Dear Constituents,
Welcome to this week's newsletter.
You will no doubt have seen that we are currently experiencing issues with the ‘panic buying’ of fuel.
There was not any issue with fuel stocks. There were just problems at less than 1% of stations with deliveries. But the media rushed to report them as loudly and widely as they could and sadly panic buying kicked in. I would urge everyone to resist the urge to join in! The issue will go away if people just settle back to buying normally.
In other news, I had the opportunity to visit Leighton Hospital’s new A&E building today a few months out from it being finished. This has been funded with £15 million from the Government as part of record NHS spending. This is an exciting time for the hospital, with the plans submitted in their bid to become one of the Governments 8 new-build hospital sites, which I am continuing to support in any way I can.
I also met with two local charities this week. Motherwell and South Cheshire CLASP are two amazing organisations whose dedicated volunteers do fantastic work helping local people in need. If you would like to know more about them, and how you, or someone you know, can receive their help, visit the links below.
Have a good weekend.
Fuel Supply
Leighton A&E Visit
Household Support Fund
Motherwell Visit
South Cheshire CLASP
Protecting Care Homes This Winter
Traffic Report
Fuel Supply
As you may know, for the past week there have been issues with people ‘panic buying’ fuel. It is important to be clear that there are no issues with fuel stocks in the UK. A joint statement by the fuel industry confirmed this week that fuel supplies at UK refineries and terminals remain high.
Nonetheless, the Government is taking action to resolve the supply chain pressures that have occurred. Firstly, the Armed Forces have been put on standby, with British Army tankers able to be deployed and deliver fuel where it is most needed. The Transport Secretary has also extended ADR driver licences, which allow drivers to transport goods such as fuel so that those that are expiring will not do so until January. Additionally, the Business Secretary relaxed competition rules to make it easier for the industry to share information, helping the sector to prioritise the delivery of fuel to the parts of the country and strategic locations that are most in need.
The Government believes that the situation is beginning to stabilise. In the meantime, the best way in which you can help is to be sensible and only buy fuel as you normally would.
.
Leighton A&E Visit
Today I visited Leighton Hospital to see how construction of the new Emergency Department was coming along.
Mid-Cheshire NHS Hospital Trust received £15million of Government funding last year to build a new two-storey building for the hospital A&E, situated next to the current department. They began construction in February. The new building will help the hospital see and treat more patients in first class facilities. The current department is too small with cramped conditions for staff, waits in corridors for patients and without a dedicated paediatric department.
I met James Sumner, Chief Executive of Mid Cheshire Hospital Trust who said "Our investment in a new Emergency Department at Leighton is part of our long-term commitment to enhance facilities for patients and staff. It’s a vital development that will help us to deal with a combination of increasing patient attendances post-pandemic and the annual winter pressures, which now seem to start earlier and last longer.”
This comes as Leighton Hospital bids to become one of the 8 further sites to be announced as part of the Governments hospital building programme, having submitted plans for a £663 Million redevelopment of the site. The Prime Minister announced last year that an additional 8 sites would be selected alongside the 40 already confirmed in the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, backed by £3.7 Billion of funding. I have been running a petition to demonstrate community support for the bid:
https://www.drkieranmullan.org.uk/news/leighton-hospital-new-build-campaign
I also spoke with James about parking at Leighton, as this is something that I know concerns many residents. I got to see brand new parking spaces created earlier this year and he reassured me that by April additional spaces will be created on site.
Household Support Fund
Following the disruption of the pandemic, it is good to see that many people have got back on their feet. Unfortunately, there are those who are still in need of support and the Government is determined to ensure they get the help that they need.
The Government have launched the Household Support Fund, which will provide £500 million of support for vulnerable households over the winter. This fund will be provided to local Councils in October, and they will be free to distribute this money so that it goes to those who need it most. This could be, for example, in the form of a grant to assist with buying food, clothes and utilities.
This comes alongside other packages of support that the Government is providing for vulnerable people over the winter. For example, the Warm Homes Discount and Cold Weather Payment is already helping families with the cost of fuel bills. There is also support available for parents, with the Government doubling free childcare for working parents and the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has offered nutritious meals and enriching activities to disadvantaged children across the Easter and Summer holidays and will do so again this Christmas.
Motherwell Visit
This week I visited local charity Motherwell at their new community hub in Wistaston. They are a fantastic local charity, who aim to help local women and girls meet the challenges they face in their lives, giving them the support they need to achieve their potential.
It was great to speak to Kate, the founder to discuss the work that they do. The share hub has a range of services for the community such as the baby bank, which provides new and used clothing for struggling families. They also providing a wide range of school uniforms for local schools
Their site at 54 - 56 Beech Drive, Wistaston, Crewe, CW2 8RG is open every Tuesday 2pm – 4pm and Wednesday 2pm – 4pm.
South Cheshire CLASP
Single parents can often face additional mental challenges when bringing up their children and may need additional support. I had a productive first meeting with Julia, the manager of local charity South Cheshire CLASP, who provide a range of services to help and support lone parents.
They have been active locally since 1997 and provide counselling, short courses, and informal coffee and chat sessions for local lone parents. They also run sessions for children of lone parents involving games, crafts, group activities, model building, and confidential listening aimed at encouraging children to share their thoughts and increase their confidence and emotional wellbeing, whilst getting to know one another and having plenty of fun.
If you or someone you know would benefit from this service, you can find out more, and complete the referral form on their website here: https://southcheshireclasp.org.uk/
Protecting Care Homes This Winter
The Government has annouceda package of funding this week to help protect care homes over the winter month. The elderly are among the most vulnerable from infectious diseases such as Covid and the Flu and so it is important that we do all we can to protect them during the time of year when these viruses are more common.
£388.3 Million will be provided to help prevent the spread of infections in social care settings. This includes:
- £237 Million for infection control measures
- £126.3 Million to help with the cost of testing
- £25 Million to help care providers access Flu and Covid vaccines
GP practices will also be able to provide Flu vaccines to care home staff who are not registered at the practice. The Designated Settings Indemnity Scheme will also be extended until March, providing safe places for hospital patients, waiting to be discharged into a care home, but have tested positive for Covid, preventing the transmission of the virus into care homes.
Traffic Report
The following are road closures for the week ahead as reported by Cheshire East.
Welsh Row, Nantwich (Waterlode to Queens drive) - Until 19th October
Audlem Road A529 - 4th October - 8th October