From: Greg Hands MP news@greghands.

com
Subject: News Bulletin from Greg Hands MP #495
Date: 13 May 2018 at 20:43
To: news@greghands.com

Issue 495 -Sunday 13th May 2018

In this edition:

Greg Hands MP’s Diary
Photo news:
Since the last edition, Greg:
Hands attends Royal
Hospital Open Day Welcomed the coming huge increase in capacity on the
Wimbledon District Line, from next year, during a visit to the
Greg Hands welcomes
huge – up to 33% - Earl’s Court control room. For more, see below.
increase in District Line Welcomed at the Council Elections the strong return of a
capacity coming next year
Conservative Council in Kensington & Chelsea, but regretted
Photo news: the loss of Conservative Councillors in Hammersmith & Fulham.
Hands addresses European
delegation of SMEs and Made a speech at an event at 10, Downing Street, to welcome
MEPs at Downing Street European SMEs to the UK to learn more about Brexit and
Hammersmith & Fulham in future trade opportunities.
the papers: Met representatives from CIOB and RIBA and other
Police probe launched over
postal vote 'abuse' in professional services bodies to discuss how trade
Hammersmith and Fulham agreements can be made to work for Britain’s professional
local election
service industries.
Photo news: Drawn attention to Scotland Yard’s probe into Labour postal
Hands welcomes local
school groups to vote recruitment in Hammersmith & Fulham. Residents are
Westminster being pressured and duped into signing up for a postal vote.
Conservatives win well in For more, see below.
Kensington & Chelsea, but Was guest speaker at the annual conference of the German-
lose seats in Hammersmith
& Fulham British Chamber of Commerce, in London.
Attended the commemoration at the Sloane Square war
Update on St Dionis Church
“Living Space” Project memorial to mark 100 years since the military action at Ostend
that led to two men from Chelsea being awarded the Victoria
Photo news:
Hands visits Breast Cancer Cross, Lt Rowland Bourke and Lt Victor Crutchley.
Haven in Fulham Was the only non-Asian Trade Minister to attend the ASEAN
Greg Hands visits Fulham Leadership Forum of Heads of States and Trade Ministers in
businesses uTalk and Singapore. Greg addressed the forum on the importance of
OneBillion
ASEAN to Britain as a set of trading partners.
Photo news: Visited Breast Cancer Haven in Fulham, discussing their vital
Hands in Kenya
breast cancer support services.
The Prime Minister outlines Welcomed the election of Cllr. Andrew Brown as the new
her Brexit approach
Conservative Council Group Leader in Hammersmith &
Photo news: Fulham, and thanked previous Leader Joe Carlebach for his
Hands on the campaign
trail service.
Held a roundtable for Canadian investors into the UK, hosted
Hands in the papers:
Trade minister Greg Hands: by the Canadian High Commission at Canada House.
UK using Brexit to "spread Attended the excellent Open Day at the Royal Hospital
the word" about liberalising
global trade in services Chelsea as part of Care Home Open Day.
Opened the London Stock Exchange with Nigeria’s Minister
Photo news:
Hands interviewed by SNA of Industry, Okechukwu Enelamah, welcoming almost
Cable News Asia in £140million of new UK business investment.
Singapore
Attended and addressed a meeting of the Kensington &
Trade ministers welcome Chelsea Chamber of Commerce.
£140 million investment in
Nigeria and Pakistan Was guest speaker, talking about excellent trade prospects with
India, at the India APPG in Parliament.
Photo news:
Conservative Councillors Attended a reception in Parliament to mark the work of St.
elect new Group Leader in Columba’s Church of Scotland church in Chelsea. St
Hammersmith & Fulham
Columba’s is the headquarters of the Church of Scotland in
Photo news: England.
Hands meets Trade
Ministers from Cambodia, Held a meeting with Pakistan’s Commerce Minister, Pervaiz
Singapore and Indonesia Malik.
7 ways to contact Welcomed visits by Kensington Prep School and Cameron
Greg Hands House School to Parliament, to learn more about Greg’s work.
Travelled to South Africa and Kenya to discuss the continuity
of existing trade relations and promoting strong bilateral Trade
and Investment.
Visited St John’s Walham Green CE Primary School to meet
Year 5s and answer questions as part of their project on local
democracy.
Welcomed representatives of the International Meat Trade
Association to the Department for International Trade for talks
about meat and trade.
Held his regular constituency surgery at Fulham Broadway,
kindly hosted by Metro Bank. To request an appointment,
please send an email to mail@greghands.com or call 020
7219 5448.

