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[Caroline Dinenage MP]
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! I do hope that you were all able to enjoy the Christmas period with your friends and loved ones. Mark and I enjoyed to spending the whole holiday at home in Gosport, with my boys and our friends and family. We have been on lots of healthy walks but have also taken advantage of some of the many excellent local bars, restaurants, tap rooms and cafes (well, it's impotant to support the local economy!!) However, I'm beginning to feel a January diet may be in order.
I know many constituents were concerned that changes to covid restrictions may have impacted their Christmas plans and I am pleased that this was not the case. Of course there were [some minor changes]([link removed]) in December, with face masks being made mandatory in most public indoor venues, guidance changed to 'work from home if you can' and the NHS Covid Pass or a negative lateral flow needed for nightclubs or large events. The [isolation period]([link removed]) was also reduced from 10 days to 7, with a negative LFT on days 6&7. And welcome [financial support of £1bn]([link removed]) for the hospitality and leisure sectors was announced. However, I know some of the travel restrictions introduced in other countries will have scuppered some holiday plans.
I had first hand experience of Covid myself in December, when I tested positive and had to isolate for 10 days at home in Gosport. It was terrible timing, meaning I had to miss some planned events, like the opening of [Home by the Sea]([link removed]) in Lee on the Solent and the Stubbington light switch-on. Luckily regular testing caught it very early, I didn't feel at all unwell and continued to attend as many meetings and events as possible via Zoom and MS Teams.
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One of the most important was a meeting I had arranged between the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid and local lady, Charlotte Fairall.
Charlotte is better known to many in our area as [Sophie]([link removed])’s mum. Charlotte and I have been working together to push for changes in a range of areas from hospital food and play specialists to childhood cancer funding and training.
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Over the last couple of months we've met with organisations like Cancer Research, NHS England and the National Institute for Health Research, among others. It has been an honour to work alongside Charlotte to push for these improvements as part of Sophie’s legacy, both of them are a total inspiration. We will continue this work in 2022.
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On the subject of changes to health and social care, the [Social Care White Paper]([link removed]) was published in December.
For too long successive governments have struggled to get to grips with the challenges facing adult social care. As a former Care Minister [I spoke]([link removed]) in Parliament on the publication.
The ‘People at the Heart of Care’ paper sets out the first steps of a long-term vision for transforming care and giving people greater control and support to lead independent lives. I shall watch carefully as this important work progresses.
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Other announcements from Parliament in December included:
- The £2.6bn [National Cyber Strategy]([link removed]) built around five core pillars including strengthening the UK cyber ecosystem
- Signing a historic [trade agreement with Australia]([link removed]), our first ‘from scratch’ since leaving the EU
- Reducing the [Universal Credit]([link removed]) taper rate and increasing the Work Allowance
- Tackling drug crime and making our streets safer, with quality rehabilitation offered to those trapped in drug use through the [10 Year Drug Strategy]([link removed])
- [Funding for health services]([link removed]) to help with winter pressures totalling £8m awarded to University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust, Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust, Solent NHS Trust and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.
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Back in the constituency, I enjoyed [Small Business Saturday]([link removed]) and visited a number of our excellent independent local businesses including [Lulu Loves]([link removed]) in Stubbington and [By Arrangements]([link removed]) in Rowner. Picking up some excellent Chrsitmas gifts en-route.
December also saw the finale of my [Best Independent Shop Competition]([link removed]). Well over 2000 of you voted for your favourite local trader and I was delighted to announce Gosport’s Best Independent Shop 2021 as [Alverstoke Village Hardware]([link removed]).
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It was great to visit the worthy runners up [P&J’s Food]([link removed]) and [A Slice of Vinyl]([link removed]), but my isolation meant that I had to delay my trip to the winner, Alverstoke Village Hardware and runner up, [Anita’s Blushing Bloom]([link removed]) until January.
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In December I also asked for your favourite South East Asian Restaurant. The business with the most votes would be my nomination for the Tiffin Cup 2022. You voted The New Bengal on Stoke Road for the second year running. They will now go forward to the National stage of the prestigious competiton.
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It's so important to support our local independent traders, they're the lifeblood of our economy and have powers to breathe new life into our shopping centres.
Organisations like [Coastal Collective]([link removed]), who I caught up with this month, are bringing businesses together with a strong vision for Gosport High Street.
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There are lots other of exciting plans for Gosport High Street afoot through the [Heritage Action Zone]([link removed]) - I think our local heritage and historic buildings are our USP when it comes to driving regeneration and seizing new opportunities for our Town. I was delighted that [Arts Council England]([link removed]) share that belief and have named Gosport as one of their top priority places for investment. It was great to welcome Chief Executive, Darren Henley to Gosport to show off some of our remarkable sites.
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Among other meetings in December, I caught up with the Interim CEO of [Hyde Housing]([link removed])to discuss a number of concerns residents had raised with me, and with the bosses of [Gosport Borough Council]([link removed]), [Fareham Borough Council]([link removed]), [Portsmouth Harbour Marine]([link removed]), [Portsmouth University]([link removed]) and [Hampshire County Council]([link removed])to discuss various local issues, plans and projects.
Transport is a regular feature in my mailbag, so it was good to meet the team from Halfords this month to learn more about their[E-Bike trials]([link removed]). with cycling becoming ever more popular over the course of the pandemic, people can now try-before-they-buy one of these whizzy new bikes!
To end 2021, my final meeting was with [Homes England]([link removed]) to discuss progress at the Daedalus site in Lee on the Solent and their plans for 2022.
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On a perosnal note I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and emails regarding my [dad’s retirement]([link removed]) from ITV Meridian just before Christmas. After 58 years it on telly it was certainly an emotional decision to step back from the evening news, but a you'll be pleased to know that he has other TV and book projects to keep him busy. I think we can all agree that, in the meantime, he has earned a bit of time off. My siblings and I are obviously very proud of him!
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Finally, I would like to wish all of my constituents and readers a very healthy and happy 2022. Lets hope the New Year brings us no more Covid surprises and we can all carry on doing the things we enjoy and spending more time with the people we love.
A big thank you to my own small but brilliant team for their hard work in 2021. That's Tash and Glenn in Gosport, Hebe and Herbie in Westminster. I'm very lucky to have them by my side.
Over the New Year period we will still be responding to any urgent emails, so please do contact me at
[email protected] if you require immediate assistance.
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Caroline Dinenage MP
167 Stoke Road
Gosport
PO12 1SE
[email protected]
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