7/29/2019 News Bulletin from Greg Hands M.P. #360.pdf

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In this edition:

Greg Hands M.P.s DiaryWebsite of the Week:EuroTalkPhoto news:Serbian Medieval CulturalHeritage exhibition andreceptionPolice Consultation event in

H&F on Tuesday, 5th

FebruaryH&F Council rejectre-hashed Heathrow thirdrunway schemes

Record number ofapprenticeships in Chelsea& FulhamInformation for would-befoster parentsYoung artistic talent get achance in K&CNews from Greg HandssWeekly SurgeryHands in the papers:Concern in community after'hungry fox' attacks woman

in broad daylightHow to contactGreg Hands M.P.

Issue 360 Friday 1st February 2013

Since the last edition, Greg:

Attended and addressed the Open Meeting in Chelsea Town

Hall on the future ofpolicing in the Royal Borough. The Met

has plans for more police officers, but the ending of front

counter services at Chelsea Police station. There will be a

similar public meeting at Hammersmith Town Hall on Tuesday.

For more information, see below.

Visited Fulham-based business EuroTalk, who produce

language learning CDs and Apps, and are now expanding on a

not for profit basis into teaching maths and English in the

developing world.

Hosted a week long exhibition in the House of Commons onSerbian medieval culture. The Serbian Society is based in

Fulham. For more, see photos below.

Met a delegation of constituents from both Chelsea and

Fulham, concerned with proposals to legalise gay or same-

sex marriage. The Commons vote on this will be on Tuesday,

5th February.

Attended the Stanley Ward Conservatives dinnerin Chelsea,

with guest speaker Kwasi Kwarteng MP.

Had a full schedule of activity as a Government Whip in and

around the chamber of the House of Commons, includingministerial meetings and organising votes and standing

committees.

Held a weekly surgeryfor Chelsea and Fulham residents at

the Fulham Methodist Church, Fulham Broadway. Gregs

surgeries are held generally every Monday at Fulham

Methodist Church, or at Peter Jones, Sloane Square. To make

an appointment, email mail@greghands.com or call 020 7219

5448.

Website of the Week:

www.eurotalk.com

The website of Fulham based international business EuroTalk,which Greg visited this week. Grge is often one of their judges intheir annual Junior Language Challenge event at Olympia,where schools across the UK compete in language learning.

Photo news:Serbian Medieval Cultural Heritageexhibition and reception

Greg Hands M.P. addressing guests at a reception to mark theopening of an exhibition of The Serbian Medieval Cultural

Heritage at the House of Commons this week.

Greg Hands M.P. this week at the exhibition he has been hostingon Serbian medieval culture.

Police Consultation event in H&F on

Tuesday, 5th FebruaryPlans to deliver 92 more beat Police onto the streets of Hammersmith& Fulham, while delivering budgets savings of 500million acrossLondon, will be discussed at a public meeting at Hammersmith Town

Hall this Tuesday (5th February) at 6pm.The Mayors Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), which overseesthe Met Police, has issued three challenges to the capitals force.Known as 20/20/20, MOPAC says by 2015 the Met needs to: cutcrime by 20% in seven priority areas; boost residents satisfaction by20% and reduce spending by 20%.

As a response to MOPACs targets, the Met is now consulting onproposals to cut the number of senior managers in the capital from 37to 26, cut the number of supervisors by more than 1,000 whileboosting the number of Police Constables from 24,630 to 25,909.MOPACs policing and crime consultation event in H&F takes place at

Hammersmith Town Hall on Tuesday 5th February from 6pm.The Met is also proposing to reduce the number of buildings it usesfrom 497 to around 300 to reduce running costs by 30 per cent.

In H&F, the Met is consulting on proposals to close the front counterat Shepherds Bush Police station so that more officers can bereleased for front-line duties. On average 17 people a day attend thefront counter at Shepherds Bush Police station to report a crimedespite the fact it is quicker to report crimes over the phone or online.Despite this, the counter is staffed by Police Constables costingtaxpayers nearly 100,000 a year.If the Mets proposal is approved, 92 extra Safer NeighbourhoodsTeam (SNT) officers would be delivered onto the streets of H&F. Afront counter operating 24 hours a day will remain at HammersmithPolice station and a counter will remain open during the day atFulham Police station.

