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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome after Easter to my South West Surrey update No.181 Partygate was obviously back in the news in a big way this week but we’ve also seen important announcements on Ukraine, Rwanda and energy security so I will try to cover both local and national issues.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

PARTYGATE Following the receipt of his Fixed Penalty Notice during the Easter Recess the Prime Minister made a statement to the House of Commons earlier this week ([link removed]) in which he offered a wholehearted apology. Like many of you who have contacted me about this, I think it is shocking and disappointing that a Prime Minister has been fined for breaking laws he himself put in place during the pandemic and I cannot defend what happened. We are not at the end of the legal or civil service processes - more fines may be issued and Sue Gray has yet to publish her report. Another process will start now following today’s vote in the House of Commons which will lead to a judgement by a committee of MPs as to whether parliament was lied to. I would not have supported any move to delay such a report had we been asked to, but in the end we were not. However I now think there are two
reasons why we now need to wait until the end of all these processes before making a final judgement: firstly for those concerned about the rule of law, due process matters and it has not yet completed its course. And secondly, with my former Foreign Secretary hat on, I do believe right now would be the wrong time to change our Prime Minister. Yes we have changed wartime leaders before such as Chamberlain and Churchill. But one was after the catastrophic failure to prevent a war through appeasement and the other following a general election. In this situation we only have to ask ourselves ‘would Vladimir Putin be happy to see a two month leadership contest in Britain?’ to understand that the removal of the West’s most determined leader right now would not be sensible.

MIGRANTS AND RWANDA The government has also announced a Migration and Economic Development Partnership ([link removed]) with Rwanda that forms part of their strategy to tackle illegal migration and the people-smuggling criminal gangs who put so many lives at risk in small boats. I understand the concerns about the approach outlined by the government, although it is worth pointing out that both the UN and EU have resettled people in Rwanda. But it is also true that every migrant crossing the Channel has rejected the chance to claim asylum in another safe country (such as France) and the problem continues to explode - 28,500 people arriving in small boats last year up from 8,500 the year before. Forty four people died attempting to cross last year. If it can be made to work (and there are still huge practical and potentially legal obstacles to overcome) the new policy should reduce the number of people trying to
enter the country through such a dangerous route but this can only be part of the solution. We have safe and legal schemes for people to claim asylum from Syria, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine but there are many other countries where people are persecuted for political or religious beliefs. The moral corollary of the Rwanda policy must be to ensure there are safe and legal routes for people from those countries too.

ENERGY SECURITY Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has obviously focused the world’s attention on the security of energy supplies which is why it is important that the government push home produced energy in its recent strategy ([link removed]) . This plan did not get a big welcome but the move to nuclear it unveils will be crucial in our efforts to reach our net zero ambitions. By 2030, 95% of our electricity will now be produced by low-carbon means and by 2035 the government wants to have fully decarbonised our electricity system. Offshore wind capacity will also increase significantly, as will solar power. I think what this really shows is that the solutions to energy security, climate change, and indeed energy costs are all linked - more home produced, low carbon energy is both more secure, better for the environment and in the long run cheaper too.

COVID UPDATE The ONS has shown a decrease in new cases of Covid ([link removed]) in England for the first time in many weeks. In the week ending 9th April 1 in 14 people had the virus compared to 1 in 13 in the previous week. As of 11am the Covid dashboard shows that we have had a total of 21,890,037 positive cases of COVID-19 with 172,386 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 41,272 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 312 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 425 active cases in Waverley. In the last 7 days cases are down 31%, hospitalisations down 14% and deaths down 31%.

That key number is 0300 200 1008 for anyone with pandemic related difficulties. Also please check out my full list of local groups ([link removed]) working to support vulnerable residents.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

SURGERY STORIES First set of post-Easter surgery calls today, starting with a gentleman from Churt who wanted to talk about partygate issues as well as his difficulties in getting an X-ray for his incredibly painful renal stones. I had written to the Minister Maria Caulfield about why he was finding it difficult to get referred for an MRI through his GP (because the hospital refused) and was being instructed to go to A & E instead. She hadn't really understood the point he was making, so I told him to contact me next time it happens and I would get in touch with the hospital directly.

