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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome back to my South West Surrey update No.195 I hope you had a good summer (not that we remember it now) and it is of course all change at Westminster with a new PM and Cabinet. I have joined the swelling ranks of ‘former future Prime Ministers’ which despite the disappointments involved, will I hope be good news for my constituents (and long-suffering family)!

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

IN LIZ WE TRUSS After an extensive leadership contest Liz Truss became the 15th Prime Minister of the Queen’s reign ([link removed]) travelling to Balmoral to be officially asked to form a government. She then quickly put in place her top Cabinet team which includes, for the first time, not a single white man in any of the great offices of state. It’s a great example of the modern, diverse country we have become. And isn’t it better to deal with historic discrimination by smashing glass ceilings as the Conservative Party has done than obsessing about woke language and rewriting history? The new PM has also made it clear that she is going to prioritise economic growth which is exactly right in the face of a recession - and what people expect a Conservative government to get right. Not that she needs my advice but I set out some thoughts as to how she should approach the job in this week's Herald
([link removed]) - not least make sure she communicates her values as much as her plans. I talked about her prospects on the Peston show last night ([link removed]) and also the challenge she faces with the NHS ([link removed]) . Whichever candidate you supported or party you vote for she is now our Prime Minister so we wish her well.


ENERGY BILLS FREEZE Unsurprisingly the first major announcement from the Prime Minister is a freeze in the energy price cap ([link removed]) for consumers and businesses. The debate in Westminster is not about the principle but how to pay for it: Labour want a windfall tax but the government is - sensibly in my view - saying that if we do that the energy companies will not invest in the new sources of energy we need which is the long term solution. But will borrowing stoke up inflation? It is not injecting £150 bn into the economy if you protect people from price rises that would have happened. The bigger question is how ‘temporary’ such a cap can be - because in the end we will have to balance our books.


TIME FOR A COFFEY The big news for the NHS this week is obviously the appointment ofTherese Coffey as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Deputy Prime Minister ([link removed]) . She was the first appointment Liz Truss made to her Cabinet and significantly for the Dept of Health is the Prime Minister’s closest ally having the Parliamentary stage of her leadership campaign. I have known Therese for many years. She is sensible, pragmatic and approachable so I think will go down well in the NHS. She also has a dry sense of humour (as we saw on LBC yesterday ([link removed]) ) and is a dab hand at karaoke - I seem to remember venting my frustrations at the height of the junior doctors strike by singing Suspicious Minds at one of them which was probably more enjoyable for me than for those listening. Therese has already listed her priorities as ABCD –“ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and
dentists” ([link removed]) . Anyway, welcome Therese and I hope you enjoy the copy of a rather interesting book calledZero ([link removed]) by an author well-known to residents of SW Surrey which was hand delivered to DHSC this afternoon.


RANIL’S OUR MAN We have a new Environment Secretary, my constituency neighbour Ranil Jayawardena MP, who like me has previously been very vocal on local sewage issues. I have written to him today asking for help progressing the aims of my green spaces campaign, namely to remove sewage from the River Wey, secure National Park status for the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and reduce use of single use plastics. I will let you know when I hear back from him - and will also be inviting him to SW Surrey.


COVID GOOD NEWS (AT LAST) Since my last update the level of Covid in the country has dropped markedly. The ONS then reported ([link removed]) 1 in 17 people in England as having the virus whereas now that figure is 1 in 60 ([link removed]) . The dashboard shows things are still improving too as in the last 7 days cases have decreased 20%, hospitalisations are down 14%, and deaths are down 38%. There are now an estimated 46 cases currently active in Waverley compared to 229 at the end of July. The NHS has also started rolling out the autumn vaccine booster announcing this week that 4 million of the most vulnerable are now eligible ([link removed])
to book their next jab (more below).

The key number remains 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 Yesterday morning I had my first surgery of the autumn, including a really encouraging conversation with a Farnham resident who is campaigning for a pump track near the Sandy Hill estate. Waverley are doing a survey at the moment to see if it is viable, and we should know the answer in November. I put him in touch with Rachel Morris and Alison Fitch, two other Farnham residents who are very keen to have a pump track in the town, and are campaigning for more things for young people to be able to do generally. I then spoke to a Farncombe resident about her concerns about Waverley's plans to turn Crown Court car park into housing and put a huge multi-story car park in the Burys car park with a massive overall reduction in parking capacity. These plans by the local Liberal Democrats are meeting widespread opposition and came up frequently during my time in Binscombe and Farncombe yesterday afternoon.

BINSCOMBE SQUALLS Whilst Liz was doing her first PMQs, I and a band of trusty volunteers braved the rainstorms to knock on about 300 doors in Binscombe ([link removed]) to find out about issues of concern. There was strong support for my campaign for a new Cancer Centre for the Royal Surrey ([link removed]) and strong opposition to Waverley’s plans for a housing development and multi-storey car park in the middle of Godalming. I also met some representatives from the Farncombe Initiative to hear their concerns about plans to turn a Broadwater School playing field into a car park. Thank you to the Natter Cafe for the dry shelter and delicious coffees we finished up with.

AUTUMN COVID BOOSTERS Not only is the booster back, but the NHS has become the first healthcare system in the world to use the next generation, bivalent covid vaccine. ([link removed](22)00361-7.pdf) The JCVI advice is in, and from the start of this week the following people should be offered a covid booster dose:
* Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
* Frontline health and social care workers
* All adults aged 50 years and over
* Persons aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, as set out in the Green Book
* Persons aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
* Persons aged 16 to 49 years who are carers, as set out in the Green Book.

A full copy of the JCVI advice for COVID-19 boosters can be found here ([link removed]) , the National Booking Service is here ([link removed]) and eligibility for the seasonal influenza immunisation here ([link removed]) .

SURREY TO THE RESCUE As of Monday 5th September at 10.00am, the Home Office online Foundry portal shows that 1,438 Surrey sponsor households are matched with 4,267 Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. With regards to school admissions, Surrey has received the highest number of Ukrainian children in England processing over 760 in-year applications. As always, the official Surrey County Council page ([link removed]) contains a wealth of support for Ukrainian nationals and if you have a moment, I would recommend listening to this Surrey Matters podcast ([link removed]) which is powerful and all about what refugee and evacuee support looks like in Surrey.

AND FINALLY… HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOPPA! On 22nd July our fantastic local Hoppa service turned 20, and celebrated by unveiling their first ever electric bus! This is just the first step on their journey to net zero, as they hope to add more electric vehicles to their fleet in future. To read more about this brilliant local service or to book a ride, click here. ([link removed])

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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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