8/3/2019 News Bulletin from Greg Hands M.P. #314

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Subject: FW:NewsBulletinfromGregHandsM.P.#314

Date: Sunday,23October201119:32:42UnitedKingdomTime

From: GregHandsM.P.

To: news@greghands.com

 

In this edition: 

Greg Hands M.P.’s Diary Website of the Week:Number 10, Downing Street Greg Hands M.P. becomesa Government Minister inReshuffle Heathrow runway trialswarning

 Thames Water under fire atsewer meeting Two boroughs, oneChief Executive Half-term fun inHolland Park Hands in the papers:On the up: The other Government promotions Hands in the papers:The Chancellor's Reshuffle

 How to contactGreg Hands M.P.

 Issue 314 – Sunday 23rd October 2011

 

 Since the last edition, Greg: 

·  Was appointed a Minister in Her Majesty’s Government. Greg

has joined the Government as the Treasury and Northern IrelandWhip. For more information and reaction to the Governmentreshuffle, see below.

·  Had a full schedule of activity as a Government Whip in and

around the chamber of the House of Commons, including

ministerial meetings and a debut appearance as a voting teller. 

Website of the Week:

www.number10.gov.uk  The website of Number 10, Downing Street, including herewww.number10.gov.uk/news/ministerial-appointments/ the appointment of Greg Hands as a Government Minister in the Whips Office. 

Greg Hands M.P. becomes a

Government Minister in Reshuffle 

Greg announces the results of a vote in the House of Commonsas a Government Whip.

 Greg Hands M.P. has been made a Government Whip in last week'sreshuffle of Ministerial posts. The appointments were made by thePrime Minister on 14 October and approved by HM The Queen later that evening. This is the first time that the sitting MP for Chelsea has been aGovernment Minister since 1994, and the first time since 1997 for thesitting MP for Fulham. Greg has assumed specific responsibilities for HM Treasury and theNorthern Ireland Office. Since the election, he had been ParliamentaryPrivate Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a role that will

now be filled by Sajid Javid MP. Government Whips handle the procedural aspects of legislation as itcomes before Parliament, including counting MPs’ votes as “tellers”.By convention, they do not speak during questions or debates in theHouse of Commons, but they continue to take an active role on behalf of their constituents. Commenting on his appointment, Greg Hands said: "I was delighted when the Prime Minister asked me to become a Government Minister,in the Whips Office. 

“Not only is the Government taking the difficult decisions needed tohelp us ride through the economic storm, it is making long-overduereforms in our schools and in the welfare system. “Although this means I will be heard less often in the CommonsChamber, people will continue to hear and see me in Chelsea and Fulham. My weekly surgeries and other commitments will carry on asusual.”  

Heathrow runway trials warning Fulham residents living under the Heathrow flight path face increasedaircraft noise after the introduction of new runway rules. The airport's operator, BAA, is planning trials allowing the use of bothrunways simultaneously as part of the Government’s work onexploring how to make airports ‘better, not bigger’. At the moment the airport uses a ‘runway alternation system’ whichmeans using one runway for arrivals and the other for departures.Their use is switched halfway through the day at 3pm to give residentsa predictable period of relief from aircraft noise. 

At certain times BAA is already allowed to use both runwayssimultaneously for arrivals, mainly to clear backlogs of flights. However, under the trials – which will start next month and happen intwo phases – the threshold for triggering dual use of the runways willbe lowered. Both runways will be used when planes face a 10-minute wait to landor take off or if there is more widespread disruption to the airport’sflight schedules, for example due to bad weather. The average delayfor flights is 12 minutes at Heathrow, so there could be a significantincrease in the number of arrivals flights out of the usual runwayalternation pattern.

