Summer Update from Gareth Thomas
MP ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏


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Dear John,

 

I hope you have managed a restful summer so far and that you have some
good plans for the remaining weeks. In Westminster, it felt like the
Parliamentary term came to a close fairly early, with little of the
Government’s agenda being taken up for debate in the House of
Commons. Despite some rainy weeks of recent, I’m still enjoying
summer in Harrow and its looking, _fingers crossed_, like this sunny
spell might last for a short while longer. I’ve enjoyed joining many
of the big summer fetes across town, including a return to my old
primary school, Pinner Park. The weeks ahead will include more great
summer activities; arts and crafts, international food, performances
and much more across the constituency. See below for some recommended
events for the family coming up across Harrow West –

 

This morning, alongside many Harrow residents and millions across the
world, I will be cheering on the Lionesses as they make history as
the FIRST ever national senior England side to reach a major
tournament FINAL on foreign soil. C’mon England - here’s wishing
our girls the very
best! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

 

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Below is my newsletter covering some of my work in Parliament and
locally in Harrow too – as always, through out the month, you can
find regular updates from me on FACEBOOK
[[link removed]], TWITTER
[[link removed]] and INSTAGRAM
[[link removed]]. 

 

 

TOURS,  SURGERIES AND LITTER-PICKS

 

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A pleasure to join the indefatigable Harrow Litter Pickers again last
month for a huge collection across West Harrow and South Harrow roads.
This particular litter-pick takes place every Wednesday morning
from 9:30-10:30AM, MEETING AT SHAFTESBURY CIRCLE MCDONALDSand you
might even get a free McDonald’s breakfast out of it! If you have a
suggestion of where you would like me to organise/host a surgery or
park clean-up, do please drop me a line. 

 

My next walk-in surgery will take place at Trinity Church on Hindes Rd
on MONDAY, 25TH SEPTEMBER FROM 10:30AM-12:30PM, no appointment
needed. I also continue to run my regular appointment-based advice
surgery, taking on casework at my constituency office at 132-134
Blenheim Road, appointments can be made by calling my parliamentary
office on 020 7219 4243. 

 

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It has been a privilege to show a number of families around Parliament
over the past few months – as always, great questions about
political decisions in Westminster and the impact they have locally on
people in Harrow.

My Parliament Tour will return in September, if you would like to join
a tour, please make a booking using one of the links below. This is on
a first come first serve basis, so please book soon to ensure you do
not miss out. If you are not able to join a September tour, please do
fill out a form on my website and my staff will be sure to keep you in
the loop with future dates, including during October Half
Term: [link removed]

 

UPCOMING TOURS (RESERVE A PLACE VIA THE LINKS BELOW)

TUES 12TH SEPTEMBER:

 

10-11:30AM
- [link removed]

 

5:30-7PM
- [link removed]

 

TUES 19TH SEPTEMBER:

 

10-11:30AM

[link removed]

 

 

CAMPAIGN SUCCESS: A NEW 32-BED WARD FOR NORTHWICK PARK HOSPITAL

 

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I am delighted to hear that our campaign for more investment at
Northwick Park Hospital has had a success! This new 32 bed ward will
make a difference, but more investment is still essential if we’re
to get our local healthcare services back to where they should be. 

 

Thank you to every resident and NHS worker that has signed our
petition and supported our campaign. More importantly, thank you to
the incredible staff at Northwick Park past and present, who have been
placed under such immense pressure pre, post and especially during the
pandemic.

 

_After raising the issue in Parliament and petitioning hundreds of
local residents and NHS workers
[[link removed]]__,
Gareth Thomas MP has welcomed the announcement that Northwick Park
Hospital will get a new ward providing 23 new beds as a result of a
Government investment of £22.6 million._

 

_This is part of a £250 million investment that will deliver 900 new
hospital beds across England to help treat patients more quickly this
winter. This funding has been awarded to NHS trusts to relieve
pressures and help cut waiting times._

_30 NHS organisations across England will benefit from the investment
to help ease pressure in urgent and emergency care services. This
includes developing or expanding five urgent treatment centres and
four same-day emergency care services which will help patients to be
seen more quickly, without being admitted to hospital. The NHS expects
that the majority of schemes will be completed by January to help deal
with winter pressures. _

 

_The A&E department in Harrow is one of London’s busiest and last
winter was regularly experiencing a near total take-up of available
beds. _

_According to data from London Northwest Healthcare Trust and Harrow
West MP Gareth Thomas, the intensive therapy unit (ITU) had regularly
averaged as high as 99 per cent of its bed occupancy. _

 

LABOUR EDUCATION LEAD MEETS WITH HARROW HEADTEACHERS

 

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It was a pleasure to welcome the Shadow Education Secretary Bridget
Phillipson to Harrow last month for a wide-ranging discussion with 24
Harrow headteachers. 

