The £11.7 billion of taxpayers’ money committed under the Government’s ‘Help to Buy: Equity Loan’ scheme is the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s (MHCLG) largest housing initiative by value. Yet it has done nothing to counter homelessness in Hackney or fix Hackney’s broken housing market.
I am happy to announce that I have launched a competition with the BBC for young people in Hackney to help design a future EastEnders set.
Entries can be by either drawing (minimum A4 paper) or making a 3-D model of a shop, house, or location that will help make the EastEnders set reflect the modern, up to date East End.
Trains are still skipping Hackney stations and I am still on the case.
I have already written to the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander, to ask her what systems are in place to make sure Hackney isn’t always skipped if trains are running late. I will update you when I receive a reply.
If you’d like a direct update, or if you have any examples of London Overground skipping Hackney stops, please email me at meg.hillier.mp@parliament.uk with ‘London Overground’ in the subject line.
On Friday 17 May I hosted a second public meeting in London Fields with The Arch Company, the new owners of the railway arches and representatives from Guardians of the Arches.
The meeting provided an opportunity for local business owners to directly raise their concerns.
The owners informed us that the results from their Tenant’s Charter will be released in June, and I am working closely with the Guardians of the Arches to ensure that that the owners stand by their promise of having a ‘tenants’ first’ approach and that they listen to local business owners.
The London Assembly Health Committee published a report highlighting the inequalities in organ donation rates between white and black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.
Though organ donation shortages are relevant to all backgrounds, it is particularly acute for people with BAME heritage who are more likely to need an organ transplant, but less likely to get one. In the survey conducted for the report, the London Assembly Health Committee found that only 1% of BAME respondents were registered as organ donors.
Last winter, I had the privilege of selecting Hackney’s winning joke to compete in the final of the VoiceBox competition. VoiceBox is a UK-wide joke-telling competition run by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. It helps build young people’s confidence whilst raising awareness of the life-long importance of communication skills.
Today saw the final take place in Parliament. It was a real pleasure to see the talent on display from children across the UK. British comedy is in safe hands.
In the wake of last year’s River Lea oil spill, Sue Hayman (Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment) and I jointly hosted local campaigners, the Environmental Agency (EA), and the Canal & River Trust (CRT) at a roundtable meeting in Parliament
I am pleased that the EA has launched a ‘key messages’ service. You can now sign up to receive email notifications of significant and major environmental incidents in the Lower River Lea area.
Every year the UK throws away nearly 3 billion nappies a year. 90% end up incinerated or at a landfill, taking more than 300 years to break down.
Going green is easy but I know more can and must be done to support parents.
This is why I welcome the Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill. This will establish clearly defined environmental standards for nappies and promote reusable nappies. Read more here.
Medical professionals across Hackney provide top quality care, from the Homerton Hospital to GP surgeries and the East London Mental Health Trust.
The NHS Parliamentary Awards recognise NHS frontline staff for their continued hard work.
I invite individuals and local health and care organisations to contact my office with suggestions of teams or individuals for me to nominate so the hard work of Hackney health care professionals can be recognised.
I can submit one nomination per category. The nominations close on Friday 26 April 2019.
Reach Out is one of the UK’s largest mentoring charities. They provide an invaluable service in Hackney by helping to build up young people’s skills, resilience, and pride.
It was a privilege attending their 2018 Impact Report launch event, where I heard first-hand accounts of Reach Out’s transformative impact. See the video of the event here.