Justine Greening MP Writes To Residents
Raises issues including Heathrow expansion, social mobility and more
Over 100 residents attended a meeting with Heathrow Airport representatives and No Third Ruwnway
Dear Resident,
This has been a really busy month, both in Parliament and in the constituency. As you probably know, the so-called second "Meaningful Vote" has been delayed again and is now planned for March - there's a Brexit update below.
The latest consultation from Heathrow runs until this coming Monday, 4 March - do make sure you respond. It’s on Heathrow airport’s proposal to have 25,000 extra flights from the current two runways and flight paths from having an extra third runway. I organised a well attended public meeting for residents to talk to representatives from Heathrow about their concerns over future runway proposals, including on an increased number of flights.
Because of unacceptable problems with the heating and leaks at Clyde House in Wandsworth, I organised three residents' meetings between residents of Clyde House and A2Dominion to make sure we got the urgent repairs to the property that were needed.
As always, I'm around in the constituency and at local events, plus I have my weekly MP surgery at a local library, so do get in touch if you ever have any concerns or want to get involved in a local campaign or project going on.
Working in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields
In February I had a busy month getting out and about, and working on the local and national issues raised with me by residents. I:
• Wrote over 800 letters or emails to constituents about their concerns (less than usual because I spent a week laid up with a very bad back, though now in better shape!)
• Met with the Chief Executive of St George's Hospital, Jacqueline Totterdall, to get an update on local health priorities and improvement plans for St George's.
• Organised three meetings for residents of Clyde House to speak to housing provider A2Dominion to resolve issues in their flats and with the building, including issues with the lifts and water leaks. (update below)
• Spoke with Wandsworth Councillor Rory O'Broin about proposals for a bid for Putney High Street to get investment from the Future High Streets Fund.
• Hosted a public meeting for residents with Heathrow Airport representatives and No Third Ruwnway to hear about their new consultation on increasing flights on their existing two runways and so residents could feedback their concerns directly. (update below).
• Held a community coffee morning in St Mary’s church in Putney to discuss local concerns and national issues with residents.
• Visited tech company Zebra Fuels in Osiers Road to hear how they've successfully responded to resident feedback through changes to their local site operations and to see how their award-winning business works.
Working in Westminster
As your local Member of Parliament, this month in Westminster I have:
• Spoken in debates and asked Parliamentary questions on:
• Clyde House and A2Dominion
• Heathrow Airport expansion
• Leaving the EU
• Reintroducing maintenance grants for university students
• Relationships and Sex Education
• You can see all my contributions here.
• Outlined our communities' concerns on Brexit in a meeting with the Prime Minister.
• Discussed funding for children's services with Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
• Met Aviation Minister, Baroness Sugg with other MPs including Zac Goldsmith and Ruth Cadbury to discuss the Aviation 2050 green paper and Heathrow's own consultation on extra flights and a third runway.
• Spoke at the IHD Leadership Forum representing the food and grocery sector, on what more their sector can do on social mobility and to hear from them about the work they already do.
• Met with Eastwood Nursery Governors in Parliament to discuss funding for maintained nursery places locally. I’m pressing to see longer term funding in place for nurseries like Eastwood so that they can continue to support children in communities like Roehampton.
• Celebrated the 30th anniversary of the London Air Ambulance and heard about the vital work they've done in Putney, attending 44 emergencies locally last year. This is a crucial service that is used every day to save lives and works alongside the wider London Ambulance Service.
• Spoke to members of the Climate Coalition and the Women's Institute about their campaign to push for more action on climate change.
• Continued to see more companies committing to the Social Mobility Pledge, including Boots, Superdrug, Thames Water - we’re now supported by businesses employing 1.8m employees around the UK who are also sharing best practice with one another on what works to drive social mobility in their organisations.
• Spoke on social mobility to the Federation of Small Businesses at the launch of its new research showing how small businesses play a crucial role in their local communities. You can find a copy of their report here.
• As part of National Apprenticeship week, I met with apprentices in Parliament to discuss the learning and development they are getting through the apprenticeship schemes they are on. The Social Mobility Pledge supports this work by asking more companies to be prepared to open up to provide apprenticeships and work experience so we can get more opportunities like this for more young people.
• Attended the Fair Trade Reception to hear about their new She Deserves campaign which is about getting a living income for cocoa farmers, particularly women, in West Africa. Whilst Secretary of State for International Development, I worked closely with Fair Trade to support sustainable economic development in developing countries.
I hope that this update gives you a brief snapshot of some of the things I am working on as our local Member of Parliament. As ever, if you would like to contact me or raise an issue, than please get in touch and I will do the best I can to help. You can email me on justine@justinegreening.co.uk, write to me at 3 Summerstown, SW17 0BQ or call my office on 0208 946 4557. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see all my latest updates.
Best wishes,
March 8, 2019