To celebrate Apprenticeship Week, my team and I have just hosted another packed Jobs, Apprenticeships and Skills Fair at Hornchurch’s Queen’s Theatre. The event matched amazing local employers, educators and businesses with residents looking for new work opportunities. Thanks, as ever, to the fantastic team at Romford Job Centre for helping us.
Recorder readers will recall that before Christmas police launched a Home Office pilot - Clear, Hold, Build - in Harold Hill to crack down on the shoplifting and antisocial behaviour that has been blighting the lives of decent people. Targeted activity by police and close work with a superb group of local shopkeepers in the Farnham Road area is making an impact, with one of the most prolific offenders already given a custodial sentence. I joined the team on the ground earlier this month and will be writing to the Chief Executives of major high street retailers to help us with this vital project.
I have had some wonderful visits recently to local schools, including Hilldene Primary and Sanders Draper, after being invited to talk about my role as an MP and Minister. I was struck by the level of interest in politics from children of all ages and am looking to pilot a new debating competition in parliament to engage kids in our democracy.
In recent weeks, we have received great news from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where I am Minister, with more funding for grassroots sports in our constituency to get kids active. Upminster Park Rovers Junior Football Club and Elite Colts Football Club are receiving new goal posts and new floodlights are coming for Hornchurch Football Club. This builds on massive investment announced already. Since May 2023, Havering has received £390,000 to improve tennis courts, £316,809 to support Central Park and the Sapphire Leisure Centre, and £20,676 via an earlier funding round benefiting both Harold Hill Football Club and Tigers Junior Football Club.
Finally, if you have served in our Armed Forces, you can now apply on gov.uk for a Veteran ID card thanks to the efforts of Veterans Minister, Johnny Mercer MP, with whom I worked on the scheme when I was in Cabinet Office. The idea is to make it much easier for our veterans to get specialist support, discounts and a veterans rail card so that we better acknowledge as a society the incredible service and sacrifice of our military personnel.
