Spoke in the House of Commons on the Investigatory Powers Bill
Hosted a meeting for Wimbledon’s Residents’ Associations in Parliament
Met with the Young People’s Fellowship at Martin Way Methodist Church to discuss climate change
Visited the fantastic WimbleTech in the Town Centre to see how the space above Wimbledon Library is used to support tech start-ups.
Met with Circle Housing to press them to ensure repairs are done quickly and properly.
Wrote to local businesses about the reductions to business rates in last week’s Budget.
Celebrated the 65th Birthday of the Endeavour Youth Club in Morden
Hosted the 10th anniversary of Wimbledon Book Fest in the House of Commons
Crossrail 2
It has been a busy week for Crossrail 2 news, and I wanted to keep you up to date with what is happening.
I was pleased to hear the Chancellor commit £80 million to be used to continue planning for Crossrail 2. I have always been clear that Crossrail 2 could be a fantastic opportunity for Wimbledon, to allow us to think about the future of our area for the next 50 years and beyond, and to help ease the pressure on commuters.
Now that money has been committed to help develop Crossrail 2, I hope TfL will now continue to work on changing their plans to make Crossrail 2 work for Wimbledon. I believe that TfL’s current route option is not the best solution for Wimbledon and will lead to the destruction of much of the town centre, rather than its regeneration.
Also this week, Crossrail 2 published their report of the consultation held last year, which summarises the responses they received. I was pleased to see 1,979 people and groups from Merton responded to the consultation, which was the third highest of any Borough.
The responses were mostly critical of the plans for Wimbledon, with many concerned about disruption to Wimbledon town centre, especially to Centre Court and our historic buildings.
Respondents, like me, were also unhappy that only one option was presented for consultation and flagged the need for more information and there were also concerns raised about the impact of works on Weir Road and at Dundonald Road.
My submission to the consultation was summarised as follows:
Stephen Hammond, MP for Wimbledon, remains supportive of the principles of Crossrail 2 but is unsupportive of the current proposals due to the potential negative impacts of the Wimbledon proposals from social, environmental, economic and health perspectives. MP Hammond has further concerns about the uncertainty of land take in the Raynes Park vicinity and ask for tunnelled options between Wimbledon and Raynes Park, as well as other options for Wimbledon station, to be re-examined.
I have put the relevant pages for Wimbledon from the very long report on my website here - and if you are interested, you can find the full report here.
As ever, I will continue to work tirelessly to secure a route that works for Wimbledon and will continue to keep residents updated.
Budget
The Chancellor announced his Budget last week which contained some very significant measures, some of which I have summarised below, you can see a more comprehensive list here. I was particularly pleased to see support for small businesses and help for young savers.
Double the dedicated funding for sport in primary schools, paid for by a levy on sugar in soft drinks
From April 2017, any adult under 40 will be able to open a new Lifetime ISA. Up to £4,000 can be saved each year and savers will receive a 25% bonus from the government on this money if it is used for a pension or to buy a first home. You can find out more about the Lifetime ISA here.
The Personal Allowance will increase to £11,500, and the higher rate threshold will rise to £45,000 in April 2017.
£100 million to help people move on from emergency hostels and refuges
Fuel duty will be frozen again in 2016-17, saving the typical motorist £75 a year. By the end of 2016-17 fuel duty will have been frozen for 6 years.
Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium Update
On Tuesday the Mayor of London announced that he would call in the plans for a new AFC Wimbledon Stadium on Plough Lane. This means the Mayor will act as the planning authority and make the final decision. There will also be another consultation as part of the process. The impact the development will have on transport and housing were cited as reasons for calling in the decision.
The National Living Wage
On 1 April 2016 the National Living Wage will become law. From this date employers need to pay eligible employees aged 25 and over at least the new rate of £7.20 per hour.
You should see the increase in your pay automatically from April if you currently earn less than £7.20 per hour and are eligible. If you don’t see a difference in pay, you may want to speak to your employer or get in contact with the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 or visit the Acas page.
The National Living Wage will provide a direct boost to workers in the UK – rewarding and providing security for working people. It is a key part of the Government’s plan to continue to move to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society, building a more productive country and giving families the security of well-paid work.
You can find out more by clicking here.
St Helier Hospital Update
I recently met with Daniel Elkeles, the Chief Executive of St Helier Hospital to hear more about his plans for the hospital’s future.
I heard his ambitious plans to upgrade the Hospital’s estate so it can continue to deliver high quality care for people in our area far into the future.
Following last year’s questionnaire on the hospital estate, they have now moved onto the next phase of the review. They have the agreement of NHS England, our regulator (NHS Improvement) and our local clinical commissioning groups to proceed to develop a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) that will identify and evaluate options as to how we can get the best possible buildings to provide the best possible care for our communities.
St Helier Hospital is safe and there is a plan to invest in its future, rebuild the estate and ensure our community can continue to enjoy high quality healthcare.
Merton Adult Education
Following the news that Merton Council will now be commissioning South Thames College to provide most of the Borough’s adult education services, I wrote to the Council with a number of questions:
What the plans are for the Whatley Avenue site?
What will the Council do to keep current students informed of changes?
Will all their courses be provided for or will some students be unable to continue with their course?
What provision will there be to help disabled students travel to South Thames College?
I will also be seeking a meeting with South Thames College to discuss these matters.
I have now received a response from Merton Council to my questions, which you can read here. I am disappointed that the Whatley Avenue site has closed and that Merton Council cannot say what use it will be put to.
Terror attack in Belgium
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the horrific attacks in Belgium on Tuesday.
Merton Police will be placing more officers on patrol as a precaution, not in relation to any specific information or intelligence.
The UK threat level remains at "severe" at this time, the level it has been since August 2014.
The additional officers deployed are intended to provide reassurance and we would ask the general public to be alert but not alarmed by the current situation. If they see anything suspicious then they should contact the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or dial 999 in an emergency.
Ride London
Prudential RideLondon will be held on 30th and 31st July 2016. I am seeking a meeting with the organisers to ensure there is as little disruption as possible.