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MP’s REPORT TO BRENTFORD & ISLEWORTH
RESIDENTS; February 2020
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I provide regular updates on my work to local residents. You can find previous reports of my work on my web site; www.ruthcadbury.co.uk I also report regularly on my Facebook page and via Twitter and Instagram @RuthCadbury.
You can see full details of my questions and speeches, and get regular updates about my parliamentary activities on TheyWorkForYou in Hansard and on YouTube
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WHY NOT US? Heathrow Campaign for Decent Pay & Conditions
The minimum wage is not enough to live on, and all employers should be paying their staff at least the Living Wage – calculated as being the minimum that’s adequate to live on. (the London Living Wage is currently £10.55 per hour, over £2 more than the statutory minimum wage.) Unions have been at the forefront of campaigns to ensure workers are paid the LLW, as well as working for decent terms and working conditions.
So I was pleased to I meet Unite Heathrow officers Balvinder and Clare at Southall’s Park Avenue Gurdwara as part of their “Why Not Us?” campaign. Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) agreed pay their direct workers the LLW
in 2018 and are beginning to ensure that their direct contractors do the same. Thanks to work by Unite, Omniserve have been paying their wheelchair team the LLW since November, and from 1st February their ambassadors will be too. However, with 70,000 people working at Heathrow for 100s of different employers and sub-contractors, there’s a long way to go on wages and also on protecting and implementing decent terms and conditions.
I am particularly disappointed that our flagship national airline, British Airways, doesn’t pay the LLW nor does it insist on its contractors doing so. Too many employers at Heathrow are gradually undermining decent terms and conditions for staff working there. This includes reduced holidays and sick pay entitlement. Furthermore, many staff working air-side are subject to unacceptable levels of protection from inhaling aircraft fuel and diesel vehicle fumes, as well as being at risk of physical danger from operations there. I am not confident that Heathrow is the safest large national airport to work at – and it should be. I welcome views on this from constituents who work at Heathrow, and from their union reps.
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LOCAL UPDATE
- I met Chief Supt Peter Gardner, now in charge of the 3-borough Police Unit that includes Hounslow. He is starting to recruit more officers, and is able to deploy teams to Crime Hotspots; though he confirmed that it is unlikely the ward will be as large as the five PCs and PCSOs that we had before the Government cuts. I relayed complaints about the lack of urgency felt by local people about follow-ups from crime. And also concerns about the sometimes heavy-handed approach to stop-and-search and other contact with young people locally.
- I discussed the Brentford High Street developments with Ballymore. Their core site on the High Street will be developed according to the permitted plans of 6 years ago; with a supermarket, small shops and alleyways leading down to the canal. I raised my concerns about the lack of a vision for the High Street as a whole, and my fears for the sustainability for the smaller shop units if they are to be let at commercial rates.
It was a pleasure to attend a number of local events & organisations in January
LB Hounslow’s Holocaust Memorial event with Natalie Cumming & her family’s incredible story; “The Fiddle”
Exhibition of Art by Our Barn’s young people who have learning disabilities & autism, at the Brook pub in Brentford
Visiting Hounslow’s CCTV control centre which is improving detection of crime and anti-social behaviour immeasurably
Hearing from local Under 5s nursery managers about the problems they face with the Government funding
Hounslow Cycling Campaign meeting with TfL’s Will Noman describing plans for West London cycle routes
West Thames College students visit Parliament and have Q&A with their MP.
WESTMINSTER UPDATE
So January ended with the beginning of the final part of the UK’s departure from the EU, with Parliament passing
the Withdrawal Amendment Bill; now without a welcome for refugee children, ID cards for EU citizens, Parliamentary oversight of future negotiations, nor the ability for UK courts to address the impact of Brexit law changes. Officially we’ve started an 11 month transition period.
The day before departure I spoke in the Global Britain debate in the Commons; suggesting that the Government ought to consider that the UK’s worldwide reputation and economic future have taken a dive. I reminded the House that Margaret Thatcher pointed out that it would be an illusion to assume that by leaving the community, one could reclaim national sovereignty. I also addressed the inequality of the UK’s place in future trade negotiations. Rather than take the UK back to being the “sick man of Europe” that I remembered from my childhood, I asked that they share in a more positive
vision for the UK’s place in the world based on the values that helped to shape Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall—openness, democracy, compassion, and protection of the world’s precious resources and environment.
My first major speech of the year was in the debate on knife crime – describing the work I’ve done in response to the growing concern from young people themselves, their parents, teachers, police officers, West Mid A&E clinicians and
of course, worried residents. I described how gangs recruit young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and many are unwillingly drawn in. Whilst the cuts in London’s policing means less visible policing, I said the Government also needs to reverse the cuts to Special Educational needs, Youth services and all types of early intervention. I called on the Government to stop chasing headlines, but get tough on the causes of crime and start investing in solutions that work.
OTHER WESTMINSTER NEWS
Call to Ban Trophy Hunting with Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Supporting Macmillan Cancer support Workforce campaign
- I have been re-elected Co-Chair of the newly renamed All Party Group on Cycling and Walking, and have challenged the Transport Minister on the declining level of capital funding available for cycling infrastructure
- I also co-Chair the All Party Group on the Loan Charge, where we had a briefing from tax experts outlining just how badly HMRC are behaving towards professional contractors.
- There is also increasing worries among contractors about the way the Government is rolling out IR35 (the restriction on non-PAYE work) across the private sector, and I have written to the Chancellor, Sajid Javid raising the concerns of taxpayers and employers.
- I have joined a large number of MPs in the All Party SWR Group to put pressure on South Western Railways and the Government to address the delays and problems on the system. We were therefore very pleased that the Government has (finally) conceded that SWR is not financially sustainable and could well be bringing SWR into public ownership.
- I signed the Early Day Motion calling for a full select committee for Arms Exports
- I co-signed letter to PM calling on the UK Govt to reject Trump’s Israel/Palestine “Peace Deal”
KEEPING IN TOUCH
Twitter: @RuthCadbury Web: www.ruthcadbury.org.uk Facebook: “ RuthCadburyMP”
Casework: for issues to raise with me as your MP, please contact my office: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8581 3646 or write: Ruth Cadbury MP, House of Commons, SW1A 0AA. I hold weekly advice surgeries, please get in touch for an appointment. Many issues can be dealt with quickly be email or a phone call which saves waiting for the next available surgery.
Diary: I welcome the opportunity to attend community events and to meet residents concerned about issues affecting the area or specific groups of people. Please do get in touch with by emailing [email protected] or phone 020 7219 8590
Printed from an email sent my Ruth Cadbury MP
London, LON W4 4AG
United Kingdom