Hackney | Meg Hillier

BAME Organ Donation

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.

VoiceBox Competition

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.

River Lea Oil Spill Update

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.

Hackney Real Nappy Network + Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill

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.

NHS PARLIAMENTARY AWARDS

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.

Launch Event for Reach Out's 2018 Impact Report

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.

Queensbridge Primary School Visit

It was a real pleasure welcoming Queensbridge Primary School for a tour of Parliament.

We talked about many issues but top of the list was climate change. We all have a duty to protect the environment and stop the climate catastrophe, not just for ourselves but for future generations as well.

If you would also like to visit Parliament for a tour, please contact me here.

Take 5 - 5 Places to Volunteer

‘Take 5’

5 Places to Volunteer

Welcome to my new regular feature where I outline my own ‘top 5 suggestions’ for events, activities, and opportunities in Hackney South & Shoreditch. This week: ‘5 Places to Volunteer’.

London Overground Station Skipping Hackney Update

It is not good enough that London Overground services are still missing Hackney stops. I have already received a commitment from the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander, that TfL will investigate this matter and apply pressure to the train operator (ARL) to prevent continued disruption and inconvenience. However today I’ve written to the Freedom of Information (FOI) team at TfL to find out exactly how often Hackney commuters miss out.

Hackney North welcome project

I recently met a group of volunteers in Hackney to hear about the excellent work they do accross London to welcome refugee families to the UK.

The group hopes to welcome a new family of refugees into Hackney South and Shoreditch in March.

To find out more about the work of the group visit their twitter here or email them at northhackneywelcome@gmail.com

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