My latest update from Harrow and
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[Update]

 

Dear John,

 

It’s the first week of April and signs of spring are certainly here
– golden daffodils being the first real splash of colour, followed
by plenty of beautiful cherry blossoms across the borough.

 

This month sees some of the holiest dates in the calendars of the
three Abrahamic faiths. Chag Pesach Sameach to Jewish friends and
neighbours marking the beginning of Passover tonight and for our
Muslim friends and neighbours observing the holy month, Ramadan
Mubarak. As we approach the Easter weekend, my wishes to friends and
neighbours too for a blessed and holy Easter. Lastly, a belated Happy
Mahavir Jayanti to our large Jain community in Harrow, a Happy
Vaisakhi to our Sikh readers and a Happy Vesak to Buddhist readers, as
well as a Happy Nepali and Asian New Year to all those that are
celebrating.

Below is my newsletter covering some of my work in Parliament and
locally in Harrow too – through out the month, you can find regular
updates from me on FACEBOOK [[link removed]],
TWITTER [[link removed]] and INSTAGRAM
[[link removed]].

 

SURGERIES & TOURS 

[Surgery today]

 

I’m grateful to be holding my next walk-in surgery at Rayners
Lane’s iconic Zoroastrian Centre, FROM 10:30AM - 12:30PM TODAY on
Wednesday, 5th April. This is open to all Harrow West residents, so
please drop by if you have any concerns or issues that you would like
to raise with me!

Last year, I held at least one walk-in surgery in every ward of Harrow
West, collecting hundreds of cases in surgeries across local churches,
temples, mosques and community centres.

 

If you have a suggestion of where you would like me to host a surgery
in 2023, do please drop me a line. I also run my regular advice
surgery, taking on casework at my constituency office at 132-134
BLENHEIM ROAD, this surgery is appointment-based and appointments can
be made by calling my parliamentary office on 020 7219 4243.

[parliament]

 

It was a privilege to show a number of families around Parliament over
the last month – as always, great questions about political
decisions in Westminster and the impact they have locally on people in
Harrow.

 

A reminder that anyone living in Harrow West and wanting to join a
tour of your House of Commons
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please feel free to let me know by filling out a form here:
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SEWAGE DISCHARGED INTO HARROW RIVERS

[TORY SEWAGE SCANDAL]

 

Last week, the Environment Agency revealed that raw sewage had been
discharged into English rivers 825 times a day in 2022. This includes
several hours of sewage discharge into rivers serving Harrow, such as
the Yeading Brook, Wealdstone Brook and Kenton Brook. People in Harrow
and across the country rightly value our local rivers and lakes - but
since 2016, this Conservative Government have allowed over 1000
years’ worth of sewage to be dumped into our waters.

As a coastal nation and a country of beauty, our waters are vital for
quality of life and livelihoods. Only a Labour Government will clean
up the water industry and work in the national interest by ending the
Tory Sewage scandal. Locally, I believe there is much we can do with
this information and I believe it is important we receive as much
information about sewage discharges as possible – I have now written
the below letter to the Chief Executive of Thames Water:

[Letter to Thames CEO 1]

[Ltr to Thames CEO 2]

PARLIAMENT ROUND-UP

[GT Parliament]

 

THE BUDGET

 

It was hugely disappointing budget that leaves the British people
suffering the worst hit to their living standards since records began
and the Budget confirmed that the Government does not have a serious
long-term plan to put that right.

 

The government has dismal record on economic growth over the past 13
years, taxes are at record levels and living standards are falling,
typical incomes are higher in Ireland than in the UK by 6%, in France
by 10% & in Germany by 19% , Yet the Chancellor did nothing to
address the slow growth that Britain has experienced over the last
decade.

 

What was even more striking was that there was nothing for in the
Budget on funding for schools, on the NHS and not a mention of extra
investment in policing . According to Independent Crime Statistics,
since 2010, crime has risen by 15% in Harrow. Our Town Centre is
definitely in need of its own inspector, three sergeants and 21 police
constables. If you haven't already - sign and/or share my petition
calling on the Met Commissioner to support us with a Town Centre team:
[link removed]
[[link removed]]

 

I will aim to present another letter to Sir Mark Rowley after further
discussions on this campaign with local police.

 

 

·      
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NORTHWICK PARK AND ICU PROVISION

[gareth northeick]

 

Early in the month I took the opportunity to push the Under-secretary
of State for Health for a response to a letter I had sent almost one
month previous r egarding the desperate need for new intensive care
investment at Northwick Park Hospital. A couple of weeks after my
chase I finally received a response from the Minister which
acknowledged my letter and the conversations within  London Northwest
University Healthcare NHS Trust about potential work on a business
case to improve ICU configuration and environment, but unfortunately
did not commit to anything. This is an issue I continue to watch
closely and continue to speak with healthcare professionals about -
THE ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY SERVICE AT NORTHWICK PARK CONTINUES TO BE THE
BUSIEST IN LONDON AND ONE OF THE BUSIEST IN THE COUNTRY. This campaign
is far from over.

