Two weeks ago, my team and I organised another successful Apprenticeships & Skills Fair at Hornchurch’s Queen’s Theatre to celebrate National Apprenticeships Week, in partnership with the Romford Jobcentre. It was an incredibly uplifting event as we love being able to match local people with all the great opportunities that we know are out there.
I was glad to see students from Sacred Heart and Hall Mead Schools in attendance, several of whom have already been offered work experience. But apprenticeships are not just for school leavers and can be a great way to retrain when in work or to get back into employment after time out raising children. These kinds of events are also helping to drive down our local claimant count - figures released this week show that the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits in my Hornchurch & Upminster constituency has fallen by 315 over the past twelve months.
I am continuing to work with Cllr Keith Prince as our GLA representative, along with residents and MPs across outer London, to oppose the Mayor of London’s plan to extend his ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ), charging certain vehicles £12.50 a day to drive in and around Havering and other boroughs. I am particularly concerned that once the Mayor has the charging infrastructure in place, he will look to change the goal posts and charge different types of vehicles over time, as with the Congestion Charge.
Most recently, we have been building a coalition of Home Counties councils who are also vigorously opposing the ULEZ expansion. There is a lot of concern that workers in the police, health and other services who drive into London for work will be heavily penalised for doing so, and I am pleased to say that Essex County Council has confirmed that they will not permit ULEZ infrastructure on county land following our calls for them to join Kent and Surrey.
Finally, I am grateful to the hundreds of residents who have so far backed my petition with the Hornchurch & Upminster Conservative Association to stop the sale of Hornchurch Police Station by Mayor Khan. The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, is currently conducting a Neighbourhood Policing Review that will look at whether station sell-offs should be stopped. We think a clear show of public support will help make the case to him for Hornchurch.
