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GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my South West Surrey update No. 205
Last week I visited the Treasury’s branch in Darlington and met with Teeside’s Mayor Ben Houchen to announce a £93m transformation package. Locally I met Farnham headteachers to discuss fuel bills and SEN provision. In Godalming I had a catch up at the amazing Meath, met with Ukrainian residents taking English classes at the Baptist Church and attended a wonderful tea in the Masonic Hall to raise funds for the Royal Surrey Cancer & Surgical Innovation Centre. The day concluded with knocking on doors with my hardy team in Milford, where it was a little chilly to say the least!

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

TREASURY UPDATE - One of the big issues I’ve been grappling with since becoming Chancellor is how to spread wealth and opportunities across the country. It has a direct impact on us locally as one of the reasons for the pressure on housing is people feeling they need to move to the South East to get the best jobs. ‘Levelling up’ has actually been a key strand of Conservative thinking for a while now (think back to George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse) but the Treasury is literally playing its part by moving 500 jobs to a new Darlington Economic Campus ([link removed]) . There are nearly 200 so far, a number of whom have enthusiastically moved north and the town itself is thriving. I announced an investment of £93m to transform Darlington Station ([link removed]) with Teeside Mayor Ben Houchen. Separately the UK also helped make possible a price cap on Russian Oil
([link removed]) to stop Putin profiting from his appalling war.

COVID UPDATE As of Friday 2nd December, the total number of Covid cases in England increased slightly, with the ONS now reporting that 1 in 60 have the virus, ([link removed]) compared to 1 in 65 the previous week. The government’s Coronavirus dashboard ([link removed]) data echoes this with cases up 3.6% in the last 7 days, hospitalisations up 10.9% but crucially, deaths down 29.7%. This continual decrease in deaths (despite cases rising) is largely down to vaccines and their uptake. So, if you haven’t already, and are eligible, please do schedule your Covid bivalent booster jab. ([link removed])

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

CANCER CAMPAIGN LATEST On Friday we had a wonderful afternoon tea at the Masonic Hall in Godalming ([link removed]) , with 80 guests and excellent entertainment provided by Go Perform. A huge thanks to all the singers, and to Judith, Carole and Lorena who baked some delicious cakes all to raise money for the Royal Surrey Cancer Centre. Waitrose and Daisy Sandwiches in Godalming also kindly provided mince pies and sweet treats, and local residents and companies donated some raffle prizes. We raised a further £1,600 for the new centre with donations still coming in, so a huge thanks to all who bought tickets and came along. Also, on Sunday, the Royal Surrey Charity stall at the Haslemere Christmas Markets brought in an additional £460, with Julie from Haslemere winning the enviable hamper!

UKRAINE UPDATE There’s lots of remarkable support for our Ukrainian residents locally which I went to see in Godalming ([link removed]) . In addition to the weekly English lessons at the Baptist Church organised by the brilliant Cherry Gay, check out this crowdfunding page ([link removed]) to help raise funds for guests seeking independent housing/initial rent down payments once their six month stay with their sponsor has ended. In Haslemere, volunteers are now searching for new hosts to house guests for a further six months with events to help connect local residents to Ukrainian friends. Haslemere Rotary have also been working hard to collect bags of warm clothing to send to Ukraine to help them get through their coldest months when many people are facing power cuts. If you feel you are able to help in any way - whether financially, as a host, or by donating warm clothing - please do let me know via
email at: [email protected]

FARNHAM WATER PIPE WORKS Farnham residents will want to know that South East Water has scheduled major works to lay 2km of water main in the centre of the town. The works will see pipe installed between West St and the A31 Alton Road starting from 9 January. Road closures are a last resort but will make traffic worse so I am meeting them in the New Year to see what mitigations can be applied. SE Water are hosting an in-person drop-in session for all residents and businesses at Farnham Memorial Hall between 6-8pm this evening which you can also pop into.

AND FINALLY… I’m sure like me, you’re eagerly awaiting the England vs France game on Saturday evening. However, first I must offer my commiserations to Spain, who were kicked out of the competition on Tuesday afternoon. It might be too soon (so apologies to any Spanish subscribers), but check out Ryanair’s recent Instagram post ([link removed]) on the topic which we obviously hope will feature the French team on Saturday evening.

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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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