Meanwhile, H&F Council continues to spend 1.3million a year forthree enhanced town centre squads of beat Police with local firmsadding an extra 350,000 a year. The additional cash means theborough already has 44 more Police officers than it would dootherwise.Cllr Greg Smith, H&F Council Deputy Leader, says, The Police andcouncil continue to work extremely hard to drive crime down. Crime isfalling in H&F and has done for six years out of seven - partly due tothe councils funding of 44 extra beat police officers. But there is moreto do and the challenge for the Met is to come up with innovative ways

to deliver more beat Police officers onto our streets while trimmingtheir budget to help reduce the nations budget deficit.Life has changed since Victorian times and in the 21st century many

people report crime on their mobile phones, by calling 999 or 101, oreven online. We welcome the Mets proposal to get 92 extra beatPolice onto our streets and will continue to press them for zero-tolerance action against the criminal minority.MOPAC wants your views to help shape the Mayors Police andCrime Plan, which will be published in April 2013. It will set out howMOPAC aims to reduce crime in the capital over the next four yearsand what the Met Police and other agencies are doing to tackle crime.

To have your say visit MOPACs policing and crime consultation eventin H&F at Hammersmith Town Hall on Tuesday, February 5 from 6pm.Greg Hands MP added: "I attended the similar consultation event inChelsea, and it was very worthwhile hearing the Met's plans to savemoney but nonetheless get more police officers on the street. I can'tbe there at the event on Tuesday in Hammersmith Town Hall, due toan important Commons vote at the same time, but I recommend H&Fresidents do attend if they can."To register to attend the event and to guarantee entry visit

www.london.gov.uk/policingevents.

H&F Council reject re-hashed Heathrow

third runway schemes

Any rehashed plan to build an additional runway at Heathrow Airportwill be utterly rejected by the council, it was decided this week.Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council vowed to support the Mayor ofLondon in his work to assess the feasibility of other airport expansion

options, including a new four runway airport to the east of London, ata full council meeting on Wednesday night.With Heathrow currently operating at 98% capacity, it is right that theissue of extra air capacity for the south east of England is looked at but a third runway is not the answer, according to the council. Thecouncil argues:

A third (really two and a half) runway solution at Heathrow

Airport can never provide the successful air hub which London

needs;

Additional runway capacity at Heathrow would mean an

unacceptable increase in aircraft noise for parts of H&F whichhave, so far, been less adversely affected;

The recent Operational freedom trials at Heathrow have

proved to be highly damaging to borough residents who would

usually get some respite through runway alternation.

A third runway at Heathrow Airport is the wrong answer to the rightquestion,says, Cllr Nicholas Botterill, H&F Council Leader. A pintsized third runway could not take fully laden 747s or the big A380

Airbuses but it would dramatically increase the noise misery forpeople under the flight path and it would not be long until there werecalls for a fourth runway.If a third runway is built, the number of flights is likely to rocket fromthe current limit of 480,000 to 702,000 by 2030 equivalent tobuilding a new airport the size of Gatwick in the most denselypopulated part of the country.H&F Council has consistently argued that a third runway, or any otherform of expansion, at Heathrow would not just bring extra noise hellfor residents, but also trigger more air pollution and pile furtherpressure on overstretched roads and public transport in the area.The Government has set up the Davies Commission to consider the

various options for enhancing the UKs aviation capacity, to maintainits position as Europes most important aviation hub. In support of theDavies Commission, the Mayor of London is consulting on the criteriafor assessing those options.Cllr Botterill concludes: The only sensible solution is to acknowledgethat further expansion of Heathrow is not acceptable and that anyadditional capacity should be provided away from major populationcentres as other world cities have done.Plans for the expansion of Heathrow were thrown out by a High Court

