A Very Sad Week

Her late Majesty’s death was a sad but unifying moment for our country. Although she had lived a long and illustrious life it nevertheless feels like the end of an era. She will be remembered for her duty and constancy through the rapidly shifting sands of generations.

The outpouring of affection from leaders and people around the world showed the scale of her reach and how deeply she touched everyone.

Swearing Allegiance to the King

Following the week of national mourning, Member of Parliament swore allegiance to the new King in the House of Commons: ‘I swear by almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors according to law, so help me God.’

A New Era

We find ourselves not only with a new King but a new Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has a tough job ahead. it is important to unite behind the new government as it gets to grips with the unprecedented challenges facing us.

Vaccination Milestone

I visited the Royal Town’s vaccination centre headed by Dr Rahul Dubb to hear about the centre’s progress and plans for delivering the next round of Covid boosters. I thanked Dr Dubb and his team who recently exceeded the 150,000th vaccination mark. It is quite the achievement – and would not have been possible without a dedicated team of practitioners and community volunteers.

Parking at the Vaccination Centre

A number of my constituents receiving their booster jab at the Town Hall have contacted me about having to pay for parking at the Anchorage Road car park, when this was previously not the case. I want to reassure my constituents that, along with Senior GP in the Royal Town, Dr Rahul Daab, I have been going in to bat with BCC to try to make the car park free for use during the vaccination programme. I will update on any progress.

Bishop Walsh School

I visited Bishop Walsh School in Sutton to talk to the headteacher, senior staff and Chair of governors about their budget this year with the steep increase in energy prices. I will be taking this up with the education Department.

The Government has announced measures to help today which I hope will address this – for all schools and indeed other organisations throughout the Royal Town. I also toured the school grounds visiting the elegantly reclad classrooms and facilities and, as I always do, enjoyed meeting staff and students.

Sutton Cottage Hospital Update

I had a most helpful catch up with Richard Kirby, Chief Executive of Birmingham Community Healthcare, with whom I am working on our long-term plan for the Royal Sutton Coldfield Cottage Hospital. A significant meeting will be taking place on 7 October, whereupon I hope to report progress as our plans continue to develop.

Planning for the Brassington Avenue Site

Plans to develop the Brassington Avenue Site in the centre of our Royal Town have encountered complications of concern. I was asked to meet and discuss the issues with representatives of Aldi who have been working to establish a new branch.

I do not usually get involved in local planning issues which are more properly the preserve of our hardworking local councillors who on a daily basis defend the interest of our Royal Town. But the Brassington Avenue site has been an eye-sore now for decades and its significance is not merely local. Addressing this site is part of the overall masterplan, held by the Royal Sutton Town Council, to rejuvenate the town centre.

Meeting with Andy Street

I had a meeting with our regional Mayor, Andy Street. The meeting focused on our continuing agenda under the new prime minister to ensure government support for projects and infrastructure development as well as transport across the West Midlands and in particular in the Royal Town.

The Royal Town’s Cinema

Along with local councillor David Pears, I have been closely following and seeking to influence the future of our Royal Town cinema. This listed space - indeed with its iconic structure – has been shut for so long and is in need of significant refurbishment. Working with the planning authority as well as the cinema owners and the extensive, well supported and extremely helpful group of local enthusiasts in the Royal Town, we have been trying to ensure that adequate resources for its reopening are made available.

The planning application is on the planning committee agenda for the 29th September with associated finance arrangements being made clear at the same time.

Plan for Growth

I welcomed the Chancellor’s budget statement today, in particular measures announced to stimulate growth in the West Midlands not least through the creation of ‘investment zones’. I also urged the government to remember Britain’s obligations to tackle difficult global problems which directly and indirectly affect us all, and restore our foreign aid commitments as soon as possible.

‘I welcome what my Rt Hon Friend has said, in respect of growth, about investment zones. He said that they would come to the West Midlands, which I think will be very helpful in levelling up in the Birmingham area and the West Midlands in general.

May I remind him, however, of the importance of UK investment in tackling international problems, including pandemics, illegal migration and climate change? This is about British expertise and leadership but it is also about British money. Can the Chancellor confirm that we are on track to restore what was a manifesto promise to bring back the 0.7% aid commitment in 2024?’

WaterAid Award

I was touched to receive an award from WaterAid, a UK-led charity which campaigns for clean water access globally. The charity’s President is the King.

Following the presentation, I held discussions with WaterAid’s Chief Executive, Timothy Wainwright about the crisis developing countries are facing in securing access to clean water. Water sanitation is a fundamental but overlooked area of international development. Indeed while all aspects of life and livelihood are reliant upon it, the issue has slipped down the list of aid priorities, despite the urgent need to shore up health systems following the pandemic.

Clean water has been one of the casualties of the government’s foreign aid cutbacks, seeing a reduction of 80% in its funding, which has placed vulnerable communities at even greater risk.

I would like to thank WaterAid for all their brilliant work. I will continue to speak out to encourage the new government to restore the UK’s position as a global leader on this vital issue.

Marie Curie

I attended an event held by the end-of-life charity, Marie curie, where I learned more about the cost of living crisis facing terminally ill patients in Sutton Coldfield. The number of people who struggle financially at the end of life is distressing.

People diagnosed with a terminal condition deserve much more support particularly in the current economic climate., a customer quote, or to talk about important news.

The Global Fund

This week the Global Fund has hosted their pledging conference in New York. The Global Fund is the principal vehicle for tackling the three deadly diseases, HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund has done brilliant work in the past under British leadership and delivers outstanding value for money for those countries’ taxpayers who fund it (all of the G7).

I called for the government and foreign office to step up alongside our allies to deliver on our commitment to end HIV, TB and Malaria epidemics.