by Paul Scully | Dec 20, 2016 | News |
As part of the Metropolitan Police’s #walkthemet campaign, I recently joined PCSO Steven Higgins on the beat in Worcester Park.
MPs and London Assembly Members from all over London have been asked to go out with a local police officer on the beat. It was a good opportunity to get a better understanding of the work done by local police teams in Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park. I also had the chance to speak to a number of residents and hear their views on policing and other matters.
Following on from my question to the Home Office Minister about the unusual, but no less worrying, number of attacks involving knives in Sutton recently, and my speech on police safety during a debate in parliament, this opportunity enabled me to discuss these matters further and see what our officers are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work done by all police officers in Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park, and across the whole of London, and thank them for their dedicated public service.
by Paul Scully | Dec 15, 2016 | News |
I had the pleasure of visiting the former Grace Court site on Brighton Road, now Dillon Court, which is currently being redeveloped to bring it up to standards.
Originally the site was a scheme of 28 homes for older persons, built in the 1960’s which was not up to modern day living standards. Following consultation with the residents, surrounding neighbours and interested parties, CCHA took the decision to redevelop the site to create 50 new homes for older persons, 39 of which will be for social rental and 11 for shared ownership.
I met Oliver Graham, a Board Member at CCHA, Tracy Cullen, the Chief Executive of CCHA, Maggie McCann, Development Director at Orbit Homes and Shina Olaleken, Deputy Head of Development at Orbit.
The project is due for completion in February 2018.
by Paul Scully | Dec 13, 2016 | News |
I have profound sympathies for all commuters during these strikes. Today has been chaos. It is the first time in ages that I was pleased to make the journey to Westminster in only an hour and a half, getting a lift to Morden and heading up the Northern Line. As I hope all my constituents would have seen from my newspaper that went out last week, I, along with with 50+ other MPs who represent constituencies with stations serviced by Southern, have been calling for these strikes to be called off and talks to resume. This is no time for MPs to be abandoning this cross-party effort for political gain. We need to work together on this to put an end to this commuter misery.
Southern and the unions need to remember the commuters they represent rather than point-scoring. I am deeply disappointed that the unions are refusing to come to talks even without any preconditions. This is all about who presses a button to close the doors. Driver only operated trains operate on over a third of the rail network already, all trains that go through Sutton are driver-only operated and Thameslink drivers are at work today, represented by the same union, and they are driving driver-only operated trains. This makes this strike look vindictive rather than about a credible safety concern.
This is my top priority at the moment. I am getting regular updates from the government, with another due this afternoon, who have also invited all parties back to the table, and I continue to call for these strikes to be call off.
I will say it again – all parties need to remember the commuters they serve. People are losing or quitting their jobs because of how appalling the train service is – this cannot be allowed to continue. The strike and wider industrial action needs to end now so we can go back to tackling the underlying issues that have dogged this network for years.
by Paul Scully | Dec 13, 2016 | News |
I attended the RNIB’s (Royal National Institute of Blind People) parliamentary reception to support their call for eye clinics to improve their management of people’s appointments.
Eye clinics that cancel appointments put their patients at risk of irreversible sight loss, because many treatments for sight-threatening conditions require frequent follow-up appointments.
RNIB is campaigning for patients to be seen by eye clinics in the time advised by their consultant, and for patients to keep their appointments.
I will work with RNIB to ensure people in Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park receive their treatment on time.
Sally Harvey, RNIB’s Acting Chief Executive, said: “Patients must be seen by their eye clinic within an appropriate time for their condition. No-one should lose their sight needlessly because their eye clinic was too busy to treat them on time.
“Patients can also help themselves by attending their eye clinic appointment and not miss or cancel them. Doing so puts their sight at risk, prevents other patients being given timely appointments, and costs the NHS money.”
by Paul Scully | Dec 12, 2016 | News |
Research by leading safety charity, Electrical Safety First, found that 1 in 6 consumers in the UK have bought a fake electrical item as a Christmas gift – and most of us are unable to identify a genuine electrical product from a fake.
I am helping the charity raise awareness of the dangers of counterfeits in the Christmas shopping period when high street and digital retailers offer a range of special offers and discounts.
Christmas is always expensive and we are all keen to get a bargain, but Electrical Safety First’s research makes it clear that shoppers must beware of fakes – particularly via the web. The Charity found that 3 out of 5 fake electricals are purchased online, with a third of buyers experiencing major problems with the item. And with almost half of all domestic fires in UK homes caused by electricity, this is a risk you don’t want to take.
Electrical Safety First also found that it’s not always easy for people to spot a counterfeit product. Three quarters of UK consumers were unable to identify Genuine GHD hair straighteners and 3 in 5 could not spot a fake Apple charger – and with the rise of online shopping, it can be even more difficult. One in 5 online shoppers admitted they didn’t consider the authenticity of the product, with over half simply presuming that the electrical items for sale online were genuine.
And, of course, some people are deliberately buying fake products. One in 6 of those surveyed said they would consider buying a product – even if they suspected it was fake – if it was cheaper than the original.
Fake goods are often cheaper because they omit key components which can affect both the safety and functionality of the product. To make sure you buy ‘the genuine article’, Electrical Safety First has developed advice to help people spot a fake electrical product. Visit their website here to find out more. I’m urging all my constituents to check this before they do their Christmas shopping.
