Subject: News

Bulletin from Greg Hands M.P. #339 Date: Friday, 22 June 2012 19:47:42 United Kingdom Time From: To: Greg Hands M.P. news@greghands.com

In this edition:
Greg Hands M.P.s Diary Website of the Week: Earls Court Youth Hostel Hands: save Charing Cross hospital Photo news: Earls Court Youth Hostel Tri-borough Councils on course to save 40 million a year Photo news: H&F Foodbank Andrew Brown chosen as Conservative candidate for Town Ward by-election on 12th July Photo news: St Lukes Chelsea Energy Saving scheme in K&C benefits 1,300 Borough homes Photo news: St Johns Walham Green Summer Fete Wealthy tenants in H&F told to pay fair share of rent Hands in the papers: Londoners Diary How to contact Greg Hands M.P.

Issue 339 Friday 22nd June 2012

Since the last edition, Greg:

Reacted with dismay at NHS North West Londons proposal to end Accident & Emergency services at Charing Cross Hospital. For more, see below. Visited the Affinity Sutton estate, Cale Street, Chelsea, to discuss with management their proposals for wholesale redevelopment of the estate. Greg is taking up a number of issues raised by the Tenants & Residents Association about the controversial scheme. Joined volunteers from H&F Foodbank to seek food donations in Waitrose, Fulham, for the foodbank. 170 kilos of food were collected for needy families in the Borough. For more about the foodbank, see www.hffb.org Visited the St Thomas More R.C. Language College in Cadogan Street, as guest of headmaster Dr Papworth. Greg toured the school and answered questions from pupils. Attended the summer fair of St Johns School, Fulham. See photo below. Attended and addressed the annual reception of the Kensington & Chelsea Chamber of Commerce, at the House of Commons. For more about the Chamber, see www.kccc.co.uk. Met representatives of TNT Post to learn more about competition with the Royal Mail for deliveries in West London. Attended and drew the raffle at the summer fair of St Lukes Church, Sydney Street, Chelsea. For more, see photo 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 organising votes and standing committees. Held a weekly surgery for Chelsea and Fulham residents at Fulham Town Hall. Gregs surgeries are held generally every Monday at Fulham Town Hall, the Fulham Methodist Church, or at Peter Jones, Sloane Square. To ask for an appointment, email mail@greghands.com or call 020 7219 5448.

Website of the Week: www.yha.org.uk/hostel/london-earls-court

The web page of the Earls Court youth hostel, which Greg visited this week. Why not get involved with YHAs Do it 4 Real summer camps, or hold a community event at the youth hostel?

Hands: save Charing Cross hospital

Greg Hands M.P. is urging local residents to join the fight to save Charing Cross hospital on Fulham Palace Road. Under proposals published yesterday, both the Accident and Emergency department and other critical services would be lost. NHS North West London proposes closing four of the nine A&E centres in the area and downgrading some hospitals, including Charing Cross, from major centres with a wide range of clinical specialisms to local hospitals. The NHS preferred option could also see the loss of the hyper-acute stroke unit at Charing Cross. Hammersmith & Fulham Council has launched an online petition which you can sign here. Responding to the announcement, Fulham & Chelseas M.P., Greg Hands, said: I have been warning since 2005 that NHS bureaucrats have been downgrading services at the Charing Cross, and now their renewed proposal to end A&E services comes as a hammer blow to Hammersmith & Fulham residents. This is also bad news for Kensington & Chelsea residents, as it is not clear that Chelsea & Westminster hospital will have the capacity to take up to an extra 100,000 A&E admissions each year. All together, this is a crazy proposal from a body of NHS bureaucrats the North West London Strategic Health Authority that is about to be abolished anyway. I will fight this very hard. Cllr Marcus Ginn, Cabinet Member for Community Care at H&F, said: "This confirms our worst fears. We will be fighting tooth and nail to save Charing Cross the public are not going to accept this plan quietly, especially when the case for stripping all the major service out of such a well loved and respected centre of excellence is not supported by evidence. "Over many months of questioning on this, NHS bureaucrats have failed to address concerns that this will leave thousands of residents dangerously distant from emergency care or to show that lives will not be put at risk by these closures. "We think it is madness that they have not taken account of the fact that only Charing Cross has the space for expansion and the public transport links that a major hospital requires. "They have not taken account of the thousands on new homes being built in west London which will mean we need more local access to hospitals, not less. "We have warned them not to go down this path. The public reaction is going to be immense." Greg Hands M.P. also raised this issue in March, which you can read here.

