Royal Sutton Coldfield Updates

I would like to start off this week’s message by thanking my former caseworker Arnob for all his help as he in now moving on. Some of you may know him as he has worked tirelessly in helping me best serve my constituents throughout the pandemic. I send him the best of luck in his new role. We are welcoming our newest member of the team, Yusrah, as she takes over from Arnob and is beginning to familiarise herself with our Royal Town.

The Cinema: On Wednesday I had a meeting with McCarthy Stone developers. I have had many constituents email me about saving the cinema, so I was keen to continue the dialogue with McCarthy Stone and Empire Cinemas. I am due to have a meeting with the Chief Executive of Empire Cinemas shortly. I have also spoken to Richard Haynes, who has been enthusiastically gathering support for this important local facility. Along with Sutton Trinity’s councillor David Pears, I am taking a close interest in this matter.

This morning with the leader of the Sutton Coldfield Town Council Simon Ward, I attended a meeting with Richard Kirby and colleagues who are working closely with us on the developing plans for the Sutton Coldfield Cottage Hospital. This was an import meeting, and these plans are now beginning to come together which is good news after torturous delays. I shall be having further meetings on this very important topic in April.

I have also had meetings today with Tony Whitehead, Founder of Sutton Coldfield Our Town Campaign, and Simon Ward to discuss important aspects of the Town Centre redevelopment. There was a very high degree of agreement between us as this project also long awaited, gathers pace.

After a campaigning visit to support Bobby Alden, our brilliant Conservative Candidate in Erdington, following the sad death of Jack Dromey, I attended the AGM of the Conservative Women’s Committee in Sutton Coldfield with their plans for the year ahead and their valuable insights in to matters affecting our Royal Town.

I heard this week of the encouraging news that my book has been nominated for ‘Best Biography’ in the Parliamentary book awards

Westminster news and Parliamentary business

NHS Backlogs: On Monday I spoke in the Commons, stressing to the Minister of Health Edward Argar about the importance of tackling NHS backlogs in elective care. I welcomed this vital catchup on long NHS waiting times and argued that it is important that the government delivers demonstrable value for money for the taxpayer at a time of high taxation.

You can watch my contribution in the Commons here:

Dignity in Dying: On Thursday I joined the Choice at the End-of-Life All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in a virtual meeting run by Dignity in Dying. This APPG brings together MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum to promote and expand people’s choices at the end of life. I am co-Chair of the APPG with Labour MP Karin Smyth. A few weeks ago, I held an Adjournment Debate on assisted dying which you can view here: https://youtu.be/HZv3rCky6xc This is a subject of great interest in the Royal Town, and I receive much correspondence about it from constituents.

Afghanistan: On Wednesday I bought the deeply concerning humanitarian issue in Afghanistan to the House as an Urgent Question. I am calling for the UK Government to do more to address the humanitarian crisis, and to lead the international community by hosting the pledging conference announced by the UN for mid-March here in the United Kingdom. Through the UN Afghanistan humanitarian fund, UK aid is supporting over 60 hospitals and helping to provide emergency health services for millions of people. But it is impossible to hear the stories of starvation with children being sold into early marriage to provide money for food without tears of anguish, so I urged the government to use British clout to make a difference for the millions of people who will be hungry and cold in Afghanistan. You can watch my Urgent Question here: https://youtu.be/sBnPLy8ZZPw

Useful Information Opportunities and Events

Birmingham City Council’s Covid19 update:

· Vaccination uptake for all ages 12+ is currently 67.5% for 1st dose, 61.3% for 2nd dose in Birmingham residents, and 40.8% for booster dose.

· Of the 69 wards, 25 have achieved the national target of 75%+ vaccine uptake for 1st dose and 10 have achieved this for 2nd dose. Around 352,249 individuals have not received any vaccine, representing 32.5% of the eligible population. The majority of the unvaccinated (85%) are aged under 50 years.

· In the 7 days up to 2nd February, 7,822 cases were reported in Birmingham (685.8 cases per 100,000 population), a decrease of 30.5% compared to 11,257 cases (987 per 100,000 population) in the previous week.

· Of the 7,822 confirmed cases, around 12% (986) were re-infections

· Birmingham’s case rate is ranked 118th in England (out of 149 upper tier local authorities), with Wokingham the highest (1,689 per 100,000 population) and Oldham the lowest (553.8 per 100,000 population).

· Comparing the week ending 2nd February with the previous 7 days, cases decreased in all age groups. The largest decrease was 46% in the 0-19 age group, followed by decreases of 25% in 40-59 age group, and 23% in the 20-39 age group. The 20-39 age group accounted for the largest proportion of all cases (35%).

Neighbourhood Development and Support Unit

I have received the latest update from the NDSU in relation to External Funding as of 8th February. Please see for any opportunities that may be available to you and your organisation. https://sway.office.com/5vR8Z2nEMm7iWwO7

The Birmingham 2022 Festival, a six-month celebration from March to September in 2022, which will spotlight creativity and culture in the West Midlands as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. It will feature hundreds of creative commissions across the region including art, photography, dance, theatre, digital art and more. As part of this, Generations is looking for four and five generation families to take part and to be photographed for an exhibition during our Birmingham 2022 Festival. To find out more about how you and your family can be involved please visit: https://bit.ly/323MlBG

The West Midland’s Combined Authority has launched the New Find your Future website which brings together job and training opportunities in the West Midlands to help adults find training, education and job opportunities:-https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/find-your-future/

The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card can make a real difference to people looking for work by allowing jobseekers to travel to interviews at 50% of the normal price. The discount card is available to those claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit for between 3-9 months (for those aged between 18-24) or 3-12 months (for those aged 25 and over). To increase the use of the discount card Rail Delivery Group is working with Government to raise awareness of it with those

seeking work through the media, employment charities and organisations, and Jobcentre Plus work coaches.

If your organisation has a defibrillator, you are being urged to register your device on a new national database, called The Circuit, which could help save thousands of lives from cardiac arrests in the coming years.

There are more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, but less than one in ten people survive. Every minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent, but immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) St John Ambulance and Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), warn that the UK’s low survival rate is likely to be in part because public access defibrillators are used in less than one in 10 out of hospital cardiac arrests. This is often because 999 call handlers aren’t always aware that a defibrillator is available nearby because the ambulance service hasn’t been told about it. If they don’t know it is there, they can’t direct someone at the scene to retrieve it while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Guardians can register their device on by visiting https://www.thecircuit.uk/

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://ww.facebook.com/andrewmitchellmp Website: https://www.andrew-mitchell-mp.co.uk/news

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