and is unable to make alternative arrangements to stay with family or a friend, Northern Powergrid will reimburse all reasonable costs for alternative accommodation:

Customers who can coordinate this themselves are encouraged to do so, being asked to keep receipts and to send details of costs incurred to Northern Powergrid’s dedicated email address [email protected]

Anyone who may need support in arranging alternative accommodation should call the 105 power cut number

Customers can also continue to access Northern Powergrid’s welfare facilities for free hot food and drinks, as well as claim the cost of takeaways or meals from local establishments, up to £15 per person per meal. Other reasonable costs incurred by customers impacted by Storm Arwen will also be considered and customers are asked to retain their receipts in order to obtain reimbursement.

GENERATORS

Northern Powergrid have confirmed to me that they will pay market rates and reasonable costs for generators, and we are coordinating with local generator suppliers to assist in getting these out to people on the ground.

There are a limited number of generators, and these are being prioritised for the most vulnerable.

This has been one of the worst storms for many years, and the priority is to get everyone connected as soon as possible.

If you or someone you know is vulnerable or has an urgent issue, please contact me on 01434 239 205, or on [email protected].

Guy Opperman MP

Member of Parliament for Tynedale and Ponteland

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Email (mailto:[email protected])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Promoted by Matthew McPherson on behalf of Guy Opperman MP, both of Office 1, 4 Meal Market, Hexham, NE46 1NF
Copyright © 2021 Guy Opperman, All rights reserved.
You signed up to receive email updates from Guy Opperman when you reconfirmed your subscription.

Our mailing address is:
Guy Opperman
1 Meal Market
Hexham
Northumberland, NE46 1NF
United Kingdom
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]