This is my eighteenth weekly message to my constituents and local residents across our Royal Town.

A shorter week in Parliament has meant that I have been able to spend more time in Sutton Coldfield.

I would like to congratulate Moor Hall Hotel and Spa for winning the Excellence in Hospitality award at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce awards last night. A brilliant example of a local family owned business that has invested in our Royal Town and continue to support local jobs and our visitor economy.

Yesterday I visited the New Hall Mill to meet local and thank volunteers and discuss various issues with the team relating to the lockdown restrictions. I also met the wonderful Pat Blackman who volunteers with the Birmingham Scrub Club. She has been working incredibly hard over the past few months and has managed to produce over 500 face masks (see a video that I will post shortly!). The majority of these have been given away, with others sold to raise money for charity. With the new guidelines for face coverings coming into force today I was very grateful to buy one of her masks which I will be using as I visit local shops and indoor facilities. While face coverings have become mandatory for the vast majority of us in enclosed public spaces, there are many people that are exempt and I hope that we will all consider the range of hidden disabilities that might mean that someone is unable to wear a face covering.

I also had some useful meetings about the future of our Town Hall and our town centre regeneration plans- more on these over the coming weeks but please be assured that important work is going on behind the scenes on both of these issues as we look to regenerate our local area and support local venues and facilities in these difficult times.

Today alongside some individual constituent appointments I also visited several local businesses. Thank you to Martin Pedley at Edge Menswear in Boldmere. Boldmere is in many ways leading the way in terms of independent retailers and it was good to have a chat about retail in these difficult times.

It was also great to speak to Kelly Wilson who runs Heaven Sent Beauty, also based in Boldmere. The beauty sector and close contact services have had a very difficult few months so it was useful to find out more about how Kelly has been getting on since her business reopened last week. The salon has been renovated and the team have implemented new measures to ensure that clients are kept safe.

I also visited Walmley Golf Club to discuss the resumption of sport and outdoor leisure and the challenges facing the hospitality sector over the coming weeks and months. I filmed a quick video during my visit which I will post in the next few days.  

As Parliament is in recess over the next few weeks I hope to spend more time catching up on constituency correspondence and following up on a number of local issues and priorities. If you are a local business or constituent and would like to meet me to discuss any concerns then please do not hesitate to get in contact by emailing me on andrew.mitchell.mp@parliament.uk.