7 January 2022
Andrew Mitchell MP’s 91st weekly message to constituents and local residents across our Royal Town

I have just learnt of the terrible news about my parliamentary neighbour Jack Dromey's death this morning. He was a great colleague and friend and in spite of our different political allegiances we worked seamlessly together on local issues of importance to those we represent at Westminster. I send my love and condolences to Harriet and their family on this awful news and their terrible loss. 

New Year Message: May I wish all my constituents in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield a happy and peaceful New Year.

The last 12 months have been extremely challenging in so many ways and we are lucky that locally our schools have proven to be so resilient and well led in the most trying of circumstances.

The Town Council and the many local voluntary bodies, as we advance into 2022, provide exceptional support to local people and central government will continue to provide unprecedented sums of taxpayers money and borrowing to support the NHS and other statutory bodies.

My particular hope for 2022 is that we learn to live with this terrible pandemic, relying on the wisdom of people, their families and our local community rather than Government dictats and laws.

The damage that is being done to businesses - particularly those in the hospitality industry is huge, quite apart from the challenges to the mental health of very many.

I will be focusing throughout this forthcoming year on trying to ensure we get back to normal and tackle the many backlogs that are affecting so many of the lives of my constituents in Sutton Coldfield.

Best wishes,

ANDREW

 

Royal Sutton Coldfield Updates

I always thoroughly enjoy visiting our schools and am looking forward to speaking with some of our sixth form pupils studying politics over the coming weeks in a number of Sutton's great secondary schools.

I am very much aware of the challenges that have been presented to schools from the very beginning of the pandemic and, of course, they are still ongoing. I cannot praise our schools, teachers and staff enough for their hard work and commitment. Classes have had to be adapted in ways that we never thought would be a reality and the way our schools have handled the ever-changing scenario is to be hugely applauded.

Surveys: I do some localised surveys from time to time in our Royal Town and before Christmas did one in parts of Vesey Ward and Boldmere. We had an excellent response and I was able to read through all the responses over Christmas and have now been able to reply to everyone who took part. Yesterday I delivered hundreds of replies to Jo West at the sorting office and they will all be delivered over the weekend as you can see in the picture.

 

Andrew Mitchell with Jo West at the Royal Mail Sorting Office

Lateral Flow Tests - Peak Pharmacy announced on 29th December, that all their pharmacies across England, have secured a supply of lateral flow tests for their patients for the foreseeable future. Their logistics team worked tirelessly through the recent bank holidays, with support from the NHS in Doncaster to guarantee supply. This service is in addition to the 17 Covid vaccination clinics Peak Pharmacy are running across the country. Matt Webster Head of Retail Operations tells me that:

As a pharmacy business we fully appreciate the challenges the pandemic has created for all the communities we serve. With isolation periods being reduced to 7 days when a negative lateral flow test is produced on day 6 and day 7, demand for lateral flow tests has never been higher. We are therefore pleased to announce that we can offer lateral flow tests to any patient who visits any of our pharmacies with a valid collection code. We can supply one pack of test kits per requesting individual. If the person is also collecting on behalf of another, a maximum of two packs can be provided per transaction.”

Peak Pharmacy

May I remind everyone that our vaccination centre in the Town Hall is offering walk-in appointments for the vaccination.  Please, if you haven’t already, go and have your booster.

My congratulations to our recipients of a New Year Honour which are as follows:-

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Sandra Bowker (Wallace): Services to social mobility

Professor Mark Radford: Services to Nursing

Members of the Order of the British Empire

Maxine Elisabeth Helen Joyce Espley: Services to Health and Social Care

Seamus Patrick Gaynor: Services to Children’s Social Care and Education

Voluntary Community First Responders I just want to send a huge thank you to father and son, Ben and Jacob East, who have worked a staggering 120 hours each over the last month and during Christmas for West Midlands Ambulance Service covering our Royal Town.

Ben richly deserves the Queen’s Platinum Medal for his frontline work together with other colleagues this year. Ben will be handing over the Chairmanship to his successor this year but will remain our Royal Town’s co-ordinator and point of contact for the Volunteers. 

 

If you are interested in speaking with Ben to hear more about becoming a Community First Responder, please let me know and I will put you in touch. 