 

·      
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THE ALL-PARTY GROUP FOR BRITISH GUJARATIS

 

I was delighted to be elected as Chair for the all-part Parliamentary
group for British Gujaratis.  There are an estimated 800,000 British
Gujaratis; mostly concentrated in metropolitan areas like Greater
London, Midlands, Lancashire & Yorkshire.

 

Gujaratis of all faiths have made a huge contribution to our country,
setting up successful businesses, creating huge numbers of jobs, and
offering thousands and thousands of hours of community service.

The APPG will be able to engage on issues in education, well-being,
bilateral trade with the State of Gujarat and economic development
here in the U.K.

 

The inaugural meeting was well attended by MPs and Peers from across
the House and I look forward to the positive and important work the
group engage in going forward.

 

 

TRADE (AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND) BILL

 

The final stages of the trade agreements with Australia and New
Zealand reached the House of Common’s this month and whilst I
welcome these deals with our close allies, the slapdash nature in
which these deals have been cobbled together by Government Ministers
exposes the inadequacies and incompetence of this Conservative
Government.

 

As Shadow Minister for International Trade, it was incumbent on me to
re-inform the House how Government  Ministers have thrown British
farmers under the bus in the details of these deals, ignoring the
concerns of the NFU and how M inisters excluded trade unions from the
negotiations, disregarded the interests of our devolved nations &
regions, & failed to negotiate commitments on climate change.

 

Government Ministers must learn lessons from their Mistakes, even
those from their own benches recognise the significant issues with
these deals. The former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs has told the House that “we gave away far too much for
far too little” and whilst the Current PM has conceded that the
deals are “one-sided”.

 

·      
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SUPPORT FOR COOPERATIVE AND MUTUALS 

 

This week I introduced a Bill to the House of Common which would be a
huge step towards helping to secure and double the size of the
Cooperative and Mutual Sector in the UK.

My Bill will, through the introduction of permanent mutual shares help
to provide finance to tackle environmental, economic and social
challenges.

If we want a new wave of sustainable investment & new projects for
social value in renewables, social care or affordable housing, then
permanent mutual shares, are essential. This proposal is a sensible,
pro-business measure, which would be good for the economy .

Further the measures in my Bill would help secure the mutual future of
the John Lewis Partnership and by providing them with an avenue to
rasie much-needed capital without altering their governance, whilst
still being owned and  answerable to their customer members here in
the UK.

·      
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ATTACK ON THE INDIAN HIGH-COMMISSION 

 

I raised the vandalism and attacks on staff at the Indian High
Commission and sought assurances from the Home Office, in the House
and via correspondence, that they would work with the Met Police and
will ensure that there isn’t a repeat. there should be no place in
our country for such behaviour, and that the Indian high commissioner
and his staff should be able to go about their diplomatic duties
without fear of such events happening.

 

·      
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·      
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HARROW LITTER PICKERS TAKE ON WEALDSTONE

[HLP in Wealdstone]

 

Over the past two weeks, the indefatigable group of Harrow Litter
Pickers have set upon clearing up every road in south Wealdstone.
During the full 16 days of the ‘British Spring Clean’, this group
has contributed 205 VOLUNTEER HOURS, COLLECTING OVER 372 BAGS OF
RUBBISH AND 150 UNBAGGABLES.

 

A huge thank you to all the Harrow Litter Pickers on a truly
phenomenal effort. This is a group that is comprised of many
backgrounds, from the corners of South Harrow, to Pinner, to Stanmore
and even Ealing – together they are united in making Harrow a much
nicer place to live. YOU CAN GET INVOLVED WITH THE HARROW LITTER
PICKERS AND JOIN THE GROUP’S FACEBOOK GROUP HERE:
[link removed]
[[link removed]]

 

After 16 days, Casey Dalton and Keith Hewant have written a report to
summarise and breakdown the group’s experiences cleaning litter in
South Wealdstone. The lessons and future considerations from the
report can be found below. There is certainly a lot for council
officers, councillors and local residents alike to learn from.

_“__This has been the first event conducted by the Harrow Litter
Pickers volunteer group to concentrate on a specific area for a
prolonged period, and we were pleased to see such positive results. 
In removing a significant amount of historical rubbish from the Ward,
we were also delighted to have such strong support from Council
clearance teams, who provided a constant presence and acted
proactively in removing the collected rubbish – often loading bags
on board Council lorries virtually as soon as bags were filled.  It
has been extremely helpful to work in such close co-operation with
Council clearance teams to ensure collections were quickly removed,
minimising any potential disruption or health hazard, and we would
like to convey our sincere thanks to those teams and managers
involved._

_ _

_We also wish to thank the individual street cleaners who combat the
daily amounts of litter deposited on the streets, and it was very
noticeable which streets had been recently cleaned.  We noted too
that much of the rubbish we collected had been deposited in areas
which were (purposely) out of immediate sight or thrown into
inaccessible areas such as thick (thorny) bushes, where it might be
extremely difficult to remove by a single worker.  Working in small
teams proved a positive advantage during this event, with it often
being necessary to work from different areas in order to reach some
items._

_ _

_We consider close co-operation between volunteers and Council teams
is essential to improving the local environment and helping restore a
sense of pride in the Borough.  We therefore invite Harrow Council to
consider how the Harrow Litter Pickers volunteer group might assist
and work more directly with appropriate key Council Managers in order
to achieve this, in particular through improved liaison with Street
Cleaning and Enforcement Managers.”_

HARROW COUNCIL

[Harrow COns budget]

 

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE OUR SOCIAL CARE WORKERS 
[[link removed]]

 

At the Harrow Full Council Meeting on Thursday 23rd February,
Conservative Councillors running the Council voted through
‘dangerous’ budget cuts to social care in our community whilst at
the same time increasing Council Tax by 12% despite three quarters of
residents (75%) opposing the budget proposals during consultation.