Photo news:
Hands attends Royal Hospital Open Day

Greg Hands MP with Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Hospital

Open Day.

Greg Hands welcomes huge – up to 33% -

increase in District Line capacity coming
next year

Greg Hands MP visited the Earl’s Court District & Piccadilly Lines
Control Room on Friday (11th May) to learn at first-hand about the
huge increase in District Line capacity coming to the Wimbledon
District Line from 2019.

With funding provided to Transport for London’s (TfL) capital grant by

the Government’s 2015 Spending Review, led by Greg as the then
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, TfL is spending £5.6 billion on the
4LM programme – the Four Lines Modernisation. The programme
sees the updating of the District, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan
and Circle Lines.

In 13 years as a Member of Parliament, the biggest local issue for

Greg has been capacity on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line.
Greg has worked with successive Mayors of London – most
particularly Boris Johnson – to increase capacity on the Line since
2005. These improvements have included moving capacity from the
Olympia branch; the creation of the new ‘lasso’ version of the Circle
Line; and the introduction of the (walk through) “S” Class Tube trains
from 2012.

The potential for further improvements has always rested on improving

the signalling through Earl’s Court station. The existing signalling
dates mainly from the 1950s and 1960s, and even has parts from as
long ago as 1924.

Greg learned at Earls’ Court of the effects of the 4LM programme,

which would provide new signalling at Earls Court and Automatic Train
Operation from 2019. The effect of this will be a one-third increase of
trains on the Wimbledon Branch, from around 24 an hour to up to 32
an hour – or one train approximately every 2 minutes! At which point,
service will be almost as frequent as the Victoria Line, which has a
train every 100 seconds at peak times.

Commenting on his visit, local Member of Parliament for Chelsea and

Fulham, Greg Hands, said: “I have campaigned successfully over the
years for extra capacity on tube services for my constituents, such as
a change in the Circle Line in 2011 and the new S-Class train
carriages.

“While there’s already been a big increase in capacity on the

Wimbledon branch, it’s great news to hear of the improvements that
the £5.4billion from the Conservative Government’s Capital Grant in
the 2015 Spending Review will bring to my constituents as part of the
4LM programme.

“I look forward to the improved service next year, as I join my

constituents on our daily commute on the Wimbledon branch of the
District Line!”

Photo news:
Hands addresses European delegation of
SMEs and MEPs at Downing Street

Greg Hands MP in 10, Downing Street, addressing a visiting

delegation of European SMEs and MEPs on the excellent
prospects for U.K.-EU trade beforehand and after Brexit.

Hammersmith & Fulham in the papers:

Police probe launched over postal vote
'abuse' in Hammersmith and Fulham local
election
Nicholas Cecil & Joe Murphy, The Evening Standard
Wednesday 25th April 2018

Scotland Yard is probing allegations

of postal vote malpractices in a key
borough for the May 3 local
elections, the Standard reveals
today.

Eleven cases in Hammersmith and Fulham have been reported to

police including some where residents say they have been issued with
postal votes they did not request. Officers are understood to have
spoken to some individuals who believe they were tricked into
applying for a postal vote.

One woman thought that she was signing a petition about Charing
Cross Hospital, it is claimed.

The allegations come amid a surge in people applying for postal votes
in some marginal wards in the Labour-run borough. The
Conservatives claim there have been huge increases in postal vote
registration on several estates where Labour is strong.

Figures compiled by the Tories show postal vote registrations in Town

ward, which has three Conservative councillors, rose from 1,268
before last year’s general election to 2,005 this month. More
specifically, in the Town ward “C” polling district which runs from
Fulham Road towards Putney Bridge, the number jumped from 307 in
March 2017 to 758 this month.

Conservatives say that on four estates in this district there have been
big rises in postal vote registrations to 50 per cent of the electorate in
Pulton Place, 42 per cent in Fulham Court, and 35 per cent on Barclay
Close and Lancaster Court.

Greg Hands, Tory MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “Some people
were signed up by the Labour Party and are telling us that they had
not knowingly requested one [a postal vote] and do not want one.” The
Conservatives referred their concerns to the police.
The London Labour Party rejected accusations of wrongdoing against
its campaign teams. A spokesman said: “This is a completely baseless
allegation and a desperate, politically-motivated attempt by a Tory MP
to use the police to grab a headline during a closely-fought election
campaign.”

A council spokesman said: “There are currently no concerns about the

validity of any votes in Hammersmith and Fulham.” Scotland Yard has
been contacted for comment.

