7/21/2019 News Bulletin from Greg Hands M.P. #410
1/1
From: Greg Hands M.P. [email protected]: News Bulletin
from Greg Hands M.P. #410
Date: 18 July 2014 15:57To: [email protected]
In this edition:
Greg Hands M.P.s DiaryWebsite of the Week:Fulham Boys
SchoolFulham Boys School toopen after all Greg HandsMP welcomes the
happynewsGreg Hands MP listens toresidents and helps findanswers in
Crossrail 2consultationGreg Hands welcomes no
increase in night flights overChelsea and FulhamGreg Hands MP
supportinglocal debt advice serviceCrosslightPhoto
news:Parliamentary Chess GroupHow to contactGreg Hands MP
Issue 410 - Friday 18th July 2014
Since the last edition, Greg:
Was overjoyed to receive a phone call from Schools Minister,
Lord Nash, informing Greg that the department had changed
its
mind, and now had sufficient reassurances to provide funding
for the Fulham Boys Schoolto open in September 2014. The
original refusal followed the Labour Councils withdrawal of
the
schools likely permanent site. For more information, see
below.
Took governors from the Fulham Boys School to meet Lord
Nash in the Department for Education to lobby him to secure
the future of the school.
Attended and addressed an open meeting of the Cremorne
Estate Tenants and Residents Association in Chelsea to
speak to their concerns about the possible location of a new
Crossrail 2 station in Chelsea. For more, see below.
Met Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Leader,
Nick Paget-Brown, to discuss both Crossrail 2 and the future
of the site of the Royal Brompton Hospital.
Attended and addressed the annual summer party of the
Harbledown Road Residents Associationin Fulham.
Met officials from RBK&C and from TfL to discuss TfLs
proposals for the location of a Crossrail 2station in
Chelsea.
Attended the Crossrail 2 exhibition in Chelsea Old Town
Hall.
Welcomed German Interior Minister Dr Guenther Krings to
the House of Commons to meet with Conservative Party MPs.
Was briefed by Mark Clarke on the Conservative Partys new
RoadTrip and TubeTrip initiatives to bring Conservative
activists into target marginal seats for the General
Election.
Attended a reception in Parliament for the launch of the
Parliamentary Chess Club, including the UK chess champion
David Howell. For photo, see below.
Welcomed Nebojsa Medojevic and Andrija Mandic from the
Montenegrin Democratic Front coalition to the House of
Commons, as part of the Westminster Foundation for
Democracy programme.
Carried out his duties as the Conservative Party and
Governments Deputy Chief Whip.
Held a regular, weekly, advice surgery for local Chelsea and
Fulham residents, at Fulham Library, on Fulham Road, close
to
Parsons Green tube. Gregs surgeries are generally weekly, on
Monday mornings, at either Fulham Library, or Peter Jones,
Sloane Square, Chelsea. To make an appointment, email
[email protected] telephone 020 7219 5448.Website of the
Week:
www.fulhamboysschool.org
The website of the Fulham Boys School, opening in
September,following intense lobbying by Greg Hands MP and the Mayor
ofLondon with the Government.
Fulham Boys School to open after all Greg Hands MP welcomes the
happy news
Greg Hands MP celebrating with Fulham Boys School Head
andGovernors as school wins last minute reprieve from the
Department for Education.The new free school Fulham Boys School
will open, after all, afterinterventions by London Mayor Boris
Johnson, Greg Hands MP, andLord Nash, the Schools Minister.
Following meetings with Greg Hands
MP, Lord Nash has phoned Greg to confirm the happy news.The
school's planned opening on a temporary site at the Gibbs Greenwas
halted by the Department for Education, as there appeared to beno
certainty in finding a permanent site in Fulham. Now the
Mayorsintervention has given the Department for Education enough
certaintyto allow the Fulham Boys School to open as planned, on its
temporarysite this September.Fulham Boys had been due to take over
a permanent site freed up bythe merger of two local primary schools
but this plan was thrown intodoubt when the new Labour leader at
Hammersmith and FulhamCouncil announced a review of the merger
decision, leaving FulhamBoys with much less certainty of finding a
permanent home fromSeptember 2016.Over the last two weeks, Greg has
been working to find a solution tothe problem, and rescue the
schools opening. In recent weeks, Greghas had extensive
conversations with Michael Gove (until yesterdayEducation
Secretary, but now joining Greg in the Government Whips
Office) and Lord Nash, the Schools Minister, urging them
toreconsider the Department for Educations decision not to fund
theschool in 2014/15. Greg Hands, along with the Leader of
theConservatives on the local council, Cllr Greg Smith, had also
beentrying to find a new site with the Council, but without
success.On Tuesday, however, Boris Johnson met Lord Nash and
gavesignificant undertakings to help provide a permanent site for
FulhamBoys School. Now the Mayor has secured an agreement in
principlefrom CAPCO (owners of the temporary site at Gibbs Green)
thatallows for a one year extension to the lease, a decision that
will meanpupils can occupy the temporary site until at least July
2017. MrJohnson has proposed a number of permanent sites for the
school,and given a strong pledge that a site will be found in
Fulham.This extension, coupled with a guarantee from the Mayor to
help theschool find a permanent home in the Borough, means the
EducationFunding Agency has agreed to release the funds to enable
the school,to open with 84 pupils as planned this September.
Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham Greg Hands said: I
amdelighted by this decision, and the very welcome news that
FulhamBoys School will be opening this September, as originally
envisaged,on its temporary site at Gibbs Green. Receiving the call
from LordNash last night was one of the highlights of my time as MP
forFulham.This is fantastic news for parents who have been through
a lot to get
their schools into what we believe will be a top quality Church
ofEngland secondary school.Fulham Boys School (FBS) released a
statement on Wednesday,welcoming the news that an agonizing
fortnight has ended in triumph.Chairman Alex Wade said: Were
delighted sense has prevailed.Whatever the agonies weve all been
through, the can do spiritshown by FBS parents, boys, and staff,
has been quite remarkable insetting the foundations for a unique
school. My thanks go to GregHands MP in particular, who has been
with us from the start and hasbeen a continual support in the last
two weeks. Thanks also to theDepartment for Education for their
work in reviewing their decision, to
the Mayor of London for his intervention and to Councillors for
theirengagement in recent weeks
Alun Ebenezer, FBS headmaster, commented Ive gone on the
recordas saying FBS will be an outstanding school within two years.
We cannow start on the hard work of getting FBS set on the road to
becomingone of the best schools in the countryFBS parent and
founder, Deborah De Long said This is unbelievablygood news; what a
huge relief. My son is over the moon. Hes beensaying he only wants
FBS. I couldnt have given him better news in hisfinal few days of
primary school.The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: There is
enormous
pressure on school places and a key part of my efforts to
improveeducation across the capital is about helping groups secure
sites toset up free schools. I am delighted we have been able to
find asolution which allows the Fulham Boys School to open as
planned thisSeptember. I am grateful to CAPCO for their
understanding and to theEFA for their openness in supporting our
ambition to find a permanent
site. Their decision today to release the funds needed for the
school tostart life in Fulham is great news. I know that parents
and pupils haveendured a dreadful couple of weeks but this
agreement means therewill be a Fulham Boys School up and running
from this September.The Schools Minister Lord Nash said: I am
delighted that we are nowable to open this excellent school in
September as originally planned.The GLA and EFA have worked rapidly
together to achieve this wayforward, and the Mayors guarantee of a
permanent site provides theschool with the security it needs.FBS
will be opening at Gibbs Green, North Fulham, for at least
twoyears. It will then move to its permanent home, details of which
will beannounced later.The places originally allocated to FBS boys
remain open for them,regardless of any other offer they may have
accepted in the last twoweeks.In addition, some places remain
available for Year 7 entry thisSeptember. Interested parents should
contact their local authority andthe FBS office -
[email protected].
Applications for admission to Year 7 in 2015 will be opening on
1September as part of the pan-London co-ordinated
admissionsscheme.
Greg Hands MP listens to residents andhelps find answers in
Crossrail 2
consultation
Greg Hands MP with Cremorne Estate Residents
AssociationChairwoman after the key public meeting about the future
of the
Crossrail 2 station in Chelsea.Local MP, Greg Hands, has been
listening to residents views onpotential new sites for a rail
station in Chelsea, as part of the planned
Crossrail 2 underground railway line.Greg Hands, Chelsea and
Fulham MP, joined neighbours andshopkeepers at a packed-out
Cremorne Residents Association AGM,
on 7th July. Residents were there to discuss the proposals
thatTransport for London (TfL) is considering for possible sites
for a newstation. TfL is currently consulting on two station
options, first the siteof the Chelsea Fire Station and Dovehouse
Green and secondly an ill-defined Chelsea West option. There is
also a third option, which is nostation in Chelsea at all. It is
still early in the consultation process, andno detailed plans for
Chelsea West have been drawn up, but itseems likely that any
Chelsea West plans would lead to a stationbetween Kings Road and
Cheyne Walk in the area or vicinity of theCremorne Estate.If the
line did go ahead, construction would begin in 2020 at theearliest,
and open in 2030, at the earliest. It does not yet haveGovernment
support, although the Government has allocation someinitial funding
into feasibility studies.
