From: Greg Hands MP news@greghands.

com
Subject: News Bulletin from Greg Hands MP #489
Date: 12 February 2018 at 12:11
To: news@greghands.com

Issue 489 - Monday 12th February 2018

In this edition:

Greg Hands MP’s Diary
Website of the week:
Since the last edition, Greg:
Hammersmith & Fulham
Conservatives Campaigned against Labour H&F Council’s parking
incompetence, including being interviewed by BBC TV, ITN
Residents revolt over
parking chaos in and BBC Radio London. For more, see below.
Hammersmith & Fulham Received a helpful briefing from Fulham Football Club CEO,
Fulham Residents Alistair Mackintosh, and Finance Director, Sean O’Loughlin, on
frustrated by huge road the Club’s proposed development of the Riverside Stand. Greg
closures for Adidas run next
month also met local residents concerned about the development.
Hosted a breakfast for foreign media correspondents based
Photo news:
Hands welcomes Israeli in London to talk about Trade and Brexit, answering questions.
Ambassador to Held a useful meeting with Sands End residents and RICS
International Trade
Department about the possibility of playing a conflict avoidance role in the
Thames Tideway Tunnel project on Carnwath Road in Fulham.
Record breaking figures
means boost for workers Written to Heathrow Airport asking for an additional
and families consultation event to be held in his constituency of Chelsea &
Photo news: Fulham.
Fulham Football Club Hosted a roundtable of development NGOs at the Department
Greg Hands welcomes for International Trade to discuss how to use trade to boost
boost for students in international development.
Chelsea & Fulham
Raised concerns about the apparent lack of consultation on
Photo news: Adidas’s 10km “mass participation” City Run in Fulham.
Hands meets Chelsea
Court residents For more, see below.
Wrote to all of the veterans and disabled ex-service personnel
Local MP welcomes funding
increase for local authorities who live at Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions, Fulham Broadway,
about the proposed redevelopment, including the sale of part of
Photo news:
Hands addresses Spanish the site to Chelsea FC.
Chamber of Commerce Appeared on BBC Sunday Politics and Daily Politics, the
Greg Hands welcomes new World At One, and Radio 5 Live.
review into press Held a meeting with Family Mosaic Chief Executive Brendan
sustainability
Sarsfield and residents to sort out boiler issues in Chelsea
Photo news: Court sheltered housing. More action to be taken!
Hands welcomes Taiwan
Representative David Lin to Spoke to businesses from the Halesowen & Rowley Regis
the House of Commons constituency in Birmingham about Trade, Business & the
Kensington and Chelsea economy, with brilliant local MP James Morris.
schools top of the class Held a warm and useful meeting with Israeli Ambassador
Photo news: Mark Regev to talk Trade and ensuring continuity in excellent
Hands meets with UK-Israel trade relations as we leave the EU. The UK is Israel’s
Carnwath Road Coalition
and RICS to discuss Super 2nd largest trade partner.
Sewer Hosted the President of the European Chambers of
Charged in Chelsea Commerce and the Austrian Chamber, Mr Christoph Leitl, in
London, for talks about trade and Brexit.
Photo news:
Hands meets Climate Held a meeting with the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys to
Change activists Africa with the Africa Minister Harriet Baldwin - including Adam
From GetWestLondon: Afriyie MP, Baroness Northover, Jeremy Lefroy MP, John
Fulham police station Howell MP, and Lord Popat. Great Trade & investment
demolition begins ahead of
new school build opportunities in Africa for British companies.
Addressed the Spanish Chamber of Commerce GB in the
7 ways to contact
Greg Hands City. His key message was the need to drive an EU-UK
comprehensive Free Trade Agreement to benefit both countries.
Held an upbeat meeting with Taiwan Representative David Lin.
The packed agenda included UK expertise in offshore wind;
Smart Cities; access for UK pork exports and Scotch whisky,
and backing for UK firm Click Netherfield.
Held talks with the Royal African Society on how the UK can
boost trade with Africa.
Also held a useful meeting with Federico Cuello, Dominican
Republic Ambassador, to discuss bilateral UK-DR trade & our
existing joint commitment to transition EU-Cariforum EPA to be
a UK agreement.
Held his regular constituency surgery kindly hosted by Metro
Bank. To request an appointment, please send an email to
handsg@parliament.uk or call 020 7219 5448.