Photo news:
Hands welcomes local school groups to
Westminster

Greg Hands MP Meeting school groups from Cameron House

School, Kensington Prep School and St John’s Walham Green CE
Primary School.

Conservatives win well in Kensington &
Chelsea, but lose seats in Hammersmith &
Fulham

The London Council elections took place on Thursday, 3 May.

The results were announced the following day and in the Royal
Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, the Conservative Party defied
predictions made by Jeremy Corbyn and others, and saw only one
seat lost, of their 36 councillors. The Chelsea wards saw a clean
sweep by the Conservatives.

Jeremy Corbyn visited Kensington & Chelsea many times before and
during the campaign, and Labour Momentum was very present on the
ground, including on election day.

Commenting on the Kensington & Chelsea results, Greg Hands MP

said: “I am relieved that the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
remains Conservative, with residents voting for a safer, greener, more
prosperous borough, despite the worst predictions of Corbyn and his
comrades. The Conservatives – under Council Leader Elizabeth
Campbell and Association Chairman Andrew Foster – fought a great
campaign and defied the rash predictions of Jeremy Corbyn and
others that K&C would go Labour. I look forward to working with the
new Council.”

In Hammersmith & Fulham, the Conservative Party returned 11

councillors – all in Fulham. Labour gained every seat in Hammersmith,
and also took the ward of Sands End from the Conservatives. The
Conservatives held Palace Riverside, Parsons Green & Walham,
Munster and Town Wards.

Commenting on the Hammersmith & Fulham election results, local

Member of Parliament, Greg Hands, said: “Of course, we are
disappointed that some of our long-term and hardworking colleagues
in Fulham were not returned, but our Conservative councillors will
continue their efforts in holding the Labour Council to account. We
need to re-establish the Conservative presence in Hammersmith, and
also retake Fulham Broadway and Sands End to enjoy once again the
kind of high-quality Conservative Council that residents enjoyed 2006-
2014 under Stephen Greenhalgh and Nick Botterill.”

Update on St Dionis Church “Living Space”

Project

Greg Hands MP being shown the St Dionis Church "Living

Space" proposals by Rev Tim Stilwell.

St Dionis, a Grade II listed church and thriving community at the heart

of Parsons Green, is updating its facilities as part of its “Living Space”
project.

The St Dionis community hopes that Living Space will help to open up
the Church as a community hub, with a more inviting and accessible
entrance facing the Green, and improved facilities within the building.

By updating its facilities, St Dionis will be able to offer a welcoming

space not just at its Sunday services, but also for toddler groups,
evening classes, school assemblies, and much more. Hospitality is at
the heart of St Dionis, and the Living Space project seeks to transform
the church’s ability to meet the needs of the local community.

St Dionis are hoping to deliver:

· more space within the church;
· the creation of a kitchen pod with a flexible room above;
· new state of the art kitchen facilities;
· and enhanced practicality and accessibly of the building.

Local MP for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, visited St Dionis last
year and, commenting on the proposals, said: “It’s great to hear that St
Dionis is looking to adapt itself to provide a more visible and
welcoming frontage on the Green, more modern and accessible
facilities – all while maintaining its distinctive character as a local
church.

“I wish St Dionis every luck in its Living Space project, and if you can
contribute to their fundraising to help them reach their target, I know
they and the wider Parsons Green community would be really grateful.”

You can find more details – including how to support and donate to St
Dionis’s “Living Space” project here.

Photo news:
Hands visits Breast Cancer Haven in
Fulham

Greg Hands MP visiting Breast Cancer Haven in Fulham.

Greg Hands visits Fulham businesses uTalk

and OneBillion
On Friday, 4 May, Greg Hands visited two local businesses, uTalk and
OneBillion.

uTalk was set up by two British entrepreneurs, Dick Howeson and

Andrew Ashe, with a mission to make language learning fun and
simple. uTalk’s new language learning program works on all platforms
all over the world. Their method uses verbal, visual, and fun exercises
to teach languages, and it stimulates both sides of the brain – the
visual memory (right side) and the verbal (left side) – at the same
time. uTalk encourages learning the world over through their
classroom teaching tool, chatterbox, and the UK’s only Junior
Language Challenge as well as supporting the charity onebllion.

Andrew Ashe moved on to establish onebillion, a non-profit

organisation, which develops educational apps with the bold vision of
enabling one billion children to become numerate and confident
readers in their own language. onebillion is among the five finalists –
from an original 198 teams – in Elon Musk’s XPrize competition, with
its prize of $15million. The XPrize competition is designed to challenge
teams from around the world to develop software solutions that will
teach children reading, writing, and arithmetic.

