I arrived back in the Royal Town last night after an energetic week of activity – mostly on my ministerial work - visiting 3 countries that are close partners of the UK and with which we share tremendous mutual interests.
Turkey
First I visited Turkey to see for myself Britain’s work in helping rescue and support the poor victims of the earthquake. I joined members of the British armed forces’ medical teams and UK civilians delivering life-saving help; about 150 of them working across two emergency medical clinics and the Foreign Office-MOD hospital. More than 1500 operations and treatments have been performed by these brilliant British teams. I visited cities and towns devastated by the earthquake – parts of them completely destroyed.
Northern Syria has also been devastated – and I was able to thank the Syrian volunteer defense organisation – the White Helmets – for their search and rescue response in Syria. They in turn expressed their huge gratitude to all the people of the UK for our support on the ground and from afar.
Delivering aid to northern Syria continues to be a challenge with limited access across the border from Turkey, but we are engaging closely with the Turkish authorities, aid organisations and international partners to ensure maximum humanitarian assistance reaches those caught up in such appalling circumstances.
So far the UK has delivered hundreds of tons of relief items to Turkey and Syria., including thousands of tents and blankets, water purification tubes, kitchen sets, solar lanterns and hygiene kits.
The cooperation and outpouring of help have been most heartening to witness. I especially want to thank those in the Royal Town for their extraordinary generosity in the Disasters and Emergency Committee’s appeal which has raised, across the country, £100m of donations. This is Britain at its best – big-hearted, open-handed and engaged in the world.
Saudi Arabia – Humanitarian Conference
Leaving Turkey, I flew to Saudi Arabia to take part in an international humanitarian conference and emphasise the importance of doing more to build in resilience to give greater hope for those who all too often suffer from these disasters.
Jordan
I then reached Jordan in order to see what more we can do to help a staunch ally in the region which has shown huge hospitality to those who have fled Syria as a result of Assad’s and Russia’s brutality.
Coffee Morning at Mills Court
I joined a group of Mills Court residents in Mere Green at their coffee morning to have a chat about local and international issues, including my recent visit to Turkey. Residents also raised local parking issues their hard-working local councillor Meirion Jenkins has well in hand and is sorting out.
Amazon in the Royal Town
I had a Zoom call with developers to discuss plans for the forthcoming Amazon warehouse at Peddimore, where Amazon orders will be packed and dispatched for delivery.
This fulfilment centre will create 2,000 jobs and I am in touch with local groups and our very diligent City Council and Royal Town Councillors to ensure that the interests and views of local residents are maximised and reflected at all stages.
I will be arranging a ‘hard hat’ visit to the Peddimore site shortly, to see first hand how the works are progressing. I also hope to visit other working facilities in the midlands to learn more about how these warehouses are run.
HS2 Apprenticeships Webinar
I recently wrote about the new HS2 apprenticeship opportunities being made available in the coming weeks across 7 schemes in locations around Birmingham and London.
In advance of these, HS2 are running two online webinars on 8 and 14 March, for potential candidates, guardians/parents, or careers advisors to learn more about the opportunities and hear directly from those involved in the programme.
For further information about the apprenticeships and how to sign up for the webinars, please follow this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/virtual-apprentices-information-event-tickets-546221291587
Bidding Farewell
This weekend I will be saying an affectionate goodbye to John Routh and his wife, Kristina. John has been Rector of our Royal Town’s church over the last 17 years. A lunch is being held on Sunday at Holy trinity, where we will be thanking both John and Kristina for their service, and wishing them a long and happy retirement in Cornwall.
And now for something different…
Following my comments in an earlier message about the Home Guard, Dad’s Army (the TV series known and loved by most of us of a certain age!) and the Home guard drill hall which is the Assembly Hall here in the Royal Town where I often hold my advice sessions and where in a fortnight we will be holding our Royal Town Conservative Association Annual General Meeting by kind permission of the Town House Hotel, I have received a large number of interesting reflections from across the Town of those war days.
In particular, author Peter Shergold sent me his excellent book ‘Home Front’ in which he records that:
“During the second world war over three and a half thousand men, women and children served in the 6th Warwickshire (Sutton) Battalion Home Guard. The scale of the battalion was such that on most roads in Sutton Coldfield almost a third of homes had a member of the Home Guard living there. The battalion was part of the life and fabric of wartime Sutton Coldfield, which stretched from the border with Birmingham at New Oscott and Boldmere, through the Royal Town, to the villages to the east of the town on River Tame, at Kingsbury, Wilnecote and Coleshill. The battalion was in reality a very large infantry formation, almost a brigade scale, which as it grew became part of E Sector, covering as far east as Nuneaton. The role of the battalion, as the war went on, saw Home Guard soldiers being called up via conscription into the battalion, manning anti-aircraft defences over the second city, and operating in mobile columns ready to respond to an enemy attack by air, land or sea.”
One year On…
Today, we mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The occasion was observed with a one-minute silence this morning to pay tribute to the courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of the destruction wrought by Putin’s brutality.
Our thoughts today are with Ukraine and all those who have been affected by the conflict – including those forced from their homes, innocents who lost their lives or loved ones, and soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom and return peace to Europe.
The Prime Minister used the occasion to tell G7 allies in a virtual meeting that we must step up our efforts to support Ukraine by moving faster on artillery, armour and air defence instead of taking an incremental approach.
The Government also announced further sanctions on the elites who run Putin’s key industries and export bans on every item Russia has been found using on the battlefield
Military intelligence has shown that a shortage of components in Russia as a result of sanctions is already likely affecting their ability to produce military equipment – and that they are turning to civilian items like fridges for low-grade chips.
We have now sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities – and working together with our international partners, we will continue to do everything we can to frustrate Putin’s war capabilities.
One year on, we continue to stand solidly with our brave friends in Ukraine, and will do so until their victory is assured.
Useful Information
Forthcoming Mobile Household Recycling Centre locations:
- Mon 06/03/2023 Sheffield Road B73 5HA 07:00 12:00 Sutton Vesey
- Tue 07/03/2023 Park View Road B74 4PR 07:00 12:00 Sutton Four Oaks
- Wed 08/03/2023 Bishops Way B74 4XS 07:00 12:00 Sutton Mere Green
- Thu 09/03/2023 Sir Alfreds Way B76 1ES 07:00 12:00 Sutton Reddicap
- Fri 10/03/2023 Sentry Way B75 7HT 07:00 12:00 Sutton Roughley
Royal Sutton Coldfield’s Orchestra: Young Soloist Concert, 4 March