judge in March 2010 after H&F Council and a coalition of otherconcerned local authorities challenged the plans. 93 per cent of H&F

residents said they were against Heathrow expansion in a council pollof more than 4,000 people in 2008.John Stewart, Chairman of HACAN, which represents residents underthe Heathrow flight paths, said: We are very clear that we want a banon night flights before 6 oclock and a progressive reduction between6am and 7am. Many people under the Heathrow flight paths dontneed an alarm clock; the first plane wakes them at 4:30am.Residents who are disturbed by increased aircraft noise due to thetrial of new runway rules should log a complaint by visitingwww.heathrowairport.com/noise or calling 0800 344 844 or

emailing noise_complaints@baa.com .The Government has also just launched a new consultation on thenight flights controls at Heathrow. The council will be submitting aresponse, but residents are also encouraged to make their owncomments. Further details can be found here. Alternatively,comments can be e-mailed directly to: night.noise@dft.gsi.gov.uk.Greg Hands M.P. added "I remain steadfastly opposed to furtherHeathrow expansion, and that remains the policy of the Government."

Record number of apprenticeships inChelsea & FulhamGreg Hands M.P. has welcomed new statistics that show a recordnumber of people in Chelsea and Fulham started an apprenticeship in2011/12. The provisional data also indicates that the numbers are upagain in the first quarter of 2012/13.The full-year figures show that 220 people started an apprenticeshiplocally an increase of 120 per cent on the last year of Laboursgovernment.This has been made possible by:

Investing in more apprenticeships. Over the lifetime of this

parliament, 250,000 more apprenticeships will be funded than

the last government planned.

Cash bonuses for small companies taking on young

apprentices. Employers with 50 employees or fewer will get up

to 1,500 for taking on an apprentice aged between 16 and 24.

This will support up to 40,000 new apprenticeships in 2012/13.

Investing in degree-level apprenticeships. At the moment,

there arent enough opportunities for progression to further

learning for apprentices. There is now a 25 million Higher

Apprenticeships Fund, to support up to 10,000 degree-level

apprenticeships in areas such as aerospace and renewable

energy technologies.

Making it quicker and easier for employers to take on an

apprentice. The National Apprenticeships Service and training

providers will be required to ensure that every employer is able

to advertise a vacancy within one month of deciding to take on

an apprentice.

Targeting apprenticeships where they are needed. The

programme has been refocused on younger adults, new

employees, higher level qualifications and particular sectors

where apprenticeships can make the greatest impact.

Equipping apprentices with basic skills. Apprenticeship

providers are now required to offer all apprentices teaching in

English and Maths up to the standard of a good GCSE.

Cutting bureaucracy. Coalition measures to cut red tape for

employers taking on apprentices include: piloting a payment byoutcomes system to eliminate a number of data returns and

audit requirements; providing an online plain-English toolkit for

employers; streamlining contracting arrangements; committing

to no in year changes to contracting arrangements,

introducing a more proportionate approach to audit and

inspection, reducing preparation time for employers; greater

use of electronic information to reduce paperwork; and a more

streamlined certification process.

Commenting, Greg Hands MP said: We will only succeed as a

country when everyone is given the chance to reach their fullpotential. We have dramatically increased the number ofapprenticeships on offer compared to Labour.These record levels of apprenticeships are fantastic news for ourcountry, for Chelsea and Fulham, and most of all for the people whoselives are being transformed by the opportunities they offer.

Information for would-be foster parents

Would you considering fostering? You can find out what it entails bytalking with the council's fostering advisor who can tell you whatsupport is available, just email fostering@rbkc.gov.uk or phone0800 1693497The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster CityCouncil and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham arerecruiting foster carers for children and young people of all ages,faiths and cultural backgrounds. It could be for short periods (a matterof days or weeks),for longer periods of months or years andsometimes permanently.You can also get information by going along to one of the drop-in

sessions taking place on Thursday 7th February at Askew Library,

Askew Road W12 from 2pm to 4pm or Tuesday 19th February at10am at Hammersmith Town Hall, King Street, W6.

