GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my South West Surrey update No.179 A busy week for me on the health policy front with the publication of the horrific report into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford plus debates on the Health and Care Bill. We also saw the first police fines related to ‘partygate’, a schools white paper and more support for Ukraine announced.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER
MATERNITY REPORT Back in 2017 following a meeting with some of the parents who tragically lost a baby I commissioned Donna Ockenden to carry out an investigation into 23 similar cases. Five years later her final report set out in horrifying detail the poor care received by 1,486 families over two decades at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. 201 babies and 9 mothers could have survived had they received better care. The causes of such horrendous care were many and varied but included insufficient staff numbers, a reluctance to perform caesarean sections, a culture of not listening to patients and fear amongst the doctors and midwives that speaking out could cost them their job. The government has accepted in full the required, immediate actions the report sets out and as I said in my response in the House of Commons we must now change the culture within the NHS from one of blame to one of learning to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. My twitter thread is here and you can also check out my analysis for the Telegraph. Meeting and championing families who were shut out from the system became my true north when I was health secretary so it was a very personal day for me as well.
NHS AND SOCIAL CARE WORKFORCE Given the emphasis this report placed on the importance of safe levels of staffing - and a good response from the government to Ockenden - it was deeply frustrating that on the same day the government voted to reject the amendment to the Health and Care Bill that would’ve helped make sure we don’t end up with shortfalls in the future. If passed this amendment would have meant we had regular, independent projections of the number of doctors, nurses and care workers that we need to be training. The government is worried they will be forced to train more doctors - but my view is that it will actually save them money on the shocking £6.2 bn we spend every year on locum doctors and agency nurses. This Bill now goes back to the Lords on 5th April so there’s still a chance this measure will get put back in.
‘PARTYGATE’ FINES The Met have made the first referrals for Fixed Penalty Notices as part of Operation Hillman, their investigation into potential breaches of COVID-19 regulations in Whitehall and Downing Street. Twenty such notices will be issued to Downing Street staff but no news yet on whether the PM will be issued with one. The matter is ongoing but I will just say it is not defensible for anyone in No 10 to be breaking laws they themselves have helped to put in place.
UKRAINEUPDATE The Foreign Secretary updated the House of Commons earlier this week on the UK’s support for Ukraine. On the refugee front the government has issued 2,700 visas which is just 10% of those who have applied. But overall the picture is of a very effective British response: we are also deploying troops to Bulgaria, and are doubling the numbers of troops in Poland and Estonia; we are supplying another 6,000 missiles and £220m in humanitarian aid, again ahead of any other European country; we have now sanctioned over 1000 individuals and businesses, around twice the entire amount sanctioned by the EU in value. President Zelenksy this week even praised the Prime Minister for helping more than other Western leaders so although I think we overuse the phrase ‘taking a lead’ on international matters, when it comes to Ukraine it is clear we are.
SCHOOLS WHITE PAPER On Monday the Education Secretary set out how the government will ensure that 90% of primary school children will achieve the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths by 2030. Schools will identify pupils who have fallen behind in these areas and they will receive targeted help such as tuition in small groups to help them catch up. In the Conservative leadership campaign I said we should be the first government to abolish illiteracy. I have long thought that even though we have seen state schools improve dramatically over the last three decades, we need to focus more attention on the 50% of school leavers who do not go to university. Boosting the number of primary school leavers who can read and add up from the current two thirds to 90% by 2030 is a big commitment. It may not get much media attention but for something that will actually transform people’s lives is a really big step.
LANDSCAPES REVIEW The government is consulting on its response to a review into protected landscapes which was published a few months ago. This includes measures to protect Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. I went to a briefing by the RSPB in parliament where I found out that extinction rates of at risk species are the same inside and outside AONBs so there is clearly some very important work to do here. You can submit views until 9th April here.
COVID UPDATE As of 11am the Covid dashboard shows that we have had a total of 21,073,009 positive cases of COVID-19 with 165,187 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 39,581 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 301 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 1,423 active cases in Waverley. In the last 7 days cases are down 7%, hospitalisations up 11.5% and deaths up 22%.
That key number is 0300 200 1008 for anyone with pandemic related difficulties. Also please check out my full list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY
SURGERY STORIES Two very different constituency surgery calls today. The first related directly to the cost of living issues that are on everyone's mind: a mother from Farnham was extremely frustrated that the help with childcare is limited to £635 a month, compared to the nearly £1,000 pounds a month she would actually have to pay. In order to pay for the higher rents and council tax we pay locally, she wants to take a well-paid job but is prevented from doing so by the cost of childcare. I will take this up with Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary because it is clearly anomalous that the childcare cap is the same in every part of the country.
I then spoke to an extremely inspiring lady from Godalming. She is a former Prior’s Field School teacher who wants to set up free English classes for Ukrainian refugees. She has already found a venue but needs books, pencils, paper and access to a photocopier. If you think you can help - or indeed have any Ukrainians you are hosting who could benefit - let me know and I will put you in touch with her. You can see more details about support for Ukrainians in Godalming specifically here.
COMMUNITY RECYCLING CENTRES Several people have raised concerns about the accessibility of community recycling centres across SWS since the reduction in operating hours in 2015 and again in 2018. Knowing how crucial these centres are for protecting our green spaces, I raised the matter with Surrey County Council who explained that their current contract with Suez comes to an end in September 2024, and as part of their re-procurement, they will include a pricing option to open all the community recycling centres for the hours they were open prior to the changes that took place in 2015 (i.e. the entire week). This is potentially good news but in the meantime, please do let me know if you have difficulty accessing these centres as SCC will be continuing to monitor their usage and if required, have assured me they will make adjustments to opening hours to meet any obvious demand.
BUSBRIDGE INFANT SCHOOL Excellent news for Busbridge Infant School this week - Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of State for Education at the DfE has recently written to me to say that he has agreed to enter into a Funding Agreement to allow Busbridge Infant School to become a sponsored academy with South Farnham Educational Trust (with a conversion date of 1st April 2022). Academies form an integral part of the government’s education policy and South Farnham is superbly run so a good step forward.
1000 UKRAINIANS SET FOR SURREY As the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme is rolled out, significant work has gone on across Surrey in the past week. Surrey County Council now has access to the Home Office portal showing UK sponsors matched with Ukrainian guests, and although figures are constantly being updated, as of Monday 28th March at 10am the portal showed that the number of Surrey sponsor households is 463, who are matched with 709 groups of Ukrainians (totalling 1080 people). More locally, we have 73 sponsor households in Waverley, the second highest across the County, so a huge thank you to all that have come forward so far. Last week, the DWP also confirmed that all Ukrainian refugees will be able to claim benefits immediately and will not be subject to the habitual residence test. Some Ukrainian families and individuals have already arrived in Surrey, so a number of ‘live’ issues are being referred to Council's - DLUHC have recently updated their FAQs, so click here for current guidance and here to register your interest.
AND FINALLY The Oscars obviously saw controversy this week but one film that won’t be winning any awards is this effort from North Korea. It is terrifyingly bad!
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