Westminster news and Parliamentary business

 

Parliament returned on Wednesday and the Prime Minister laid out the government’s plans for tackling the Omicron variant. In short, we shall be continuing with Plan B for three weeks with a review before the 26th January when the current regulations expire. You can read the full statement here:  www.hansard.parliament.uk

 

I have also met with the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, Chair of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee, to discuss health issues of concern to the residents of our Royal Town.  I also took the opportunity of putting forward my views on Dignity in Dying which I voiced in the Commons chamber at the end of last year which can be viewed here if you wish.   https://youtu.be/HZv3rCky6xc

 

Useful Information

 

Key points on the Pandemic

  • Vaccination uptake for all ages 16+ is currently 68.8% for 1st dose, 63.9% for 2nd dose in Birmingham residents, and 40.1% for booster dose.
  • In the 7 days up to 31st December, 14,553 cases were reported in Birmingham (1276.0 cases per 100k population), an increase of 34.4% compared to 10,827 cases (949.3 per 100k population) in the previous week.
  • Birmingham’s case rate is ranked 124th in England (out of 149 upper tier local authorities), with Thurrock the highest (2,275 per 100,000 population) and Isle of Wight the lowest (784.3 per 100,000 population).
  • Comparing the week ending 31st December with the previous 7 days, cases increased in all age groups. The largest increase was 116.2% in the 60-79 age group, followed by increases of 58.9% in the 80+ age group, and 54.5% in the 40-59 age group. The 20-39 age group accounted for 45.7% of all cases.
  • There were 13 deaths reported, where patients died within 28 days of a positive test in the 7 days up to 2nd January 2022. 14 deaths were reported in the previous week.
  • The 10 wards reporting the highest case rates (per 100,000 population) in the 7 days up to 31st December were: Frankley Great Park (2065), Sutton Trinity (2017), Longbridge & West Heath (2003), Sutton Mere Green (1927), Sutton Wylde Green (1848), Sutton Vesey (1835), Oscott (1795), Bartley Green (1786), Northfield (1778) and Sutton Walmley & Minworth (1715).
  • In the 7 days up to 3rd January 2022, the total number of hospital admissions was 601, which was almost twice the number admitted (333) the previous 7 days (Fig 3). However, these figures are significantly lower when compared to hospital admissions at the peak of the pandemic. For example, in April 2020, the 7-day hospital count peaked at around 1,427 admissions, and in January 2021, the 7-day count peaked at around 1,211 admissions.

 

New COVID-19 Variants Update

OMICRON (VOC-21NOV-01)

  • The Omicron variant (VOV-21NOV-01) has replaced Delta to become the dominant COVID-19 variant in the UK.
  • The variant is highly transmissible, five times more likely to re-infect than the Delta variant; and continues to grow rapidly in all regions of England.
  • Currently, there are 246,780 cases[1] in the UK, of which 212,019 cases were reported across England. Of the 10,828 cases in Birmingham, 2,650 are confirmed, 11 possible and 8,167 are probable cases
  • Reports from the UKHSA confirm that 981 people have been hospitalised with the variant in England – the majority had received two doses of the vaccine. Nationally, one in four (25%) of the omicron hospitalised cases are unvaccinated. Seventy-five (75) deaths have so far, been reported in England.
  • UKHSA early analysis suggests cases are now doubling at a rate of less than 2 days in some regions.

 

Mobile Household Recycling Centres:  Please see below the visits scheduled week commencing 17th January 2022 of the Council’s Mobile Household Recycling Centre in your Constituency. 

Dates and locations for MHRCs are publicised locally, shortly before a planned visit.  Visit times are 07:00-12:00.  The locations in your Constituency are:

Tue 18/01/2022                 Carhampton Road / Woodington Road, B75 7PQ

Thu 20/01/2022                 Bodington Road, B75 5ET

Fri 21/01/2022                   Blackberry Lane, B74 4JQ

Tue 25/01/2022                 Tudor Hill B73 6BH

Fri 28/01/2022                   Calder Drive B76 1GG

 

For the latest foreign travel information please visit: www.gov.uk/search/all?keywords=travel&order=relevance

 

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Tickets - General Sale Now Open

Tickets are now back on sale and this time it will be on a first come first served basis, so people are encouraged to go to birmingham2022.com to plan their visit to the Games.

Buy your tickets for Birmingham 2022 now!

Secure your seat to #B2022 right now by buying tickets here →  https://bit.ly/3pcsxnx

Be quick - tickets are now being sold on a first come, first served basis.

If you do travel to the city centre by private car make sure you check to see if your vehicle will be charged in the Clean Air Zone.

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

 

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Website: https://www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk/news

 

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