Photo news:

Earls Court Youth Hostel

Greg Hands M.P. at the Earl's Court Youth Hostel with local and national managers of the Youth Hostelling Association.

Tri-borough Councils on course to save 40 million a year

A progress report published today reveals that Hammersmith & Fulham, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council are on track to save 40million-a-year by 2015/16 by combining services and management costs. This is helping to keep council tax bills in the three areas amongst the lowest in Britain, while protecting frontline services. The Tri-borough councils are sharing 300million of services and, in doing so, cutting management costs in half with 175 senior posts going. A One Year On progress report published today reveals how 62 senior and middle management posts have already gone in the three areas that have been initially combined: Childrens Services. Adult Social and Libraries, equivalent to a 45% reduction in senior management. Combined Environmental Services between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) has resulted in seven management posts being lost. The two authorities now share a chief executive. This financial year 7.7million of savings will be made across the three authorities. The eventual 40million-a-year total savings shared between the three authorities represents around 7.3% of H&Fs total net budget expenditure. If other councils across the UK saved half that amount by sharing services with neighbours it would produce national savings of 2billion. Later this month the Tri-borough councils will share their learning and experiences with other local authorities a conference at Kensington Town Hall. Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, the Leader of the RBKC said: It is up to other councils to decide whether combining services makes sense. Many have already gone down this route. We stand ready to share our learning and experience to help others make ends meet." Cllr Nicholas Botterill, the new Leader of H&F Council, said: A year ago our plans were seen as radical, now they are seen as commonsense. Sharing costs, overheads and expertise is not only bringing down the cost of delivering services it is leading to better and more effective services. Cllr Botterill pointed to the fact that library users can now borrow books in any of the three areas. The councils are also pioneering work to support 1720 troubled families. With every 1 spent on troubled families, 2.10 is saved for the taxpayer in avoided costs. The programme is helping families to turn around their lives, helping them repair complex family issues while also supporting them into employment, education or training. The One Year On report reveals how the plans are supporting the transfer of power locally. Employee mutuals have been launched in areas around support for schools, youth services and ICT support services. People with longer-term care needs are being offered personal budgets, ward budgets are being extended in two of the boroughs, while Westminster and H&F are piloting neighbourhood budgets in Queens Park (Westminster) and White City (H&F). A sovereignty guarantee; signed by the three councils ensures local accountability and decision making, with each individual council responsible for their own budgets, policies and service specification. Cllr Philippa Roe, Leader of Westminster City Council, said: Sharing services is not just about reducing cost, important as that is in this age of austerity, it is about improving lives and innovation. The first Tri-borough joint campaign, Summer in the City offered summer activities across the three authorities. The programme is being repeated this year and will be launched at a youth engagement event taking place at Chelsea FC next Saturday (June 23rd) called The Big Shout. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, said: "The success of the Tri-borough approach is testament to the innovation and forward thinking of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea. "Its councillors and officers are my London 2012 heroes for making such creative savings to protect frontline services, all while keeping council tax bills down helping families and pensioners with their cost of living. "No council should even contemplate cutting services before they have considered following this example of how to join forces with neighbours to share back office services, procure better, slash inhouse management and cut overhead costs. Potentially 2billion of taxpayers money could be saved if other councils were able to copy such sensible savings across the country." The Tri-borough authorities formally agreed to share services through Cabinet decisions taken in June 2011. The reaction from local residents to shared services has been overwhelming positive with nearly three quarters (73%) supporting some sharing of services while nearly four in five (79%) said they were satisfied with the way their councils run things. At the end of the month the three authorities will host a seminar for council officers interested in learning how the Tri-borough project has delivered and how it can be replicated across local government. Kensington Town Hall Friday 29th June 2012.

Photo news:

H&F Foodbank

Greg Hands M.P. with H&F Foodbank volunteers in Waitrose, North End Road, collecting food donations for needy local people.

Andrew Brown chosen as Conservative candidate for Town Ward by-election on 12th July
Andrew Brown (pictured right), who has lived in Hammersmith & Fulham for over ten years, has been chosen as the Conservative candidate in the Town Ward by election on 12th July. A by election has been called in Town Ward following former H&F Council Leader Stephen Greenhalghs appointment as Deputy Mayor of London for Policing. Andrew lives with his wife, Kimberley and baby daughter Annabelle. He also works a stones throw from Town Ward in offices next to Putney Bridge tube station, where he is a consultant in the healthcare industry. A graduate of Imperial College, Andrews main interests are healthcare, particularly maintaining all services at our local hospitals; and fighting crime, having been an active member of his local Neighbourhood Watch. You can contact Andrew by emailing town@hfconservatives.com or following him on Twitter at @arbrown_town.

