I have received an unprecedented amount of emails from constituents regarding policy issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement and the Gender Recognition Act. Thank you for contacting me and raising your concerns and support. I am responding to everyone individually however, due to increased levels of correspondence this is taking longer than expected.
If you have emailed me on an issue, I will respond to you. Thank you for your patience.
Already in Hackney, we’ve had pubs selling takeaway alcohol. This has caused scenes of havoc in places like London Fields with mounds of rubbish, urination and defecation.
Hackney Council is on the case but the Government must get a grip and address the practicalities around the easing of restrictions.
The Government must also understand the cost to local taxpayers of the clean up and stewarding. The extra cost needs to be paid by the Government to protect already stretched local services.
This is a difficult time for many people living in Hackney. However, there is support available to you. This is a quick changing situation and I will keep the below links updated. Please remember my office remains open so please email meg.hillier.mp@parliament.uk if you need any assistance.
Government information: For all information and guidance released by the Government about Coronavirus (COVID-19), please see here; https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Enjoy your weekend in Hackney parks but please treat them with respect.
Hackney Council will be opening public toilets - if you get caught short don't use the bushes. Park staff have worked hard to keep these vital spaces open and clean. Please respect them and other park users
Hackney South and Shoreditch is a hub for start-up businesses, especially in the tech sector. Many start-ups are, by definition, either pre-revenue, loss-making and/or stuck between funding-rounds. They were therefore locked out of any Government support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme.
Personal protective equipment is a basic health and safety issue. The fact that frontline health workers are having to use bin bags to protect their lives is shameful and wrong. Homerton Hospital had to use science goggles from local schools and local sewers are making scrubs. St Joseph’s Hospice had to put out an emergency call for supplies and local dentists are struggling. This is completely unacceptable. Clearly, more needs to be done to protect NHS workers on the front line.
I continue to press the Government to help homeless families in severely overcrowded accommodation and hostel rooms.
A housing market package to buy up unsold homes is a tried and tested model that will help find homes for the homeless.
A number of Hackney residents have been stranded overseas because of the grounding of flights due of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Where flights have been available they have been at hugely inflated costs - beyond the reach of most people.
I have been working closely with the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry as well as the Foreign Office directly.
Emily met the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, on Thursday 26 March and she pressed him on this issue and the complex individual situations.
The coronavirus pandemic means people are losing their jobs but some are banned from accessing public money, like Universal Credit.
I’ve written to the Home Secretary asking for a clear commitment and today Diane Abbott also raised this issue. People need reassurance now.
I know too many families struggle living in severely overcrowded accommodation. Already children are forced to share beds with parents and some vulnerable families are crammed into single flats with other families. Many live in a single-room hostels. The closure of schools, self-isolation, and family quarantine will make an already unbearable situation impossible.