This week saw the conclusion of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which were being held in Birmingham. It was great to see England come second on the medal table with 176 medals (57, 66, 53), only two medals behind Australia, who topped the table. I was also pleased to see Scotland come 6th, Wales come 8th, and Northern Ireland come 11th.
The Commonwealth Games have been a fantastic event and a really great effort by Birmingham. As per my recent tweet on the games, I now think there should be serious consideration for making Birmingham the base for UK athletics as a genuine focal point, rather than the London Stadium (which should be sold to West Ham – a win-win for both!).
Let’s hope we can top the medal’s table when the games return in 2026!
Also, on Tuesday, the Government announced it had delivered the first milestone in our NHS Elective Recovery Plan, virtually eliminating the longest treatment waits as we bust the Covid backlogs so everyone can get the care they deserve.
Published in February this year, the plan set out how the health service would address the backlogs that have inevitably built up during Covid. I am pleased that the Government has now delivered on the first phase of the plan - treating more than 22,500 people who had been waiting over two years for treatment to virtually eliminate longest treatment waits; and preventing a further 51,000 patients from waiting two years or more thanks to the hard work of our NHS staff. Beating the Covid backlog is one of our top priorities and this achievement is a testament to NHS staff who have worked incredibly hard to get us here despite the significant challenges.
Finally, this week I also joined the brilliant Swindon NCS teams as they planned their Social Action Projects to support Threshold Housing Link, Prospect Hospice, the Open Door Centre, and the Harbour Project. The NCS scheme for 16-17 year olds is building skills, confidence and supporting our local community since 2012, with each project lasting 2 weeks – the first, a residential trip to take part in activities like raft-building and paddle-boarding, and skills building sessions for skills like public speaking; and the second week sees the groups plan and carry out a social action project, where they organise an event or series of events to raise money for a local charity.
I met with the groups of young people as they began planning for their social action project, discussing a number of ideas like busking, tombola’s, GoFundMe pages and car washes. I offered some advice from my experiences fundraising for charities over the years and then took questions from them on my role as an MP, covering topics including MP pay, Boris Johnson, conversion therapy, and immigration.
It was a pleasure to meet the NCS students who were so enthusiastic and engaged – clearly benefitting from the NCS scheme as they developed their skills in public speaking, team work, and project planning. NCS is a fantastic scheme that benefits students as they build their CVs and helps them appreciate their own local community and charities. It is of the utmost importance that we help young people transition to adulthood and the local NCS organisers should be very proud of their latest cohort of students.