Young artistic talent get a chance in K&CYoung artists in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea willhave a chance to have their work exhibited publicly and take part infree art workshops as part of Art Explosion.

This visual arts competition and exhibition is aimed at young peopleaged from 13 to 19. Paintings, photographs, sculpture and otherartworks created by young people in the borough will be on show atChelsea Theatre, World's End, King's Road, SW10.

The opening night of the exhibition is on Friday 22nd March, beginningat 6.30pm and there is the chance to win a camera or art materials.To find out how to enter your artwork into the competition or take partin a free arts workshop call or text 07739 314573 or emailLouisa.guthrie@rbkc.gov.uk .

The closing date for entries is Friday 15th March.

News from Greg Handss Weekly Surgery

On Monday, 28th January, Greg Hands held his weekly constituencysurgery at Fulham Broadway Methodist Church, meeting nineresidents with concerns ranging from homelessness to immigration.One vulnerable constituent raised concerns about the anti-socialbehaviour of her neighbour. In this case Greg has contactedHammersmith and Fulham Council to ask if they can intervene to offermediation and install any soundproofing to limit noise travelling fromone property to another.Both the Royal Borough and H&F consider tackling anti-socialbehaviour to be one of their key priorities. If you are currentlyexperiencing such crime contact the respective Boroughs SaferNeighbourhood Teams or ASB Units via these links H&F ASB Teamand RBKC Community Safety Team.If constituents believe their Member of Parliament can assist with theirproblem Greg is keen to hear from them. Greg said: I hold my

surgeries almost every week of the year and I aim to solve theproblem, or at least get my constituents an answer. To make anappointment contact me on mail@greghands.com or call 0207 2195448.

Hands in the papers:

Concern in community after 'hungry fox'

attacks woman in broad daylight

Adam Courtney, Hammersmith & Fulham ChronicleWednesday 30th January 2013

A fox is causing concern to residents after it attacked a woman byPutney Bridge Tube station.The creature sank its teeth into the foot of Kirsty Poole, 31, momentsafter she left the station in broad daylight.Miss Poole, a nanny, had to wrestle the fox after it clamped its moutharound her UGG boot, before it went on to chase another man.The attack has caused concern among people living in the area, andone woman contacted the Chronicle to say she has come across thesame fox herself. I have seen it several times and it is verymenacing, she said.I came across it last week before I had even heard about the attackon the woman and it really scared me. It bared its teeth and cametowards me and didn't show any fear at all.The woman said other people had been attacked. I spoke to ahomeless person nearby and he said had been bitten twice. I havetwo children and am worried about them coming home from school.

Miss Poole described the attack to the Evening Standard and said:As I was walking, I saw this fox, and I thought, How cute and took apicture with my phone. It ran towards me and bit straight into my UGGboot."I was really shocked that it bit in so hard. I had to fight to get it awayand I suppose it stopped biting when it realised the boot wasnt food.Luckily it didnt get to my skin because the boot was so thick.It's not the first time foxes have made the news in Fulham. In 2010,

Annie Bradwell was attacked in her bedroom as she slept in herSands End Home six weeks after a similar attack on another womanin Fulham. And foxes were blamed for a string of mysterious cat

deaths, again in Sands End, last year. The incidents lead Chelsea andFulham MP Greg Hands to call for urban foxes to be classed asvermin and exterminated.Some wildlife experts continue to insist foxes do not attack humans.John Bryant, an animal welfare consultant, said: "Incidents of foxesattacking human beings are extremely rare. I have been working withfoxes for 40 years and I have never been attacked.He added the fox that attacked Miss Poole could have mistaken herboot for a small animal.

5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.:

By Phone: 020 7219 5448

By email: mail@greghands.com

By post: Greg Hands M.P.House of CommonsLondon SW1A 0AA

In person: Click here for details of howto book an appointment atGreg Hands M.P.s weekly

surgery

www.greghands.com

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Published & Promoted by Jonathan Fraser-Howells on behalf of Greg HandsM.P.,both of 1a Chelsea Manor Street, London SW3 5RP

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