 

In Harrow, we are blessed with remarkable headteachers and teachers,
as well as impressive students. It was _Thank A Teacher
Day_ recently and I took the opportunity to thank all those teaching
the young people of Harrow for their considerable efforts to educate
the best of our borough. If I had any doubts about the considerable
skill, hard work and professionalism required to be a teacher, trying
to teach my own children in Lockdown reminded me yet again why
teachers are so fundamental to all our hopes. 

 

But we need a major change in how Whitehall and Westminster regard the
teaching profession. Many of our schools are facing both real
financial difficulties and significant challenges in recruiting
teachers, many of whom are feeling overworked, overstretched and
undervalued. The Government continues to miss its own recruitment
targets and schools are struggling to retain teachers, with almost a
third leaving the profession within five years. 

 

It was therefore really helpful for Bridget, who leads on Labour’s
education policy, to come to Harrow and hear from our headteachers
about the number of significant concerns they have, including:
staffing retention and workloads; but also on school budgets being
squeezed; the content in the curriculum; Ofsted; the mental wellbeing
of staff and students; as well as the huge need for another SEN school
in Harrow. 

 

HARROW SPECIAL SCHOOLS 

 

As many parents will be all too aware, Government Ministers have
rejected plans for a new special needs school in Harrow 3 times
despite the urgent need in the borough. I recently took the
opportunity to ask Ministers in Parliament for a meeting to discuss
what progress can be made for a new special needs school and to
address the severe funding pressures schools in Harrow are
experiencing.  I have also written to Harrow Council’s Managing
Director. I hope we can make some progress on this vital issue so that
parents can be confident the right level of support will be available
for their children.

 

See my exchange in Parliament
here: [link removed]

 

TOWN CENTRE POLICE TEAM CAMPAIGN

 

[Gareth Thomas MP]

 

A week ago, another young man tragically lost his life to knife
violence in Harrow. I'm grateful to the Tri-borough Commander and
local police teams for the reassurance patrols taking place in the
Town Centre. I am reassured too that officers believe there to be no
wider risk to the community in Harrow.  Like many residents in
Harrow, I have been very concerned by the rise in violent crime across
the borough - an increase of 17% in a matter of years. 

 

Last month, I wrote formally to Sir Mark Rowley, Met Commissioner, to
once again call for a Town Centre Police Team in Harrow, consisting of
one inspector, three sergeants and 21 police constables, like the ones
we have seen in Uxbridge and Wembley. 

 

Hundreds of local residents have now signed my petition calling for a
Town Centre Police Team in Harrow - please consider signing and
sharing the petition to showcase the scale of support in
Harrow: [link removed]
[[link removed]]

 

 

SOUTH HARROW BANK HUB CAMPAIGN

 

Last month, Barclays left Northolt Road after many years serving the
community in South Harrow. This was just a couple of weeks after our
last bank, Lloyds TSB closed shop. We have now heard from Barclays
that after their closure in a couple of weeks, they will have a
presence here (once a week, Thursdays at Pentax House, next to South
Harrow station from 9:30AM-2:30PM). 

 

What I would like from both banks though, as well as from Santander
and Nationwide which have also left over the past decade - is their
support for my application for a bank hub in South Harrow. We know
that these banks have identified many hundreds of regular customers -
many elderly or disabled bank users that regularly use their branches.
A bank hub at least once a week will provide an opportunity to meet
with their bank once a week.

 

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YOU CAN SUPPORT MY CAMPAIGN
HERE:[link removed]

 

 

MORTGAGE BOMBSHELL THREATENS THE DREAMS OF HARROW FAMILIES

 

The 14th consecutive rise in interest rates, to a 15-year high will
be profoundly worrying for many people, particularly the many
homeowners with a mortgage, but also those privately renting who are
worried that their landlord might now put up their rents at a time
when it is very difficult to find a genuinely affordable home to rent
in Harrow.

