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GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my South West Surrey update No.209 - Last week, I visited Inmarsat to see their amazing global satellite network - did you know the UK has 47,000 people employed in our space industry and we manufacture one quarter of the world’s small satellites? Locally, I had a busy constituency day on Friday starting off in Farnham where I met staff at Waitrose to hear how they supply three local charities with surplus food every week. I also met with Cllrs Carole Cockburn and Catherine Powell to discuss ongoing planning pressures in Farnham, held a constituency surgery and met with M3 LEP ([link removed]) , the official body responsible for promoting economic growth.


WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

TREASURY UPDATE - It’s heads down at the Treasury with just 8 weeks to go until the budget. This one will be particularly difficult because the economic picture is unlikely to have changed dramatically since the Autumn Statement which was only two months ago - which means no new money. Nonetheless lots of people are banging the drum for where they would like money to be spent. Our focus is on measures that will help bring down inflation and get the economy through a likely recession as quickly as possible - and then on the measures that will give us good long term growth. That means solving our productivity issues: we have long had one of the world’s biggest economies despite lower output per person than other similar countries. That said, it is encouraging that global bosses rank the UK as the third most attractive country to invest in, behind the US and China and alongside Germany. ([link removed])

IRAN UPDATE When I was Foreign Secretary, I fought hard for the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and whilst she has now safely returned home, I am appalled and saddened that another British citizen Alireza Akbari was executed by this cruel regime. ([link removed]) The Foreign Secretary immediately summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires to the Foreign Office to make clear our anger. We continue to impose more than 40 sanctions and will now look at what else we should do.

PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ONLINE HARMS This week saw the return of the Online Safety Bill to the House of Commons to conclude its remaining stages which I know is of interest to many who have written in. There was a compromise necessary to make sure we protected free speech so the new category of 'legal but harmful' content was removed with respect to adults and replaced with what is a fairer and simpler mechanism called the Triple Shield ([link removed]) . Protections for children have actually been improved - I think this is a good example of a Bill being improved by parliamentary scrutiny.

COVID UPDATE As of 13th January, the total number of Covid cases in England has thankfully started to decrease (slightly) with the ONS now reporting that1 in 25 now have the virus, ([link removed]) compared to 1 in 20 the previous week. However, the government’s Coronavirus dashboard ([link removed]) confirms this, showing cases are down 25.8%, hospitalisations down 18.8% and deaths down by 16.5%. Only 64.4% of all eligible people in England have now received their autumn booster, so click here ([link removed]) to book yours.

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

GREEN SPACES EXPANDING This week has been another encouraging one for the protection of our local environment as I have heard that the Surrey Hills boundary review will be published very shortly. The indications I have received suggest that a consultation will kick off in early March which means everything could be concluded by the summer. I am hoping to meet the new Chair of the Surrey Hills Board Kathy Atkinson soon and this morning spoke to the Environment Secretary about visiting us. Expanding the protected area is step one but step two is national park status!

CANCER CAMPAIGN HITS A POSITIVE NOTE As part of ongoing fundraising for the new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre at the Royal Surrey, Friends of the new Centre will be presenting ‘A Positive Note’ - a musical extravaganza not to be missed! The evening, showcasing some wonderful musical talents from across the community, will be presided over by Musical Director, Jake Hellier, who also happens to work for NHS England with responsibility for the 111 service. Performers include the Royal Surrey’s own Choir, Rock Choir, Milford Community Choir and the Haslemere Players, all with a range of popular and upbeat modern and classic songs. It is taking place at 7.30pm on Saturday 25^th February 2023 at Haslemere Hall, Haslemere – an evening not to be missed and a great cause too. Tickets available here ([link removed]) and for more details on the Centre (and to make a donation) please visit the Royal Surrey website.
([link removed])

COMMUNITY CARE Last week I visited Waitrose in Farnham to find out more about their brilliant community work. Led by partner Alice Butcher, they supply three local charities with food every week: Brambleton Hall Food Cupboard, Hale Community Centre and the Vine in Aldershot. For more than 2 years they have made 779 donations weighing over 17 tonnes which have provided 41,394 meals and saved 55 tonnes of CO2 emissions. But they say they can do more! They are still looking for a local charity to pick up unsold sandwiches, hummus and bag salads daily where they can be consumed quickly (before use by dates) so please email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) directly if you think you can help.

SURGERY STORIES My first call was to a Godalming resident who is trying to help an Afghan couple who had been working for a women's education centre but fled to Pakistan when their lives were put at risk by the Taliban. The resident has been told the couple are on a list for consideration but despite a lot of effort their application has not yet been processed. I said I would try to find out which government department is responsible for processing such applications and get the issue sorted.

I then spoke with a new resident of Farnham worried about drainage in her road which she believes would affect access by emergency services to around 50 houses. I said I would take up the issue with Surrey and find out why her neighbours have been unable to make progress on getting Section 106 money allocated.

Finally, I spoke with another Godalming resident to discuss his concerns about some changes in planning law which will make people wait for longer before they can apply for retrospective planning permission. He also had a very interesting idea on how to increase housing supply which I will investigate at the Treasury.

CRIME & POLICING IN HASLEMERE Sadly, there seems to have been an increase in theft in Haslemere - I’ve received reports of bike thefts from outside the train station and theft of tools from various outbuildings. I’ve been working closely with Surrey Police, and I know that on 1st February, Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey along with the local Police, will be discussing local concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour at Haslemere Museum - Local residents are welcome (and encouraged) to attend.

AND FINALLY How up to date is your vocabulary? Here are some of the new words of 2022: shrinkflation, friendshoring, eco-anxiety, metaverse and hybrid work are some of the new words around and you can find out from this article in the Economist what they all mean ([link removed]) if you fancy showing off…

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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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