Latest update from Ruth Cadbury MP

MP’S UPDATE NOVEMBER 2020

I provide regular updates on my work.

You can find previous reports of my work on my web site;
www.ruthcadbury.co.uk [1] I also report regularly on my Facebook page [2]
and via Twitter [3] and Instagram @RuthCadbury [4]. You can see full
details of my questions and speeches in Parliament, and get Regular updates
about my Parliamentary activities on TheyWorkForYou [5]in Hansard [6]and on
YouTube [7]

SEE MY SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS WEB-PAGE [8] FOR INFORMATION ON

LOCAL AND NATIONAL SERVICES, HELP-LINES AND VOLUNTEERING;

 AND TO SIGN UP FOR HOUNSLOW COUNCIL’S DAILY UPDATES.

THIS LATEST ONE-MONTH LOCK-DOWN will be harder, longer and more damaging
than it needed to be. The human cost of Government inaction has seen an
exponential rise in infections and deaths. The Government sat on SAGE
advice to lockdown for 40 days, now the decision is made the Government
must use this period to fix the Test Track & Trace system, support schools,
the NHS and care homes with a proper testing regime, and close the gaping
holes in support for self-employed and those who have lost their jobs.

It’s going to be tough on all our mental health and we are going to have
to find ways to keep positive.

(One thing that has worked for me is drawing and painting, no-one else
needs to see the pictures, but it’s very therapeutic!)

THE EQUALITY & HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REPORT INTO ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE
LABOUR PARTY was damning. It found the Party was guilty of unlawful acts of
discrimination and harassment. In his _STATEMENT ON THE DAY OF ITS RELEASE
[9]_, Keir Starmer sent a clear and decisive message - that Anti-Semitism
is a form of racism and there is no place for racism of any kind in the
Labour Party. He accepted all of the EHRC’s conclusions, and apologised
to the Jewish community for the hurt they have experienced. Labour MPs are
committed to working with the leadership and members at every level of the
party to ensure that all the issues highlighted in the EHRC report are
addressed.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS: In one of the richest countries in the world, no child
should be hungry. Yet as more and more families are now finding, the
benefit system is inadequate to the task of providing an adequate income
for the basics of life. It is shameful the Government refused to back down
in the face of Marcus Rashford, and Labour’s motion to fund food for
children on free school meals over the half term and Christmas holidays. I
am glad that Hounslow Council agreed to pick up the tab for this. However
the emergency funding that Hounslow has received so far for all Covid
support is £17million, while the additional costs are £23m to date (and
lost income is £13m).

KEEPING IN TOUCH

MY TEAM AND I CONTINUE TO WORK HARD TO SUPPORT CONSTITUENTS DURING THIS
DIFFICULT TIME.  WE ARE mainly working from home, although I am in
Parliament to speak in Debates and question Ministers. Whilst we are not
able to hold “in-person” meetings now, we can talk by phone or via
Zoom/Teams.

IF YOU NEED MY HELP, OR SUPPORT, on an issue that impacts on you directly
or that you are concerned about, please do get in touch. Email
[email protected]_ or phone 020 8581 3646 (between 10 & 2, Mon-Thurs
or leave a message). We may be able to assist quickly, but I am always
happy to “meet” via a virtual meeting or a phone call.

_ALWAYS GIVE YOUR HOME ADDRESS SO I KNOW YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT AS I AM
UNABLE TO ASSIST CONSTITUENTS OF OTHER MPS._

DIARY:  I welcome the opportunity to attend (virtual) community events to
catch up with residents to discuss local issues. Please email my office
[email protected]_ to set this up.

DURING OCTOBER, I SPOKE IN SEVERAL DEBATES IN THE COMMONS.