I then spoke to a gentleman from Haslemere about the issues for visas for Ukrainians. He asked whether we could use care home beds for the most vulnerable older people who don't have family, including people in care homes in Ukraine that have been bombed or damaged. He also asked why we require visas for elderly Ukrainians who are unlikely to be a security risk. I said I would write to Priti Patel to talk about a) whether there is funding available to support such people b) whether they can get visas or visa waivers. He also had an excellent idea about setting up a Ukrainian language helpline for new arrivals which I will write to Michael Gove about.

I spoke to a businessman from Witley in the aviation and health sectors about whether there is government help available to shift production from Poland to the UK. I am going to get in touch with Kwasi Kwarteng as attracting high tech and life science businesses to the UK should be a big national priority for us.

UKRAINE UPDATE Since Russia's abhorrent invasion of Ukraine began, UK Visas & Immigration have been receiving an unprecedented amount of correspondence. As an MP I'm not permitted to intervene in their decision-making but have been pushing hard for them to speed it up for many local cases. So far, I have been in contact with UKVI about 100 applications - with about a quarter of those having now received visas or Permission to Travel documents. I have also been in direct contact with IAG and British Airways about their refusal to accept official travel documentation, which has now been resolved. More positively people have started arriving and it has been a joy to hear from some Ukrainian refugees themselves who are beginning to settle into their new homes here in South West Surrey. As of Tuesday 19^th April, at 10.00am, the Home Office online ‘Foundry’ portal shows that 768 Surrey sponsor households are matched with 2,015 Ukrainian guests under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. This portal
enables Councils to see the sponsors, matches, arrivals and other relevant data on the Homes for Ukraine scheme for their area, as well as allow the recording of the results of checks being carried out, such as accommodation and DBS checks.

In order to better coordinate and manage local and national activity, Michael Gove’s ministry has appointed regional Operational Engagement leads (including for the SE, EE and London), who will attend local meetings to hear first-hand some of the issues being identified by the Surrey Task Group ([link removed]) including breakdown of matching arrangements, inappropriate accommodation, data provision, the challenges of the Family Sponsorship scheme, Local Authority capacity to manage additional demands, homelessness presentations, safeguarding, etc.

The Minister for Refugees has also confirmed that households who become sponsors through the Homes for Ukraine scheme will not lose Council Tax discounts due to more members joining the household. As well as there being no impact on a sponsor’s discount for their main home, there will be a 50% discount for empty or second homes that are used to house Ukrainians on the scheme. The £350 weekly ‘thank you’ payments will be free of from income tax and corporation tax.

LITTER ON THE A3 Recently, many of you have been in touch with me about the distressing amount of litter along the A3 and how we cannot pick it up because of safety implications. I raised this with Katie Stewart, Executive Director for the Environment, Transport & Infrastructure at Surrey County Council. Katie informed me that this type of litter picking is coordinated by Guildford Borough Council, who in response, have scheduled additional A3 mobile lane closures for litter picking; Monday 13/6/2022 to Thursday 16/6/2022, Monday 11/7/2022 to Thursday 14/7/2022, Monday 05/9/2022 to Thursday 8/9/2022 and Monday 17/10/2022 to Thursday 20/10/2022 (4 nights each).

SPECSAVERS SURREY YOUTH GAMES If you want to encourage your children to be more active or try a new sporting activity, why not register them for the Specsavers Surrey Youth Games 2022 ([link removed]) which returns this Summer. This is the largest multi-sport youth event of its kind in the Southeast of England, and they even offer free local training for those taking part. There are free beginners’ sessions in Waverley throughout April and May, specifically designed for 6–16-year-olds who do not currently attend clubs and would like to be more active. The weekly activity sessions include girls’ football, tennis, basketball, Go Tri Gym and inclusive dance. To find out more about what is on offer and how to sign up for the activity sessions, click here. ([link removed])

AND FINALLY Many happy returns to Her Majesty the Queen who turns 96 today ([link removed]) . What an inspiration she is and how lovely to hear the National Anthem played on the Today programme before the news. Just for a second I found myself wondering if we should do that every day…

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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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