Website of the week:

www.hfconservatives.com
The website of the Hammersmith & Fulham Conservatives. After 4
years of Labour inaction and incompetence in the Borough, it is time
for the Conservatives to be back in charge in Hammersmith Town Hall.
The campaign is on – why not get involved!

Residents revolt over parking chaos in

Hammersmith & Fulham
Residents in Labour-run Hammersmith & Fulham are being failed by
serial incompetence when it comes to parking services, with a
possible £23 million of lost parking revenue at risk.

The Council has introduced a series of changes which, added

together, have led to chaos across the borough for residents and
visitors alike. For example:

§ Existing parking meters don’t take the “new” £1 coin, only the
old one.
§ New parking meters have been introduced to operate alongside
and in tandem with the old ones. Unfortunately, the new
machines don’t take the old pound coins; the old machines
don’t take the new ones, leading to chaos all round.
§ A Black Market in old £1 coins has arisen. They reportedly
change hands at 4 for £5 at the North End Road market.
§ Elderly visitors to the Borough – particularly those providing
grandparent childcare – have hoarded old £1 coins, rather
than pay electronically.
§ The Council has been reduced to tweeting out advice to parkers
on which specific location parking meters take the new £1
coins, and which take the old ones.
§ Council parking signs showing the location of the nearest
parking meter are now wrong in many places, leading the
Council open to losing parking appeals.
§ The Council has bizarrely announced the phasing out of
electronic resident parking permits, in favour of a return to
paper permits.

By their own admission, Labour H&F Council have been "working

on it" since August 2017. Six months later and local residents are
still at a disadvantage.

Even though the new £1 coin was announced in the 2014 March
Budget and then came into circulation three years later in March 2017,
some Hammersmith & Fulham parking meters still cannot accept the
so-called new coin. While the "new" £1 coin is hardly new, according
to a sign put up by the Council Labour H&F are expecting motorists to
continue using old £1 coins, which ceased to be legal tender at
midnight on 15 October 2017.

Labour H&F are asking residents to use coins that ceased to be

legal tender last year.

One of the more ludicrous outcomes of Labour H&F's parking chaos is

that a parallel system of parking machines now exists, where old
machines don't take the so-called new £1 coin, and new machines
don't take the old one.

New and old, side by side. Contradictory and mutually unhelpful.

What's more, current signs pointing the way to the nearest parking
meter may now be pointing residents in the wrong direction, following
the removal of old parking meters.

Among those suffering from Labour H&F's incompetence are patients

and staff at The Fulham Dentist on Dawes Road, as well as Fulham
Cricket Club, whose coaches have received more than £2000 in fines.

Indeed, things have got so bad that the Council has even had to tweet
guidance to people visiting local hospitals to tell them which machines
take which type of coin.

In exasperation, local residents including long-standing Conservative

Councillor, Nick Botterill, have expressed the belief that if local
residents are getting parking tickets as a result of the Labour Council's
incompetence then they might be expected to be able to challenge
them successfully.

Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case, as Labour H&F's

parking services failures have already cost some local organisations
dearly.

In a further sign of incompetence, and in a technologically retrograde

move, Labour H&F Council has withdrawn electronic parking permits
to return to paper ones.

What's more, in a turn of events better suited to an old Ealing comedy

rather than to a flagship London borough, the Labour Council's
incompetence seems to have given rise to a black market in old £1
coins.

