July 2016 E-Newsletter

Contents
Westminster voted for Europe - the country didnt. Now what?
The collapse of British Home Stores
Government must re-consider planned new Counter Extremism law
Sign the petition against Marks and Spencer's cutting staff pay as the National Living Wage is introduced
Local round-up
My street inspection of fly-tipping and rubbish hot spots with Westminster Council
Early help for children and families - cut again
We supported Paddington Food Bank with a street collection: can you help next time?
Government in a mess as still no details on Pay to Stay for council tenants
Any thoughts on patient transport provided by/for the NHS in North West London? Good or bad - your views are wanted
New Paddington Quarter proposals unveiled as replacement for the rejected Pole- have your say
Barrow Hill Junior School children in Parliament
A summer of festivals
Visiting Red Thread

Westminster voted for Europe - the country didnt. Now what?

Like the overwhelming majority of Westminster residents, who voted remain by a 2-1 margin, I wanted us to stay in the EU. Not only do I
feel our best interests are served by staying in Europe, I hated the lies and the stoking of fear by some in the Leave campaign. Like many
others, I feared - rightly- that the Leave side did not have a plan. However, not only did we lose the national vote, there was a leave majority in two-thirds of constituencies across the country, and even here one in three wanted out. We must respect that and understand why so many
people, especially outside London and the cities, voted as they did.
In Parliament, I called for immediate guarantees for EU residents living in the UK. There are 36,000 such residents in Westminster alone, and
many have written to me to express their concerns - most are working and running businesses here, are settled, have children in school and
may indeed have been here for decades. It is simply not acceptable to leave them in prolonged uncertainty about their future status.
Although London is not hardest hit, even here there have been cases of abuse directed at European residents, and a broader spike in Islamophobia and other hate crime. Our message is: zero tolerance of bigotry and race hate- whether anti-semitic or Islamophobic, directed at people on
the basis of faith, colour, nationality or language.
On the wider issue of our future relationship with Europe, we must now work to achieve the best deal we can, in the knowledge that access to
the EEA/Single market, which is essential for trade and economic purposes, will also mean accepting conditions relating to free movement.
Parliament must be involved at every stage. I hope that this will not be excessively rushed, will involve an honest dialogue with the public
about the options and will give another say to the British people at the right time.
Heres a piece I wrote for the paper.
Ive put up a local opinion survey on attitudes to Europe, which will stay up until Mid-August, when I will start analysing the results. Please
take a few minutes to fill it in.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WYN2YH7

What Ive been doing in Parliament this month

As a member of two cross-party Select Committees (Joint Committee on Human Rights and Work and Pensions), these major inquiries dominated the last weeks of the Parliamentary session:

The collapse of British Home Stores

Our joint Work and Pensions/Business, Innovation and Skills Committee inquiry concluded that the BHS scandal, which has resulted in the
loss of 11,000 jobs and cuts to the pensions of 20,000 pensioners:
.was the result of a series of bad business decisions and personal greed. We fear, however, that some of the failures which allowed this to
happen are not unique to BHS. Its lessons merit broader consideration of the framework in which companies operate. We will do so from a pro
-capitalist perspective. We want entrepreneurs to be encouraged and accept that business failure is an inevitable part of the process. Reputable
businesses are, however, appalled by events at BHS
You can read the full report here.
You can watch some of Sir Philip Greens evidence here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlOQMu6agc8
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/15/sir-philip-green-questioned-by-mps-over-bhs-collapse-live-updates?page=with%
3Ablock-57611ca0e4b02af82c1b5f9e
I welcome views, and would especially like to hear from any BHS employees or pensioners in the constituency.

