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Good morning John,
I hope you managed a restful June and that you have some good plans ahead of you this July. As we get into Summer in Harrow, I’m looking forward to joining many of the big summer fetes across town, as well as the
always fun, ‘Made in Harrow: Summerfest’ on
Saturday, the 23rd July on Lowlands Rec (opposite Harrow on the Hill tube station). 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,
Twitter
and Instagram.
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This month I spoke at the public inquiry to oppose again the Harrow Gospel Hall Trust’s controversial planning application to put 178 flats and 900 square metres of so called D1 use on the 265 The Ridgeway site. This application was rejected cross-party by each member of Harrow Council’s Planning Committee last year but the Plymouth Brethren have put their money behind an expensive appeal.
I argued that the development would be completely out of keeping with the area, would damage the local environment and ecology, would lead to increased traffic and was unnecessary.
I will be writing to residents local to the proposed development to provide them with a dull copy of the evidence that I presented to the Inquiry and will continue to push on the issue to ensure that any development in Harrow is sympathetic our community, has the required ancillary infrastructure and the support of local residents.
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In both my roles as a Shadow Trade Minister and constituency MP, I have met with businesses across the constituency, including 'Seeds of Italy', to hear first-hand of their problems in trading with the E.U. since the UK’s departure from it. Problems which look to be further exacerbated by the Government’s cavalier approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol which risks further damaging trade & investment for UKs businesses of all sizes. I have pushed Ministers to commit to publish analysis of the implications of their Bill for those whose jobs depend on exports to the E.U.
So much for cutting red tape, central Harrow’s ‘Seeds of Italy’ can no longer export to any EU country and has suffered a significant amount of shortages and delays, reducing its range including dropping some products. Instead of focusing on what is important to their business, a bureaucratic nightmare has left staff spending hours filling out paperwork. At the same time costs are rising, there are significant shortages, all while orders are taking much longer and choice is diminishing for customers. Like many businesses, they have been unable to secure more staff.
I also spoke at an event for the Labour Movement for Europe on the detrimental effects we seeing for trade, for UK businesses, as a result of the Government’s poor deal with the E.U. and talked to the potential measures a Labour government would implement to ameliorate the problems faced by UK business who trade with Europe.
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This month saw the 5th anniversary of the Grenfell Fire tragedy, still there has been no compensation for survivors, the cladding problem is still causing misery to leaseholders and there has been a lack of progress on criminal charges for those responsible for the deaths of 72 people.
Grenfell is a political and corporate scandal. Fire safety must not be compromised, building regulations must be comprehensive & Government must work with the construction and housing sector to take responsibility for the safety of residents across the UK.
Leaseholders in our borough still face great uncertainty as a result of the Government's mishandling of the cladding crisis. Faulty cladding is just one aspect of this sorry and tragic mess; inspections in Harrow have uncovered other fire safety risks including unfit insulation. Through no fault of their own, leaseholders may end up facing exorbitant bills of thousands of pounds and unsellable properties.
Shockingly, residents at Trident Point in central Harrow are still experiencing critical safety issues, including lifts not working and other maintenance issues which are detrimentally affecting the lives of residents. I am in regular consultation with both residents and stakeholders to try and resolve these issues.
I will continue to use what ever avenues are available to me to ensure that all residents in across Harrow West have clean, safe and well-maintained housing.
I have spoken in Parliament on the important work that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East does regarding the desperate situation being faced by those in the Palestinians territories.
The work of UNWRA is hugely important work in reducing poverty, preventing hunger, and joblessness but they often struggle to get the funding they need.
I pushed for Ministers to lead an international process to ensure the UNWRA get the money they need to make a real difference to the lives of Palestinians
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As I mentioned in the House of Commons this week,
there has been a steep decline in the numbers taking GCSE Gujarati, in the last 10 years. To support trade with India and help young people’s wider learning, Ministers ought to offer support to the Saturday schools & teachers supporting the teaching of languages such as Gujarati.
Since 2015, there has been a 22% decline in students studying Gujarati at GCSE Level and a 30% decline in those studying Urdu. The figures also show even more dramatic reductions in students obtaining Punjabi and Bengali GCSES with an over 39% and 51% decline respectively. These four languages combined are spoken by approximately 480 million people worldwide.
Qualifications in Community languages are falling sharply. Minister’s failure to invest in these languages is leading to a marked decline in the number of students taking exams. The Government needs to provide proper financial support to help local communities and schools.
You can sign my sign my petition calling on the Government to put vital investment into Community Languages here.
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On a more positive note, the past month has provided some great opportunities for celebrations across our constituency with the Queens Jubilee providing a for a great weekend at the start of the month and an opportunity to reflect on the great work of Navin Shah who was awarded a CBE for his forty years of public and political service in the Queen’s birthday honours list. And not to forget the awarding of an OBE to Neasden Temple Trustee Vinu Bhattessa who was awarded an OBE for his charitable services to the community.
Since then, it was a pleasure to visit the Kenton Jain Temple where the Mahavir Foundation had three days of celebrations commemorating 35 years of community activity and ten years of their consecrated Temple.
Another highlight was visiting Harrow Carers, as part of Carers Week to thank all those who provide vital care to those who need it. Whether it’s looking after family or friends with a disability, mental or physical illness, or support as they grow older. There are 6.5 million people in the UK who are carers and it is vitally important for identifying carers & making sure they feel supported.
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Hundreds of residents have now signed my petition calling on the Met Commissioner for our own Town Centre Police Team. As many will know, I welcome the announcement of a dedicated team for Uxbridge and Wembley but given
that Harrow is both a significant commercial district, has an increasing nightlife and is an important transport hub with Harrow Bus Station and Harrow on the Hill Station both within the town centre, I
struggle to understand why it hasn’t been prioritised for its own dedicated team of police officers.
Please help apply pressure on the Met Commissioner and sign my petition calling for a dedicated town centre police team: https://www.gareththomas.org.uk/town-centre-police-team-campaign/
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As I return to in-person surgeries, I plan to continue my roving surgeries across Harrow West. In recent months, this has been held at local churches and community centres across the borough. My next walk-in surgery is
taking place on Monday, 4th July at The International Siddhashram Shakti Centre at 22 Palmerston Road, HA3 7RR, from 11AM-1PM.
Open to all Harrow West residents, please drop by if you have any concerns or issues that you would like to raise with me.
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On Monday, 11th July, I will also be holding a walk-in surgery, open to all Harrow West residents at Victoria Hall on Sheepcote Road, HA1 2JE from 10:30AM - 12:30PM. If you have a suggestion
of where you would like me to host a surgery, do please drop me a line!
I have now returned to my regular advice surgery, taking on casework at my constituency office at 132-134 Blenheim Road, the surgery is usually appointment-based and appointments can be made by calling my parliamentary
office on 020 7219 4243.
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