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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my South West Surrey update No.172. Sue Gray’s update kicked things off this week but we’ve also had big decisions on vaccinations, the cost of living, levelling up and further tensions in Ukraine.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

SHADES OF GRAY? Not quite but Sue Gray’s 'update' ([link removed]) left pretty much everyone frustrated, including her. As I’ve said before (but reiterate given the number of emails I have had) what happened was clearly unacceptable and this process, with only an update and not a full report, has rather added insult to injury. The whole saga is incredibly damaging to politics in general as well as being a distraction from other important issues such as the fuel price increases and Ukraine. The Prime Minister has accepted that there were serious failures of leadership and said he will implement the recommendations made so far. But even with the limited detail provided in the update there are still serious questions to answer as evidenced by the fact the police are looking into them. When this has been done
and Sue Gray's final report has been published (which, with the exception perhaps of any junior officials’ names it must be) we will then be in a better position to understand what exactly happened and where the responsibility lay.

HOLD FIRM VS RUSSIA That’s the message in my Telegraph article published yesterday ([link removed]) (and reprinted in the Herald today) on the worrying situation developing on Ukraine’s borders. We need President Putin to know that the price of invasion is simply too high to make it worth it. This obviously means working with our international partners to ensure we don’t just make idle threats but are prepared to follow through with tough sanctions. My bigger worry is that we have re-entered a period where we need to win the argument for democracy and open societies - but one in which, given the economic might of China, military strength alone cannot be the answer.

COST OF LIVING With the energy price cap ([link removed]) and interest rates both going up today all eyes were on the Chancellor as he announces support to tackle the ever increasing cost of living. He’s due to hold a press conference later today but he has told Parliament that he will introduce council tax rebates for lower income households plus a loan system ([link removed]) whereby our energy bills are reduced now but paid back over time. Whatever mechanism is used, this is clearly a massive issue for many struggling households right now.

MISSION 2030 The long-awaited levelling up White Paper ([link removed]) was published yesterday with 12 national missions to spread opportunity and prosperity across the country at its heart. These missions all have impressively measurable aims and cover everything from pay and employment through to education and life expectancy. Pretty much all of these aims involve improving things right across the country - and not just the North - and with Michael Gove we have one of the government’s best ‘deliverers.’ I was particularly pleased to see a focus on primary school age reading, writing and maths, nationwide gigabit broadband, and further devolution to every part of the country.

COVID Government data continues to show things slowly moving in the right direction. The ONS estimates that 1 in 20 people ([link removed]) had the virus in the week ending 22nd January, the same number as the week before. The government dashboard notes a 2% decrease in cases, 12% decrease in deaths and 12% decrease in admissions over the last 7 days. ([link removed]) However the Zoe Symptom tracker is suggesting cases have gone back up again ([link removed]) and this is far more recent data than the ONS so we are not out of the woods. Although interestingly they state that 1 in 29 people in England have symptomatic Covid vs the ONS estimate of 1 in 20 in the community. One to keep a close eye on.

MANDATORY VACCINATIONS The government has u-turned on making vaccinations a condition of employment ([link removed]) in the NHS and social care sector. I was somewhat of a lone voice in Westminster arguing that this was a mistake. As I explain here ([link removed]) I understand the short term workforce pressures involved but still do not think it was the right decision. It feels to me like we had broadly won the argument on patient safety grounds but will now have to all over again when it comes to future more dangerous variants or flu jabs.

COVID STATS UPDATE As of 11am we have had a total of 17,515,199 positive cases of COVID-19 with 157,409 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 30,320 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 270 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 2,015 active cases in Waverley. In the last week in the UK coronavirus cases are down 3.5%, hospital admissions down 11.8% and deaths down 1.4%.

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

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

SURGERY STORIES Yesterday, a Farnham resident talked to me about the policy concerning donating your body to medical science. As a 56 year old who has lived a 'full life' - drinking, smoking and eating too much, he wanted to know why teaching hospitals do not take overweight specimens (as he described himself). Shouldn't professionals learn from people who have led less than perfect lives? This is actually a very reasonable point, so I have written to Sajid Javid to ask about it. I then had a call with a redoubtable gentleman I know well from church in Hambledon, who wants more support for charities supporting the welfare of the Gurkhas, which I will take up with the Defence Secretary. Finally, following on from my roundtable last week with a number of parents who have children with special educational needs, I spoke to a mum in Godalming with a 9 year old son with cerebral palsy and mild autism. He isn't happy at his current school, but Surrey are unwilling to fund him to go to the right
school - so I will raise this issue with the Council. As I mentioned last week, it just seems so wrong that parents facing all the challenges of a disabled child then have to put so much effort into battling the system.

KIND TO MIND Mental health is a growing issue for many people - so it was a great inspiration to meet Emma Lyddon last week, who is actually trying to do something about it. Emma has set up a small charity, Kind to Mind ([link removed]) which provides virtual self-help resources to people with anxiety, eating disorders, addiction and other mental health issues. She organised the Wellness Festival in Gostrey Meadow last year ([link removed]) and is doing the same again this year, and with Carolyn Baynes is promoting #FriendlyFarnham to encourage shopkeepers, cafe owners and other people with public-facing roles to offer advice to anyone they see in visible mental distress. They do however need funding to expand their work, so if you want to support them - or use their services - please contact Emma ([link removed]) through web/email/social media or via [email protected].

GP ISSUES One of the best things about being an MP is learning things locally that help you shape national policy. This is exactly what happened last Friday at a roundtable at Farnham Park Health Group ([link removed]) , where I heard from a group of GPs and practice administrators just how serious the pressures are right now. This of course is highly relevant to the inquiry into the future of General Practice ([link removed]) my Select Committee has just launched. The biggest problem is workforce shortages: they had to merge River Wey and Ferns Medical Practice into the new group because they were facing a lot of retirements, and have hired two GPs but are finding it incredibly difficult to get the numbers required. They have seen a 30% increase in the number of appointments requested by patients and are working 11-12 hour days to meet the additional demand - which is not just appointments but the medical admin that
comes with them. Whilst they welcome the fact that patients can now contact them by email, they also now have to have one full time administrator just to deal with them.

I have always thought GPs are what makes the NHS special - they should be the best type of ‘doctor job’ because of the long term relationships with their patients and families - the true magic of the profession. But they are leaving in large numbers because of the pressures. As Health Secretary I tried to increase GP numbers with limited success (newly qualified GPs were nearly all offset by higher than expected early retirees and part timers), so I have a personal desire to get to the bottom of these issues. Should we go back to GPs having their own lists to improve continuity of care as I asked Sajid Javid earlier last week? ([link removed]) Should groups of GP practices be responsible for out of hours services, to strengthen the ability of local doctors to wrap care round their own patients? All questions we will be considering, along with what incentives could encourage GPs to stay. In the meantime, thank you to
all at Farnham Park Health Group for a stimulating discussion which I will reflect on for our inquiry - hang on in there, as you are doing a great job.

CRIME ALERT Police tell me there has been a recent increase in break-ins to sheds and garages in the area, with bikes and tools being targeted. Surrey Police are working hard to tackle this issue but urge residents to review their shed and garage security, to ensure that expensive items are not left in unsecured sheds.

AND FINALLY Is this the beginning of the end for Facebook? ([link removed]) For the first time ever their number of daily active users has fallen. They still had 1.929bn of them though so probably not. Which is good news for the 0.000009375% of that number who follow me as I’m certainly going to carry on using it!

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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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