Photo news:

St Lukes Chelsea

Greg Hands M.P. drawing the St Luke's Church raffle in Chelsea last weekend!

Energy Saving scheme in K&C benefits 1,300 Borough homes

A scheme to reduce fuel bills for Kensington and Chelsea residents and reduce the amount of CO2 produced by homes in the borough has proved to be a great success. More than 1,300 homes in Kensington and Chelsea have benefitted from the RE:NEW energy saving scheme. Over the past few months residents in the borough have been offered free home visits from energy assessors in a bid to lower their utility bills and reduce carbon emissions. The RE:NEW initiative is a panLondon scheme funded by the GLA and run in collaboration with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Tailored advice was given to residents on saving energy in their homes and energy saving measures were installed where appropriate. Residents were given 2,194 energy saving light bulbs, 755 standby switches, 769 energy display monitors and 815 water saving showerheads. A range of other energy saving devices were fitted which will save up to 218,108 tonnes of CO2 production. Cllr Timothy Coleridge, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "The RE:NEW scheme has proved to be a great success. The energy saving equipment given to residents, or installed in their homes, will help save them money and reduce the amount of CO2 produced in the borough." This current phase of the RE:NEW scheme has now come to an end but advice and assistance are still available through the Healthy Homes scheme on 0808 202 6204.

Photo news:

St Johns Walham Green Summer Fete

Greg Hands M.P. at the St John's Walham Green School summer fete, with the school PTFA's appeal for playground renewal works.

Wealthy tenants in H&F told to pay fair share of rent

A council that is proposing to prohibit residents with an income of more than 40,200, from accessing the housing register is today supporting Government proposals to charge high earners who already live in a council house a higher level of rent. Flagship local authority Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council believes that it is patently unfair that people taking home a salary of more than 60,000, are currently paying an average weekly social rent in the borough of 98.97. At the same time thousands of people on low incomes are languishing on the councils social housing waiting list and paying up to three times as much to rent in the private sector. Speaking at a Chartered Institute of Housing Conference in Manchester, Grant Shapps MP will today say that tenants earning more than 60,000 should receive less state subsidy and therefore pay a higher social rent than those on lower incomes. Cllr Andrew Johnson, Cabinet Member for Housing at Hammersmith & Fulham Council, said: Social housing is meant to be for those people who are most in need of somewhere to live. Instead, we have a system where millions of people on low incomes are forced into the private rented sector while high-income tenants are occupying the homes that were built for the most vulnerable. This borough has some of the highest private rents in the country and it is an absolute travesty that so many of our low income residents have to pay astronomical weekly rents, while some people earning in excess of 60,000 are getting away with a weekly rent of around 100. Hammersmith & Fulham Council is currently consulting on radically overhauling the way that is allocated social housing and grants tenancies. As well as stopping people earning above 40,200 from accessing the housing register, the council is also proposing to move away from the notion that a council home is a home for life and instead introduce fixed term tenancies of five years for new social housing lettings. The current systems means that someone who is allocated a social home when they are earning a low income will keep that home for life, even if they go on to earn a much a higher salary in the future. Once the tenant passes away, they home is passed onto the tenants children. Cllr Johnson added: It is abundantly clear to see that current system is deeply flawed as it does not promote personal aspiration and penalises the very people that social housing is supposed to cater for. Social housing should be a springboard not a destination. The system also fails to take into account the fact that a households need for social housing may be temporary. If we are serious about tackling the countrys housing crisis, we need to be much smarter about how we allocate our precious and limited housing stock. H&F currently has a housing waiting list of 10,300 and is also proposing to give a greater priority to those who are working, those in training leading to employment and those making a significant contribution to the community when allocating a social home. You can have your say on H&F Councils housing proposals by visiting www.lbhf.gov.uk/housingstrategyconsultation.

Hands in the papers:

Londoners Diary
Evening Standard Monday 18th June 2012

Last night Greg Hands, Tory MP for Chelsea & Fulham, was watching Euro 2012. Im watching Denmark v Germany on the same Philips TV I watched the Denmark v Germany final in 1992, said Hands, whose wife Irina is half-German, so we can guess which side he was supporting. Would any MP like to outdo him for owning the oldest television set? Obviously many MPs have already disqualified themselves from this competition, buying TVs paid for from the public purse as discovered during the expenses scandal.

5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.:

By Phone: By email: By post: In person: 020 7219 5448 mail@greghands.com Greg Hands M.P. House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Click here for details of how to book an appointment at Greg Hands M.P.s weekly surgery

www.greghands.com

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