Government must re-consider planned new Counter Extremism law

"The Joint Committee on Human Rights looked into the Governments plans for a new Counter Extremism Bill. We concluded that the Government should reconsider its counter extremism strategy, use the existing extensive legal framework for dealing with people who promote
violence and introduce new legislation only if it can demonstrate a significant gap
The Government should not legislate, least of all in areas which impinge on human rights, unless there is a clear gap in the existing legal
framework. The Government has not been able to demonstrate that such a gap exists. We therefore take the view that the Government has not
demonstrated a need for new legislation. The current counter-terrorism, public order and equality legislation form a comprehensive framework
which deals appropriately with those who promote violence. There is a danger that any new legislation may prove counter-productive.
The Governments approach, set out in its Counter-Extremism Strategy, appears to be based on the assumption that there is an escalator that
starts with religious conservatism and ends with support for jihadism; and that combating religious conservatism is therefore the starting point
in the quest to tackle violence. However, it is by no means proven or agreed that conservative religious views are, in and of themselves, an
indicator of, or even correlated with, support for jihadism.
The Government gave us no impression of having a coherent or sufficiently precise definition of either non-violent extremism or British
values. There needs to be certainty in the law so that those who are asked to comply with and enforce the law know what behaviour is and is
not lawful. We are concerned that any legislation is likely either: (a) to focus on Muslim communities in a discriminatory fashion (which could
actually increase suspicion and even opposition to the Prevent agenda); or (b) could be used indiscriminately against groups who espouse conservative religious views (including evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews and others), who do not encourage any form of violence.
The legal problems that we have considered are so fundamental that it will serve no purpose to have a further general consultation. If the Government wishes to take forward these proposals a draft Bill is required. A consultation which does not provide a clear legal definition of what
is meant by extremism would be futile. Moreover, the different implications for different communities make this a particularly sensitive issue
which requires a longer consultation than the standard 12 week period."
You can read the full report here.
Your thoughts and comments are very welcome.

Sign the petition against Marks and Spencer's cutting staff pay as the National Living Wage is introduced

As you may have heard, M&S are planning to cut the pay of thousands of loyal staff to offset the cost of the National Living Wage, in the footsteps of B&Q, Samworth Brothers and many others.
A petition has started on change.org, urging M&S to change proposals. Could I ask you to sign and share?
https://www.change.org/p/marks-spencers-don-t-make-staff-cuts-to-pay-living-wage

Local round-up
My street inspection of fly-tipping and rubbish hot spots with Westminster Council

Fly-tipping and over-flowing bins continue to be a concern across many parts of the constituency, especially where the population is most
dense and bin areas least overlooked.
I went out on a street inspection in W9/W10 with officers from Westminster Council, where we looked at some particular problem bin areas,
including Hormead Road, Shirland Road and Walterton Road. The Councils Environment team are producing an action note which will include looking at the balance of rubbish and recycling bins, labelling and enforcement.
Im aware that these problems can occur in other area too, so please do let me know if there is anywhere you would like me to have a look at.
Early help for children and families still under attack
Further cuts are being made to services for children, families and young people. This summer Westminster Council ended all funding for outof-school provision for children, despite research showing how important these were to child well-being and education. Funding for the Youth
Service have been slashed, leaving many teenagers with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Now new figures given to me show that the number of staff employed in early help has been cut in half as the service has been reorganised.
So much for all the talk of preventing problems before they get serious!
We supported Paddington Food Bank with a street collection: can you help next time?

Local councillors, volunteers and I joined some of the Paddington Food bank team for a collection day at the end of June - raising hundreds of
pounds in cash and food donations from local people. We are very grateful for the support given to this important project. If you are interested
in donating, volunteering or need assistance yourself, contact them:
www.npfoodbank.org.uk
Housing mess continues as still no details on Pay to Stay for council tenants, and homelessness still rising
The government passed a new law requiring tenants in council homes with a household income of 40k to pay higher rents on a sliding scale despite the huge complexity and the fact that Ministers are, at the same time, introducing reduced cost starter homes for people on incomes
nearly twice that level!
Details were expected before Parliament rose for the summer but have not appeared, making planning impossible for councils required to administer the scheme - due to start next spring.
There are now attempts to lobby the government to delay the implementation of the policy. Councils need to come up with a method of identifying higher earners, to develop a system of communicating with HM Revenue & Customs about income changes and to devise an appeals
process for tenants. Regulations governing the sale of high-value council homes to fund the Right to Buy extension to housing association tenants were also not published as expected.
Meanwhile, latest figures show there are now 87,000 thousand children in Temporary (homeless) accommodation in London - up nearly half
since 2010.