Commenting on this parking chaos and a series of compound

incompetence from Labour H&F Council, local MP Greg Hands asked:
"Is there any other Council in Britain that is replacing electronic
permits with paper ones, while having parking machines that take only
old £1 coins? Is there any other Council that has to tweet the location
of machines that actually take new £1 coins for people visiting
hospitals, as a result of their own parking signs that point the wrong
way? This is serial Labour incompetence!

"Hammersmith & Fulham had the fourth highest surplus from parking
services last year, but with a possible £23 million in lost parking
revenue, it is local council tax payers who would be expected to foot
the bill for H&F's incompetence! What more would you expect from a
Labour council? Instead of carrying out due diligence and preparing to
deal with new coins announced almost four years ago, Labour H&F
have descended into a parking farce."

If you have been disadvantaged as a result of Labour H&F's parking

incompetence, please contact your local MP Greg Hands at
mail@greghands.com or on 020 7219 5448.

Fulham Residents frustrated by huge road

closures for Adidas run next month

Roads across Fulham, including New Kings Road and Fulham Road
will be closed to traffic for most of Sunday, 18 March for the Adidas
City Run for a "mass participation running event".

The 10 km route for this Labour H&F Council-approved run - which

one Fulham resident has described as "a map of hell on earth" will
begin and end at Eel Brook Common, and will affect New Kings Road,
Munster Road, Dawes Road, Harwood Road, Fulham Road, and
Parsons Green Lane.

New Kings Road will be closed from 6am, while others will be closed
from 7am until 2pm on Sunday, 18 March. According to the run's
organisers, advanced warning of parking suspensions will be put up
two weeks ahead of the event.

Local MP Greg Hands, who was surprised to hear of this "inaugural

mass participation running event", not having been consulted on it,
commented: "Even though the organisers claim that the route and
road closure timings were carefully considered - including by the
Labour H&F Council and Transport for London - and it is being
organised for a good cause, these road closures will cause immense
frustration and inconvenience for local residents.

"It is incredibly worrying that the organisers are implying that this might
become an annual event, and you can bet that local residents won't
forget this total lack of consultation."

A local resident took to Twitter and commented: "Closing Dawes Rd,

Munster Rd and the bottom of Fulham Palace Rd will create gridlock.
This is more disruptive than the cycling. Very happy that these events
come to Fulham, they are great fun, but this route looks like a total
nightmare."

Another SW6 resident described the consultation and route as: "Not a
word. And I'm a runner and an SW6 resident. This is literally a map of
hell on earth."

Photo news:
Hands welcomes Israeli Ambassador to
International Trade Department

Greg Hands MP welcomes Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev to the

Department for International Trade this week for talks about
strong U.K.-Israel trade. Britain is Israel’s 2nd largest trading
partner.

Record breaking figures means boost for

workers and families

Figures out today show that unemployment is at the lowest rate since
1975 and over three million more people are in work since 2010. This
means 4,669,000 people are in work in London - an increase of
886,000 since the Conservatives came into Government.

In 2017, more than 10 employment records were broken. The

employment rate and the number of people in work, the number of
women in work and black and minority ethnic employment all reached
record highs during the year.

This is due to the action we have taken and are continuing to take to
support people into work, through cutting taxes on business, reforming
the welfare system and investing in skills. We will continue to work to
make sure that our economy remains strong to create the better,
higher-paying jobs that people need.

While in Chelsea & Fulham, the number of people claiming the key out
of work benefits has fallen by 354 - a 19 per cent drop - since 2010.

Local MP Greg Hands has welcomed today's figures showing that

more than 3 million people are back in work since 2010, and that the
level of people out of work is at the lowest level in over 40 years.

Today's figures also show that there are 400,000 fewer young people
out of work since 2010, while the number of people in work and the
number of full-time jobs in the workforce are at record highs.

Commenting on these figures, Greg Hands MP said: "Under this

Conservative government, the number of people out of work has fallen
by over a million.

"Since 2010, over 3 million more people are in work, with the security
of a regular pay packet.

