Home Secretary visits Berecroft Estate in Harlow - some pictures of yesterday's visit

Home Secretary meets Tony, welder who rebuilt vandalised Berecroft Shelter free of  charge

Rob and Theresa May walking around Berecroft

Harlow Conservative Council Leader, Andrew Johnson meets Home Secretary in Berecroft

Home Secretary, Rob and Cheema at Berecroft Community area which was vandalised a few weeks ago and is being rebuilt 

Rob, Cheema and Theresa May in Berecroft Office

Rob, Home Secretary in Berecroft Office with local residents

Home secretary Theresa May with Staple Tye Caseworker and Council Candidate Stevie Souter in Berecroft Community area

by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.

Home Secretary Theresa May praises community spirit during visit to Harlow’s Berecroft estate

Home Secretary Theresa May praised the community spirit on the Berecroft estate in Harlow after going on a tour of the area which has been targeted by vandals.

I accompanied the Home Secretary and members of the estate’s residents association as she saw the youth shelter which had been vandalised, but which has been repaired thanks to the efforts of local people, including Tony Perry, who saw an article about the vandalism in the Harlow Star and offered his welding services to help repair the damage.

The Home Secretary later had tea with residents’ association members, including vice-chairman Zulgar Cheema, and spoke to local people – representatives from South Anglia housing association, local councillors, and police community support officers Nigel Day and Karen Rogers.

During a question and answer session residents’ questions covered various issues but it was the community spirit being shown on the estate, which has seen several arson incidents and vandalism in recent years, that shone through.

The Home Secretary said: “I wanted to come down and see a real example of how the community has come together for the benefit of the local community.

“What is so disappointing and depressing is when you see something has been vandalised, something that has been put together for the benefit of others, but it is great to see how the community is coming back together again with volunteers like Tony (Perry) coming down to do the welding and the support of the business community and the housing association coming together to make sure the facility can be maintained for the future.”
Berecroft represents the very best of community spirit in Harlow. Despite having gone through some tough times the community has rallied and come together.

I was very pleased to help launch the appeal to pay for the repairs to the damaged shelter and also work with local businesses like Pitney Bowes to get it rebuilt.

Sorting Out Labours Immigration Chaos

Today I asked the Home Secretary about the last Labour Governments involvement in the suspension of border checks.

Please read my question and the Home Secretary's response below.

Robert Halfon (Harlow): "Can my Hon. Friend Confirm that the suspension of border checks had nothing to do with budget cuts. In fact begun under the last Government when budgets where actualy rising, and our immigration system was in shambles?"


Theresa May (Home Secretary): "My Hon. Friend is absolutely correct. That indeed the suspension of checks did start under the last Government. At least as I have indicated in response to another Hon. Friend earlier, this is a Government which now has a proper immigration policy and is intending to control immigration. What we also need to do is ensure that UK Border Force is the law enforcement agency, with control at our borders that we all want it to."




by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.

We need to protect pensioners from Gordon Brown's plans to cut benefits

It is very worrying that some 3,000 people in Harlow and the surrounding villages could lose their disability benefits. I am strongly opposing Gordon Brown's plans to scrap disability benefits for the elderly in Harlow.

The small print of Labour's plans to create a National Care Service reveals they will scrap Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for pensioners to pay for it.

An average £3,400 a year will be snatched away from 2.4 million pensioners - equivalent to a quarter of the average pensioner's income. In the Harlow constituency, which includes Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon and Sheering, this would affect 3,000 pensioners – 2.030 who receive Attendance Allowance, worth an average of £60 a week, and 970 who receive Disability Living Allowance, worth an average of £75 a week.

Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are based on need; they are not means tested and are intended to cover the extra costs arising from the impact the disability has on the life of the disabled person. The key feature of these benefits is that they can be spent by disabled people how they wish, without restrictions, to best support their individual care needs.

I find it astonishing that Gordon Brown has chosen to penalise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society for the sake of another of his eye-catching announcements.

As with every Labour initiative, someone has to pay and, as with many of them, it is once again those who are least able to afford it who are hit by Brown.

These benefits provide vital support for disabled pensioners, giving them the chance to lead an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs.

Of course, we need to do more to help people with their care costs, but it is completely wrong to do so at the expense of disabled pensioners. Conservatives will protect Harlow's pensioners and fight against Gordon Brown's plan to scrap benefits for the disabled.

Given what is planned, I am glad that last Thursday Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May and Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley launched the Conservatives' campaign to Protect Britain's Pensioners against the Labour's Government's proposals to integrate Attendance Allowance (which is only paid to the over-65s) and Disability Living Allowance for the over 65s into a future social care system.

The Conservatives want to do more to help people with their care costs, but we strongly believe that it is wrong to do this at the expense of disabled pensioners.

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