 

Below is some guidance from MoneySavingExpert which can be found in
detail
here: [link removed]

 

_Most mortgage holders in the UK are on fixed-rate mortgages – so
won't see any immediate changes. Here are the key points:_

* _FIXES ARE FIXED. __As the name suggests, rates – and the
amount you pay – WON'T change during the fixed period. Though this
also means you're locked in if interest rates come down._
* _LENDERS__ __MAY RAISE STANDARD VARIABLE RATE (SVR) OR 'DISCOUNT'
MORTGAGES. __These move at the whim of lenders. You'll usually be on
an SVR after your fix or tracker ends. Currently, a typical SVR is
between 7.5% and 8.5% and this is likely to rise following today's
announcement. A 'discount' mortgage, meanwhile, follows the SVR at a
set rate, for example, if the SVR is 7% and the rate is SVR minus one
percentage point, it's 6%._
* _ON A TRACKER MORTGAGE? RATES WILL INCREASE. __As the name
suggests, these 'track' the base rate, so mortgage costs will go up.
In general, this latest rise means about a £14 increase in your
monthly payments for each £100,000 you owe on your mortgage._

 

 

Just last month, I spoke in the House of Commons about the estimated
18,000 households in Harrow facing an average increase in mortgage
payments of between £450 and £580 a month. 

 

Those figures are devastating for family finances. Ever more mortgage
deals have been withdrawn by the banks; Moneyfacts data suggests that
the typical rate on a two-year fixed rate loan have increased to
almost 6%, double the rate of a year ago. The independent Resolution
Foundation estimates that by 2026 some 6.5 million households across
the country will have been affected by the rise in mortgage rates,
caused in part by the Liz Truss mini-Budget. 

 

I strongly support Labour’s plans to tackle this issue. Lenders
should be required to play their part and while many banks and
building societies are doing the right thing, the voluntary set of
measures proposed by the Chancellor is just not good enough. The
Government’s plan only covers 85% of the mortgage market, leaving
more than one million families missing out.

The Chancellor’s plan is a watered-down package that does not meet
the task of dealing with the mortgage crisis. Homeowners in Harrow
should not be suffering the ever-increasing burden of higher mortgage
costs. I hope Ministers will do more to help and I will keep pushing
for them to back Labour’s plan to help Harrow residents.

My intervention in the House of Commons and full speech is available
here: [link removed]

and [link removed]
[[link removed]]

 

 

MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT AND SUPPORT 

 

More than a million people across England are waiting for mental
health treatment. The Government said it is delivering record levels
of investment. But too many are unable to access support early,
resulting in more people presenting to A&E after their mental health
has reached crisis point. Data from Freedom of Information (FOI)
requests finds patients in mental health crisis spent more than 5.4
million hours in A&E last year.

 

Ministers had promised a 10-year plan for mental health. But this has
been abandoned and replaced by a Major Conditions Strategy. I am
concerned the record of this Government on mental health is delayed
reviews and endless consultations when patients need action now.

I believe mental and physical health should be put on an equal
footing. I support a long-term, whole-Government plan to improve
mental health outcomes, make early intervention a reality, and broaden
the range of services to those with severe mental health illnesses. 

I support a new NHS standard to guarantee NHS mental health treatment
within a month, prioritising a truly preventative plan for mental
health services and putting patient care first. 

 

IN MAY WE CELEBRATED MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK – YOU CAN WATCH MY
DISCUSSION AROUND LABOUR’S MENTAL HEALTH POLICY WITH HARROW STUDENTS
HERE: [link removed]

 

ANIMAL WELFARE

 

In June, the Government announced that it was no longer going to
pursue the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. Last month, Labour
forced a debate in parliament, calling for the return of this
important legislation. As many will have seen, a Government Minister,
Zac Goldsmith resigned due in large part to the Government’s lack of
desire to pursue this policy.

 

The Bill was originally intended to tackle the importation of cats,
dogs and ferrets, the keeping of primates as pets, and the live export
of animals for slaughter. It was last debated in November 2021 and
had not been returned to Parliament for further scrutiny, despite
promises to do so.

 

The Bill had previously had unanimous support across the House of
Commons but, disappointingly, the Government voted down Labour’s
attempts to bring back the Bill, GIVING THE GREEN LIGHT TO PUPPY
SMUGGLING, PUPPY FARMING AND PET THEFT. 

 

Gareth Thomas MP

Harrow West

[Labour Rose]
 

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