Weekly Round-Up — Feryal Clark

I want to start by wishing everyone in Enfield North and beyond a observing the month of Ramadan a very peaceful and healthy Ramadan.

This week the Casey Review was released and the findings were damning of the Metropolitan Police…

The Review found that the Met is institutionally racist, misogynistic, and homophobic. The finding of the review must be accepted by the Home Secretary and the Met commissioner if we are to see meaningful reform.

I'm still awaiting the Met’s response to local constituents’ case of racial discrimination three years on. Hence my constituents in Enfield North know first hand that the MET is simply not working. To gain my constituents confidence, the Met must accept and deliver on the Casey Review’s recommendations in full.

The Review must be an urgent wake-up call for the whole of policing and for the Home Office, not just for the Met. 13 years of Conservative government have hollowed out our neighbourhood police and sent confidence levels plummeting.

We are feeling the impact of this in Enfield, where crime is on the rise. In January 2023 lethal barrel discharge was up 62.5% on the previous year, drug offences were up 34.9% and robbery of business property was up 28.2%.

Yet there is a chronic shortage of PCSOs in Enfield. Two wards in Enfield North do not have a PCSO currently. Some local teams are based more than 15/20 minutes’ drive away. This is meant to be within a 20-minute walk. I have attached my letter to Sir Mark Rowley below.

In Westminster, politics was once again dominated by the Conservative circus government. We had inflation go up from 10.1% to 10.4% and interest rates go up, which means higher mortgage rates for working people. We also found that 98% of rape charges do not even make it to court. But what was the Conservative Party focused on? Boris Johnson’s appearance in front of the Privileges Committee. Priorities, right.

Whereas Keir Starmer announced that Labour would halve knife crime rates, make grooming children into crime a specific offense and promised to halve violence against women and girls within a decade of winning power. It is now plainly obvious to see which party has the plan to bring this country forward.

20’s plenty

Following the local resident’s survey I conducted, it was great to lead a walkabout with Jeremy Leach from 20's Plenty for Us and constituents to discuss the speeding issues on Bertram Road, Clive Road and Percival Road.

Residents have made it clear that they are fed up with traffic and speeding on these roads. I will be working with them to call for 20mph speed limits on their roads.

My constituents are fed up with the rat running & dangerous speeding on their front doors.

I will be raising this issue with local council & TfL to get a quick solution to this.

You can find more info about 20s plenty and their work here: https://www.20splenty.org/

Care Home visit

It was great to visit Springdene Care Home this week to discuss the crises in social care.

I got the opportunity to talk to the management and residents about their views and concerns on this issue.

Thanks to Springdene for their work in our local community.

World Down Syndrome Day

On Tuesday, there was a great celebratory event in Parliament for World Down Syndrome Day by The National Down Syndrome Policy Group and it is clear there has been some real progress since last year.

This was followed by a debate in Parliament on Thursday on World Down Syndrome Day.

As someone who has worked closely with the National Down Syndrome Policy Group and sits on the APPG for Down Syndrome, I was really pleased to see some real effort and progress to changing the narrative on the disease.

I look forward to continuing to work with the APPGDS to raise important issues affecting people with Down Syndrome.

World Water Day

Wednesday was World Water Day, which unfortunately not a celebration given the level of sewage dumped into our water systems.

For example, in 2019, Thames Water spent over 1,100 hours discharging raw sewage into the River Lea in my constituency.

I’ve raised this in Parliament and written to the Secretary of State today demanding water companies get held to account for their actions.

NHS parliamentary awards

For 75 years, the NHS has been a source of pride in Enfield North and across the country, but it would be nothing without the skill, dedication and compassion of NHS staff, as well as the many others that support the service.

That’s why I’m looking for local health and care heroes to put forward for national recognition at the 2023 NHS Parliamentary Awards.

Find out more, including the categories, at www.nhsparliamentaryawards.co.uk

Please send your nominations to me at feryal.clark.mp@parliament.uk before 24th April!