Among my local pledges to residents at the 2019 election were three key things: better policing, a new health centre for our constituency and the economic development of the Thames Estuary.
We delivered several hundred extra police officers some time ago now, so my team and I have been focusing our energy on police bases and neighbourhood operations. With over 1400 signatures for our petition to keep Hornchurch Police Station open we are hopeful of success. If we get it, we are looking at next steps - reopening the counter there, and whether we can secure an extra base in Upminster to add to that in Harold Hill. We will keep everyone posted with how to help our campaigns.
We are also working with Home Office and local police on the problem of shoplifting, particularly in Harold Hill and met our local Superintendent recently to get updates on work to stop car theft and violence.
On health, I will soon visit the St George’s NHS Hub being built in Hornchurch, due to open in the spring. Renal services, frailty clinics, scans, blood tests and more will all be carried out there, closer to constituents. This frees up space in Queen’s Hospital and reduces the chances of long stays in hospital for elderly residents. I visited the team there last month to see how they will use this opportunity to improve patient care. I also talked to the Urgent Treatment Centre team, who have responded very positively to the complaints I shared from residents last year.
There has been good economic news too. We have met the Prime Minister’s target to halve inflation and can now start cutting the tax burden. We are passing emergency laws so people can get a cut in National Insurance in their January pay. This will deliver Londoners an average tax cut of £382 per year, while the triple lock in pensions and a boost to the National Living Wage will also be delivered. The Chancellor confirmed he will be extending free port tax reliefs - a big boost to the Thames Freeport that has been delivered since 2019, bringing jobs and new industries to Havering and surrounding boroughs. We want to make sure constituents benefit directly, so have secured investments in our local college and have been holding jobs fairs so that residents get the skills needed to fulfil the new opportunities coming soon.
