This week saw me participating in two Westminster Hall debates. Westminster Hall is the oldest building on the parliamentary estate. It was built in 1097 under William II, the son of William the Conqueror, and at that time was by far the largest hall in England measuring 240 x 67 feet (73 x 20 metres) with a floor area of around 17,000 sq ft (1547 sq mts). It was here that Charles I was tried and condemned to death for tyranny and treason. It is here that lying in state of monarchs and consorts typically takes place. The most recent being Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and one of the few non royals to receive the honour was Winston Churchill in 1965, when an estimated one million people paid their respects. These “Westminster Hall” debates are actually held in the Grand Committee Room just off Westminster Hall. The first debate I joined was “Infrastructure in the North” where I started by reminding everyone that we are the north of the north and any consideration has to get beyond Manchester and Leeds. The second was “Levelling up in the Tees Valley” where I talked about the need for improved transport links in the region.
I also had discussions with a local business fellowship where I took questions and representations as well as another call with the acting PCVC, Steve White, where particular discussions were around the controversial plans to consolidate the custody suites in the county.
The Chancellor gave his spending review this week where two particular points stood out for me locally. The first was that the proposal to reopen a passenger train station in Ferryhill had been included in the National Infrastructure Strategy and the second was the introduction of a levelling up fund of £4bn for projects that drive growth and regeneration in places in need. This was something I specifically lobbied the Chancellor for, so I hope to support projects for us bidding into this pot.
On Wednesday I met with Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, where I discussed the needs of improved Broadband in places like Redworth and how we had to better support grass roots sport. On Thursday David, from my office, held a virtual surgery with residents, discussing actions we are supporting locally on broadband for Redworth and other villages.
Friday saw weekly catch ups with first Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley Mayor, and the Conservative MP’s in his patch before later with the Chief Executive of Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, Sue Jacques. It was good to hear from Sue that, although infection numbers are still too high, local trends are in the right direction with falling hospital numbers in particular being good news. I also had the pleasure of switching on the Christmas lights in Ferryhill centre and, if regulations allow, they are well worth a look.
I get representations on whether we should be in tier 2 rather than tier 3 but also from people saying we shouldn’t have a relaxation over Christmas at all due to the risks. The Government needs to balance both of these views amongst many others. I understand the complexity of considering the dynamics of absolute infection rates, their trends, the sensitivity of over 60’s and the pressure on the NHS means it is not easy to communicate where the tipping points are that mean we can move between tiers. This, however, is something government need to find a way to improve clarity on and my other concern remains the size of the groupings. I believe County Durham is almost too large to consider as an entity for this so to consolidate everywhere from Teesside to Northumberland as one patch is something I am lobbying against and even if we start there I would like to see the opportunity for segmentation of the region as data trends are considered for future tiers.
Can I also remind you that the proposed relaxation over Christmas is to allow flexibility to meet family and friends. It is not a challenge to see how far the rules can be stretched, we all need to remember it is our friends and family we are putting at risk and should therefore take the opportunity to meet, but we should do this as safely as possible. For example, all of your combined Christmas bubble do not have to meet at the same time and the more people in the bubble the more important you consider the vulnerable in it. I will be in a 3 household bubble but we are planning to normally only have 2 out of 3 meeting at any one time as far as possible, but we all expect to see each other over the period.
For now though we need to follow the rules and if we are to work our way down these tiers it is important that everyone follows the guidance, so please everyone do your bit and remember
HANDS-FACE-SPACE Wash your Hands regularly, wear a mask on your Face where required and give people Space, follow the new regulations that will hopefully put us in a better place for Christmas and beyond.
Stay safe and have a good week
Paul Howell
MP for Sedgefield
