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MY WEEKLY UPDATE

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John, councils across the country have warned that
they face a massive financial black hole and possible bankruptcy after the
government provided English councils with only a third of what they need to
get their communities through this coronavirus crisis.

Birmingham City Council alone faces a £212 million shortfall and is in the
process of drawing up an emergency budget to deal with the growing pressure
on the essential services it runs. The lack of support from central
government has meant that councils are being forced to draw up plans that
could see essential services cut.

At the beginning of this crisis, the Prime Minister gave his word that he
would give councils whatever funding they needed to keep our communities
safe. Despite this assurance, councils have only been given a fraction of
what's needed.

Local authorities face a £10 billion coronavirus funding shortfall, an
issue raised by Keir Starmer at PMQs earlier this month.

In a LETTER [4]last month, I joined Birmingham colleagues in urging the
Prime Minister not to break his word to give councils the funding they need
to keep communities safe during this crisis.

If he breaks his promise, it will be the most vulnerable in our
communities, and the workers who are giving so much to support them, who
will suffer most.

Without urgent support, local councils will be forced to introduce a new
wave of cuts and be unable to reopen key services. This must not happen.

WEEKLY TESTING FOR NHS AND SOCIAL CARE STAFF

On Wednesday, the Labour Party brought a motion to Parliament which called
on the government to introduce routine weekly testing for NHS and care
staff. This is something I suggested earlier this month in a WRITTEN
QUESTION [5] and a LETTER [6] to the Department for Health and Social Care.

Routine weekly testing of NHS and social care staff will ensure NHS
services can safely resume and help prepare for continuity of services over
winter. Despite this being backed by health professionals, scientists and
the public, 331 Conservative MPs voted the motion down. It is clear now
that the government's talk of 'protecting the NHS' is just that, talk.

NURSING NOTES ARTICLE 

NORFOLK ROAD DEVELOPMENT

Following a meeting with residents regarding the Norfolk Road development,
and after further discussions with Birmingham City Council and the
developers, I am pleased to say that they have agreed to a number of
amendments to their proposals including the retention of more than 20
trees.

They have also agreed to an extension of the submission deadline. You now
have until Tuesday to have your say on the plans, and you can do so by
clicking below.

PLANNING PROPOSAL [7]

GLOBAL TRADE CONFERENCE

I was pleased to take part in the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce's
Global Trade Conference 2020 on Wednesday. It was a fantastic online event
which featured dozens of panel discussions and key-note talks on all
aspects of trade, and attracting over 600 delegates throughout the day.

The event was a great opportunity to celebrate our outward looking,
collaborative city and speak about the opportunities that come with that
for Birmingham businesses in the years to come.

WATCH AGAIN [8]

IT'S OFFICIAL - DFID IS THE MOST TRANSPARENT DEPARTMENT

On Tuesday, the independent Aid Transparency Index published its latest
findings which ranks the world's major development agencies according to
aid transparency. The Department for International Development scored 'very
good', whereas the Foreign Office only scored 'fair'.

The findings provide yet more evidence that DfID is a world-leader in
transparency, achieves genuine value for money for British taxpayers, and
confirms that the Prime Minister’s decision to scrap the department is
irresponsible, counter-productive and wrong.

MY STATEMENT [9]

© 2020 Printed from an email sent by Preet Kaur Gill. Promoted by A.J Webb
on behalf of Preet Kaur Gill, both at 56 Wentworth Road, B17 9TA.

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