 BAA is sending leaflets to around 150,000 homes under the flightpaths and only agreed to extend the delivery to local people followingpressure from Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council. Cllr Nick Botterill, H&F Council Deputy Leader, says: “This relaxing of the rules for these trials could have a significant impact on boroughresidents and it is unacceptable that local people have not beenadequately informed by BAA. “Residents, particularly south of Lillie Road, face the prospect of increased noise and disruption and the least BAA should have done is

contact people directly to let them know.”  The first trial will run from November 1 to February 29, with a secondscheduled for July 1 to September 30 next year, coinciding with theOlympics. BAA says the trials will allow it to explore how the runways can beused more efficiently and claims there will be no increase in flights inor out of Heathrow – with the cap remaining at 480,000 aircraftmovements a year. John Stewart, chairman of the HACAN Clearskies campaign, said,“For many people in Hammersmith & Fulham living under the flight 

 path the aircraft noise is only bearable because of the half day respite.The concern is that, by taking away this break from the noise of the

  planes, these trials will seriously worsen the quality of life for local residents.”  For more information visit www.heathrowairport.com/noise or call0800 344 844 or email noise_complaints@baa.com. 

Thames Water under fire at sewer meeting 

Blighting the lives of more than 1,600 Fulham residents, using lessthan 2 per cent of a vast open space in Barn Elms or finding another solution to cleaning up the Thames. These are the choices facing Thames Water, according to localresidents – if the water utility giant is not stopped from pressing aheadwith their controversial multi-billion sewer project. The super sewer, or Thames Tunnel as it is also known, has sparkedfurious protests from riverside communities from Hammersmith toBeckton. The massive concrete tunnel is being promoted by Thames Water asthe best solution to making the river cleaner despite the fact that water industry experts are lining up to say there ARE other – cheaper andgreener – alternatives. 

At a stormy meeting at St Mathews Church on Tuesday 18th October 2011 Thames Water bosses were bombarded with a series of questions from local people who all wanted to prevent the giant sewer construction site from being dumped into Carnwath Road. Thames Water’s Phil Stride faced the barrage in front of more than200 angry campaigners at the question-and-answer session whichwas organised by the Peterborough Road & Area Residents

Association (PRARA). Carnwath Road resident David McGinty said: “There is a community here that you want to destroy, but it's not going to happen.”  Firdousi Ahmed, who also lives in Carnwath Road and would be just50 yards from the possible construction site, said: “I am really ill and my immune system is down. I have no choice about where I live and if this site is used as a sewer construction site for seven years it will seriously affect not just me but the elderly and disabled people on theestate who also have medical conditions.”  The opponents – backed by Greg Hands M.P. and Hammersmith &Fulham (H&F) Council – believe Barn Elms, the other candidate tohold the shaft site, is more suitable as it is less densely populated andwould have a far smaller human impact. Thames Water admits that

  just 2 per cent of the open land at Barn Elms would be needed –leaving 98% for recreation and leisure activities. Lance Pierson, from Peterborough Road, said: “Thames Water’s

 plans for Carnwath Road are a non starter and a total disgrace. Thereare far better alternative sites – namely in Barn Elms – and there arealso other options, other than the super sewer, that can clean up theriver.”  

Thames Water identified Carnwath Road as a possible sewer construction site in April, and is expected to formally name a smallriverside plot as a possible site for their main super sewer drive shaftnext month. Nigel Henson, from RATS (Residents Against Thames Sewer), said:“The case has not satisfactorily been made for either the current deeptunnel concrete solution and certainly not for using Carnwath Road.RATS has put in a detailed submission to Thames Water explaining why south Fulham is not suitable. “Thames Water now has a choice between using a densely populated residential street or a small section of a vast area of open space

where almost no people will be directly affected.”  Mr Stride said there were ‘no any easy options’ when selectingconstruction sites for the sewer and tried to reassure residents bysaying: “No decisions have been taken about construction sites. Thisis a genuine consultation and we are still evaluating Carnwath Road as an alternative to Barns Elms.”  Mr Stride said the second phase of Thames Water’s sewer siteselection consultation would start on November 3 – just days after Lord Selborne’s Thames Tunnel Commission is due to make its finalrecommendations public.

