*
*

MP’S UPDATE OCTOBER 2020

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.

SEPTEMBER HAS BEEN AS BUSY AS EVER FOR MY TEAM AND I - SORRY FOR THE
LATESNESS THEREFORE OF THIS NEWSLETTER. THE ISSUES AROUND COVID ARE HAVING
A HUGE EFFECT ON CONSTITUENTS’ LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS ALONG WITH THE MANY
OTHER TOPICS OF CONCERN.

The rate of infection is spinning out of control as a result of the
government's guidance being ill-thought out and badly managed, and the
messages being inconsistent "Do as we say not as we (and our friends) do".
The Government's (relative) incompetency compared to other nations can be
seen in the graph below.

Whole sectors are closed down completely, such as the creative industries
which generate billions in taxes and employ thousands of people here in
West London. These jobs are viable in the long term, and I have called on
the government to provide them with the support they need to protect those
jobs and skills. I also challenged the Government [9] in the Commons to
recognise the 3 million self-employed and freelancers who have been
excluded from all the Government schemes after many constituents, who have
been excluded, wrote to me about their experiences.

We are also still waiting for the long-promised aviation strategy, while
airport Unions have told us at Zoom meetings, how employers at Heathrow are
forcing staff (many of whom are on low pay) to decide between taking
redundancy or accepting very significant wage cuts.

I am seeing a growing number of constituents, who have never claimed
benefits, now dependent on the inadequate levels of Universal Credit. As
this is subject to an absolute cap, many people paying average West London
rents have little if any money to pay for food and basic bills.

COVID DEATHS V ECONOMIC GROWTH - showing just how badly the UK is
performing against other countries

[Source OECD Statista 99% analysis]

In the Commons Chamber:

* At the first PMQ after the summer recess I focussed on the summer of
incompetence and asked the PM which was his favourite of the 12 U-turns
that he's made this year

[10]

* I challenged Trade Secretary Liz Truss for appointing a misogynistic,
homophobic and climate change denier as a Trade Advisor

* I called on the Government to support Hounslow & other aviation
communities by following the German approach to Sector support and Airport
testing

* I asked why the Government was undermining the Withdrawal Agreement and
the Good Friday Agreement in the Internal Markets Bill. I addressed the
negative impact that the Bill would have on the devolution settlement with
all the devolved nations, the lack of action on state aid and the impact of
the Bill on the rule of law

* I spoke about self-employed constituents who are excluded from the
various Covid support programs

[11]

* At Environment Questions I asked the Government to adopt World Health
Organisation guidelines on air pollution

* I spoke in the very well subscribed Debate on the Covid impact on
Aviation, and called for sector support and short term area based support
for aviation communities

I wrote:

* to the Chancellor asking that the furlough & SEISS programme be
extended in certain sectors
* to the CEO of Centrica (parent company of British Gas) to oppose their
fire & re-hire plan for British Gas Workers

PERIOD POVERTY:

Too many young women cannot afford proper sanitary protection and miss
school as a result. It was welcome that the government replaced the
voluntary Red Box scheme last year with a Government-funded scheme to
provide schools with a budget to acquire supplies. I asked a series of
written questions to ascertain the Government's long-term commitment to
this vital scheme. The Minister replied by saying the Government is
monitoring the scheme and will report back "in due course".

FREE TRAVEL FOR UNDER 18S IN LONDON AT RISK:

In July I sponsored an adjournment debate [12], to oppose the Government's
forced ending of Under 18s free travel in London. I pointed out that the
Government would have to address where the costs would fall of travel for
those entitled to free travel under the national rules. London Labour MPs
wrote to the Transport Secretary and now it appears the Government have
done the sums as we have now heard that the Government have postponed the
measure until sometime next year.

COMMUNITY UPDATE

RECOVERY PLAN FOR HOUNSLOW BOROUGH Our borough is expected to be one of the
hardest hit with 42,500 jobs based at Heathrow, almost half of jobs in
severely impacted sectors, and a forecast £1bn loss to the local economy.
Most of the economic hit is because of the area's dependence on Heathrow.

Job losses will disproportionately affect poorer and ethnic minority
communities here. There is also a serious concern about greater levels of
homelessness and of the impact of stress and poverty on children growing up
here.

The Council is developing a recovery plan for the local economy and the
community with public and private sector organisations. It will be a long
time until the aviation sector recovers, so help is needed now. Along with
the Council, business and community representatives, we are working with
the Council to make the case to government for specific support for
communities like ours that are so dependent on aviation for jobs and
economic prosperity.

In September I spoke at West London Business' annual meeting about Covid
recovery, and also at the Council's community event [13] which focussed on
how we can all work together to empower local people through the pandemic
and the looming economic and social impact we face.

