The hidden homeless crisis is also a public health crisis.
I'm working with Karen Buck, the MP for Westminster North, to press the Government for a new Housing Market Package. This would create a Government-backed fund for local authorities and housing associations to buy up unsold private homes.
I'll keep pressing the case.
Today at the Public Accounts Committee I pressed the most senior civil servant at the Department for Transport on free travel for under-18s.
Free travel is a lifeline for cash-strapped families. Paying for travel is a cost many simply can't afford to backfill.
I am also clear there are safety considerations that must be taken into account; many parents specifically choose bus routes so their children will be safe from gangs.
If you agree, sign the petition by clicking here.
The removal of dangerous cladding and delays in obtaining an EWS1 form is an issue that continues to affect thousands of leaseholders in Hackney.
The Public Accounts Committee, which I chair, published a report on this issue that calls out the Government’s unacceptably slow progress in resolving this issue. Read that report here.
All walk-in services at Hackney COVID test centres have now stopped although it took over two days for the Government to notify Hackney Council. This is not good enough.
The Government needs to step up and get a grip on this testing fiasco.
COVID-19 means many Hackney community groups – dance schools, drama groups, sports clubs – are being forced to find new premises.
Can you help?
If you have access to spaces these groups can use, please let me know. You can email me at meg.hillier.mp@parliament.uk
A new 'walk through' testing site has been opened in Bentley Road Car Park.
It is vital that anyone with symptoms (a temperature, or a new persistent cough, or the loss of taste/smell) gets tested immediately. A fully functioning and effective test, track, and trace system is the only way we can live with COVID-19 and some semblance of normality.
Book your free NHS test online here or call 119.
Now that fabric face coverings are compulsory in shops and on public transport, we’ll all need more. Using disposable ones generates waste and we need to preserve medical grade mask supplies for carers, medical staff, and front-line workers such as shop assistants and transport workers.
I’m proud at how Hackney, and everyone involved with the NHS in Hackney, has pulled together during this public health emergency. Never has it been more apparent that it is the tireless and unwavering commitment of frontline staff that helps keep our NHS going. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the 1.3 million-strong army of nurses, midwives, doctors, physios, pharmacists, healthcare and maternity care assistants, porters, cleaners, and countless other staff who ensure that our NHS is there for every patient that needs it.
It’s GCSE results day today!
I know this year has been especially difficult. You've all done so well completing an important stage in your education.
My thoughts are with everyone getting their results today.
On Monday, the Government listened to young people and were forced to u-turn on the A-level results shambles.
Now the Government must do the same again on free travel for under-18s in London. Scrapping free travel is effectively a tax on education.
The Government should listen to the voice of young Hackney and young London and u-turn on this.
If you agree, sign the petition here.