At the meeting, Greg listened to residents and explained his
role asthe MP in representing his constituents to both the local
council andTfL. He also accepted a petition from the Chairwoman of
theCremorne Residents Association, with over 600 signatures
againstany Crossrail 2 station at Cremorne. Greg pledged to fight
for localresidents in ensuring that questions were answered by TfL
and theCouncil.Speaking after the meeting, Greg said: I wanted to
record my thanksto the Cremorne Estate Residents Association for
inviting me toaddress the meeting and to hear the views of tenants
and residentson the estate and in the local area.I was struck by
the strength of feeling at the meeting against aCrossrail 2 station
coming to Cremorne. I have not seen plans ordrawings or even
precise locations for any of the suggested stationsites, so I
pledged to get to the bottom of these proposals, and to sortout
what is fact from what is rumour or speculation. Tenants
andresidents rightly want to know the truth, and my key commitment
atthe meeting was to get this.
Since the Cremorne AGM, Greg has met the Leader of the
RoyalBorough of Kensington and Chelsea, Cllr Nick Paget-Brown,
todiscuss the proposals. Greg relayed the strength of the feeling
at theopen meeting, and said that tenants and residents were
alarmed atthe prospect of any possible demolition of parts of the
estate.Cllr Paget-Brown confirmed that in 2013 TfL ran a
consultation inwhich 20,000 leaflets were sent out to residents,
including theCremorne estate, and 2,000 responses were received.
There wasalso a meeting in Chelsea Old Town Hall last autumn. Cllr
Paget-Brown also confirmed it was not the suggestion of the Council
that TfLbuild a station specifically on the site of the Cremorne
Estate.It is believed TfL has not published any plans for any of
the proposedstation sites, although the Dovehouse Green/ Chelsea
Fire Stationsite has been safeguarded for many years now, and Greg
is inongoing communication with TfL about the latest status of the
plans.Transport for London is currently undertaking a new
public
consultation, in addition to the one completed in 2013, which is
openuntil Friday 25th July. It is seeking views on three options
for thelocation of the station: a station at Dovehouse Green/
Chelsea FireStation, a station further west at what is described as
being ChelseaWest (believed to be in the area of the Cremorne
estate), and anotheroption that would bypass the borough
altogether, i.e. to have noChelsea station at all. Full details of
the consultation can be found
at:https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/crossrail/june-2014/The Council
is listening to local opinions and is considering which ofthe three
options to support, before making its own submission to
theconsultation. Moreover the consultation is ongoing and will
close on25th July.Greg added: I urge all residents who have views
on this proposal tomake a submission to the TfL consultation. I
also encourage residentsto copy me in on any submissions they make,
or to contact me if theyhave further questions.
You can contact Greg in the following ways:
Email: [email protected]: Greg Hands M.P., House of
Commons, London SW1A 0AATelephone: 020 7219 5448
Greg Hands welcomes no increase in nightflights over Chelsea and
FulhamGreg Hands MP has welcomed the news that the Government will
notincrease night flights landing at Heathrow before 6am,
followingrepresentations he made to the Transport Secretary last
year.Last year, Greg wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport,
PatrickMcLaughlin, on behalf of local residents, to oppose
suggestions thatcould have doubled the number of flights landing
between 5am and6am. So called early morning smoothing was proposed
by SirHoward Daviss Airports Commissions interim report in
December2013. It proposed a smoothing process which would move
arrivalscurrently scheduled from 6am to 7am would be between 5am
and6am. This could have meant that from next year, the number
ofaircraft allowed to land at the airport before 6am each day would
haveincreased from 16 to 35.However, this week the Government
announced that it would delaythe decision on the early morning
smoothing until summer next year,when the commission publishes its
final recommendations on newrunways. The Transport Secretary also
announced the other shortterm recommendations of the Commission
will not be considered untilafter the next General Election and
said existing night flightrestrictions would remain in place until
2017.This decision followed Gregs intervention following the
AirportsCommissions interim report. Greg was on the front bench of
theHouse of Commons chamber to hear the statement of the
TransportSecretary in December, and later wrote to Mr McLaughlin
saying I amhowever concerned by the proposals for the smoothing of
the earlymorning arrival schedule, which could see additional
planes landing atHeathrow before 6.00am. I continue to oppose any
increase in nightflights.Following the decision not to bring in
additional flights before 6am,Greg said: I am delighted that the
Department of Transport haslistened to my representations, and
those from other local residents,by not implementing these extra
night flights.Chelsea & Fulham, like many other areas across
west London, mustface, on a daily basis, more than a thousand
planes coming in to landat Heathrow. This includes night flights
which land before 6 am anddisturb the sleep of residents every
night.As Member for Parliament for Hammersmith & Fulham since
2005and Chelsea & Fulhamsince 2010, as well as a local Fulham
residentsince 1990, aircraft noise is a regular source of complaint
in myconstituency. I will continue to push for a comprehensive ban
on nightflights at Heathrow from 11pm to 6am, to be brought in at
the earliestopportunity.The Government decision to postpone
smoothing was accompaniedby confirmation that it will maintain the
existing restrictions on night
flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, which was
due toexpire this October, for a further three years until October
2017, aswell as extending the ban on rare movements made by older
noisiertypes of aircraft.Transport Secretary, Patrick McLaughlin,
said This decision will helpgive certainty around the night noise
environment for those living nearthe airports, as well as ensuring
operational capacity at these airportsis not affected pending
decisions on any new airport capacity in lightof the commissions
final report.You can read Gregs full reaction to the Airports
Commissions interimreport on aviation capacity from December 2013
here.The Airports Commission is due to make its final
recommendation onthe UKs aviation capacity needs next summer,
shortly after theGeneral Election.
