It is vital our curricula in schools reflects the rich diversity and history of our country. The contribution of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities must be celebrated in schools.
I wrote to the Secretary of State for Education after receiving a letter from a year 7 student in Hackney, who raised concerns about the lack of diversity on the GCSE English literature curriculum. Click the pdf link below to read the response in full.
Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy New Year.
My office will be shut over the Christmas period from 1pm on Friday 24 December and will re-open on Tuesday 4 January. During that time my emails and phones will not be monitored daily.
For urgent assistance, please see below for a list of services that should be able to offer assistance.
I hope you all have a safe festive period.
I've prepared a festive video as my Christmas e-card this year (see above). Please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues.
I hope you have a safe festive period.
Best wishes for Christmas and the new year.
There's a good part-time job opportunity at Hackney City Farm as an Eco Therapy Facilitator for the Common Earth group.
The group formed out of a collaboration between the Gaia Therapy Collective, a newly formed collective of politically engaged eco-therapists located at Hackney City Farm, and the farm itself.
It has been running for the past year and is for people of colour who are feeling lonely or isolated to develop healthy relationships with themselves, each other, and the wider natural world.
I recently met with the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Helen Whately MP, to raise concerns about the impact of these proposals on small brewers. Please click the pdf link below for a government briefing on the issue, which may be of interest.
There is a clear need to strengthen protections and legislate to tackle violence against women. I wrote to the Government and urged it to step up its actions in tackling violence against women and girls. Click the pdf link below to read the response I received.
I received my booster jab from Spring Pharmacy in Hoxton. It was quick, painless, and easy.
The new Omicron variant means it is vital we do everything we can to stay protected. Please book your booster jab as soon as you can. Book a vaccine appointment here.
Hackney is at the sharp end of the housing crisis, with high rents and many in insecure temporary accommodation. ‘Affordable housing’ set as 80% of private rents is not affordable for people in Hackney in temporary accommodation or overcrowded housing.
Hackney families were recently hit by a £20 per week cut to Universal Credit. There are 16,760 households in Hackney South and Shoreditch on Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit, which meant a total cut of £17,430,400 in our constituency. 6 in 10 of all single-parent families in the UK will be hit. It will bring the basic rate of benefits to its lowest level since 1990.