AGRICULTURE BILL. I addressed food safety and the potential threat of low
quality food being imported to the UK unless trade deals rule this out. I
mentioned processed foods, the impact on British farmers & climate change

OPPOSITION DAY DEBATE ON THE TEST TRACK AND TRACE SYSTEM, PPE AND OTHER
COVID RESPONSES. The Government has blown £12bn. They by-passed the public
sector professionals who are experienced in testing (GPs and NHS labs), and
tracking and tracing (Council-employed Directors of Public Health). I said
that in Wales, using the public health system, over 90% of contacts have
been traced, whereas in England, using private consultancy firms, just over
60% have been traced. The Government have consistently broken the rules on
outsourcing to the private sector that they impose on Councils and other
public bodies; no minimum quality or quantity targets such as turn-around
timing for test results, and specified standards for safe PPE.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH. I called for compulsory teaching of black and colonial
history up to GSCE level and I mentioned the work of Sam Jones, a history
teacher at Bolder Academy who also chairs Be Bold History – a network and
resource for history teachers.

TFL TRAVEL CHANGES. Having led an Adjournment Debate in July on the risk to
free travel for the Under 18s and Over 60s, it was good to hear that Sadiq
Khan struck an 11th hour deal with the Government. The deal struck on 31st
October will protect free travel for under the 18s and over 60s, keep the
current Congestion Charge zone, and ensure fares don’t rise by more than
already agreed. However, unlike the free handouts to rail companies, it
involves a loan to be repaid, which will have to be funded by London
passengers and council taxpayers.

I joined the Cats Protection campaign briefing about the need to make
chipping of cats compulsory, an issue many constituents have written to me
about

I wrote to the Policing Minister to call for urgent action over the THEFT
OF CATALYTIC CONVERTERS.

I wrote to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab about the shooting and killing by
police of the END SARS protestors in NIGERIA

BRITISH SIKH ORGANISATIONS held an important briefing on the law changes by
the Indian Government which threaten the viability of farmers in Punjab
state, India’s bread basket. Farming goes to the heart of culture,
heritage and faith in the Punjab and many constituents have family directly
affected. I am joining other MPs in writing to the UK Foreign Office and
the Indian High Commission about this.

WE ARE BACK IN A NEW LOCKDOWN – if you can, please do support your local
community.

FOR VOLUNTEERING CONTACT HOUNSLOW VOLUNTEERING CENTRE [10] to help a
Hounslow community organisation.

If you can spare money to hard-pressed charities here are are some local
ones: HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX [11] Ivybridge Foodbank (run by ALL SOULS
CHURCH, ST MARGARET’S [12]), AGUE HOUNSLOW [13], and HOUNSLOW OPEN
KITCHEN [14]

Regular Updates about national and local information and services from
Hounslow Council HERE [15].

COMMUNITY UPDATE

ON BEHALF OF THE THOUSANDS OF CONSTITUENTS WHO WORK AT HEATHROW, I
challenged Heathrow Airport’s CEO John Holland Kaye at a meeting he held
for West London MPs, about the treatment meted out to over 4000 staff. We
demanded that, instead of permanent wage cuts of up to £8000 and the loss
of terms and conditions, HAL should negotiate a temporary cut, just as long
at the crisis last. He refused, yet will be taking his £3m salary and
pension bonus this year.

I’ve held “VIRTUAL” SURGERIES with constituents who have raised
issues which included; the impact of Tideway tunnelling under their homes
in Chiswick, failures in HMRC systems, the legislation on Assisted Dying,
Police response after thefts, and workplace harassment. I’ve also met
several local businesses who have fallen through the gaps in the various
Government support schemes and who fear for their survival and for the jobs
of the people they employ.

At my regular meeting with PETER GARDNER, THE POLICE COMMANDER for our
borough, I was pleased to hear that his teams have successfully taken out a
violent gang operating partly in Chiswick. On the other hand, I am
concerned about community safety in Hounslow Town Centre, and I asked him
to increase visible policing in and around the High Street.

I asked Peter how they are responding to the INDEPENDENT OFFICE FOR POLICE
CONDUCT REPORT [16] that was critical of the way Stop & Search is being
handled by the Met. I have had constituents, particularly teenagers and
their parents, raise serious concerns with me about this issue. He assured
me that they are reviewing and improving their processes as a result of the
report, including seeking to cut the use of force and handcuffs, to better
consider the reasons to stop and search someone, and to also always switch
on their body worn cameras.

