I must start by reminding anyone that has not seen it yet, of the message for those aged over 70, that has not been invited to have their vaccine yet. If you have not had an invite please contact the NHS either online or by calling 119, between 07.00 and 23.00. This could also be appropriate if you didn’t take up the offer and have changed your mind.
Please call and you can still be vaccinated.
My thanks again to all the teams doing the vaccinations, we continue to get loads of praise for all you are doing.
There has been some press this week raising concerns about how effective the Oxford vaccine is against the milder impacts of the South African variant of Covid-19. Two points to consider here, firstly, that the South African variant is not at any significant level nationally or locally. Secondly, it was pointed out to me that even in this case you could say the vaccine would act like a crash helmet in an accident, it might not stop you getting a bruise but it could save your life!
In the BEIS select committee, we have just started a particularly interesting series of discussions on Heat and in particular, the need to address carbon emissions caused by domestic heating. We all think of paying for gas and electric but by purchasing these we are actually buying heat for our homes. There are a number of ways that we can decarbonise heat, ranging from changing gas into hydrogen or using heat pumps or creating district networks. The scale of the work required is enormous and initiatives need to be coordinated and promoted. Before being elected as MP, I was being briefed as a Durham County Councillor and as MP on the possibilities of geothermal heat from old mine workings and I know DCC are working on this, whilst I am also supporting significant initiatives being promoted on Teesside to promote hydrogen and carbon capture opportunities.
Other areas of interest this week included discussions with Tom Dower and the team at our fabulous UTC, I will continue to push for support in eduction and skills. I also engaged with the ‘Restoring Your Railways’ team on both the Ferryhill Station initiative and the Leamside line, as well as joining the students at Durham University for an online political debate with the MP for the City of Durham.
You may have seen the clips from Handforth Parish Council that went viral this week, I have to say that the local parish councils I engage with are normally much more civilised. Coincidentally, earlier this week along with the MP’s for Bishop Auckland and North West Durham, I met virtually with the Association of Parish and Town Councils. These are important levels in our democracy and reach right into the grass roots of our communities. It has been confirmed that elections should take place in May for both these and our County Council, so whatever your political allegiance please get involved. If you have an interest in standing for election, you can decide whether to do so as an Independent or with a party. If you do not want to actually stand, please do commit to vote, if you do not want to attend a polling station now is the time to think about registering for a postal vote and if you need help on this contact us and we will help you.
I have two Parish Council meetings scheduled this week, both virtual of course, hopefully, we will not make the national news!
Whilst we see the data improving and the vaccine roll out progressing well, it remains crucially important we all do our bit. Whether you are vaccinated yet or not, please continue to follow the rules.
Stay Home, Protect the NHS and Save Lives – Stay Safe.
Paul Howell
Member of Parliament for Sedgefield
