From: Greg Hands MP news@greghands.

com
Subject: News Bulletin from Greg Hands MP #470
Date: 28 November 2016 at 11:18
To: news@greghands.com

Issue 470 -Monday 28th November 2016

In this edition:
Greg Hands MPs Diary

Since the last edition, Greg:

Website of the Week:

"Exporting Is Great"

Helped launch the UK Governments ground-breaking exports

portal and website, GREAT.gov.uk.
Welcomed the Chancellors Autumn Statement, which
continues the focus on deficit reduction and urgent action to
address the UKs weak productivity, and doubled the lending
capacity of UK Export Finance, important for UK exporters.
Attended and addressed the Kensington, Chelsea & Fulham
Conservative
Associations
Annual
Dinner
with
neighbouring MP for Kensington, Lady Borwick, and guest of
honour, Dr Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State at the Department
for International Trade.
Travelled to Manchester to deliver the keynote speech at the
EIC Energy conference.
Celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of Health
Foods, Fulham Road.
Attended Lady Margaret Schools Christmas Fair in Parsons
Green.
Attended the local Redcliffe Ward, Chelsea, Conservatives
event as its guest of honour.
Attended an Action Day with Conservative Way Forward in
Hammersmith & Fulham.
Delivered a speech at Asia House on the UKs trade prospects
with the Asia-Pacific region.
Was keynote speaker at Golden Silk Road Forum: UK-China
Golden Era on the importance of One Belt, One Road.
Welcomed the Kazakh ambassador, H.E. Erzhan Kazykhanov
to the Department for International Trade. Greg also co-hosted
with Minister Yerlan Khairov the 3rd UK-Kazakhstan InterGovernmental Commission on opportunities for the UK in
energy, mining, and financial services.
Welcomed M. Claude Bartolone and the French delegation
of MPs to the Department for International Trade to discuss
trade and Brexit.
Welcomed the leader of German CDU MEPs, David McAllister,
to the Department for Trade.
Was guest speaker in Worcester at the West Worcestershire
Conservative Associations Annual Dinner, with local MP
and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for
Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin.
Was guest of honour and speaker at the Streatham
Conservative Associations Annual Dinner, in south London.
Welcomed leading Malaysian investors to the Department for
International Trade to hear their views and to answer questions
on trade and investment.
Visited Berkhamsted School and addressed their conference
on how learning modern foreign languages can help boost UK
trade.
Welcomed leaders of British American Business (BAB) group
to the House of Commons.
Welcomed Minister H.E. Mohammed Sharif and Ambassador
H.E. Salman Al Mazroui of the United Arab Emirates for talks
at the House of Commons.

Photo news:
Lady Margaret Christmas
Fair
Greg Hands welcomes the
Government's Autumn
Statement
Photo news:
"One Belt, One Road" UKChina Investment
Conference
Greg Hands welcomes
record high employment
Photo news:
Fulham Health Foods 50th
Anniversary
Greg Hands discusses
Improvements to Thames
Clippers Services
Photo news:
Hands welcomes Malaysian
investors to Department for
International Trade
Hands in the papers:
Minister Greg Hands asks
German firms to lobby
Merkel on new trade deal
Photo news:
Asia House Round Table on
future of UK trade with Asia
Photo news:
Hands signs new trade
deals with Kazakhstan
Fly-tipping in Hammersmith
and Fulham up by 53 per
cent in a year
Photo news:
Hands welcomes BritishAmerican Business group
to Parliament
Photo news:
Hands addresses Inter
Government Conference on
investment with Kazakhstan
Free home energy service
in Kensington & Chelsea
Photo news:
Hands addresses EIC
Connect Oil & Gas
Conference
Photo news:
Hands speaks on
importance of learning
foreign languages
7 ways to contact
Greg Hands

Website of the Week:

www.GREAT.gov.uk
The website of the Exporting Is Great campaign by the
Department for International Trade, launched by Greg earlier this
month. The portal provides essential information for UK
companies seeking to export.

Greg Hands MP at the launch of the Government's new

GREAT.gov.uk website for U.K. Exporters with Secretary of State
Dr Liam Fox MP and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Mark Garnier
MP.

Photo news:

Lady Margaret Christmas Fair

Greg Hands MP at the Lady Margaret School, Parsons Green,

Christmas Fair, with local parent Katja Hagen.

