Subject: NewsBulletinfromGregHandsM.P.#305

Date: Friday,15July201112:44:02UnitedKingdomTime

From: GregHandsM.P.

To: news@greghands.com

 

In this edition: 

Greg Hands M.P.’s Diary Website of the Week:Last chance to have your say on the future of theDistrict Line Photo news:St Thomas of CanterburyRC Primary SchoolSummer Fete PM announces phonehacking investigation Hands in Parliament:Hands condemns press“blagging” activities Hands in Parliament:Hands corrects wildmisrepresentationsabout Sure Start in H&F H&F Cabinet to discussproposals for new homesand jobs at West Ken H&F flats recycling schemestarts nextweek Chelsea & Fulhamin the papers:Thames Water U-turnon Chelsea park Chelsea & Fulhamin the papers:Burns Appeal success after a year  How to contactGreg Hands M.P.

 Issue 305 – Friday 15th July 2011

 

Since the last edition, Greg: 

·   Campaigned extensively for more District Line trains on

the Wimbledon branch. Today (15th July) is the last day of the Tf L consultation. Please see “website of the week” belowto have your say.

·   Met clinicians form the Royal Brompton Hospital, Chelsea,

to discuss the impact that any closure of the children’scardiac services would have on other services at the world-leading hospital, potentially threatening the whole hospital.There is currently an NHS consultation into the future of children’s heart surgery in England.

·   Attended and addressed the party at St John’s CE Primary

School in Fulham to celebrate the retirement of headmistress Mrs Pauline Morazgalska after 31 years incharge.

·   Attended and addressed the patrons reception of the

Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives held inChelsea.

·   Attended the annual Fulham Society summer reception at

Lady Margaret School, Parsons Green.

·   Toured the trading floor of Citibank in Canary Wharf to hear 

at first hand the impact of the Eurozone crisis and to gaugethe strong market support for UK government policies toreduce the budget deficit.

·   Attended the summer performance of the Chelsea-based

English National Ballet School.

·   Met representatives from the Serbian Centre in Fulham and

the Serbian Library (located in Fulham Library) to explorethe possibility of a new Serbian Centre in London.

·   Welcomed to the House of Commons the Western

Australian energy minister  Hon. Peter Collier. Peter, fromthe Australian Liberal Party, helped Greg in his campaign for election in 2005.

·   Was guest presenter at a training day for the Westminster 

Foundation for Democracy for visiting up-and-comingpolitical leaders from the Balkans and the Caucasus.

·   Attended the summer fair of the St Thomas of Canterbury

RC Primary School, and was one of the judges of the cakebaking competition!

baking competition!

·   Welcomed the British Ambassador to Germany, Simon

McDonald, for talks in Westminster about UK-Germanrelations.

·   Ran a surgery for residents of Chelsea and Fulham at

Fulham Town Hall. Greg’s surgeries are generally everyMonday, at either Fulham Town Hall or Peter Jones, SloaneSquare. To make an appointment, call 020 7219 5448 or reply to this bulletin.

 

Website of the Week: 

Last chance to have your say on thefuture of the District Line MORE MORNING PEAK TIME TRAINS London Underground has announced plans for a new District Linetimetable, after a review of demand on the relatively underusedOlympia branch. The proposed timetable change will enable LondonUnderground to re-route more trains via the Wimbledon Branch. If the plans get the go ahead, locally passengers would see fiveextra morning peak time trains on our stretch of the line fromDecember 2011. The proposals will increase frequency on theWimbledon Branch of the District Line and improve reliability for passengers. Like other regular commuters, I know a better District Line service isvital to residents and the proposed five extra trains on our stretch of the District Line will really help ease overcrowding and improvereliability for passengers. It’s crucial we support Transport for London’s (Tf L’s) proposal to get a better District Line service. 

 YOUR HELP IS VITAL TO GET THE EXTRA TRAINS Tf L is currently consulting on this proposal and it’s really importantresidents write to Tf L to support the changes. The consultationcloses today. You can respond to the consultation online atwww.tfl.gov.uk/districtlineconsultation or you can email Tf Ldirectly at enquire@tfl.gov.uk - and feel free to copy me in as wellon mail@greghands.com. You can also call Tf L’s customer services department on 0845 330 9880 (8am-8pm). It is really important that residents have their say and tell T f L justhow crucial getting this extra capacity is for our stretch of the line. We need to show Tf L how much local commuters support havingmore morning peak time trains to really enable Tf L implement thesechanges on our stretch of the line, so please do respond to theconsultation today.

