Weekly newsletter: £3.5 million roads boost for Harlow

In Harlow
​I was horrified to learn about the vandalism which has taken place on the Berecroft estate in Harlow and I have launched an appeal - started with £100 from myself - to help the residents’ association raise the £3,000 needed to get the youth club back on its feet.

I will be visiting the estate again next week and intend to raise the issue in Parliament. Vandalism such as this must not be swept under the carpet, The thugs behind the damage must be caught and asked to pay for repairs. 

You can read more about the vandalism here.

News that Harlow’s roads are to benefit from a £3.5 investment is great news for local people and will be a great boost for the town as it prepares to attract thousands of new jobs as a new Enterprise Zone. You can read more about this issue here.

I had a meeting with the Care Quality Commission and a local resident whose family relative had a bad experience at a care home. I have worked with her to get her case a fair hearing, to make sure that genuine improvements are made.

On Monday I visited the Education Youth Services in Perry Road, Harlow, and later in the day welcomed a party from William Martin School for a tour of the House of Commons.

On Wednesday I attended a meeting at Osler House Surgery in Harlow.

I was delighted to be able to welcome Immigration Minister Damian Green Harlow on Thursday. (See a photo above.) I had invited the Minister to come and speak to local people, including faith leaders and Harlow College students, as immigration has been a topic often raised by people when I meet them on the doorsteps, or in emails that they send me.

As the Harlow Star has reported, the Minister explained all the good work the current Government is doing to control immigration levels and ensure that the country gets the best that it can from the people who come into this country.

On Friday I visited Science Alive at the Harlow Leisurezone and the technology day at Pitney Bowes in Harlow.

In Parliament
This week saw the launch of my search for a third apprentice to work with me in my House of Commons office. As readers will know I am a staunch supporter of apprentices and apprenticeships and was the first MP to employ an apprentice in Westminster. 

My next apprentice will be my third.

I was able to speak in the House on Tuesday during a debate on Assisted Dying. The Commons overwhelmingly supported an Amendment to the main Motion (which I had seconded). This put the emphasis on palliative care, and rejected any moves towards implementation of the guidelines set by the Department for Public Prosecution.

This means that assisted dying will NOT be supported by the law. You can read more about this issue here.

The issue of donations to political parties has been in the news this week and during a parliamentary debate I raised the point of whether members of the previous Labour government should publish details of all their dinners, breakfasts and meetings with donors over the past 15 years. What do you think? Will they agree to this?

This week also, I had the opportunity to speak in a debate about the NHS Reforms and highlighted the fact that the NHS reorganisation will abolish the strategic health authority in the eastern region, which will save £46 million a year—money that will be spent on front-line services in Harlow and elsewhere.

Finally, there was also good news for the villagers in and around Nazeing and Roydon after Planning Minister confirmed, in response to my question, that people living in those areas will NO LONGER have to carry an unshared burden regarding the number of traveller sites provided. The new planning regulations mean that local people will have a genuine say over planning decisions. You can read more about this issue here.

If you would like to come to the House of Commons on a tour, please call my office on 020 7219 7223.

You can also keep up-to-date with my news and views by visiting my new-look website - www.roberthalfon.com