POLICE GRANT FUNDING:
On Wednesday, I spoke in the Chamber in response to the Government’s Motion to approve the Police Grant Report for the next financial year. The Government was elected on the promise to restore Community Policing and to increase the visibility of our officers, but their funding commitments make this promise almost impossible to keep.
In December, the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, warned that the Met were facing a £450 million shortfall in funding, which, if not addressed, would cause cuts to 2,300 officers and 400 members of staff. While the Government has committed £249.7 million more in funding to the Met, an increase of 7% from the 2024/25 budget, this amount does not even address the shortfall, let alone provide a surplus for additional officers and resources.
The insufficient funding will mean that the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police will have to make tough decisions to balance the budget. As many of my constituents will know, I have been actively campaigning against the rumoured cuts to the Parks Police department. I have raised this matter in Parliament by submitting an Early Day Motion, and in my speech on Wednesday, I highlighted the excellent work that the Parks Police undertake in Richmond Park and their value to our community which was clear from the responses I received to my survey. It is vital that the Government acts to ensure that sufficient funding is provided to the Met to ensure that cuts to such important departments are not on the table.
You can watch a clip of my speech here.
STATEMENT ON UK-EU RELATIONS:
On Thursday, Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds made a statement on the Government's plans to reset EU-UK relations. As you will know, I have been strongly in favour of maintaining, and now restoring, positive relations with Europe as our closest trading ally, so I was glad to respond to the statement in my capacity as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Cabinet Office.
In my remarks, I welcomed the minister's commitment to resetting and rebuilding the relationship between the UK and the EU. However, I was disappointed that this statement was mostly waffle, as it did not indicate any real plan for closer relationships with Europe. I expressed my disappointment with the ‘plans’ to the minister and I urged the Government to be bolder.
In my speech, I also reiterated my calls for the establishment of a youth mobility scheme to bring opportunities to young people while calling on the minister to restore our favourable trading ties with the EU by re-joining the Customs Union. A return to the Customs Union is the economic boost that the country needs and what the Chancellor has been seeking, but frustratingly the Government is continuing to ignore this elephant in the room.
You can watch a clip of my speech here.
DWP ORAL QUESTION:
At the start of the week, I spoke in DWP Questions to ask the Minister, Torsten Bell MP, what steps the Government are taking to ensure that people have the proper securities in place to ensure that they are not faced with a financial cliff edge if their pension increases to above the pension threshold.
This issue was brought to my attention by one of my constituents who was experiencing significant financial difficulty because her pension had risen by just £3 a week, while her pension threshold had not increased in line with inflation. This consequently caused her to be ineligible for the benefits that she needed to stay afloat.
I welcomed the Minister’s offer of a meeting to discuss this matter and the understanding that he showed towards this case. While the Minister asserted that the pension credit threshold should rise in line with state pension, my office has dug-up other reports to show that this is not always the case. This is an issue which cannot be ignored, and I will continue to investigate this matter.
You can watch my question by clicking on the following link.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE:
In my role as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I attended a session regarding Energy Bills Support yesterday.
To protect against steep energy bill rises, the Department for Net Zero and Energy Security (DESNZ) implemented a series of support schemes costing £44 billion. However, initial estimates of the cost ranged from £69 billion to £139 billion. In this session, I questioned Jonathan Mills, Director General of Energy Market Supply for DESNZ, as to why the cost estimate for Energy Bill Support Schemes was so vastly different from the actual cost.
Jonathan Mills stated that the disparity between the estimated costs and the final cost of the scheme was due to the fluctuating prices of energy. Jonathan is correct to assert the unpredictability of prices, but the inability of even DESNZ to provide accurate estimations underlines the difficulty that individuals and families have in planning and saving ahead to pay their bills.
You can watch a clip of my question in the Public Accounts Committee here.
ENERGY BILLS MEETING IN KINGSTON:
Over the past several months, I have been contacted by a number of my constituents who live in an apartment block in Kingston who have reported that their heating and hot water bills are set to rise significantly as their heating system needs to be renovated. Not only has this caused the heating and hot water to not work for the past several weeks, the costs of heating for the block has more than doubled.
During a cost of living crisis when energy bills are already extremely high, this has meant that some residents will have to make extremely difficult decisions regarding their financial choices. As such, my office coordinated with the owners of the building and organised a meeting in which the residents would be able to voice the severe concerns that they had about the new heating plans directly to the building management team.
While I was very grateful that the owner of the building made the lengthy trip from Wales for the meeting, it was evident that a lack of communication between the relevant bodies and housing associations has exacerbated a difficult situation. Poor communication is unacceptable when considering the financial consequences that the new heating changes could have on residents.
I was pleased to see such a high turnout, with over 50 residents from the block putting questions to the owner of the building, and I hope that this has started a dialogue in which a more cost-effective heating system could be put in place. I will be continuing to monitor this issue closely, and I have already followed-up with residents to provide them with an update.
I would like to add a thank you to the DoubleTree Hotel in Kingston for being excellent hosts for this meeting.
SMALL STEPS VISIT:
Small Steps is a charity based in Richmond which specialises in providing Conductive Education. This learning program focuses on supporting young individuals with motor disorders and neurological conditions to enable them to become more independent in later life.
It was excellent to visit Small Steps to learn about the programs that they offer to provide children who suffer with disabilities a chance to develop skills such as improving their posture, helping with mobility difficulties and teaching resilience to help the children overcome the additional challenges which they will face in life. The staff at Small Steps are experts in their fields, and it was extremely interesting to learn about the techniques that they use to help make life that little bit easier for those facing the most difficult challenges.
RSPCA DROP-IN:
As part of their campaign for improved animal welfare, the RSPCA hosted a drop-in event in Parliament.
At the event, I was pleased to speak with a number of representatives about the value that mandatory food labelling can have in improving transparency and empowering consumers to make more informed choices on the food they buy. RSPCA stated that this policy would also help provide a level playing field for those farmers already producing to higher standards, and I concurred that it is important to introduce robust and clear-to-understand food labelling.
In my time as Member of Parliament for Richmond Park, I have received multiple pieces of casework surrounding the important issue of animal welfare. Across the UK, more work needs to be done to uphold animal welfare, and the work of the RSPCA is invaluable in delivering meaningful change.
COMMUNITY NEWS:
KINGSTON VOLUNTARY, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE (VCSE) FORUM:
On Wednesday 12 February, KingsGate Church are hosting a VCSE forum led by Kingston Voluntary Action between 10:30-12:30
Kingston Voluntary Action aims to bring local residents by offering a range of activities and support, while also keeping people up to date about local matters.
Next week’s forum includes discussions about the draft of Kingston Borough’s Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy, an update on digital inclusion in Kingston and more information about the Borough’s cultural celebration which will be taking part over the second half of 2025.
To find out more information about this event, please click on the following link.
RICHMOND: REWILD YOUR RIVERSIDE:
Every Tuesday at 10am, Thames Landscape Strategy hosts conservation sessions to ‘Rewild Our Riverside.’
All participants meet at Ham Car Park before making their way together to work by the riverside. The focus of the group is to have fun and to work together while also providing important assistance with tidying up the area and taking care of its biodiversity.
Thames Strategy Landscape will provide all the necessary tools and guidance for a successful day of rewilding - just don’t forget to wear comfortable clothes with sturdy footwear.
If this event is of interest, you can find more information about it here.
Comentários