"Labour's reckless and ill-thought-out policies would put all this at risk.
Only the Conservatives are building a strong economy that works for
everyone."

Photo news:
Fulham Football Club

Greg Hands MP at Fulham Football Club last week hearing at first

hand their proposals for a new Riverside Stand. Greg also met
separately with residents opposed to the scheme.

Greg Hands welcomes boost for students

in Chelsea & Fulham

Local MP for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, has welcomed the
latest UCAS data showing that university application rates for 18-year-
olds remain at record levels.

The proportion of disadvantaged students applying for university is

also at a record high, with 22.6 per cent of disadvantaged English 18-
year-olds having applied to university courses, by the UCAS deadline
in January.

This follows statistics released last week which showed that a record
proportion of state school pupils are going both to university, and to
highly selective universities. 77 per cent of young entrants to Russell
Group institutions in England were from state schools, and 90 per cent
of young entrants to university more broadly came from state schools.

In Chelsea & Fulham, 62 per cent of 18-year-olds applied for

university by January 2018, compared with 42 per cent in 2009.

Commenting, Greg Hands MP said: "This is really encouraging news.

The hard work of this Government ensures more young people have
the opportunity to make the most of their talents.

"There is more to do, but with the proportion of disadvantaged 18-

year-olds applying to university at record levels, we are making really
important progress.

"To enable all young people to choose the route that is right for them,
the Government is also investing in apprenticeships and technical
qualifications, so all of our youngsters are able to get on in life."

To ensure university courses offer good value for money, the

Government has announced a major review of student financing,
frozen the tuition fee cap and raised the repayment threshold to
£25,000, saving graduates up to £360 per year from this April.

Photo news:
Hands meets Chelsea Court residents

Greg Hands MP meeting Chelsea Court sheltered housing

residents and Family Mosaic Housing Chief Executive Brendan
Sarsfield to discuss undoing plumbing and boiler issues in
Chelsea Court.

Local MP welcomes funding increase for

local authorities
Parliament last week approved the funding settlement for English local
authorities that will see a real terms increase in available resources
over the next two years and give them access to more than £200
billion from 2015 to 2020 to deliver the high-quality services their local
communities need.

The settlement gives councils additional financial freedoms to deliver

services for their most vulnerable residents while protecting council tax
payers from excessive increases in their bills.

For the coming financial year (2018/2019), Kensington and Chelsea

will have Core Spending Power of £158.6 million, an increase of £2.2
million or 1.4%, and Hammersmith and Fulham will have Core
Spending Power of £158.9 million, an increase of £1.6 million or 1%.

Ahead of last week's Parliamentary debate, the Communities

Secretary announced extra funding to help local authorities meet the
needs of vulnerable people and support services in rural areas.

Following representations from local government, and Members of

Parliament, on the provisional funding plans announced in December,
a further £150 million will be available to those councils providing
Adult Social Care.

For Kensington and Chelsea, this additional funding amounts to £0.5

million, and for Hammersmith and Fulham, this additional funding
amounts to £0.6 million.

Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham will also benefit
from London being confirmed as a business rates retention pilot area.
This will see London keeping 100% of growth in business rates, which
will stay in communities and be spent on local priorities. This is
estimated to generate an additional £240 million in funding across
London and is not included in Core Spending Power.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,

Sajid Javid said: "Parliament has today approved a settlement that
strikes a balance between relieving growing pressure on local
government whilst ensuring that hard-pressed taxpayers do not face
excessive bills. We have listened to representations made and
delivered on these requests: two years of real terms increases in
resources, more freedom and fairness, and greater certainty to plan
and secure value for money."

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

welcomed the Settlement, saying: "This funding increase for both of
the London boroughs which make up my constituency is good news
for local residents, as K&C's Core Spending Power increases by 1.4
per cent and H&F's increases by 1 per cent."

