5 November 2021
Andrew Mitchell MP’s 83rd weekly message to constituents and local residents across our Royal Town

Covid 19 & Vaccinations

An additional 428 cases of Covid 19 have been registered in Sutton Coldfield for the week of 23rd - 29th October compared to an updated figure of 490 for the week of 16th - 22nd October based on data from Birmingham City Council’s public health division.

In the 7 days up to 29th October, there were 2,970 cases in Birmingham (equivalent to a case rate of 260.4 cases/100k population), a decrease compared to 3,425 cases (300.3/100k population) the previous week.

Over the 7 days leading up to 29th October of 23,262 PCR pillar 2 tests 2,600 (11.2%) were positive in Birmingham, lower than the positivity rates for West Midlands and England as a whole.

Birmingham is 14th in the region for pillar 2 PCR tests rates with 2,040 tests per 100k population 36,778 LFD pillar 2 tests were also carried out.

The attached image shows the number of first and second vaccines per age group for Sutton Coldfield from data published yesterday.

Vaccination Statistics 4 Nov 2021

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 16s 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.

Some welcome news this week; the first pill designed to treat symptomatic Covid has been approved by the British medicines regulator. Molnupiravir can be given twice a day to vulnerable patients recently diagnosed with Covid. In clinical trials the pill cut the risk of hospitalisation or death by about half. Pfizer is currently undertaking late-stage trials of two different antiviral tablets and Roche is working on a similar medication.

 

Royal Sutton Coldfield updates

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that the Children’s Assessment Unit at Good Hope Hospital, Fothergill Block, will be reopening to patients on Monday at 7.30am.

On Tuesday I joined local group Church Action for Tax Justice on one of their Zoom meetings to discuss the future of tax havens. It was an interesting conversation and an opportunity to discuss the commitments and progress that has been made so far on this subject. As co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax it is an issue that I am particularly focused on.

This week is Trustees’ Week, a good opportunity to celebrate the vital work of charity trustees. There are 222 charities registered in Sutton Coldfield and I would like to send my thanks to all our local trustees who do vital work across the Royal Town. I am always keen to highlight local charities, voluntary opportunities and fundraising events in my weekly message so do get in touch if there is anything I can include in my message over the coming weeks: andrew.mitchell.mp@parliament.uk

Funds from the Government’s Levelling Up and Community Renewal schemes have been awarded to several projects in the Birmingham City Council area including:

  • Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s “No Code” digital skills project aimed at 16-19-year-olds to help create the next generation of tech entrepreneurs
  • A457 Dudley Road Improvements – major transport improvements to help reduce congestion, encourage walking and cycling, provide better facilities for public transport users and improve connectivity to new housing developments where more than 2,000 new houses are currently being built
  • Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath Library – to allow for the next phase of restoring the Grade II listed Edwardian swimming pool and library
  • Remediation of the former Birmingham Wheels Site (Bordesley Park) – which will act as a catalyst for the area’s regeneration and help create up to 3,000 jobs in the area.

I would like to wish a very happy Diwali to all those that are celebrating this week across our Royal Town.

 

Westminster news and Parliamentary business

On Monday I attended a roundtable hosted by the Foreign Policy Centre and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. The meeting discussed the importance of open societies to the UK’s ‘force for good’ ambitions and the importance of openness in a changing world where authoritarian powers are gaining influence.

On Tuesday as part of my work as co-chair of the APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax I joined a briefing about the recent release of the Pandora Papers; the latest in a long line of leaks which once again highlighted the secretive world of offshore finance and some of the very worst tax avoidance and money laundering practices.

On a similar theme I have also added my name to a substantive motion which will be put in front of the Backbench Business Committee calling for an Economic Crime Bill to be prioritised this parliamentary session.  

