Weekly Round-Up

The announcement this week from the Department for Housing, Communities, and Local Government on the cladding scandal was extremely disappointing. Around 696 people in Enfield are still living in flats with flammable cladding. This announcement means that all those leaseholders living in buildings below 18 metres with dangerous cladding will get no support from the Government, despite facing soaring insurance premiums and extortionate costs for waking watches to mitigate a crisis that was not of their making. This is completely unacceptable.

Leaseholders are in no way to blame for this cladding scandal and yet they are the ones being forced to pay for it. This will leave families forced to take out loans to pay for remediation work, families who are already struggling with their household finances after the Covid pandemic compounded the effects of a decade of Tory austerity. Labour will continue pushing the Government to take adequate steps to support all of those affected by this crisis, whether they live in buildings 18 or 17 metres high, and fight for justice for all those suffering as a result of this negligence.

I’m very disappointed with the poor police grant announced this week, that will see funding fall from last year, putting a huge strain on police finances, meaning fewer police staff and PCSOs, so fewer officers out on the beat. We have lost 9,383 police officers, 7,179 police staff, and 7,262 PCSOs since 2010. The grant the Government have offered will not restore these losses to the workforce. Rather than properly fund the police, the Government have chosen instead to increase the tax burden on those who can least afford it through Council Tax. This will leave police officers at high levels of risk, as although crime has decreased over the year as a result of the lockdowns, violent crime against police officers has increased. The Tories like to say they’re tough on crime, but they’re tough on the poor, and are leaving police officers vulnerable to violent attacks without adequate measures to support them.

I was pleased to meet with other members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for London this week where we discussed the rollout of the vaccine in London. We are pleased to see the great work that our NHS and vaccination teams are doing to ensure everyone is able to access the vaccine and we thank them for all their hard work. We are, however, concerned at the lack of take-up of the vaccine, particularly among some members of BAME communities. We know that there have been messages circulating on social media about the dangers of the vaccine, but we must counter this disinformation and ensure that accurate and scientific information is available to all those who are hesitant about taking the vaccine. The vaccine is our best chance to protect those more vulnerable to the virus as well as helping get the country back up and running without the need for lockdowns.

On the topic of the vaccine rollout in Enfield, I also joined a virtual briefing organised by the Minister for Vaccine Deployment. So far, 48,000 residents have had their first dose, with 2,940 also having had their second dose. It’s really pleasing to hear, but we must also remember that it takes time for the vaccine to take effect so we must continue to adhere to the social distancing measures and other guidelines to continue to protect ourselves and those who have not yet been vaccinated and who may still be vulnerable.

I was able to question the Health Secretary about health inequalities and the replacement structures for Public Health during his statement this week. The pandemic has shone a light on the massive health inequalities that exist across Enfield North and the country. The Governments decision to abolish Public Health England (PHE), which includes vital element of public health and prevention functions, with no clear plan on how these services will be funded, delivered and where they will sit- midway through a global pandemic, is irresponsible and reckless. While we are getting more detail about the new structures for the NHS, we are getting no clarity on arrangements for public health and prevention functions which sit with PHE and are delivered by the local authority. Enfield Borough has historically not had fair funding for Public Health services in comparison to the rest of London.  I will continue to hold the ministers to account on this issue.

I was able to speak during the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Bill this week, a welcome development as for too long, an artificial and arbitrary barrier has been put in front of women who wish to serve their constituents in Government and have a family. By allowing the Prime Minister to designate a ‘Minister on Leave’, we would in some respects be bringing the world of public office in line with the rest of the world of work. But I do not understand why the Government is wasting the opportunity to present Parliament as an exemplar of workplace rights, by making this applicable only to those who hold Cabinet-level positions. I was shocked to find out this week the lack of formal parental leave policy for MP’s and staff members. Hence I called on the government to view this not as a chance to fix a problem for a Minister, but to right a wrong for countless parents, start changing the culture around parental rights in parliament.

I was pleased to meet with local university students to discuss the difficulties they are having during the pandemic this week. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to be dealing with the challenges of the pandemic at the same time as trying to keep your studies on track without the face-to-face contact and access to university facilities that we would all expect. I am particularly concerned that for those who are not living in university accommodation, as recommended by the stay-at-home advice, students are being left to prop up the property industry with high accommodation fees for facilities they cannot use. Students are in many ways treated as consumers, except when it comes to their rights – how can we demand students remain at home while at the same time demanding extortionate fees from them for facilities that they are not able to use? It is not fair and yet no one seems to be addressing their concerns.

My telephone surgery sessions are continuing, and if you would like to book an appointment, please do contact my office to arrange this. Although my office is closed to the public in line with Government guidelines, my team and I are working hard from home so please do get in touch on feryal.clark.mp@parliament.uk if there is anything we can help you with. Remember –stay safe, save lives – maintain social distancing and keep washing your hands!