 The council has been fighting against the whole idea of the super sewer and against locating the main entry site works in south Fulham,within 440 yards of family homes and local schools. Speaking at the meeting Cllr Nick Botterill, H&F Council DeputyLeader, said: “When will Thames Water realise that no means no? Respected professors and industry experts have come forward to say there are other – cheaper and greener – ways to clean up the river. 14million Thames Water customers face an extra £100 a year on top of their current bills for life to pay for this gold-plated scheme. Locally residents have mounted a valiant campaign, backed by the council, toshow Thames Water why Carnwath Road is totally unsuitable as a

sewer construction site. “It remains the council's view that, if this grandiose vanity project is not shelved, the main construction shaft needs to be located in a largearea of open space well away from homes and businesses.”  For more visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/sewer  or to sign the petitionwww.lbhf.gov.uk/sewerpetition. 

Two boroughs, one Chief Executive

 Two of Britain's best local authorities now share a single chief executive, following a joint appointment at Hammersmith & Fulhamand Kensington and Chelsea. Derek Myers, who has been chief executive of Kensington andChelsea since 2000, will take the helm at both councils after hisappointment was ratified this week by Hammersmith & FulhamCouncil (Wednesday 19 October). The move, which will save the two authorities some £200,000 a year,is the latest in a series of senior management shares between threewest London councils.

 In May this year Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham andKensington and Chelsea agreed radical plans to combine a range of services. Children's services, adult social care and libraries arealready in the process of being shared and single ‘Tri-borough’directors have been appointed for each. Under the plan, there will beapproximately 500 management and back office jobs lost across thethree boroughs. The overall proposals are expected to save taxpayers in the threeauthorities £33.4 million by 2014/15 while leading to improvements inmany areas. For example, residents will have access to all 21

libraries, with more than one million books, hundreds of entertainmentand cultural events and scores of weekly skills and education classeson offer. While more services are likely to be combined across the threeauthorities, in some cases it has proved more practicable for now toshare between Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea. Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham will not onlyshare a Chief Executive, but also the management and delivery of environmental services such as waste management, leisure,transportation, licensing and environmental heath. The two boroughsalready share a director of legal services and a director of 

transportation and highways. "If we are going to protect our frontline services then management and back offices must take the brunt of the savings programme," explainedthe Leader of Kensington and Chelsea, Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell. "Thesavings go right to the very top, and one of the reasons that is

  possible is because in Derek Myers we have someone capable of taking on the role of dual chief executive, notwithstanding its scaleand complexity."  Before joining Kensington and Chelsea, Derek Myers was chief executive at the London Borough of Hounslow and before that its

director of social services. He holds degrees in economics and lawand is a qualified social worker. Derek replaces Geoff Alltimes CBE who is retiring after more than 30years of service. Geoff has been chief executive since 2002 havingpreviously worked as Director of Social Services. Between April 2009and October 2010 he was chief executive of both Hammersmith &Fulham Council and NHS Hammersmith & Fulham. Geoff joined theCouncil in 1976 as a social worker team leader. Geoff is continuing his work for the independent NHS Future Forum,the group commissioned by the Government to listen to the views of patients, staff and the public in looking at ways to modernise the NHS.

 Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council,said: "At a time when the state of the nation's finances mean that wehave to save millions of pounds, our residents can be assured that weare doing everything possible to cut back office and management costs, not the services they rely on the most."  Cllr Greenhalgh also paid tribute to Mr Alltimes by saying: "Geoff hasdevoted his life to public service in Hammersmith & Fulham and hasbeen a major force in bringing down the Berlin Wall that existed between health and social care. While he will be sorely missed, theimprovements he helped bring about in the way we care for elderly and vulnerable people will leave a lasting legacy."  Mr Alltimes is due to retire on 31 October. 

Half-term fun in Holland Park  The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is running a week of environmental themed activities for children in Holland Park during the

half-term holiday (Monday 24th October to Friday 28th October)utilising the Ecology Centre and the park's wooded wildlife area. The fun-packed programme includes outdoor activities like shelter building, orienteering and animal-themed craft sessions on animaltracks and birds. Booking is essential. For more information about the cost of activitiesand to book a place please call 020 7938 8186, emailecology.centre@rbkc.gov.uk or go to www.rbkc.gov.uk/ecology. Sessions for five to ten-year-olds are two hours long and sessions for eight to 12 year olds last four hours. All activities begin at the Ecology Centre in Holland Park (W8 6LU).