Greg Hands welcomes the Governments

Autumn Statement

Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, has

welcomed the Governments Autumn Statement, which will help
working families across the UK, finish bringing down the deficit so that
Britain may live within its means, and tackle the long-term challenges
facing our economy, resulting in a Britain that is more productive with
an economy fit for the future.
The Autumn Statement sets out the action that the Chancellor will take
to:

help ordinary working families who are struggling to get on;

bring down the deficit to get the country back to living within its
means;
tackle long-term challenges and make Britain more productive.

Greg Hands welcomed these measures, saying: The action

announced in this Autumn Statement will help people who are just
about managing, and ensure that our economy is fighting fit as we
begin the process to leave the European Union.
Increasing the National Living Wage, building more homes that local
people can afford and continuing the fuel duty freeze for the seventh
successive year will help families across the UK make ends meet.
By backing businesses, investing in our transport networks and
securing world-class digital infrastructure, we will keep Britain moving
and support our economy for the future.
This is about putting ordinary working families first and building an
economy that works for everyone.

Photo news:

"One Belt, One Road" UK-China Investment

Conference

Greg Hands at the "One Belt, One Road" UK-China investment

Conference in London last week.

Greg Hands welcomes record high

employment

Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, has

welcomed the news that employment across the UK continues to run
at a record high, that the unemployment rate has fallen to an 11-year
low, and that according to todays figures there are 701,000 more
people back in work in London since 2010.
In Chelsea & Fulham, the number of people claiming the key out of
work benefits has fallen by 817 - a 43 per cent drop since 2010.
In addition to the employment rate continuing to run at a record high,
todays figures show that wages are continuing to rise strongly. Youth
unemployment is down by almost 350,000 since 2010, the number of
disabled people in work has increased by 590,000 in the past three
years, and the proportion of women in work is at a joint record high.
Over 70 per cent of the rise in employment since 2010 has been from
full time work.
Greg Hands, Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, said:
Today sees another set of strong figures, with employment continuing
to run at a record high, and unemployment falling to a 11-year low.
The number of people in Chelsea & Fulham relying on the key out of
work benefits has fallen by 817 since 2010 a 43 drop. Growth is
being fuelled by full-time professional jobs while wages are continuing
to grow strongly, which underlines the resilience of the UK labour
market.
The measures we have taken have put our economy in a position of
strength, and we will work to ensure more people can benefit from
these opportunities as we build a country that works for everyone.

Photo news:

Fulham Health Foods 50th Anniversary

Greg Hands MP draws the raffle at Fulham Health Foods 50th

anniversary last week. The shop is located on the Fulham Road,
opposite Fulham Library.

Greg Hands discusses Improvements to

Thames Clippers Services

On Friday, 25 November, Member of Parliament for Chelsea &

Fulham, Greg Hands, held a meeting with Sean Collins, Chief
Executive Officer of MBNA Thames Clippers.
Co-founded by Mr Collins in 1999, Thames Clippers provide a river
bus service on the Thames, including both commuter and tourist
services. Thames Clippers operate a fleet of fifteen high-speed
catamarans, which, following the maritime tradition of giving fleets
connected names, all have names relating to meteorological features.
Further to correspondence between Greg and Mr Collins on behalf of
local residents, Greg was glad to hear about the intended investment
and expansion of Thames Clippers RB6 service between Putney
Bridge and Blackfriars the route most likely used by residents of
Chelsea & Fulham over the past three years. Thames Clippers
currently carry more than 1,000 commuters each day on the RB6
route and, as Greg suggested in his correspondence, Thames
Clippers have acknowledged that there is the need for an off-peak and
weekend service. Mr Collins has also been discussing the Thames
Clippers service with neighbouring MP for Putney, Justine Greening.
Speaking after their meeting, local Member of Parliament, Greg
Hands, said: I am glad that Thames Clippers CEO, Sean Collins, is
seriously considering investing further in the local RB6 route that
serves my constituents in Chelsea & Fulham, providing them with an
alternative route into Central London.
I should like to thank Mr Collins for our meeting, and I will keep my
constituents updated as to Thames Clippers plans to begin off-peak
and weekend services on our local route.
More information on Thames Clippers can be found here.

Photo news:

Hands welcomes Malaysian investors to

Department for International Trade

Greg Hands MP welcomes Malaysian investors to the Department

for International Trade to discuss growing Malaysian investment
in the U.K.