EDUCATION MEETINGS

On WORLD TEACHER DAY I dropped into Chiswick School’s (Zoom) staff
meeting to thank them for all they’ve done to support students and their
families.

I’ve also met with local secondary head teachers to listen to their
concerns about the impact of Covid & the year ahead. They are angry about
the lack of respect the Government shows them and the teaching profession
as a whole. They are seeking more clarity and stronger leadership from the
Government over funding, measures to keep schools safe, plans for next
year’s key exams, and Covid testing.

At West Thames College, Mayor Tony Louki and I met students to hear of
their experience of studying (and working) under lock-down and of their
fears and hopes for the future. Their key concern is around the cost of
studying once they reach 19 as, unlike university students, there is little
in the way of financial support.

SAFE SCHOOL STREETS – During Walk to School week I saw the transformation
in Orchard Road outside Orchard School in Hounslow since vehicle access has
been restricted during schoool drop-off and pick-up hours. This is one of
several across the borough. Head teacher, Mrs Haslam told me and Cllr Hanif
Khan, how much safer, less polluted the road is now, and also that many
more families are now walking to school at Orchard Primary.

CHISWICK FLOWER MARKET: Organisers hope that the new flower market can go
ahead every 1st Sunday of the month. The second one was a
socially-distanced success, thanks to the many volunteers who kept count of
those entering the market area. I tried out a cargo bike for the 1st time,
and used it to do a home delivery of some large house plants.

PARAGON FLATS EVACUATED. 

Over 1000 permanent residents and students of the Paragon flats (next to
the M4 elevated section in Brentford) were evacuated into hotels and other
accommodation, due to serious safety concerns in their blocks by Notting
Hill Genesis, who own them. The flats were built for Berkeley Homes using
modular construction in 2006 and have been plagued with problems of damp,
leaks, inadequate insulation between flats and much more ever since. The
cladding was stripped off after the Grenfell fire, but since then the
blocks have been encased in scaffolding, with 24/7 waking watch staff
keeping alert for fire. I’ve been working with residents and NHHG on the
implications of this shocking situation.

But these cannot be the only blocks built in the last 20 years so badly
they present an imminent danger to life. I am demanding the Government take
responsibility for this. They have consistently refused to update building
regulations and to fully fund the costs of recladding following Grenfell. I
am still awaiting a reply from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on these
issues.

CHISWICK TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOODS: Chiswick is
beset with traffic congestion at present, caused by a combination of
traffic returning to pre-Covid levels (despite half of Londoners with jobs
still working from home), Covid measures to stop through traffic on some
roads, the temporary lights caused by the works to install the permanent
segregated cycle path (CS9) and finally the Thames Water emergency works on
Acton Lane.

As people will want to avoid public transport, we have to make safer and
easier alternatives to the car for short journeys such as the school run,
mid-week shopping and to/from the station. The main reason more people
don’t cycle and walk more is fear of traffic. Creating a safe space for
cycling and walking is shown to significantly increase the rate of both,
which also helps to reduce pollution and climate emissions, improve our
health and make our streets nicer places to live and visit. Personally
I’ve long found that cycling is quicker and more reliable than driving
for my local journeys (and I don’t cycle particularly fast!)

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED TO MY MARATHON RUN ON 4TH OCTOBER. 

I’ve raised over £1500 for Hounslow Age UK and our Barn Youth project
for the work they both do to link up their vulnerable members who are
isolated at this time. I presented my “cheque” to our Barn at the
Museum of Steam & Water while their members were running the museum’s
café over half-term, so it was a good opportunity to catch up with Karen
of Our Barn, and Museum Director Liz (who also ran the marathon, raising
funds for the Museum).

Please do consider donating if you can.

- To support AgeUK Hounslow go via THEIR DONATION PAGE [17] Do say in the
message box it's in support of my Marathon run.

- And for Our Barn; go to my JustGiving page
[link removed] [18]

UNSUBSCRIBE [19]

Printed from an email sent by Ruth Cadbury MP 367 Chiswick High Road
London, LON W4 4AG
United Kingdom




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