Chuka Umunna MP

Residents in Lambeth will have seen the Boundary Commission for England’s proposals published this week. Lambeth’s principal town centres are currently represented by the three of us. Under the proposals Lambeth will be carved up between six new parliamentary constituencies with a disregard for borough boundaries and historic districts.

The stated aim of the legislation which brought the Boundary Review into being was to even out the number of registered electors in each constituency, yet the review ignored the fact that areas like Lambeth contain a disproportionate number of people who are not on the register.

The truth is that the review was politically motivated and designed to advantage the Conservative Party as many independent commentators have made clear. The result is that just when our communities need more representation than ever, in this age of austerity and when our constituents are having to cope with too far too fast government cuts, we will see less representation in the future for one of the most deprived boroughs in the country.

We will be voting against these proposals when they are put before the House of Commons in late 2013 not because of any personal interest but because they are the wrong thing for this borough which we love so much.

We want to assure all of our constituents in Lambeth that we were elected to serve the people in each constituency for this parliament and that is what we will do right up until the next General Election regardless of what comes after.

Kate Hoey MP
Member of Parliament for Vauxhall

Chuka Umunna MP
Member of Parliament for Streatham

Chuka recently met with Bilal Ahmed, one of his young constituents who is raising money for victims of famine in East Africa. Bilal wrote to the Weir Link Centre to ask if there was anything they could do to help, so they organised the ‘Small Hands Can Do Big Things’ fundraising event and local children donated a pound each to attend in fancy dress. The money raised was sent to the Disasters Emergency Committee – if you would like to donate, please do so here.

Thank you to everyone who came along to Chuka’s coffee afternoon last week at the Weir Link Centre – it was great to see so many residents there and a range of interesting issues were raised, including constituents’ concerns about the Government’s proposed changes to the NHS, planning policy, and Government regulation of childminders.

Chuka will continue to hold regular events like this around the constituency, so watch this space!

This Friday, 29 July, Chuka will be hosting a coffee afternoon for constituents between 2pm and 4pm at the Weir Link Centre, 33 Weir Road, London SW12 0NU.

If you’d like to speak to Chuka about a national policy issue, a personal casework matter, or anything else, please feel free to stop by at some point during the afternoon for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. If you know anyone else in the area who might be interested, please pass the invitation along to them as well.

A social club for the over-50s is appealing for Co-operative members to vote for them in a national fundraising competition.

The Clapham Park Over-50s Social Club has been shortlisted for the £2,000 grant from the Co-op group and now needs to get enough votes to win the money they desperately need to fund them in this tough financial climate.

Thornton Labour councillors Ed Davie, Diana Morris and Lib Peck nominated the Clapham Park Over-50s Social Club for the £2,000 grant from the Co-op group after being concerned about the club’s future.

Cllr Davie said: “We regularly visit the club and it provides a vital opportunity for older residents, some of whom can get isolated, to socialise and get advice. They desperately need some money to be able to pay for their activities and transport for those less able to walk. I hope everyone goes to website and casts a vote for them.”

Club organiser Elspeth Anderson, who was recently given a Lambeth Civic Award for her work, said: “Some of our older residents can get very isolated and vulnerable and this weekly coffee morning and monthly lunch club really gives us all a place to go and socialise. Winning this money would provide a real life-line so please take the time to vote for us.”

A local investment project which was thrown into doubt by the Liberal Democrat-Conservative government has been given the all clear.

The project, set to deliver 120 new homes on the Clapham Park estate was put on ice last month, being included in a list of housing projects agreed under the previous government subject to review and possible cancellation.

Clapham Park was shortlisted to benefit from £9 million of funding for new homes under Labour as part of the Kickstart scheme and was visited by the then Housing Minister John Healey in January.

Following the new government’s announcement, Chuka wrote to Housing Minister Grant Shapps and tabled a series of Parliamentary Questions demanding answers from ministers on the funding.

Thankfully, this week the Homes and Communities Agency has announced that the project will now go ahead as originally planned.

A significant local home-building project which had been thrown into doubt by the Liberal Democrat – Conservative coalition government has been given the go ahead after pressure from local MP Chuka Umunna.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has written to housing association Clapham Park Homes to confirm that funding has now been approved for 120 new homes which had been agreed under the previous government.

Last month, the coalition published a list of housing projects under the Kickstart scheme which would face a review and possible cancellation.

Clapham Park was shortlisted to receive over £9 million of funding for new homes under the previous Labour administration, with its project having passed through due diligence processes.