 

Conservative Councillors have announced mass staffing reductions of up
to 21 posts to Harrow’s social care and supervisory oversight
workers responsible for keeping safe the most vulnerable children at
risk in our borough. With rapidly increasing caseloads the Council are
cutting in half the budget which is a staffing reduction of £1.5m to
redesign the support on offer to local families potentially leaving
protection at a ‘dangerous risk rating’.

Adult Social Care and Mental Health Services have not avoided the
Conservative budget cuts where the Council are cutting £4.5m from
vital services over three years – Services cut back or closed
include;

 

·       Domiciliary and dementia care

·       Care packages and increased client contributions

·       Safeguarding teams.

·       Local neighbourhood resource centres

·       The new Bentley and Wiseworks day care centres

 

Very little information has been made public with no mention of how
residents will be impacted. This mass staffing cut is likely to see a
further 24 local adult social care and supervisory oversight workers
lose their jobs. This is a kick in the stomach to hard working staff
at the Council. This will make access to Council support even harder.

The Harrow Conservative Councillors have also decided to invest £700k
in more PR, Spin Doctors and political messaging at the Council over
the next 3 years whilst at the same time cutting huge numbers of local
social care workers demonstrates they have the wrong priorities at the
wrong time.

 

THE HARROW LABOUR PARTY IS JOINING UP WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS AND
CONCERNED COMMUNITY GROUPS TO PETITION AGAINST THESE DANGEROUS
PROPOSALS AND CALL FOR THEM TO BE REVERSED.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION. THE MORE SIGNATORIES, THE MORE OUR VOICE
WILL BE HEARD.

 

THE LEADER OF THE LABOUR GROUP, COUNCILLOR DAVID PERRY SAID:

_“I am deeply concerned that these savage cuts by the local
Conservatives to vital support for our most at risk vulnerable adults
and children in Harrow will badly impact service users and their
families. Having reviewed the Council budget documentation, I fear
local services are going to be left in a dangerous position as the
mitigations identified in the savings proposals are weak in comparison
to the significant risks identified. This must be stopped”._

 

 

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE OUR SOCIAL CARE WORKERS HERE
[[link removed]]

[Easter bin collections]

Bin collections will be slightly different during the Easter period.
This may mean leaving bins out on both days until collected:

* Monday 3 April: Normal collections
* Tuesday 4 April: Normal collections
* Wednesday 5 April: Normal collections
* Thursday 6 April : Normal collections
* Friday 7 April : Bank holiday, no collections taking place.
Collections instead take place Saturday 8 April

* Monday 10 April : Bank holiday, no collections taking place.
Leave bins out on Tuesday
* Tuesday 11 April: Leave bins out Tuesday and Wednesday
* Wednesday 12 April: Leave bins out Wednesday and Thursday
* Thursday 13 April: Leave bins out Thursday and Friday
* Friday 14 April: Leave bins out Friday and Saturday

MENTAL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP FOR HARROW

[Young Harrow Foundation]

THE EXCELLENT YOUNG HARROW FOUNDATION HAS CREATED a suite of FREE new
mental health services and resources for young people aged 5-25. THE
SERVICES ARE DESIGNED TO HELP EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO TAKE CONTROL OF
THEIR EMOTIONAL HEALTH, BEFORE THE CRISIS POINT. SCHOOL BASED SERVICES
FOR TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES OPEN FOR REFERRALS FROM
PARENTS, SCHOOLS, GPS, AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH YOUNG
PEOPLE. 

 

VISIT THE SUITE HERE: [link removed]
[[link removed]]

 

LONDON’S COMMUNITY KITCHEN:

[London's Community Kitchen]

LONDON'S COMMUNITY KITCHEN (based at The Bridge, next to Harrow
Leisure Centre) run a Free Surplus Food Market open to everyone
every FRIDAY FROM 3-5PM. At the height of the pandemic, this
operation served over 10,000 people across Harrow and London. Please
consider donating or getting involved in any way that you can with
this incredible Harrow-wide response to the cost of living crisis: 
[link removed]
[[link removed]]

 

If you’re ever in need of their support, the Community Kitchen want
to help - they won’t ask you for any details, or anything in return,
just turn up and they will provide you with food.

 

[Labour Rose]
 

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Promoted by David Evans on behalf of the Labour Party, Labour Central Kings Manor, Newcastle, NE1 6PA, United Kingdom
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