September 2024 Update
I am pleased to bring you my September 2024 Update. As ever, if you would like to sign up to my mailing list, you can do so on this page or by emailing [email protected].
Dear constituent,
At the beginning of the month, Parliament returned from the summer recess. It has been a really busy few weeks, particularly getting to grips with a new government who have already made some contentious choices and, let's be clear, they are choices.
I have been campaigning with colleagues to reverse changes to the Winter Fuel payment and fighting back against the Government's reneging on the new hospital programme ahead of the Autumn Statement next month.
Locally, I have been meeting with residents at surgeries and catching up with businesses following the election in July. This newsletter will update you on some of that work.
If you would like to keep up to date in between newsletters, I would encourage you to visit my website or Facebook page.
In the Constituency...
Surgeries
It has been a particularly busy month of surgeries. I am grateful to We Love Coffee in Harefield, Vito's Café in Ruislip, Café Pascucci in Hatch End, Café Hills in Northwood Hills, Cofix in Northwood and Bucket List Coffee in Eastcote for hosting my team over the past four weeks.
In addition to meeting with residents in need of support with their individual circumstances and those wishing to discuss various policy matters, it was also a pleasure to meet with Clare Nazerali, Director of Home-Start Hillingdon.
We discussed the work of the charity, which provides free support to struggling families with young children across the community, and I will support Clare and her team in the delivery of this important work.
If you would like to make an appointment to meet with me at a future surgery, or are a business who would be interested in hosting, please get in touch via 0203 545 2462 or [email protected]
With Clare Nazerali, Director of Home-Start Hillingdon at my surgery in Northwood Hills
Local Events in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
Across Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, we are fortunate to have a number of popular local events that bring together the community.
This month, I was pleased to open the Pinner Rotary Village Show, which takes place annually at Pinner Memorial Park. Not only is it a great day out for families, but it also raises money for local charities. I know the team anticipate having reached around £5,500 this year, which is a fantastic achievement.
A new addition was the Charity Hub in Pinner Village Hall, which had representatives of 16 local charities engaging with residents about their organisations. I'm pleased to hear there has been positive feedback on this, as well as from stallholders, entertainers and the public.
I give a special mention to the 50 Rotary volunteers who were on duty and ensured the event ran smoothly and successfully.
With Adrian Faiers, District Governor Elect for Rotary London District, and John Whitehead, President of Pinner Rotary and Co-Chair of Pinner Rotary Village Show Committee.
This month, I was also invited to attend local artist Elvis Hall's exhibition at the Cow Byre Gallery in Ruislip. Elvis rediscovered his love of art during the pandemic and is inspired by his time in London and New York. Through his work, he hopes to encourage families to get involved in art.
Further information on Elvis, as well as other local artists, can be found here.
With Elvis Hall at his art exhibition in Ruislip
Another annual event enjoyed by residents is the Heritage Day and Classic Car Show at Eastcote House Gardens.
This year, money was raised for the Hillingdon Brain Tumour & Injury Group, a charity co-founded by Cllr Becky Haggar. It was also great to see some cherished classic vehicles in the lovely setting maintained by Friends of Eastcote House Gardens and Hillingdon Council.
With Tony Philips, President of Middlesex County Automobile Club
Following this event, it was a pleasure to meet with the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens at one of their volunteering mornings. This is a popular spot with residents, some of whom I understand visit daily to enjoy the peace and calm of the gardens. In fact, they are so impressively maintained that the wisteria arch was featured on the cover of Country Life magazine earlier this year.
I am grateful to the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens and all the tremendous groups of volunteers who look after our cherished local greenspaces for residents to enjoy.
With the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens
Health Visits
This month, I met with Pritee from Howletts Pharmacy in Ruislip, following a campaign led by the pharmacy and backed by residents. Discussing support for the sector, it was useful to see first-hand the value and benefit of these services for the community. This only sought to highlight how much is under threat from the challenges they face.