Government has also launched a review of local authorities' needs

and resources to enable a new funding system to be devised.
Ministers are encouraging local authorities to respond to the
consultation ahead of the deadline on 12 March 2018.

Photo news:
Hands addresses Spanish Chamber of
Commerce

Greg Hands MP as guest speaker at the Spanish Chamber of

Commerce last week, in London.

Greg Hands welcomes new review into

press sustainability
Greg Hands MP has welcomed the launch of a new review into press
sustainability, with a particular focus on ensuring the future of local
and regional press.

A free and vibrant press is a crucial part of any healthy democracy,

and local press such as The Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle and
the Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today are important and
valued independent news sources for people in Chelsea & Fulham.

But just as the internet has created fantastic opportunities for new
platforms and new voices to emerge, it has also raised some real
questions about the future of the press.

That is why the Prime Minister has announced an external review, led
by a panel of experts, to examine the range of challenges that the
press industry is facing. It will explore ways of ensuring that our free
press may operate on a level playing field in the face of rapidly
developing technology.

This follows a vote in the House of Lords for stringent conditions to be

inflicted on the press which could lead to smaller, local papers being
put out of business. The Government will oppose this attempt to curtail
press freedoms whilst working to ensure the sustainability of local
press.

Commenting, Greg Hands MP said: "It is a difficult time for local

newspapers, but they are the lifeblood of our communities.

"Local papers help to shine a light on important local issues in our

communities, courtrooms and local council chambers. Local media
holds local power to account and uncovers injustices.

"That's why I welcome this government review to ensure our local

newspapers can have a viable future in the digital age."

Photo news:
Hands welcomes Taiwan Representative
David Lin to the House of Commons

Greg Hands MP welcoming Taiwan Representative David Lin and

his team to the House of Commons this week.

Kensington and Chelsea schools top of the

class
Kensington and Chelsea has 100 per cent of schools rated good or
outstanding in Ofsted’s latest figures. Based on 2017 figures this
makes Kensington and Chelsea the best performing borough in
London.

Results for GCSEs, A levels and Key Stage 2 regularly place

Kensington and Chelsea pupils and students close to the top of
national league tables. Exam results for children who receive free
school meals in the Royal Borough are the very best in the country. In
2017 the difference in Kensington and Chelsea between those who
receive free school meals and those who do not was down to 16 per
cent. The national average is 20 per cent at Key Stage 2.

With such high-performing schools the demand for places at both

primary and secondary remain high. The Council has had an
ambitious school building and expansion programme. This has seen
two new secondary academies, one in Chelsea and one in Kensington
and the complete rebuilding of Holland Park School. In addition, a
number of primary schools have been expanded or completely rebuilt,
including the high performing Fox Primary School, Marlborough
Primary School and the work continues with schools such as Colville
Primary School. There are also ambitious plans to build a new Barlby
Primary School, together with a brand new special school, providing
greater support for children with a range of severe learning difficulties,
including autism.

Kensington and Chelsea Council Lead Member for Family Services

and Education, Cllr Emma Will, said: “We are delighted that our
schools are among the best in London and that the attainment gap
between children of different economic backgrounds is closing.

“We are so proud of our hard-working teachers, pupils, students,

parents and staff who have achieved this result – we all strive for the
highest standards in education and these latest Ofsted results are
testimony to this.”

Photo news:
Hands meets with Carnwath Road
Coalition and RICS to discuss Super Sewer

Greg Hands MP with residents representatives of the Carnwath

Road Coalition and chartered surveyors group RICS, discussing
ways RICS could help with engagement on the Thames Tideway
Tunnel (or “Super Sewer”).

Charged in Chelsea
Actor and renewable energy advocate Robert Llewellyn today
unveiled and plugged in the Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea’s newest electric vehicle charger to celebrate the rollout of
central London’s largest lamp post electric vehicle charging network.

The Council is installing 57 lamp post charging points. The smart

technology allows motorists to plug their electric vehicle directly into
chargers installed in Council lamp posts.