Do you have a view on patient transport provided by/for the NHS in North West London? Good or bad - your views are wanted

RE: Review of patient transport services across North West London

To improve our patients experience of patient transport across North West London the Patient Transport Services Programme Board are looking to improve standards and work towards a consistent and equitable common assessment process, which is in line with the Department of
Healths (DoH) national eligibility criteria for patient transport.
We wanted to write to you to update you on the groups recent work and to inform you of a review of patient transport we will be undertaking
over the next few months.
Following recent engagement with patients and discussions with trusts and commissioners, we have developed a set of Quality Standards that
hospitals are working towards, key performance indicators (KPIs) and a Patient Charter for patient transport. The standards and charter are
displayed in transport and discharge lounges, waiting areas for outpatients and renal units in each of our acute trusts (attached to this email for
information).
We are now reviewing the Patient Transport Service assessment processes in North West London in-line with the DoH national eligibility criteria. These assessment processes determine whether a patient has a clinical need for free patient transport.
At present in North West London, evidence suggests that assessment processes differ between each hospital. We aim to review and find out
exactly where levels of service may vary. We also aim to find out whether patients are receiving different levels of help with transport to and
from hospital.
We are reviewing current assessment processes and following the review, the group will co-produce a consistent and equitable common assessment process for all hospital patient transport services across North West London.
The development of this process will continue in partnership with acute trust PTS leads, lay partners, transport providers, CCG contract leads
and PTS service users.
We will be in touch again to update you on the progress of this work.
To date our work has been focused on the acute hospital trusts and we are pleased to let you know that further groups will be established this
year to review patient transport for mental health and transport to local services.
We would like to invite patient transport service users and members of the public to help us develop our work. If you or any members of your
community would like to be involved please contact us: email Travel@nw.london.nhs.uk, write to FREEPOST: HEALTHIER NORTH WEST
LONDON or call our Freephone number 0800 1777 990.

New Paddington Quarter proposals unveiled as replacement for the rejected Pole- have your say

The 72-storey Paddington Pole on the former sorting office site by Paddington Station, was rejected this spring after a public outcry about the
visual impact. Now a new design has come forward. I met the team for an initial look- but the important thing is what you thing. Theres been
one round of consultation so far, and the response has certainly been more positive than for the Pole, but take a look on-line, or visit the second consultation planned in early September in the ex-post office on Praed Street.
http://paddingtonquarter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0616_Paddington-Feedback-Form.pdf

Barrow Hill Junior School children in Parliament

Being so close to Parliament means lots of local children can enjoy a tour, the excellent Parliamentary education service support and, whenever possible, a chance to put me on the spot with some searching Q+A!

A summer of festivals

Money may be tighter than ever, but the local community rallies round, with support from Councillor ward budgets, housing associations and
many others, and there have been a series of well attended festivals this summer already. Heres a few images from the summer of 2016:

Visiting Red Thread- an excellent multi-agency team working with victims of youth violence at St Marys
I was incredibly impressed by my recent visit to Red Thread, to see the amazing work they are doing with young people involved in serious
violence - not just treating their injuries but getting to the roots of the problem and helping them find a different path. We had a wave of incidents in the early summer, and it is incredibly important that we try and prevent more young people becoming victims.
Want to know more?
www.redthread.org.uk

Thank you for reading and your comments are always welcome.

Karen Buck MP

Website: www.karenbuck.org.uk

Promoted by Robert Atkinson on behalf of Karen Buck MP at 4G Shirland Mews, Maida Hill, London, W9 3DY. The information used to
supply this email is for the use of Karen Buck and will not be passed on to any third party organisation.