QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS:
Next week, I will be holding question and answer sessions across the constituency. These gatherings will begin in Canbury on Monday 17 February, and will be followed by sessions in East Sheen on Wednesday and Barnes on Thursday, all of which begin at 7pm and last around 90 minutes.
These question and answer sessions are intended to be an opportunity for residents of the respective wards to raise issues which matter to them and to also provide me with a chance to update residents about the work that I have been doing locally and in Parliament.
If you wish to attend these meetings, please RSVP to office@saraholney.com. In this correspondence, please include your full name and address. Once you have RSVP’d, my office will pass on the location of the meeting so please do check your emails for a response.
I hope that I will be seeing you next week.
TERMINALLY ILL ADULTS (END OF LIFE) BILL COMMITTEE:
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, I attended committee meetings on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. This week, we began to scrutinise the amendments which had been put forward to the bill, some of which aimed to enable assisted dying to have less regulation than the original bill intended, while others focused on increasing the amount of safeguards to enhance protections to those who may elect to end their lives.
While, as many of you will know, I voted against the bill at its second reading, I am intent on delivering the will of the House and making this bill as safe as possible to ensure that those wishing to end their lives do so at their own will with the proper checks in place.
An amendment was put forward this week which would mean that the determination on whether an individual would be eligible for assisted dying under the proposed framework would be made by a panel of experts as opposed to a High Court Judge. This amendment was put forward following concerns that the Family Court Division would have roughly 75% of its time taken up by applications for assisted dying decisions.
The nature of this amendment concerns me, as many MPs will have voted in favour of the bill based upon enhanced safeguards being implemented at the committee stage. This is a layer of protection to vulnerable individuals which would be lost if the amendment was to be approved, and I spoke about the proposal and the work that the Committee is undertaking in length on BBC Breakfast , BBC Radio 5 Live and on Parliament Matters earlier this week.
POLICE WALKABOUT IN EAST SHEEN AND NORTH RICHMOND:
Over the past few months, I have noticed a marked increase in constituents living near the North Richmond and East Sheen boundary reporting that either themselves or their neighbours have been victims of break-ins or burglaries. Consequently, I organised a walkabout with Richmond Borough’s Superintendent, Christopher Scammell, PC Oudesh Ramdany and PCSO Pete Donaldson.
I was pleased to hear that arrests had been made in regards to criminals who were breaking into properties or cars in the area. It was also reassuring to hear that the officers understood the anxiety that residents experience after a local burglary and that they are working hard to address the break-ins around the local wards.
Superintendent Scammell also passed on the most recent data to my office relating to Richmond Borough’s crime statistics. The report showed that most types of crime in Richmond have decreased recently, while a positive outcome for resolving reported cases has increased on most metrics. However, the officers acknowledged that there is an issue with thefts from local stores in the area, and it is an issue which will remain a priority for them to investigate.
I would like to thank Superintendent Scammell, PC Ramdany and PCSO Donaldson for their time to discuss the issue of burglaries in our constituency and I would encourage people to continue to report any criminal activity to the police to ensure that the authorities can investigate these incidents.
POLITICAL FINANCING BILL:
On Wednesday, I co-sponsored my colleague, Manuela Perteghella MP, bill on political donations. This bill, if passed, would reduce the amount of influence that rich individuals can have on British politics, help to protect our democracy from foreign interference, and restore public trust in our electoral system by introducing a cap on political donations.
At the moment, it is far too easy for those who do not have the national interest of our country at heart, or who have made their wealth through illicit means, to funnel money into British politics. The bill is simple in its aim: to ensure that it is the people of this country, not the deep pockets of foreign billionaires, oligarchs or corporate interests, who decide our country’s future in elections and referendums.
I was glad to add my name to support this Bill and I hope that the Government will make time for it to progress through the legislative process.
RADIO JACKIE:
I recently spoke with Radio Jackie regarding a list of local issues, with of course Heathrow leading the list of questions. I was asked to comment on the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP’s, statement that a third runway can only be built if Heathrow meets its carbon budget and carbon standards. As Heathrow is already the biggest contributor of carbon emissions in the UK, any plans to further expand the airport would be incompatible with the UK’s environmental targets, and it remains unclear how the Government plans to resolve this conflict.
The topic then moved towards the potential cuts to the Parks Police department. If this division is cut, then the responsibilities for policing our parks will fall onto the Metropolitan Police’s local neighbourhood officers, who are already understaffed primarily due to budgeting constraints. Adding an area the size of Richmond Park to their policing duties will only serve to further stretch their resources. After raising this issue in Parliament last week, I wrote a Written Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ask if they are considering the impact that such cuts would have on the environment and nature of our Royal Parks. It is vital that this issue is not only looked at through the lens of policing crime, as the Parks Police’s expertise and responsibilities extends beyond these duties.
Lastly, we discussed Thames Water’s financial status as a court case is currently ongoing to decide whether Thames Water are eligible to receive £3 billion in emergency funding to keep the company afloat. The interviewer, Jacqui, referenced a Financial Times article which stated that Thames Water are spending £15 million a month on legal fees. This news comes just after the announcement that Thames Water will be able to increase people’s bills by 35% over the next five years.
During my interview, I reiterated that Thames Water must be taken into special administration to address these financial issues and be restructured into a public benefit model to prevent their own poor financial state of affairs from being pushed onto consumers to pay the price.
I also touched on South Western Railway’s performance standards as well as my appointment to the role as the Government’s Trade Envoy to North Africa, and you can watch my full interview by clicking on the following link.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE:
On Monday, in my capacity as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), I attended a session regarding the National Audit Office’s (NAO) budget estimate for the 2025/26 financial year. The Committee has a role in assessing and approving the NAO’s main estimate, and I questioned its Comptroller and Auditor General, Gareth Davies, about the uncertainty in some of the estimates and the financial implications of additional unexpected work.
