I recently volunteered with Hornchurch charity, Tapestry, to highlight their new food delivery service for vulnerable and elderly people in Havering. Delivering fish and chips to residents across the constituency, I wanted to draw attention to Tapestry’s work to reduce isolation and get hot meals to those who may be seeing less of people over winter because of the pandemic.  

Tapestry stepped up its volunteering programme over the Christmas period, trying to identify and contact those not currently known to them who might be at risk of mental and physical deterioration, including those leaving hospital or families who might be affected by the financial impact of covid. Volunteering for Tapestry is really simple and straightforward - if you have a car and a spare hour or more, it is a great way to contribute to the collective, community effort to get us through this difficult time. I encourage anyone who wants to help their immediate community to sign up and get involved by emailing [email protected] or telephoning 01708 796600. 

 I also caught up with our Borough Police Commander, Stephen Clayman, to discuss residents’ concerns regarding crime and to get an update on policing within Havering, particularly in relation to the Ardleigh Green campus of Havering College. Stephen was confident that targeted measures in and around the campus to deal with violence and anti-social behaviour will have an impact but we shall be keeping an eye on any. Work is underway with Essex Police, via Operation Gambler, to tackle vehicle thefts and I know this is delivering results. With local police recruitment increasing, I was pleased to hear that the first intake of Met Police apprentices will be joining our BCU in January. Finally, I had raised concerns regarding domestic abuse, missing persons, and the abuse faced by shop workers in Havering and am pleased that work is ongoing in all of these areas. 

I was pleased that following discussions with Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, the Government has agreed a package of financial support to Transport for London (TfL) for the final phase of Crossrail, allowing work to continue at pace. I have weekly to fortnightly calls with our local hospital trust to understand the local picture in managing the pandemic, and that has included keeping up to date with testing and vaccine rollout efforts. 

Finally, last month I hosted my first Virtual Apprenticeships Fair showcasing exciting opportunities within the Department for Work and Pensions. Apprenticeships are not just for young people seeking work but are for anyone who is seeking to retrain and enter a new career-path, regardless of their age. I have posted updates on my website and urge anyone who is interested in these schemes to please take a look. This was the second in my online jobs events and my team will be carrying out further events to highlight opportunities as we go into this year.