This week I joined Iain Dale for his All Talk podcast https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/episodes/7DrdMMY/ and was interviewed by Iain Martin for Reaction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc0PXWIQZE0. I also wrote a short piece for PoliticsHome on Britain’s declining role as an international development superpower: https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/britain-started-2020-as-a-development-superpower-but-will-end-2021-having-failed-to-deliver-on-the-global-stage

This week world leaders have been meeting in Glasgow for the COP26 Summit. The conference has brought over 25,000 delegates to work together to combat the impacts of climate change and it is the largest international summit we have ever hosted. It is good to see that West Midlands green technology and innovation is being highlighted during COP26. The UK’s first battery powered train and first hydrogen-fuelled train – both designed and built in the West Midlands are being showcased and Andy Street, our West Midlands Mayor, will join other mayors from major cities around the world to take forward net zero solutions. The Mayor is set to deliver a speech in the COP26 United Nations pavilion on November 11 during which he will talk about the region’s on-going work to build a zero-emission transport system – a project that received additional funding in last week’s Budget announcement. As part of the official conference programme, the West Midlands Combined Authority will also host the COP26 Regional Roadshow at the University of Wolverhampton.

On Tuesday the Government announced that more than 100 world leaders have backed a £14 billion agreement to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-100-leaders-make-landmark-pledge-to-end-deforestation-at-cop26. We have also brought 103 countries together to sign a deal to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent by the end of the decade. If fully implemented, this pledge alone could help limit global warming by about 0.2C by 2050.

Women will benefit from cheaper and easier access to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve symptoms of the menopause following commitments made in Parliament at the second reading of Carolyn Harris MP’s private members’ bill. Working with NHS England, the Government will look to implement longer prescribing cycles, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, so women receive fewer prescriptions, reducing the need to pay frequent prescription charges. This could mean women would only have to pay one charge for up to a 12-month supply of HRT. To further improve access to HRT prescriptions, the Government has also committed to look into combining two hormone treatments into one prescription, which would benefit approximately 10% of women accessing HRT.

It was great to meet the 2022 Commonwealth Games team and mascot Perry when they visited Parliament. The Commonwealth Games team has created some free downloadable Perry colouring sheets which can be found on their website: https://www.birmingham2022.com/mascot/

Andrew Mitchell MP with Perry

The Environment Agency has launched two national consultations relating to our water environment which are open for the public to submit their views:

I thought it might be helpful to provide some clarity on my position on Owen Paterson MP and the recent ruling by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. I supported the Leadsom Amendment but did not vote for the Amended Motion when it was voted on this week.  

I am of the view that the judgement on Owen Paterson raised some fundamental concerns about the system that is used to investigate complaints. The process did not give Mr Paterson any right of appeal and he has said that he was unable to call witnesses in the way he wanted to, so that they could speak in his defence. I believe these two aspects go far beyond the disciplinary or standards processes in most other workplaces and I don’t think it unreasonable that the standards process is reviewed.

I was worried that the punishment was disproportionate and that Mr Paterson was unable to put his case across fully. I have read the documents that have been made public about the case but I do not have any inside knowledge of his case beyond what has been published in Parliament or printed in the press. I think it is important to make clear that the Leadsom Amendment did not exonerate him (unlike another amendment that was tabled at the same time which I did not support) but it did call for a review of the whole system and for his case to be looked at again by way of appeal. My support of the Leadsom amendment was not to pass a final judgement on his case but to raise some questions about the processes that are currently in place to investigate these matters.

 

Opportunities and Events

Holy Trinity Parish Church’s 8th season of concerts continues on Saturday the 27th November with Down For The Count's Motown Collective. www.htsc.org.uk/event/down-for-the-count-2  

Xzibit Young Creatives have opened applications for their award-winning choreographic and talent development initiative for 2021/22. The programme is for aspiring young choreographers and dancers from across the East and West Midlands, aged 11 to 19 and is designed to provide opportunities for young people to present their own work to live audiences in professional venues. It is suitable for those who have some dance experience and an interest in hip hop. https://www.xzibityoungcreatives.com/

Three Political Leadership Scholarships are available for Oxford Master of Public Policy candidates who intend to run for office https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/study/mpp

Core Telecom are offering charities a free telephone number, no monthly fees and free IVR services, with no costs to receive inbound calls for 12 months, and then 0.5p per minute to cover service costs thereafter. https://coretelecom.co.uk/charities/

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