Gareth Davies responded that the uncertainty comes from the anticipated nationalisation of train companies as new audit responsibilities, and whether this will occur in the next two or three years.
Monday’s session also examined the handling of Covid-19 loans by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Nine borrowers of these loans, valued at £46m, have since become insolvent, raising questions as to whether it is financially viable for DCMS to run its own loan book. I asked Nicola Hewer, the Director of Visitor Economy, Heritage, Loans, and Art Collection for DCMS, and Susannah Storey, the Permanent Secretary for DCMS, why there are no further spending forecasts beyond this year, and how they are modelling their business costs without further forecasts.
Nicola Hewer stated that they expect to have these forecasts by the latest in April 2026. It is concerning that the department is yet to create a cohesive model of their cost forecasts and that they will not be available until over a year's time.
CHRIST’S SCHOOL CITIZENSHIP FAIR:
The Christ’s School Citizenship Fair is an event which I look forward to attending each year, as it is always interesting to hear students’ views on the important matters facing us locally and on a wider scale.
An issue that is highlighted each year by different sets of students is the potential harm that can be caused by social media. With young people more interconnected than ever, students highlighted that the impact of online bullying or even an addiction to social media platforms can have a severely detrimental effect on people’s mental health. This is perhaps especially relevant now due to the bad example that is being set on some online platforms by powerful and famous political figures.
Another interesting topic that was presented was the issue of sexual harassment in the music industry. The past few years have uncovered a series of high profile sexual assault offences committed by famous musicians, and these cases underlined the barriers to success that many young people face to gain entrance to the music industry. It was especially interesting to hear the students speak about this matter as, although it is one which is highlighted by individual cases in the media, it is not one which is discussed as a whole as an issue within the industry itself, so it was excellent to see that the students had identified this as something that needs to be examined on the wider scale.
Other important matters such as the impact that Brexit has had on the UK, knife crime in London and the issue of homelessness were highlighted by the students, and I was impressed to see the detail of these presentations. I would like to thank the staff at Christ’s for their invitation and I am already looking forward to attending next year’s event.
BARNES STATION MURAL AND STEP FREE ACCESS:
Last Friday, I attended the unveiling of Barnes Station’s new mural as well as the official opening of their step free access changes.
As you will be able to see from the below photo, the mural is beautiful and serves to provide additional vibrancy to the area. The implementation of the mural was led by one of our Barnes Councillors, Marjorie Millum, and the design was put together by Picassos in the Park. This company puts on enjoyable workshops for children while also running free weekly art sessions for those living with early stage dementia, and they provide an excellent service to our community.
The new accessibility facilities at the station were driven forward by Richmond Park’s former MP, Baroness Susan Kramer, as part of her work in the House of Lords, after the plans were initially rejected for being too expensive. The addition of the lifts and footbridge adds much needed access around the station for those who are less able, and it is excellent to see that Baroness Kramer’s work has been put into practice by Network Rail and South Western Railway.
This week, as some of you may have heard, there was a suicide at Barnes Station. My thoughts of course go out to this individual and their loved ones. While I cannot speak to the circumstances of this incident, mental health is a crisis which can affect anyone at any time in their lives. If you or someone you know are going through difficult times, I would urge you to seek out support. I have left below contact details to reach out to if you are in need of help:
South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust Crisis Support 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line - 0800 028 8000
Samaritans phone line - 116 123
WATER AID DROP-IN:
Last month, I received an invitation from one of my constituents who works for WaterAid UK to attend their Parliamentary drop-in event which took place this week. This February marks 20 years since Nelson Mandela’s iconic Trafalgar Square speech, which launched the Make Poverty History campaign. To commemorate this anniversary, international development charities across the UK wished to come together in Westminster to reignite Mandela’s call for action on this pressing issue.
In response to this invitation, I reaffirmed my view that the UK should reinstate our commitment of providing 0.7% of our Gross National Income (GNI) to developing countries and I also passed on my frustrations that the Government had reneged on their manifesto pledge of pledging 0.58% of our GNI towards international aid.
Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment so I was unable to attend this event. However, due to the importance of this issue, I ensured that two members of my team attended in my place to hear about the valuable work which WaterAid does.
COMMUNITY NEWS:
ST AGATHA’S PRIMARY SCHOOL:
I was delighted to hear that St Agatha’s Catholic Primary School in Kingston was named School of the Week by the Catholic Union in their latest weekly briefing. Each week, the Catholic Union celebrates a school that makes a unique and wonderful contribution to our society, and it was excellent to see that a school in our constituency had received this week’s nomination.
In particular, the school was highlighted for its celebration of the Feast of St Agatha on 5 February. Richmond Park is home to a number of excellent schools which nurtures and assists students with their learning, and I am delighted to hear about the recognition of the work of the staff and students at St Agatha’s Primary School with this award.
You can read more about the acknowledgement of the school’s work here.
RICHMOND DRAGONS’ DEN:
On Thursday 27 February, the Zenith Enterprise Programme will be hosting the ultimate Dragons’ Den-style pitch battle between a range of entrepreneurs who wish to turn their business dreams into reality.
Entry to the event is free, and attending the pitches as an audience member is a great opportunity to learn from the ideas presented by the entrepreneurs as well as to hear the feedback provided to the hopefuls by the dragons. The dragons all have a successful business background in their own right, and the panel includes Richmond Council’s Lead Member for Business and Growth, Councillor Phil Giesler.
The event takes place between 9:30-12:30 at The Exchange in Twickenham, and you can find more information here.
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