Greg Hands M.P. 

Photo news:St Thomas of Canterbury RCPrimary School Summer Fete

 

Greg Hands M.P. with fellow cake baking competition judges, including Cllr Thomas Crofts, at St Thomas

of Canterbury RC Primary School summer fete. 

PM announces phone hackinginvestigation Speaking to the House of Commons, the Prime Minister said theinquiry would be split into two parts, with an investigation into thewrongdoing of the press and police, including the failure of the firstpolice inquiry, and a full review of the regulation of the press. The section of the inquiry covering ethics and regulation of the presswill report back within 12 months. The Prime Minister said the inquiryshould be as "robust as possible and get to the truth fastest and getto work the quickest". In a statement in the House of Commons, Mr Cameron alsoannounced changes to the ministerial code stating that ministers willhave to record and publish details of all their meetings withnewspaper and other media proprietors, senior editors andexecutives. And he said the Metropolitan Police would appoint asenior public figure to advise them on how to interact with the media. The inquiry will be established under the 2005 Inquiries Act andhave the power to summon witnesses including newspaper reporters, management, proprietors, policemen and politicians of allparties to give evidence under oath and in public. Lord JusticeLeveson will be assisted by a panel of senior independent figureswith expertise in media, broadcasting, regulation and government.

Monday 11th July 2011 

Greg Hands (Chelsea and Fulham) (Con): When it comes to thewider inquiry, could we ensure that the press practice of blagging isincluded? It appears to mean using subterfuge and pretence to gainaccess to confidential and other personal information, and it hasbeen alleged of other newspapers, including of a journalist who nowworks for the Leader of the Opposition. The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport(Mr Jeremy Hunt): We must absolutely ensure that we doeverything necessary to stamp out blagging. One of the most awfulparts of this whole process is that we have discovered just how easyit is. In that respect, I would add that I believe that the role of phonecompanies is very important as well. They need to ensure that theyare co-operating fully to ensure that it stops. 

Hands in Parliament:Hands corrects wildmisrepresentations aboutSure Start in H&F 

Monday 11th July 2011 

Andrew Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): There have been 45%cuts in the Sure Start budget in one year; nine centres deregisteringbecause they have had more than 90% cuts and cannot function;and parents taking and winning judicial reviews to restore a basicservice. In February the Minister said that she was monitoring thesituation in Hammersmith and Fulham because there were particular concerns. Will she do more than monitor now and take some actionwhile we still have any Sure Start centres left? The Minister of State, Department for Education (Sarah Teather):I know that the hon. Gentleman has raised this issue on many

putting it on the record. 

H&F Cabinet to discuss proposals fornew homes and jobs at West Ken Another step towards creating thousands of new jobs and homes atEarls Court is to be decided at the next H&F Council Cabinetmeeting. Councillors are being asked to take a decision on whether thecouncil should enter into an ‘exclusivity deal’ with, EC PropertiesLimited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital & Counties (Capco)which could eventually lead to a development bringing new, modernhomes for people living on the West Kensington & Gibbs Greenestates. If approved by both the Council and CapCo’s board, the parties willwork exclusively for the next year to see if the final details of a landsale agreement to include the estates in the redevelopment area canbe concluded. In order to enter into the proposed exclusivityagreement, EC Properties would pay the Council a non-refundabledeposit of £5 million, and £10 million which is refundable if a deal isnot agreed within the one year timeframe. In 2009 the Council signed a collaboration agreement with ECProperties and Transport for London (TfL), which also owns land inthe proposed development area. The latest agreement gives theCouncil the time and resources needed to work on the proposal indetail to ensure it gets the best deal for estate residents, the wider area and the borough as a whole. EC Properties is one of three landowners, including Hammersmith &Fulham (H&F) Council and TfL, working with Sir Terry Farrell on theMasterplan for the possible regeneration of the Earls Court & WestKensington Opportunity Area with the potential to create 7,500 newhomes and 12,000 new jobs. Last month EC Properties submitted an outline planning applicationfor the site, along with a detailed planning application for land atnearby Seagrave Road. Any future land agreement with EC Properties will be on thecondition that a series of council tenants, leaseholder and freeholder guarantees, negotiated with an 80-strong resident steering group,can be met. These include:

