I’ve been raising concerns about the gaps in Government support for freelancers and the self-employed for months. Instead of just “reflecting” on these concerns, the Government needs to step up and act now.
I’ll keep pressing the Government on this.
The Government needs to step up and radically improve the test, track and trace system.
Hackney Council is a pioneer borough piloting localised tracking and tracing, but it is not getting the data it needs from the central system. If someone is tracked as having been close to an infected person, all Hackney gets is information that they live somewhere in the borough.
This is not good enough. We can’t return to any safe sense of normality until the Government gets this right.
The Government is failing vulnerable children with no proper plan for schools and pupils.
There's no catch-up plan. It beggars belief that there was no planning in place. The Education Secretary is asleep on the job.
The Government cannot just give up on supporting vulnerable children and their families in the middle of a crisis. I’ll keep pressing the for support for all pupils. We cannot risk a lost generation.
The Government's Self-Employed Income Support Scheme does not do enough to support the self-employed and freelancers. I have been contacted by many people in Hackney who are directors of limited companies or freelancers on short-term contracts who are cut off from support.
Freelancers in the creative industries, the self-employed on short-term PAYE contracts, and sole directors of personal service companies have been left with no work, no income and no support.
I raised this issue in the House of Commons and the Chancellor seemed ignorant of the facts. Hard working people are falling through the gaps in Government support. I’ll keep pressing the Government on this issue.
I know too many people are still living in tower blocks with unsafe cladding.
As of March 2020, 46 per cent of social housing blocks and nearly 90 per cent of private residential blocks still needed work to remove dangerous cladding.
Some are mortgage prisoners, unable to sell or rent out our properties. The COVID-19 pandemic is only making things worse with further delays and rising costs.
This must remain a priority. I’ll keep urging the Government to act and not neglect this issue.
The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and it’s meant we all had to pull together to pull through.
But I’m too aware that some large corporations are not pulling their weight. That is why I am backing the Co-operative Party's campaign for Fair Tax Bailouts. This would mean that every company attempting to claim a Government bailout would have to prove that they have paid their fair share of taxes. These companies would have to:
I have repeatedly raised the issue of people who have been granted leave to remain in the UK but with no recourse to public funds. They are unable to claim any benefits or public funding.
I joined forces with Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP, Diane Abbott, to ask the Home Secretary to allow people unable to work during the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to claim benefits.
The Home Secretary is refusing to waive the restrictions. It means these people will have no access to Universal Credit, and risk destitution, if they lose their job due to lockdown.
Due to the coronavirus epidemic, we are currently dealing with a higher volume of emails in the office. This means we may not be able to meet our 10-working day turnaround as we are prioritising urgent cases. However, my office phone lines are open Monday – Friday 10am-5pm if you need any assistance.
Hackney Council have created a support hub and I would encourage you to visit their website to find out information on what is being done in the local community.
Children who receive free school meals often depend on these meals to not go hungry.
Government needs to address this if coronavirus forces schools to shut.