Greg Hands MP supporting local debt
advice service Crosslight
Greg Hands MP meeting with volunteers from Crosslight
DebtAdvice, based at St Augustines Church, Queens Gate.
Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, has given his support
toCrosslight Debt Advices important social action.Crosslight Debt
Advice is a charity which has been operating in WestLondon for over
four years. It is a collaboration between churches inwest London
and operates as part of the William Wilberforce Trust.Their service
is completely free, and offers independent advice,practical
assistance and ongoing support to anyone suffering underthe burden
of debt or who may have got themselves into financialdifficulty.
This includes those who may have fallen behind with theirrent or
Council Tax, as well as those who need help with other debts.They
also run a series of basic budgeting and money educationcourses -
the Money Course (www.themoneycourse.org) for thosewho may not be
in acute debt but may be struggling managing theirfinances
nonetheless. Their aim is simple, to help people lift
themselves out of their current difficulties and get them back
on theirfeet.Over the past few years Crosslight have helped over
500 residents ofboth RBKC and LBHF, both boroughs which form part
of Gregsconstituency, to get out of debt.Greg recently made a visit
to Crosslight Debt Advice service in theRoyal Borough, at St
Augustine Church, Queens Gate, to see first-hand how the Holy
Trinity Brompton offshoot service provides debtadvice in both
Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham,and as the
local MP to assist in their further efforts.Greg Hands said Im
pleased that such a good initiative is working inmy constituency.
Crosslight provide an excellent debt advice serviceto people who
have fallen into personal financial problems, oftenthrough
joblessness, addiction problems, or other personalcircumstances.
They are very successful at what they do, are goingfrom strength to
strength. Crosslights work also compliments thewelfare work of the
local councils, and I hope to be able to use my role
as MP to improve this mutual working relationship.I wish to make
more residents aware of Crosslight and encourageanyone who is
getting into financial difficulties, to contact them, andsee what
help is available. It is best for people to do this as early as
possible, as the earlier in the process advice is sought, often
the morecan be done to help. Potential volunteers who would like to
offer theirtime or expertise, may also contact the
service.Crosslight currently run two branches, in South Kensington,
and inHammersmith, with 4 members of staff and 45 volunteer
advisers.New client appointments usually occur on Monday
evenings,Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are authorised by the
FinancialConduct Authority and are approved intermediaries for Debt
ReliefOrders and will help clients at Court and through bankruptcy
ifappropriate.
As well as helping people get back on a more secure financial
path,Crosslight are able help people deal with the issues
underlying theirdebt problems, such as health or family problems.
Crosslight are able
to refer them to partners who can offer further support, such as
theNHS, counsellors or local authorities.Crosslights parent
charity, The William Wilberforce Trust, also runs apan-addiction
recovery programme, a drop-in for the homeless andsocially
excluded, a course for those facing depression, and has
15professional counsellors and psychotherapists/psychiatrists
providingpro-bono support for clients so they are able to refer
clients on toother sources of support if appropriate.
Photo news:
Parliamentary Chess Group
Greg Hands MP with UK chess champion and Grandmaster DavidHowell
and a young chess player from Fulham's St John's
Primary School in the House of Commons last week, for
thereception of the new Parliamentary Chess Group.
5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.:
By Phone: 020 7219 5448
By email: [email protected]
By post: Greg Hands M.P.House of CommonsLondon SW1A 0AA
In person: Click here for details of howto book an appointment
atGreg Hands M.P.s weeklysurgery
www.greghands.com
More news from Greg HandsM.P., coming soon!Please forward this
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Greg Hands M.P. a strong voice for Chelsea & Fulham
Published & Promoted by Jonathan Fraser-Howells on behalf of
Greg HandsM.P.,both of 1a Chelsea Manor Street, London SW3 5RP
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