 

Hands in the papers:

On the up: The otherGovernment promotions Andrew Grice, The Independent

Saturday 15th October 2011 

Chloe Smith 

Succeeded Justine Greening as the youngest woman Tory MP when,aged 27, she won the 2009 Norwich North by-election, caused by theresignation of Labour's Ian Gibson during the parliamentary expensesscandal. 

She takes over Ms Greening's job as Treasury Economic Secretary,which includes responsibility for environmental taxation, North Sea oillevies and tax credits. The youngest minister in the Government willbe keen to show her status as a rising star is deserved. Some friendshave expressed fears that she would be promoted too quickly. Shehas lived in Norfolk since the age of three. 

Greg Hands 

A member of George Osborne's "Praetorian guard", he was mobilisedfor a round of media interviews to support Liam Fox when theChancellor threw a protective arm around him earlier in the week. 

The 45-year-old MP for Chelsea and Fulham might have been a junior minister if the Conservatives had won an overall majority last year, butwas among those who missed out when posts were handed to LiberalDemocrats. Had to settle for an unpaid role as Mr Osborne'sparliamentary private secretary but now gets a leg-up to ministerialrank as a government whip. Tipped for higher things. 

Justine Greening 

A strong performance in her 18 months as a Treasury Minister haswon Justine Greening a promotion to the post of Transport Secretary. 

David Cameron will be hoping that she will answer critics who claimthere is a dearth of talent among his party's women MPs. 

State-educated Ms Greening, 42, captured the Labour-held marginalof Putney in 2005 and was soon earmarked as one to watch. After being an opposition Treasury and Communities spokeswoman, she

 joined George Osborne's Treasury team after last year's election andsoon passed the "Newsnight test". 

Hands in the papers:

The Chancellor's Reshuffle Janan Ganesh, The Economist

Wednesday 19th October 2011 A few weeks ago, I blogged on the proclivity of many in Westminster to over-analyse the day-by-day swirl of events. "Most things don'tmatter" is the first rule of electoral politics. It should be known asFinkelstein's Law, after the Times columnist who learned it the hard

way as a Conservative strategist during the party's dog days, and whohas espoused it to more excitable politico-media types via his columnsever since. Media coverage of the micro-reshuffle brought about by Liam Fox'sresignation as defence secretary has reminded me that journalists areguilty of more than just over-estimating the extent to which voters areaware of, much less moved by, anything that takes place inWestminster. They also read too much political import and intrigueinto small, innocuous decisions. The reshuffle has been brandished in some quarters as proof of George Osborne's Metternichian guile and insatiable ambition. Theevidence is that many of the beneficiaries of the personnel tinkeringhave worked for the chancellor of the exchequer at some stage: PhilipHammond, the new defence secretary, was shadow chief secretary inopposition; Justine Greening, his replacement at transport, was a

  junior Treasury minister; Greg Hands, formerly Mr Osborne'sparliamentary private secretary (PPS), is now the Treasury whip; andClaire Perry, who advised Mr Osborne in opposition, has become Mr Hammond's PPS. Now, clearly, Mr Osborne played a large part in drawing up thisreshuffle. He exerts enormous influence across the government andhis own party. He is more powerful than any cabinet member bar 

David Cameron, the prime minister. But talk of a burgeoningOsbornocracy, of Mr Osborne and Mr Cameron somehowrepresenting the "effective" and "dignified" parts of the governmentrespectively, is nonsense. First, almost all the recent ministerial appointments make sense inand of themselves. The Ministry of Defence needed a forensicfinancial mind to continue the work Dr Fox had begun in restoringsome order to the profligate procurement process. Mr Hammond wasthe natural candidate. The cabinet also needed a woman; at least onewas going to join whenever the next reshuffle came along. MsGreening, as one of the more able and visible junior ministers, washardly a choice out of left field. As for Mr Hands, who has known Mr Osborne since they were allies in local politics in Fulham in the 1990s,he would be a minister already had it not been for the displacingeffects of the coalition. If anything, the surprise is that he has not beengiven a much bigger job much earlier. Perhaps the two most interesting promotions have little or no prior relationship with Mr Osborne. Chloe Smith, at just 29, replaces MsGreening at the Treasury while Sajid Javid, one of the best of the2010 intake of MPs, takes over from Mr Hands as Mr Osborne's PPS.No doubt this is proof of the chancellor's zeal to brainwash rising starswhile they are young. 