198 teams began in 2014, and now only five remain. onebillion are
progressing to the testing phase, taking place in Tanzania. Finalists’
learning solutions will be given to 6,000 children in field-trials
monitored by UNESCO and the UN World Food Programme. The
winning team’s prize money can be used to scale and employ their
technology across the globe.

onebillion’s submission to the Global Learning XPRIZE is “onecourse”

Swahili and English, a full course for children to learn reading and
numeracy, in their own language, with little or no adult support.

Commenting on the visit, local Member of Parliament, Greg Hands,

said: “It was great to visit uTalk again after several years and to see
them going from strength to strength, with a wealth of native language
speakers from across the globe working in their office on the New
Kings Road.

“It was also a pleasure to receive an update on the great work being
done by onebillion in their plan to teach one billion children across the
world to become numerate and literate in their native language. I
introduced them to the Government’s Department for International
Development a few years back, and I look forward to helping them in
their endeavours.”

Photo news:
Hands in Kenya

Greg Hands MP in Kenya last month, visiting U.K. business

Nodor’s factory outside Nairobi.

Greg Hands speaking in Kenya about the opportunities for British

businesses to invest in Kenya and provide jobs.

The Prime Minister outlines her Brexit

approach
The Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Prime Minister
The Sunday Times
Sunday 13th May 2018

Trust me, I’ll take back control — but I’ll need your help

Amid all the noisy debate and technical discussions about our
departure from the European Union, I want to take this opportunity to
remind the British public of my mission in the negotiations. Brexit
provides the opportunity to build a new relationship with the EU where
we are close trading partners and strong allies but with the British
government in control of our laws, our immigration policy and how
taxpayers’ money is spent.

It provides the opportunity to develop closer relationships with fast-

growing nations around the world. And in doing all this we will put the
values that make us so great as a nation at the forefront: openness,
tolerance, diversity and innovation.

You can trust me to deliver.

I will ensure that we take back control of our borders. The public want
their own government to decide on the number of people coming into
Britain from across the European Union and that is what we are going
to do.

I will ensure that we take back control of our money. We have agreed
a settlement with the European Union and the days of vast
contributions from taxpayers to the EU budget are coming to an end.
So Brexit means there will be billions of pounds that we used to send
to Brussels that we will now be able to spend on domestic priorities,
including our National Health Service.

I will ensure that we take back control of our laws. So Brexit means
that, while we may sometimes choose to take the same approach as
the EU, our laws will be made in Westminster, Cardiff, Edinburgh and
Belfast, with those laws tried by British judges.

We will leave the single market because staying in the single market
means continued free movement of people, but we will maintain the
strongest possible trading partnership with our European neighbours
and create new trade deals around the world ensuring that we seize
the opportunities to build an economy that works for everyone.

We will get a fairer deal for our farmers and fishermen by leaving the
common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy, regaining
control over access to our waters and safeguarding the interests of the
UK fishing industry.

We will take back control of our social policy and our tax policy so
rather than being decided in Brussels, we will decide them in the
interests of ordinary working people in Britain.

And we will leave the customs union so we can establish our own
independent trade policy and negotiate trade deals in our interests. I
have proposed different options for a new customs arrangement with
the EU and the government will continue to develop them during the
negotiations.

I have three clear tests for the outcomes that we want to see.

First, as a proud unionist and prime minister of the whole United

Kingdom I am clear that any deal with the EU must protect our
precious Union and also honour the agreements that were reached in
the historic Northern Irish peace process.

This means there can be no hard border between Northern Ireland

and Ireland, or between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. We
will uphold the Belfast agreement in full — and we will ensure the
constitutional and economic integrity of the whole United Kingdom.

Second, any agreements must create as little friction as possible for

trade to protect the jobs that rely on speedy and integrated supply
chains. These are a valued part of our economy, particularly for our
manufacturing regions.

And third, we must not constrain our ability to negotiate trade

agreements with other countries around the world by being bound into
a customs union as the Labour Party would have us. We must be a
global Britain that makes the most of the opportunity to create jobs
and growth by trading ambitiously with partners across the world, old
and new.

I have put forward a plan to negotiate all these outcomes and to leave
the European Union. Throughout this process I have tried to balance
the legitimate concerns of those on both sides of the debate and I
believe that our negotiating objectives answer those concerns.

The path I am setting out is the path to deliver the Brexit people voted
for. Of course, the details are incredibly complex and, as in any
negotiation, there will have to be compromises. But if we stick to the
task we will seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a
stronger, fairer Britain that is respected around the world and confident
and united at home.