housing for thousands of people.”  Maureen Way, who is a member of the West Kensington and GibbsGreen Resident Steering group said: “Contrary to the rumours,many, many people on the West Kensington and Gibbs Greenestates want to see what improvement this development could bring to the area. If the development does go ahead, we believe that wehave negotiated the best deal for residents.”  Details of the proposed agreement will be discussed by councillorsat H&F's Cabinet on July 18. 

H&F flats recycling schemestarts next week A new scheme to make it easier than ever before for residents wholive in flats to recycle starts next week (Monday, July 18)! Flats make up around 70 per cent of properties in Hammersmith &Fulham but the recycling rate from flats is estimated at just 10 per cent. From July 18 to September, all households with access to SmartBanks will be given a new re-usable bag– to make it even easier tostore recycling in your home and transport it to the recycling bank.Selected locations will also benefit from other improvementsincluding: 

·   Converting some refuse chutes so that they can be used for 

recycling - this approach trebled recycling rates on oneestate in Westminster.

·   Installing recycling banks on each floor.

·   Providing extra Smart Banks where coverage is limited.

 The chutes and mini banks will take the same items for recycling asthe Smart Bank. This now includes plastic pots, tubs and food trays. Recycling has never been so important, since the cost of disposingof rubbish rose by 20 per cent two months ago (April)

 You can put the following in the borough's Smart recycling banks or orange sacks: 

·   Paper and card - Newspapers, magazines, catalogues,

directories, leaflets, loose paper, card and cardboard (pleaseflatten)

·   Glass - Glass bottles and jars (no lids please)

·   Cans, tins and aerosols Plastic bottles (please remove lids

from plastic bottles and squash them if possible)

·   Paper-based drinks and liquid food cartons (e.g. Tetra Paks)

·   Plastic pots, tubs and food trays

 The following items cannot  be placed in Smart Sacks or Smart Banks: 

·   Food waste, cigarette ends or garden waste

·   Broken glass, pyrex or window glass

·   Paint, chemical containers or batteries

·   Builder’s waste or rubble

·   Foil or polystyrene

·   Paper towels, tissues or nappies

·   Textiles

 You can click on www.lbhf.gov.uk/recycling for details of your nearest recycling facilities or call the Cleaner, Greener Hotline on020 8753 1100 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday, or emailCleaner.Greener@lbhf.gov.uk. You can also visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/flatsrecycling. 

Chelsea & Fulham in the papers:Thames Water U-turn on Chelsea park

Chelsea Council and Thames Water that the loss of any part of thesmall one-acre garden for a construction site for the works makesno sense, particularly given the lengthy tenure of the Thames works. "The loss of the gardens would have been an enormous loss to thecommunity." Councillor Gerard Hargreaves added: "The ward councillors and theresidents have been working hard to save Cremorne Gardens, thecouncil and Thames Water have been in discussions for some time. "It is good news that we now seem to have progress on this issueand I look forward to a positive result." A spokeswoman for Thames Water confirmed the access road planshad changed. She said: "During our phase one consultation, local residents raisedconcerns about our proposals to have a work site in the foreshoreand our plans to use a strip of Cremorne Gardens for access to thesite. "We've listened to this feedback and can confirm that, after constructive discussions with the council, we are no longer lookingat these options and are instead concentrating on using the existingcouncil depot." 

Chelsea & Fulham in the papers:

Dr Norwood will make sure that all burns inpatients receive anassessment of their psychosocial needs on admission, as well asongoing monitoring. Greg Williams, burns service lead at the hospital, said: "On behalf of the entire Burns Service, I would like to express my gratitude to allthose individuals, including many former patients, who have sogenerously donated money. "We hope that Sally's appointment will help us to demonstrate thebenefits of screening patients to identify potential issues, addressthem early, and help with recovery." About 500 donors gave money to the appeal, helping them to raisethe £100,000 target. 

5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.: 

By Phone: 020 7219 5448

By email: mail@greghands.com

By post: Greg Hands M P