More fundamentally, Mr Osborne wields all this influence because Mr Cameron allows him to. The prime minister has always been relaxed,even enthusiastic, about delegating responsibilities to his friend andally, which is why Mr Osborne chairs the government's daily politicalmeetings whenever the prime minister is absent. Precisely becauseMr Osborne's power comes with the consent of Mr Cameron, it is notactually very interesting politically. As much as journalists crave arevival of the blood-feuds of the New Labour era, there is nothingremotely similar happening here. Mr Osborne is not pursuing a distinct agenda within the samegovernment, as Gordon Brown did during his decade-long war of attrition with Tony Blair. He and Mr Cameron do not disagree on major 

issues, as Mr Brown and Mr Blair did on the euro and the proper relationship between the state and the market in public services. Hedoes not have a cabal of supporters who think of themselves asprimarily loyal to him, unlike Mr Brown. (Most "Osbornites" reject thelabel, describing themselves as government loyalists who happen toknow Mr Osborne better than Mr Cameron by plain virtue of havingworked alongside him). He cultivates journalists assiduously, butmainly with a view to boosting support for the government, a job thatMr Cameron, who is notoriously indifferent to the press, is happy for him to be getting on with. He is responsible for the Tories' politicalstrategy, and much of the day-to-day decision-making in government,because Mr Cameron rather prefers the high-politics of office.

 Although it would be too crude to describe theirs as a principal-agentrelationship, in which Mr Osborne is charged with making a reality of the broad strategy set by Mr Cameron, it is closer to the truth than theexcitable portrayals of rival power bases and conflicting interests. Even journalists who know all this insist that, at the very least, Mr Osborne is positioning himself to succeed Mr Cameron; that if there isno rivalry between Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street, then therecertainly is one between Number 11 and City Hall, where BorisJohnson, the Mayor of London, harbours ambitions to become primeminister. 

There is something to this. Both men probably would like the top jobone day (though Mr Osborne does not crave it anything like as muchas is often assumed, I suspect). Mr Cameron says in private that hewill be succeeded by one of the two. And the chancellor's assiduouscultivation of colleagues, journalists, donors and others will help hiscause. But any vacancy is years away. Mr Cameron will contest the nextgeneral election, barring disaster. If he wins, the earliest realisticprospect of his departure is circa 2017, when a battered and bruisedprime minister might choose to quit mid-term. If he loses, Mr Osborne,as chancellor, might be too implicated in the defeat to stand a chanceof winning a leadership election. Or it might be that, by then, heinspires in voters respect as an iron chancellor but not affection. Or that Mr Cameron remains prime minister for two full terms. Or that theeconomy collapses. Or that someone emerges from nowhere,perhaps a member of the 2010 parliamentary intake, to overtake thefortysomething big beasts. Or that Mr Osborne is embroiled in someFox-type scandal that does for him. Or that a system of artificialintelligence known as Skynet becomes self-aware and wages anuclear war against all humans, thus rendering the question of theBritish premiership somewhat moot. My point is this: who becomes the next Conservative leader and/or prime minister is a matter that will be decided by broad, impersonal

and unforseeable forces. No difference will be made by a reshufflecarried out in 2011, or any of the other footling developments that themedia draw thunderous inferences from. Mr Osborne, being no fool,gets all this. If small opportunities present themselves to boost hisposition, he will, within reason and depending on the context, takethem. But he won't kid himself that they are very important. PuttingTreasury hands into big-spending departments last week probablyhad more to do with keeping his austerity drive on track (you know,the actual running of the country) than with preparing for a leadershiprun that he might never make. Sometimes a reshuffle is just areshuffle. 

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