Lead Member for Transport, Cllr Gerard Hargreaves, said:

“Kensington and Chelsea is leading the charge by retro-fitting street
lamps across the borough with electric vehicle chargers.

“One of the biggest barriers to electric car ownership is the perceived

lack of on-street charging. The Council’s new technology will help to
remove these barriers by making charging simple and convenient for
residents.

“The lamp post charge points are conveniently located next to pay and
display parking bays and are available for use 24 hours a day."

Transport Minister, Jesse Norman said: “A widespread and reliable

charging network for electric vehicles is essential if the UK is to meet
our ambition of ending the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel
cars and vans by 2040.

"We have already made good progress with over 11,500 public
chargepoints across the UK and I am delighted that the Royal
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have taken up our On-street
Residential Chargepoint Scheme to improve chargepoint infrastructure
in their area.”

Robert Llewellyn said: “Renewable energy technology, in particular

electric vehicles, is only going to go from strength-to-strength in the
coming years. Technology is developing at a fast pace, electric cars
are able to travel further and further on each charge, and charging is
becoming faster and easier.

“With such rapid change, it is vital that we invest in new technology at

a local level.

“It’s great to see councils like Kensington and Chelsea leading the
charge locally by investing in on-street charging that people can plug
straight in to. Now’s the time for more councils to do the same!”

Residents can join the charging scheme by purchasing a

SimpleSocket cable, which has an inbuilt meter allowing them to plug
into any of the Council’s lamp post chargers.

The lamp post electric vehicle network is part of the Council’s wider
commitment to help improve air quality through its Air Quality and
Climate Change Action Plan 2016.

Through the Action Plan, the Council has also expanded the number
of car clubs, promoted cycle training and its Hire to Buyer cycling
scheme, reduced C02 emissions from Council operations by 35 per
cent since 2014, helped vulnerable residents to reduce energy
consumption and bills, and trained residents as volunteer green
champions.

As part of this commitment, the Council recently announced its

support for London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s proposed extension of the
Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

More information can be found online:

www.rbkc.gov.uk/electric-vehicles.

Photo news:
Hands meets Climate Change activists

Greg Hands MP in Fulham with local members of Climate Change

activism charity Hope for the Future - www.httf.org.uk.

From GetWestLondon:
Fulham police station demolition begins
ahead of new school build
Work is well under way on the demolition of Fulham Police Station
ahead of the building of a new school on the site.

Fulham Boys School (FBS) will be based on the Heckfield site and is
due to open to pupils in January 2019.

Plans to downsize the police station to just a front counter service to

allow for the construction of FBS were announced in 2015 by the then
London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The front counter closed on December 14 2017 when Mr Johnson's

successor Sadiq Khan announced the closure of a swathe of London
stations towards the end of the year.

A photo taken by Alexander Wade, chairman of governors at FBS,

shows building construction vehicles on the site and a partially
demolished building.

He writes: "At last - demolition in full swing by Fulham Broadway,

which will make way for building The @FulhamBoys School’s
impressive permanent home."

The school teaches pupils from its temporary home in Mund Street,
West Kensington.

Earlier this week, Mr Wade's 11-year-old son Charlie found a

mysterious spider in a box of locusts purchased to feed his pet
bearded dragon.

7 ways to contact Greg Hands MP:

By Phone: 020 7219 5448
By email: mail@greghands.com
By post: Greg Hands MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
In person: Click here for details of how
to book an appointment at
Greg Hands’s weekly
surgery

www.greghands.com

More news from Greg Hands MP, coming soon…

Please forward this email on to anyone you think may be interested. If

you have had this email forwarded to you and would like to be added
to the mailing list, please send an email to: news@greghands.com
with “JOIN” in the subject heading.

To unsubscribe from this list, please return an e-mail to

news@greghands.com with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject heading.

www.greghands.com

Published & Promoted by Greg Hands, 44 Southern Row, London, W10 5AN