CLADDING IN FLATS: All residents of modern flats fear for their safety
while many leaseholders have told me they are unable to sell because they
cannot get the EWS1 form to confirm their building is safe from potentially
flammable cladding. A worrying fire hit Sperry House in the Great West
Quarter development in Brentford. Luckily no-one was seriously hurt, but
this showed how too many blocks are still vulnerable over three years after
the Grenfell fire.

The Government promised that by now all modern flats with dangerous
cladding will be re-clad but the funds they set aside are £2bn short.
Following the fire I had meetings with residents of Sperry House, and next
door Gilbert House with concerns about the way the housing associations who
own and manage these particular blocks are communicating with residents
about safety and the recladding programme. I had written to Housing
Secretary Robert Jenrick the day before the fire for which I am still
awaiting a reply and I am also seeking meetings with the housing
associations.

BRENTFORD FC: For those of us living near Griffin Park, it is a
bitter-sweet feeling that Brentford FC have now moved to their new stadium
on Lionel Road. But it is right for an ambitious club to have a ground fit
for the 21st century. As with other league clubs, BFC is desperately
frustrated that they have spent time and money making the ground safe for
fans to

return, yet are still waiting for clarity from Government on this. I
therefore wrote to the Government on behalf of the club, and am still
awaiting a response.

As in previous seasons, I'm proud to be sponsoring manager Thomas Frank's
home kit for 2020/21.

HAMMERSMITH BRIDGE: Chiswick had been suffering the knock-on traffic impact
since the bridge was closed to vehicles in April last year. Then this
summer further serious cracks were found so it was closed completely to
pedestrians and cyclists, while boats (including the RNLI) are banned from
passing underneath. I have been working with other local

MPs and the Council leaders to force the Government to take responsibility
for the cost of the repairs, an amount that is way beyond the budget of the
local Councils or even Transport for London. Full details of the saga can
be found here [14]

“VIRTUAL” LONDON MARATHON: On October 4th I ran 26.2 miles along the
Thames raising money for two local charities; Our Barn Youth Club for young
people with learning disabilities and autism, and AgeUK Hounslow. Both
charities need extra funds now to address the isolation experienced by
those they support who have missed their normal social and support
activities. Any support for either or

both these organisations would be very welcome!

* To support AgeUK Hounslow go via their donation page - do say in the
message box it's in support of Ruth's Marathon run.

DONATE [15]

* And for Our Barn go via my JustGiving page

DONATE [16]

CONSTITUENT SURGERIES ON-LINE:  I re-started my regular surgeries in
September, "meeting" people who would like a chat 1-1. The issues raised
with me included two business travel companies seeking support for 2-stage
airport Covid testing, a company unable to get the bounce-back loan scheme,
local crime issues and bullying at work. These are a fraction of the issues
my team and I are contacted about, and we seek to provide active support,
or advice, to each.

LOCAL MARKETS: In among the gloom it's great to see the regular markets are
back, with good food, art and crafts made and sold by local people.

They are: Brentford on the second Sunday each month, Isleworth on the third
Saturday, Chiswick Farmers Market every Sunday, and Gunnersbury Duckpond
market on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays.

While there's no market in Hounslow, Watermans Arts Centre are organising a
programme of events in Bell Square at the top of the High Street, which
started with the impressive 7 metre globe "Gaia" by Luke Jerram.

AFTER FOUR LONG MONTHS OF LOCKDOWN the need for help and support for
vulnerable people has increased, so if you have time, or money, please do
support your local community.

IF YOU CAN VOLUNTEER please do; with your local _COVID19 MUTUAL AID GROUP
[17]_, or _HOUNSLOW VOLUNTEERING CENTRE_ [18] to help a Hounslow community
organisation.

IF YOU CAN SPARE MONEY TO HARD-PRESSED CHARITIES - then please do that too.
Many vital charities may not survive the loss of income as normal
charitable giving collapses. And now there will be the exponential growth
in demand for some such as foodbanks, advice and information services and
domestic violence charities.

Here are some local ones: _HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX_ [19] Ivybridge
Foodbank (_RUN BY ALL SOULS CHURCH, ST MARGARET’S_ [20]), _AGUE HOUNSLOW_
[21], and _HOUNSLOW OPEN KITCHEN [22]_

If you can - please give generously of your time or your money!!

You can get DAILY UPDATES about national and local information and services
from Hounslow Council _HERE [23]_

UNSUBSCRIBE [24]

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




Links:
------
[1] [link removed]
[2] [link removed]
[3] [link removed]
[4] [link removed]
[5] [link removed]
[6] [link removed]
[7] [link removed]
[8] [link removed]
[9] [link removed]
[10] [link removed]
[11] [link removed]
[12] [link removed]
[13] [link removed]
[14] [link removed].
[15] [link removed]
[16] [link removed]
[17] [link removed]
[18] [link removed]
[19] [link removed]
[20] [link removed]
[21] [link removed]
[22] [link removed]
[23] [link removed]
[24] [link removed]