Across our Royal Town there will be sadness and reflection at the news today of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Philip was the longest serving consort in British history and he will be remembered for a lifetime of public service. Our thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal family.  

Parliament will be recalled on Monday, with the House of Commons sitting for tributes

Covid 19 & Vaccinations

An additional 25 cases of Covid 19 have been registered in Sutton Coldfield for the week of 27th March- 2nd April compared to 69 for the week of 20-26 March based on data from Birmingham City Council’s public health division.

The 7-day case rate between 28th March – 3rd April in Birmingham is now 42.5 cases/100K population, compared to 72.3/100K for the period between the 20/03-26/03.

Over the 7 days leading up to 4th April, of 15,738 PCR pillar 2 tests, 354 (2.2%) in Birmingham were positive, higher than the regional and national averages but lower than the week before.

Birmingham ranks 12th in the region for pillar 2 PCR tests, with 1,378 tests per 100k population. 50,412 lateral flow tests were also carried out.

Hospital admissions range between 6 and 17 new cases a day at University Hospitals Birmingham Trust over the 7 days from 28th March- 3rd April.

The attached image shows an overview of vaccinations across different wards in Sutton Coldfield, based on the data that was available on Tuesday. Over 53,600 people living in Sutton Coldfield have received their first dose.

From Monday, we will move to Step Two of our roadmap - reopening shops, gyms, zoos, personal care services, outdoor hospitality, and increasing the number of visitors to care homes from one to two.

Royal Sutton Coldfield updates

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced nearly £400 million in grants and loans to help the culture and heritage sector reopen and recover over the coming months. In the Royal Town grants totalling £226,686 have been granted to MyWay Pub Ltd and SCART- the charitable trust that runs our Town Hall. Our Town Hall team will now be able to recommence planning for future shows and room hire. As a result of the grant, the Trust can return more staff to work, enabling the venue to market its autumn programme, which starts in September. Across Birmingham, a total of £7,705,796 has been awarded to 67 organisations.

Earlier this week I spoke to Sub Lieutenant Joshua Walsh, Commanding Officer and Nigel Smith - Chairman of Sutton Coldfield Sea Cadets & Royal Marine Cadets. As President of our local Sea Cadets I am always keen to support their work and it was good to have the opportunity to discuss a number of exciting projects that are currently underway including significant development and regeneration of their main building and plans to expand their cadet numbers. Please see their website to find out more about the opportunities available to Sutton’s young people: https://www.sea-cadets.org/suttoncoldfield

This week saw the release of my video endorsement of our local Suttonian PCC Candidate Jay Singh-Sohal, who is fighting to stop our police station closure. You can watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=793376461596257

Birmingham and Solihull CCG has announced that after 43 years in the NHS, and four years as their Chief Executive, Paul Jennings will retire from the NHS in September. Paul was due to retire last year however due to the immense challenges of Covid 19 he postponed his retirement to support our local health service.

There are regional elections coming up including for West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and for the West Midlands Mayor. It is important that Sutton Coldfield residents have their say, a good way of being sure you get to vote is to register to vote early, by post at a time convenient to you. https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20097/elections_and_voting/699/voting_by_post

Westminster news and Parliamentary business

Last Saturday I discussed the issue of Covid vaccine passports on the PM programme. I am very sceptical that they are necessary and worried about the effect they would have on civil liberties and social cohesion - as I explained in this BBC interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAvy3xa9AAg&t=1s

Today the Government has set out a framework for the safe return of international travel. The Global Travel Taskforce has produced a traffic light system and Ministers will set out by early May which countries will fall into which category, as well as confirming whether international travel can resume from 17 May. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/global-travel-taskforce-sets-out-framework-to-safely-reopen-international-travel

The Recovery Loan Scheme opened for applications earlier this week. The new scheme, administered by the British Business Bank on behalf of the Government, has been put in place to support access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow following the pandemic. The scheme will support borrowing of up to £10m for individual businesses and up to £30m across a group. The funds can be used for any legitimate business purpose, including managing cashflow, growth and investment.

The Government has launched a new £20 million fund designed to strengthen the medicines and diagnostics manufacturing industry, encouraging companies to develop new technologies, build more factories and improve our domestic supply chains – helping create hundreds of highly skilled jobs across the UK. Our world-leading life science sector has been at the forefront in the fight against Covid, and its response to the pandemic is a reminder of the importance of championing scientific innovation.

Opportunities and Events

The 2021 Levelling Up awards will celebrate the work underway in our communities to help the UK to build back better. To nominate a community champion please send me an email (andrew.mitchell.mp@parliament.uk) including a brief outline of the organisation or individual you would like to nominate. The deadline is Friday 16th April.

The categories are as follows:

1. Strong Foundations in Early Years

2. Successful School Years

3. Positive Destinations Post 16+

4. Right Advice and Experiences

5. Open Recruitment

6. Fair Career Progression

7. Widening Access to Savings & Credit

8. Good Health and Well-being

Royal Mail has launched a competition for schoolchildren to design one of eight special Royal Mail stamps to honour the heroes of the pandemic, including key workers and others, who have supported their community and helped the country through a very challenging period. Schools and families who educate their children at home can sign-up for one of 6,000 resource packs: www.royalmail.com/stampcompetition. The competition is open to children aged 4 – 14. A special panel of judges will determine the eight winning designs from 120 regional finalists. As with all stamps issued by Royal Mail, the final eight designs will be sent to Her Majesty The Queen for approval before they are issued. The competition is open until 28th May.

Charities and community organisations based in the West of England with an annual income below £1m, can apply for up to £20k of funding from the Postcode Local Trust. For further details, and to check if your organisation is eligible, please visit the Postcode Local Trust website: www.postcodelocaltrust.org.uk

The Include Me Citizens Network is a social movement that’s designed to be a voice for people with a disability or long term health condition. The Citizens Network is made up of carers and/or adults, young people and children who have a disability or long term health condition, and provides a safe space to communicate thoughts, opinions and concerns around accessibility. The network works in collaboration with the West Midlands Combined Authority and local businesses to encourage positive changes to improve the overall accessibility for physical activity. For more information on how you can get involved with the Citizens Network email Ashleigh.Jones@midlandmencap.org.uk  or call 07912 269 035.

The charity Young Climate Warriors is working with Primary Schools ahead of Earth Day on 22nd April. The charity provides schools with free resources that are ready-to-use and accessible to all including weekly challenges and off-the-shelf sessions.  https://www.youngclimatewarriors.org/

The West Midlands Combined Authority is launching an Invitation to Bid for the Community Renewal Fund (CRF). The WMCA has been nominated by Government as lead authority for our region. Full details and further information can be found on the WMCA website: https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/uk-community-renewal-fund . The closing date for bid applications is 12 noon on Wednesday 12 May.

 --

As your MP I am here to help. If you feel I can assist with any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in contact by emailing me on andrew.mitchell.mp@parliament.uk

My weekly updates are available via email: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/bhE9MGy/AndrewMitchellNewsletter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewmitchellmp and my website