Happy St George’s Day!
Covid 19 & Vaccinations
An additional 20 cases of Covid 19 have been registered in Sutton Coldfield for the week of 10th- 16th April compared to an updated figure of 19 for the week of 3rd- 9th April based on data from Birmingham City Council’s public health division.
The 7-day case rate between 10th-16th April in Birmingham is now 21.9 cases/100K population, compared to an updated figure of 29.9/100K for the period between the 3rd- 9th April.
Over the 7 days leading up to 17th April, of 13,772 PCR pillar 2 tests, 179 (1.3%) in Birmingham were positive, lower than the regional average but higher than the national average.
Birmingham ranks 13th in the region for pillar 2 PCR tests, with 1,206 tests per 100k population. 51,353 lateral flow tests were also carried out.
Hospital admissions range between 1 and 8 new cases a day at University Hospitals Birmingham Trust over the 7 days from 10th- 16th April.
A new Antivirals Taskforce has been launched by the Government to identify treatments for patients who have been exposed to Covid 19 to stop the infection spreading and help speed up recovery. The taskforce will search for the most promising novel antiviral medicines that can be taken at home and will support their development through clinical trials to ensure they can be rapidly rolled out to patients as early as the autumn.
The attached image shows an overview of vaccinations across different wards in Sutton Coldfield, based on the data that was available on Tuesday. Over 11 million people across the UK have now received 2 vaccines.
Places of worship can now order Lateral Flow tests in bulk for their respective congregations. To order send an email to TestingEnquiries@birmingham.gov.uk
Royal Sutton Coldfield updates
I know that many of us have missed the Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer over the past year and so I am delighted to confirm that the Royal Sutton Coldfield Chronicle is due to launch next week and it will be delivered to 24,000 homes. At a time when the local print media is under pressure as never before, this is incredibly good news for our Town. https://www.facebook.com/Royal-Sutton-Coldfield-Chronicle-101919178387194
On Monday I spoke to David Thebridge, one of our local Scouting District Commissioners. It was good to discuss his plans for Scouts to return to face to face meetings and some of the exciting activities our local scouting groups have planned for the months ahead. Scouts as well as other youth organisations have faced significant challenges over the past 12 months however I know that volunteers across Sutton Coldfield have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to support their young members.
On Thursday I had a Zoom meeting with Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chief Executive of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, we had a useful discussion about the future plans for the hospital to continue to serve children across the region and throughout our Royal Town.
This week I also spoke to Andrew Judd, Executive Director of Dignity Plc about some of the challenges facing funeral directors and the industry more widely. Dignity is one of the largest providers of funeral services in the UK and its headquarters are based here in Sutton Coldfield.
Royal Mail is running a “Vote early, post early” campaign ahead of the elections. Eligible voters can return the completed pack using any Royal Mail postbox including one of the 35,000 Priority postboxes around the country, which are emptied later in the day and 15,000 are emptied on a Saturday and Sunday. To find your nearest postbox visit www.royalmail.com/services-near-you. Completed postal votes must be received by 10pm on polling day and voters are encouraged to post their ballot packs by Tuesday 4 May to ensure they can be counted. Ballot papers can also be handed into polling stations and local authorities on Thursday 6 May before 10pm. Our West Midlands Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner elections are really important for our region so make sure your vote counts!
I have signed a cross party letter alongside other local MPs to encourage the Government to consider increased flexibility in workplace vaccination programmes. Jaguar Land Rover has been part of a workplace vaccination pilot and it has proved to be effective at engaging eligible staff. Enhanced local flexibility in the vaccination programme could help ensure that the JLR experience can be applied to other large employers.
Asda Minworth is donating food and provisions to support our local Muslim community during Ramadan. Nationally, Asda is donating £100,000 to their partner charity FareShare which redistributes surplus food, including to many Muslim organisations.
The University of Birmingham and Birmingham City Council have launched a research project to improve people’s experiences of Lateral Flow Testing for Covid 19. https://bham.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ctib
Westminster news and Parliamentary business
It has been an incredibly busy week in Parliament and I have intervened on four separate occasions in the Chamber. I spoke in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office questions to emphasise the importance of our international development budget, I raised concerns about the NATO strategy in Afghanistan during an Urgent Question, I spoke about the importance of tackling tax abuse and tax fraud during Committee Stage of the Finance Bill and during PMQs I took the opportunity to highlight Andy Street’s local transport achievements as Mayor of the West Midlands. I have uploaded clips on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh1dcjrq62DwcP5ztQMoLWg/videos
This week the Government has launched our new 95 per cent government-backed mortgage scheme, helping first-time buyers get their feet on the property ladder. The scheme allows first time buyers or current homeowners to purchase a home with only a 5 per cent deposit on a house worth up to £600,000. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-95-mortgage-scheme-launches
On Tuesday Ministers launched a consultation to create new flexible apprenticeships. Flexi-job apprenticeships will boost opportunities in sectors including the creative industries where employment is often flexible or short term. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/consultation-launched-to-create-new-flexible-apprenticeships
On Wednesday our sixth Carbon Budget set into law one of the world’s most ambitious climate change targets – to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 (compared to 1990 levels). This will bring us more than three-quarters of the way towards our target of Net Zero by 2050. The target will help focus efforts on reducing emissions while fuelling new technologies, green innovation and creating employment opportunities in the process.
World Immunisation Week takes place between 24th – 30th April. This year it feels particularly significant as over half the UK population have received their first Covid vaccination and more than 38 million first doses have been delivered in 100 low and middle income countries through COVAX. The UK Government is helping to lead the way as one of the largest donors to COVAX, committing £548million to support the global effort to ensure vaccines reach those who need them most wherever they live. The Prime Minister has also set out his intention to share surplus doses with COVAX later in the year. Whilst 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, just 0.2% of them have been received in low and middle income countries. COVAX is another example of the way in which our international development budget can support poorer communities while making the world as a whole safer. We won’t successfully tackle Covid 19 and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging until we improve the world vaccination rate.
Sunday is World Malaria Day, an important opportunity to highlight the global efforts to end malaria and the need for sustained political commitment and continued investment for malaria control and elimination.
Opportunities and Events
Nationwide Building Society and the FA are running “The Coin for Respect” campaign to encourage players, parents and coaches get involved with the FA Respect campaign. A challenge has been created for children aged 3-17 to design a coin that will become a symbol of mutual respect at the start of each grassroots game. The winning design will be created and distributed to more than 20,000 grassroots referees across the country in time for the new season. The winner will also receive two tickets to an England game at Wembley and all shortlisted entrants will also receive a tour (for themselves and a parent or guardian) of Wembley Stadium as well as a bundle of England goodies. https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about/why-choose-nationwide/mutual-respect/coin-for-respect
Applications have opened for the 2021 Open University (OU) Disabled Veterans’ Scholarship Fund. The fund will provide scholarships for up to 50 disabled veterans to build on their unique military skills and experiences. The OU has awarded 160 such scholarships so far, helping individuals from a variety of service backgrounds including those diagnosed with a range of physical disabilities and complex mental health conditions. Each scholarship is tailored to fully support the needs of the student as they continue to transition to civilian life, providing a free OU education and wraparound disability and careers support. http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/choose/veterans
Family Learning, part of Birmingham Adult Education Service, provides tailor made free courses across the Birmingham City Council area in schools, nurseries, children’s centres, libraries and community venues. A variety of courses are available to enable parents and children to learn new skills and knowledge together. https://learnbaes.ac.uk/subjects/family-learning
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