Covid 19 & Vaccinations
An additional 301 cases of Covid 19 have been registered in Sutton Coldfield for the week of 4th - 10th September compared to an updated figure of 336 for the week of 28th August - 3rd September based on data from Birmingham City Council’s public health division.
The 7-day case rate up to 10th September in Birmingham was 270.7 cases/100k population, compared 284.0/100k to 298.4/100K in the previous week.
Over the 7 days leading up to 11th September, of 20,374 PCR pillar 2 tests, 2,807 (13.8%) were positive in Birmingham, higher than the rates for the West Midlands region and England as a whole.
Birmingham ranks 14th in the region for pillar 2 PCR tests, with 1,784 tests per 100k population. 85,810 LFD pillar 2 tests were also carried out.
The attached image shows the number of vaccines per age group for Sutton Coldfield from data published yesterday.
Walk-in appointments are taking place at a mass vaccination centres across the Birmingham City Council area for those aged 16 and over. Please check the latest availability via: www.birminghamandsolihullcovidvaccine.nhs.uk/walk-in over 18s can also continue to book in advance online as normal including bringing forward your second dose if your appointment is more than 8 weeks from your first vaccine: www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.
Following advice from the UK's four Chief Medical Officers, from next week 12 to 15 year olds will be invited to receive a first dose of a Covid 19 vaccine. For over 50s – and at risk under 50s – the booster programme will roll out shortly with a third dose offered from six months after the second dose. For those in this category, please await further information from your GP and local health service over the coming weeks.
Royal Sutton Coldfield updates
Last Sunday I attended the Royal Sutton Coldfield Civic Service at Holy Trinity Parish Church. Civic leaders attending the church service heard a sermon from the Rev John Routh, and the Royal Town’s Mayor Cllr Terry Wood and I read a lesson during the service. In the afternoon I visited the Town Hall fair which was well attended by locals and also King Henry VIII!
On Wednesday I joined a briefing session with Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership to discuss economic priorities and the challenges facing businesses locally. Much of the meeting was spent with me probing on behalf of Sutton Coldfield, the extent to which taxpayer’s money is genuinely boosting local investment. There are grounds for optimism.
Yesterday I spoke to Sarah-Jane Marsh, the Chief Executive Officer of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust about the Trust’s plans to redevelop their hospital sites. These plans are enormously exciting although inevitably long term, many local families in the Royal Town have had contact with this wonderful and much loved local institution.
This morning I met Liam Fitzpatrick from building and civil engineering firm JFF which is based in Boldmere in the Royal Town. I also went to Tesco in New Oscott to speak to the team about their latest fundraising campaign which supports Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK. This afternoon I met Julie Rennison, the brilliant Managing Director of our Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Hall. I also held a face to face to advice surgery for my constituents which covered a wide range of issues.
Statistics published this week show that our local unemployment rate in Sutton Coldfield is now at 3.5% of the population aged 16-64. There currently are 60 fewer claimants than July 2021 but the level is still higher than March 2020, before the first UK lockdown began. Across the UK, job vacancies have risen to over one million for the first time since records began, and the number of employees on payroll are back up to pre-Covid levels. There is still more to do, particularly to ensure that no young people in Sutton Coldfield are denied the opportunities they have every right to expect.
I am backing the campaign to locate the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) in the West Midlands. ARIA will be led by world-leading scientists and researchers who will be given the freedom to identify and fund transformational science and technology – cementing the UK’s position as a science superpower. The West Midlands has a proud manufacturing heritage, strong record of attracting business investment and enormous pool of talent and expertise, not to mention our central geographic location. The campaign is being led by our West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Dr Clive Hickman who is Chair of the Midlands Manufacturing Resilience Commission.