I have written to the Health Secretary to seek his assurances around support for the sector, and will work with colleagues to ensure the necessary funding and investment is made so that pharmacies can continue to provide communities with their vital services. Moreover, I was also joined by Ruislip Councillor Philip Corthorne, who sits on the Health and Social Care Select Committee at Hillingdon Council and will be able to raise this at a local level.
Speaking with Pritee at Howletts Pharmacy
I had also had a useful catch up with partners at the Harefield Practice. Residents may recall that during my last visit, we discussed their engagement with NHS Property Services about the unoccupied first floor of the building. While they would like to be able to offer more services to patients, the limited space prevents them from doing so.
This is something I raised with the previous Health Secretary and now her successor in the new Government, to request their intervention on. It is a great disadvantage to the community to have an empty space that could instead be utilised to extend the services provided to patients in Harefield.
I hope for progress to be made, and I look forward to hearing from the Health Secretary.
Meeting with partners at the Harefield Practice
Local Business Visits
I have made a number of visits to local businesses this month, the first of which was the Woodman in Ruislip to meet with landlord Steve Banks and his team.
As winner of Hillingdon In Bloom for four years running, Steve rightly takes great pride in the pub garden and has recently invested in improvements to the non-smoking area. However, the threat of a possible outdoor smoking ban by the Labour Government has caused understandable concerns for Steve, which I am sure will be shared by landlords across the constituency.
We also discussed the looming Autumn Statement and the measures hospitality businesses want to see announced by the Chancellor. From conversations I've had with Steve and other business owners, I know the support provided by the previous Government, particularly during the pandemic, was a lifeline for so many.
Despite the somewhat gloomy economic outlook being painted, in addition to the challenging years of the pandemic, it is fantastic to see that business in this Ruislip pub is thriving and is clearly valued by residents.
With Ruislip ward councillor Philip Corthorne and Steve Banks at the Woodman in Ruislip
After this, I visited Majestic Wine in Ruislip. Here, I met with Store Manager Nicolas and his team, who are clearly very knowledgeable about their products and were able to share some interesting insights into their business.
It was evident during my visit that Majestic has a loyal customer base in Ruislip, which really is testament to the impressive team. I was also interested to learn about the work being done with local businesses, such as the nearby Woodman pub.
I am grateful to Nicolas and the team for taking the time to meet with me.
Speaking with Nicolas at Majestic Wine
It is a delight to welcome Astral Plumbing & Electrics to Joel Street, a long-standing family-run business who have recently moved their shop from Willesden to the former Boots store in Northwood Hills.
The team showed me the fruits of their investment, with some really impressive installations. The showroom is supported by helpful and friendly staff and it is clear that customer service is at the heart of the business.
Independent family-run businesses are the backbone of our high streets here in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, and I wish Astral every success in their new home.
Welcoming the Astral team to Northwood Hills
This month, I also visited Morrisons in Hatch End and met with Store Manager Adrian. He talked me through improvement plans for the store, as well as increased security measures, which I understand have been hugely effective in cutting shoplifting.
We also discussed the Morrisons Foundation which awards grants for local charity projects. For those who might be interested, further details can be found here.
With Store Manager Adrian at Morrisons in Hatch End
Uxbridge Job Centre
I had a useful visit to Uxbridge Job Centre this month. While outside of the constituency, it serves businesses and residents across the borough.
There is an active and engaged team helping to put people in work – whether that’s a temporary position or as part of a desired career. They also work with businesses to help recruit teams for small businesses to bigger companies, such as Tesco and The Range.
I am grateful to the team for their fascinating insights and for hosting my visit.
Speaking with the team at Uxbridge Job Centre
Harrow Fire Station
I am grateful to the Borough Commander for Harrow and his team for hosting my visit to Harrow Fire Station in Pinner.
It is an incredibly impressive service, and I was interested to hear about the variety of work undertaken - in fact, when I visited, the team had just returned from rescuing a kitten. Moreover, it was useful to hear their feedback on building safety risks, which has been highlighted following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report.
I am grateful to the team for taking the time out of their busy day to meet with me.
With the fantastic team at Harrow Fire Station
Local News
I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate some of the successes and achievements to come out of Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner.
