The Government opened its long-awaited Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme last week. However, there are currently over 12,000 Afghan refugees already in the UK in temporary hotel accommodation waiting to be resettled. The Government needs to step up.
I also pressed the Minister for Afghan Resettlement on family reunion rules, particularly the challenges around the English language test.
The Government opened its long-awaited Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme last week. However, there are currently over 12,000 Afghan refugees already in the UK in temporary hotel accommodation waiting to be resettled. The Government needs to step up.
I also pressed the Minister for Afghan Resettlement on family reunion rules, particularly the challenges around the English language test. See my question and here response above.
COVID-19 has meant that schools have had to implement measures to protect students and staff and this has been funded by the Government in the short term. I challenged the Education Secretary on how long this funding will continue as school budgets have been squeezed in the past decade.
See my question and his response above.
Happy New Year!
We returned to Westminster on Wednesday and I challenged the Prime Minister directly on the shortage of lateral flow tests in Hackney and nationally, but he was unable to provide a clear answer. With the rise in cases due to Omicron, we have seen huge demand for lateral flow tests but supplies have not kept up. See here for my question in full.
I challenged the Prime Minister directly on the shortage of lateral flow tests in Hackney and nationally, but he was unable to provide a clear answer. With the rise in cases due to Omicron, we have seen huge demand for lateral flow tests but supplies have not kept up.
See my full question and his response above.
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.