I will need your help and support to get there. And in return, my pledge
to you is simple: I will not let you down.

Photo news:
Hands on the campaign trail

Greg Hands MP on the campaign trail in both Hammersmith &

Fulham and in Kensington & Chelsea in this month’s local
elections.

Hands in the papers:

Trade minister Greg Hands: UK using
Brexit to "spread the word" about
liberalising global trade in services
Catherine Neilan, City A.M.
Wednesday 25th April 2018

The UK is using Brexit as an

opportunity to push for the
global liberalisation of trade in
services, trade minister Greg Hands has said.

Speaking at a private event hosted by law firm DWF this morning,

Hands sought to reassure financial and legal firms on Brexit and the
government’s work to secure greater trade opportunities for the City.

The minister, who works under Liam Fox, said the team was making
"strong progress" towards rolling over existing agreements between
the EU and third countries. Already Norway and Canada have said
they are minded to do this.

Hands added that the government was "laying the groundwork" for
future deals, which can be negotiated and agreed once the UK enters
transition next March.

But on top of that, Hands said the government was using Brexit as an
opportunity to "spread the word worldwide" about liberalising trade in
services, which has "historically resisted liberalisation much more than
trade in goods".

"Trade policy post-Brexit will be about much more than individual trade
deals," he said. "It will also be about Britain becoming a voice for free
trade, at the World Trade Organisation and other international fora."

Hands added: "The IMF estimated that we were the world’s fifth
largest economy at the end of last year, and in today’s world, where
there’s so many forces in favour of protectionism, it is to everyone’s
benefit to have a nation of Britain’s stature making the case for free
trade."

Photo news:
Hands interviewed by SNA Cable News
Asia in Singapore

Being interviewed on CNA Cable News Asia channel in

Singapore, on being the only non-Asian Trade Minister at the
ASEAN Leadership Forum and prospects for U.K.- ASEAN Trade.

Trade ministers welcome £140 million

investment in Nigeria and Pakistan
New British business investment in Nigeria and Pakistan will boost
jobs and economic development in the Commonwealth's growing
market.

The new investments were announced as Pakistan and Nigeria joined

53 nations in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM), with the benefits of intra-Commonwealth trade
high on the agenda.

New investment

Global consumer brand Unilever will invest £86 million in new

manufacturing capacity at its 4 factories in Pakistan. Anglo-Dutch oil
giant Shell will also invest up to £13 million by 2020 in around 100
new fuelling stations along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC) route. This will allow trucks carrying goods between the
countries to refuel, driving increased trade.

Meanwhile Dorset-based renewable energy firm Low Energy Designs

Limited UK is launching ‘Light up Lagos’, a £38 million investment to
deliver 40,000 low energy LED streetlights in the Nigerian capital over
the next 4 years.

The lights will improve safety and help tackle pollution and crime in
Africa’s largest city, and create over 500 local jobs.

Trade Minister Greg Hands said: "As the Prime Minister has made
clear, the Commonwealth has a unique opportunity to boost its trade
links and drive prosperity and growth among its members. Pakistan
and Nigeria are prime examples of this, with their growing trade with
the UK and overseas investment powering economic growth.

"Unilever, Shell, and Low Energy Designs are showing what UK

companies can achieve in the Commonwealth’s growing market of 2.3
billion customers, and my department is ready to help."

Ministers commit to trade

UK Trade Minister Greg Hands met with Pakistan’s Minister of

Commerce, Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, and opened the London Stock
Exchange this morning with Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and
Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah.

It follows Hands’ visit to Pakistan in September last year where the UK

and Pakistan confirmed their ambition to increase bilateral trade. The
UK also confirmed its intention to maintain the preferential access
Pakistan receives to UK markets to support Pakistan’s economic
growth after the UK leaves the EU.

The UK is Pakistan’s biggest trade partner in the EU, with UK exports

up over 13% in 2016, and 2% of all Britons have their roots in the
country.

UK companies have already invested £5 billion in Nigeria, with

bilateral annual trade worth £3.4 billion and Nigerian companies worth
over £4.5 billion are already listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Photo news:
Conservative Councillors elect new Group
Leader in Hammersmith & Fulham

Welcoming Cllr Andrew Brown as the new Conservative

Councillors Group Leader in Hammersmith & Fulham.

Photo news:
Hands meets Trade Ministers from
Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia

Meeting Trade Ministers from Cambodia, Singapore and

Indonesia in Singapore last month during the ASEAN Leadership
Forum.

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
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