After the new government’s announcement that the projects would be put on hold, Mr Umunna asked a series of parliamentary questions demanding answers from ministers on funding for the scheme and wrote to Housing Minister Grant Shapps to make representations.

Commenting, Mr Umunna said: “I am pleased that this essential home building project on the Clapham Park Estate will now go ahead and after the pressure exerted on the Conservative – Liberal Democrat government, it has decided to go ahead with the previous government’s commitments in this area.”

“I will continue to push the government on funding for housing in our local area, particularly money allocated under the last government to bring social housing up to an acceptable standard.”

Questions still remain on whether local arms-length management organisations Lambeth Living and United Residents Housing will be able to access Decent Homes funding, which the government is reviewing as part of its comprehensive spending review. Mr Umunna has also tabled parliamentary questions in this regard.

After weeks of uncertainty, the new Liberal Democrat – Conservative coalition government yesterday admitted that it would, as was feared, cut Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme. Building projects at two Streatham schools, La Retraite and Bishop Thomas Grant, will be stopped as a result. Meanwhile building work at Dunraven School is under review and may be cancelled as well.

Having spent the last two months pushing for the government to reveal its intentions in this area, Chuka asked Education Secretary Michael Gove in Parliament yesterday what the cuts would mean for Streatham schools. He criticised the government for refusing to disclose the full details of the BSF cut:

“We are in the absurd position of constantly having to ask the Secretary of State to read from his list. I know precisely which schools in my area have not reached financial close, but I do not know if they have got to the close of dialogue stage. Those three schools are La Retraite, Dunraven and Bishop Thomas Grant. Can he tell me from his list whether they will go ahead?”

Failing to clarify the situation, the Secretary of State gave the following reply:

“Dunraven school is a sample school, and therefore falls within the group of local authority schools that we will look at. Elm Court, a special school in his constituency, has already opened under BSF. I believe that two other schools have not reached financial close, and I will confirm that in my letter to him.”

Only in his letter to Chuka did Mr Gove confirm that building work at La Retraite and Bishop Thomas Grant would no longer go ahead. The cuts come after years of planning and preparation, will pull much needed investment out of the local economy in Streatham and represent a bitter blow to the children, parents and governors of the schools in question.

In this video, Chuka discusses the government’s New Deal for Communities programme and the difference it is making to the Clapham Park Estate.

Having been designated as one of the government’s New Deal for Communities (NDC) zones, Clapham Park has benefitted from £56 million of regeneration funding. The programme is focussed on neighbourhoods suffering from multiple social deprivation, taking a holistic approach by improving housing, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, improving transport links and opportunities in education and training.

The project is controlled by local residents, empowering the community to make choices on how to make the area a better place to live.

Residents have been provided with entry phones to reduce anti-social behaviour, the area has benefitted from a new bus route to Brixton and Balham and new and improved housing is currently being built.

Mentoring and skills training is also being provided to help people into work. Neighbourhood wardens have been introduced to improve safety and security for local residents.

In December 2009, it was announced that Clapham Park had been shortlisted for £9.5 million of additional funding through the government’s Kickstart Programme to support the building of new homes.

Commenting, Chuka said:

“I share residents impatience for the rebuild and renovation of homes in the area. But, unlike opposition parities, we have not sat back and moaned but worked hard to get more government investment into the area so these essential works can continue.

“Clapham Park Homes has got £27 million in extra money into the estate – to make sure that they can continue to fund their programme of refurbishment and rebuild. Locally Labour worked hard to convince the Housing Minister that CPH could turn this money into new homes without delay.

“We will share residents’ delight when, in a few weeks’ time they are able to move into the new building on Clarence Crescent and the refurbished Picton and Rigg Houses in Clapham Park West.

“I am clear that Clapham Park Homes still has more to do to improve the service to tenants and leaseholders. That is why myself and local Labour councillors meet regularly with the CPH Chief Executive, to voice our concern over some of the service standards and to raise individual problems that people have brought to us.

“It is also why we continue to support the many community initiatives that have developed since 2001 such as the Over 50′s club and the youth work done by Clapham Park Project (CPP).”

Weir Estate Residents Association (WERA) recently interviewed Chuka – to read the Q&A, follow this link.

WERA is one of many tenants’ and residents’ associations across the Streatham constituency: democratically elected organisations which play an important role in representing tenants and residents and ensuring the needs and concerns of local people are met.