Hands in the papers:

Minister Greg Hands asks German firms to

lobby Merkel on new trade deal
Nicholas Cecil, The Evening Standard
Wednesday 16 November 2016
German-speaking minister Greg
Hands
has
sought
to
rally
businesses in Bavaria to pile
pressure on Chancellor Angela
Merkel to strike a trade-boosting
Brexit deal.
International trade minister Mr Hands said that Bavarian companies
export more than 12 billion (10.34 billion) of goods to Britain a year,
more than half of which are from its giant car industry.
British goods worth 6 billion (5.17 billion) are shipped annually to
Bavaria.
These figures are remarkable, he told business chiefs in Munich
earlier this month.
In his speech delivered in German, Mr Hands emphasised that his
message was that Britain is open for business and that firms should
not be afraid of Brexit.
Mrs Merkel is seen as crucial in shaping the type of agreement that is
reached between Britain and the EU as it quits the union.
She opened the door yesterday to a limited EU-wide loosening of the
rules on freedom of movement which could pave the way for Britain
gaining good access to the single market after Brexit.

Photo news:

Asia House Round Table on future of UK

trade with Asia

Greg Hands MP at the Asia House round table in London on the

future of UK trade with Asia.

Photo news:

Hands signs new trade deals with

Kazakhstan

Greg Hands MP signing new trade deals with his opposite

number from Kazakhstan, in London last week.

Fly-tipping in Hammersmith and Fulham up

by 53 per cent in a year
From www.hammersmithfulhamforum.com
Thursday 10th November 2016

Some statistical confirmation of what has been all too obvious to

residents. The streets of the borough are getting filthier with growing
amounts of rubbish being dumped.
There were 10,829 incidents of fly-tipping recorded in Hammersmith
and Fulham in 2015/16. That is a significant increase on 2013/14
just before Labour took control when the total was 9,011. So that is a
20 per cent increase.
At the same time enforcement action is down. In 2013/14 there were
59 Fixed Penalty Notices issued (far too few). In 2015/16 it was even
lower, down to 41.
New powers have been brought in that make it easier to seize vans
found to be used for fly-tipping. But these powers have not been used
in Hammersmith and Fulham. No vehicles have been seized.
So that is bad enough. But for the first sixth months of this financial
year April to September there have been 7,430 incidents of flytipping. That compares with 4,841 for April to September last year. By
my calculations that is an increase of another 53 per cent.
Not all this is the Councils fault. The maximum statutory fixed penalty
notice is only 400. Surely in serious cases when a whole van load of
rubbish is dumped it should be higher? In the case of other fines the
revenue goes to central government rather than to local authorities.
Also there has been an increase in fly-tipping in other boroughs
although I suspect on not such an appalling scale.
Anyway in the last six months there have only been two prosecutions.
Often the evidence will be there on CCTV but to takes time and
determination to pursue the culprits.
Fly-tipping is dragging the borough down. Taking action to deal with it
is demanded from residents. It should be a priority for the Council. But
at the moment it isnt. There needs to be far more enforcement action
to deal with this escalating problem.

Photo news:

Hands welcomes British-American

Business group to Parliament

Greg Hands MP in Parliament with senior staff from BritishAmerican Business, the trans-Atlantic business and trade
promotion group.

Photo news:

Hands addresses Inter Government

Conference on investment with Kazakhstan

Greg Hands MP addressing the Inter Government Conference on

investment with Kazakhstan last week.

Free home energy service in

Kensington & Chelsea
Vulnerable residents living in the Royal Borough
of Kensington and Chelsea can get free advice
from the Council on how to keep warm during the
winter months and make their homes more
energy efficient.
The environmental charity Groundwork London
will visit residents in their homes to offer advice
on switching tariffs, fitting energy efficient light
bulbs, draught-proofing and how to register for
The Warm Home Discount scheme. The charity
will also give residents a free Seasonal Stay
Warm Pack which includes a fleece top,
thermal underwear, socks and blanket.
To request a visit or refer a vulnerable resident
call Groundwork on 0300 365 5003.
Why not find out more information about the Free home energy
service at www.rbkc.gov.uk/freehomeenergyservice.

Photo news:

Hands addresses EIC Connect Oil & Gas

Conference

Greg Hands MP in Manchester addressing the EIC Connect Oil &

Gas Conference.

Photo news:

Hands speaks on importance of learning

foreign languages

Greg Hands MP about to give his speech at Berkhamsted School

on the importance of learning foreign languages.

7 ways to contact Greg Hands MP:

By Phone:
By email:
By post:
In person:

020 7219 5448

mail@greghands.com
Greg Hands MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Click here for details of how
to book an appointment at
Greg Handss weekly
surgery

www.greghands.com

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