Transport for West Midlands has teamed up with local transport operators to offer two four-week tickets free, then a third four-week ticket at a 50% discount on selected bus, tram and nNetwork travel passes through the Workwise scheme, which is aimed at giving newly employed people a helping hand into work. https://www.tfwm.org.uk/swift-and-tickets/discounts-and-free-travel-passes/discounts-for-jobseekers/
Recently published data has revealed that the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has delivered 7186 loans, worth £62,695,702 with an average loan amount of £8,725 across the West Midlands. https://www.startuploans.co.uk/
Badger, which is the NHS Out of Hours GP provider for Birmingham, has announced plans to open a permanent drive through in Aston, which will be the first one in the UK. Over the last 18 months Badger have run a number of covid sites, including a drive through at the NEC at the start of the pandemic. The team has decided to create a drive through service permanently in Birmingham. It will be interesting to see how the service develops and the possibility of further rollouts of similar drive through options for out of hours services.
Westminster news and Parliamentary business
On Tuesday the House of Commons debated the new Health and Social Care Levy. During the discussions I asked that a Treasury Minister come to the House every 6 months to update MPs on what results are being achieved from the additional money raised by the levy, I have also tabled two written parliamentary questions to the Department of Health and Social Care on the same subject: https://bit.ly/3kdCEaz
Later on Tuesday I discussed the subject of assisted dying on GB News following the announcement that the British Medical Association has voted to drop its opposition to assisted dying: https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1437827611900719111
This week the All Party Parliamentary Group on War Crimes which I co-chair had an important meeting with German War Crimes Unit prosecutors to discuss issues relating to the presence of alleged Rwandan war criminals in the UK and the prosecution of those who participated in the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis.
On Wednesday the Prime Minister announced a new security partnership with the US and Australia. The new ‘AUKUS’ defence partnership will strengthen our security collaboration, foster deeper integration on defence science and technology, and see Australia draw on British and US expertise to help them acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
This week the NHS has launched the world’s largest trial of a revolutionary new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear. https://www.england.nhs.uk/2021/09/nhs-launches-world-first-trial-for-new-cancer-test/
Opportunities and Events
Holy Trinity Parish Church has resumed their heritage events and concerts. Their free-admission Heritage Open Day will take place tomorrow, Saturday 18th September. Attendees are encouraged to pre-book a slot online https://www.htsc.org.uk/our-heritage/heritage-news-and-notices I hope to see some of you there tomorrow morning when the Royal Town’s Mayor and I will be performing the opening ceremony as a double act!
The West Midlands Young Combined Authority is looking for new Board and Community members. Anyone aged 16 to 25 years who lives in the West Midlands can apply. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 29th September. https://aspire4u.typeform.com/to/hY7aw6W0
The Business Banking Resolution Service offers free, personalised dispute resolution for SMEs across the UK. The service helps give businesses confidence in their banks as they seek to recover and grow post-Covid. It also play an important role in bringing closure to historic cases that haven’t previously had access to independent review. If you’re part of an SME with an unresolved banking dispute that hasn’t previously been through the courts or had an independent review, find out here if you could benefit from the service: https://thebbrs.org/register
Vodafone recently launched Charities Connected, an initiative which gives any charity in the UK the opportunity to apply for free connectivity to help the individuals and families it supports get online or to improve its own digital capability. The offer includes SIM cards with 20GB of data plus free calls and texts every month for six months. Applications are open until 1 November 2022, or until supplies last. Registered charities of any size can apply by completing a short application form. https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/everyone-connected/charities-connected.
The £1 million Faith New Deal Pilot Fund will focus on strengthening engagement between national government, local government and faith groups. To find out more visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/faith-new-deal-pilot-fund
NatWest has launched a new MoneySense Climate Savers competition for primary school children across the UK. Pupils are encouraged to design Top Trumps cards that show actions that have a positive impact on the planet, with the winning ideas featuring in an exclusive deck of MoneySense Climate Savers Top Trump cards at COP26. Other prizes are also available for the winning schools. https://natwest.mymoneysense.com/climate-savers/
A reminder that Monday 4th October is the deadline to email nominations for the Kids Count Inspiration Awards. Please email details to: andrew.mitchell.mp@parliament.uk The awards recognise individuals and organisations that have inspired young people. The 2021 "Inspire the House" Award categories include: Inspirational Young Person, Inspirational Community Organisation and Inspirational Police Officer/s.
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