Andrew Lapthorne, Pinner resident and wheelchair tennis star, won his fourth Paralympic medal in Paris this summer. Having announced his retirement from Paralympics, this was a fantastic way to round off a remarkable career in the games. Andrew has done his community and country proud and I wish him the best of luck in the upcoming ITF World Tennis Tour.
PromoVeritas, a Pinner-based company, received the King's Award for Enterprise: International Trade. This is a huge honour and testament to the hard work and dedication of the team, and I am sure the community will join me in congratulating them on this achievement.
The Air Defence Marathon, run and co-organised by Northwood resident Andrew Macmillen, raised £15,000 for Ukrainian air defence teams. This involved a 60km route across London. A huge congratulations to the team for their efforts.
In Parliament
The important work of scrutinising the Government has begun in earnest this month as the Prime Minister seeks to bring through some of the more controversial pieces of legislation early in this Parliament.
Winter Fuel Payment
What I did not expect was for the Government to bring through measures that would strip pensioners in my constituency of their heating allowance ahead of winter. Pensioners not in receipt of pension credit will now be denied the annual payment that is vital to those who do not qualify for support, but who rely on this money to keep their homes warm over winter. This has been a real source of concern for many constituents, who have written to me or attended surgery to register their worry.
Having written to the Chancellor on this issue, there was genuine concern that the Government would push this policy through without parliamentary scrutiny. I was therefore keen to work cross-party to force a vote on this, ensuring that MPs had a say on the matter.
It was obvious the Labour Government would force this disastrous policy through Parliament using their large majority, but I was disappointed that so many MPs chose to abstain rather than vote against their party.
Rest assured, the fight against this policy has not ended. I will continue the campaign on behalf of the many constituents who have written to me on this issue. You can follow any developments on my website here.
Speaking with residents impacted by cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment at my constituency surgery
Funding for Hillingdon Hospital
As readers may be aware, the new Government has placed the funding for the hospital’s redevelopment under review.
After a long campaign, funding was secured to rebuild the site. Only last year, I joined colleagues with prospective hospital rebuilds within their constituencies to meet with Ministers to discuss funding allocations which were, at that time, already set aside for these projects. Major utility work is already underway at the site and the partial demolition on the building has also begun. Temporary facilities have already been set up to maintain vital local services.
Traditionally, we are fortunate that all political parties are supportive of the campaign to rebuild the site and ensure that funding remains available. I am disappointed that, despite promises during the election, this new Government has consistently failed to commit to the redevelopment of the Hillingdon Hospital.
This month, I offered the Secretary of State yet another opportunity to provide residents across Hillingdon with certainty by committing to this project. Regretfully, he chose not to answer my question instead offering nothing but bluster and deflection. You can watch that exchange here.
I am deeply disappointed that the Labour Government risks undermining this important project despite full funding having been secured and voted on by MPs.
Government Scrutiny
As the Shadow Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, I have been trusted by the Leader of the Opposition to hold Ministers to account, especially in regards to our local communities and housing stock.
This month, I had the opportunity both to scrutinise Ministers at the Despatch Box in the House of Commons and in several Westminster Hall debates on specific policies.
At a session of Oral Parliamentary Questions, I was able to raise the concerns of residents regarding the redesignation of green belt land and support for local government finance. I have always stood up to central government plans to build inappropriate developments locally and plans to deprive our boroughs of much-needed funding.
I am disappointed that the Minister responding was unable to provide reassurances on either matter, but I will continue to push the Government over the coming months.
Westminster Hall Debates do not always receive the same level of attention as debates in the main chamber, but provide an important opportunity for MPs to raise specific constituency concerns. In one week, I responded to debates on: illegal traveller encampments, short term lets and environmental standards to in new housing.
Back British Farming Day
It was a pleasure to join the National Farmers Union (NFU) to support Back British Farming Day in Westminster earlier this month.
With a large number of farms across Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, it is important to support their contribution to food security and the environment, as well as their tasty produce.
Backing British Farming in Westminster with the NFU
If you require any assistance from my office, please do not hesitate to get in contact.
Kind regards,
David
