Weekly Round-Up

Brexit has been back on the front page once more this week as we await news of a deal. We have less than a month until the end of the transition period and businesses are still none the wiser on what the situation will be on 1 January. Government ministers are doing their best to shift blame onto the devolved Governments, remainers, and even the businesses themselves for failing to get behind the Government!  But the real failure is from Boris Johnson and his colleagues, who promised an “oven-ready” deal but who have demonstrated a complete failure of diplomacy and statecraft in failing to agree to terms with our closest neighbours and trading partners.

Any conflict which leads to the loss of human life is a tragedy. But a conflict where civilians are deliberately targeted, and international law is ignored, and in which the involvement of a member of NATO, abandoning all pretense of neutrality, makes things worse rather than better, is a conflict in which the West should sit up and take notice. This is what has been happening in Nagorno-Karabakh in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and I was pleased to be able to raise this in a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday.  To be fair, we must acknowledge that the US, France, and the EU, and other EU countries, have raised concerns about Turkey’s involvement. But the UK, unfortunately, has been conspicuous only by its silence. And this broad lack of interest from the West has resulted in Armenia being forced to agree a peace deal devised by Russia and Turkey, potentially with Turkish troops being deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh to “keep the peace”. The scale and the horror of this conflict are unimaginable. But the urgency of the need for action is only matched by the moral imperative that sits behind it. That those responsible for the atrocities listed should be charged with delivering a lasting and equitable peace is unconscionable. The UK Government and the international community must act.

I was thrilled to be able to ask my first question in Prime Minister’s Questions this week on the impact of Covid on our schools. When schools reopened in September, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our teaching staff, we hoped that the Government would have sufficient plans in place to manage schooling during the pandemic. But unfortunately, in the last couple of months, 45 Enfield schools have been impacted by Covid, with bubbles sent home, not enough staff due to isolating teachers, and students' learning severely disrupted. The Government announced their catch-up programme which would see support given to the most disadvantaged students, but new data shows that only 1 in 6 pupils on free school meals will benefit from the Government catch-up programmes. A generation of children are being failed and this will have a significant impact on their futures and the future of this country. This cannot be allowed to continue.

I was pleased to join other members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS this week to discuss the HIV Commission recommendations to the Government. In the UK, we’ve made big progress in the fight against HIV, with new diagnoses nearly halved since 2014. It is Labour’s aim that every community affected by HIV has the same results. The treatment available now means someone diagnosed early with HIV can expect a normal and healthy life and can’t pass on the virus. Alongside the introduction of the highly effective anti-HIV drug PrEP – which Labour fought tooth and nail for the government to finally allow our NHS staff to provide – this has resulted in the UK achieving the global UNAIDS target for a second consecutive year. 94% of those living with HIV are diagnosed, with 98% of those on HIV treatment and 97% of people on treatment unable to pass it on. But there is more work to be done to ensure that there is no stigma attached to HIV to persuade more people to get tested and to enable them to live full and fulfilling lives with a diagnosis.

I was able to visit North Enfield Foodbank this week and meet the phenomenal volunteers who support our community. It is a national scandal that foodbanks have to exist and should be a source of shame to the Tories, under whose Government food poverty has spread like wildfire. The Trussell Trust, the largest food bank network in the UK, handed out 41,000 food packs in 2009/10 compared to 1.2 million in 2016/17. 17,492 people have been fed with a 3-day emergency parcel since 1 January this year in North Enfield foodbank alone. This is a crucial service for our community and the volunteers are so kind and friendly – it was inspiring and touching to see their dedication. Thank you all!

I was happy to be invited to speak this week at the AGM of the only Health charity serving the Kurdish, Turkish and Turkish Cypriot community in the UK. The charity called Derman have been providing health, mental health and social care services to the communities since 1991 and are a fantastic example of the charity sector filling the gaps that the mainstream services are unable to reach.

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!