by Paul Scully | Apr 12, 2018 | News |
A deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates and slash the amount of waste polluting our land and seas will be introduced subject to consultation later this year.
UK consumers go through an estimated 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year, but more than three billion are incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute our streets, countryside and marine environment.
The consultation will look at the details of how such a scheme would work, alongside other measures to increase recycling rates. We hope to talk to the devolved administrations about the scope for working together on this important issue.
Similar schemes already operate in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Germany. A deposit return scheme sees consumers pay an up-front deposit when they buy a drink, ranging from 8p in Sweden to 22p in Germany, which is redeemed on return of the empty drink container. Possible variants of a deposit return scheme include cash rewards for returning drinks containers without an upfront deposit.
This is often done through a network of ‘reverse vending machines’, where you insert your plastic or glass bottle or can and the machine returns your money. Once a bottle is returned, businesses are then responsible for making sure they are effectively recycled – a move that has led to a 97% recycling rate in Germany.
This announcement is the latest move in the government crackdown on plastic, following the plastic microbead ban hailed as one of the world’s strongest bans and the 5p plastic bag charge – which has led to 9 billion fewer bags distributed. It also follows the recent call for evidence by HM Treasury on taxes and charges to reduce waste from single-use plastics, so that all relevant findings can be fed into the proposals.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: “We can be in no doubt that plastic is wreaking havoc on our marine environment – killing dolphins, choking turtles and degrading our most precious habitats. It is absolutely vital we act now to tackle this threat and curb the millions of plastic bottles a day that go unrecycled.
“We have already banned harmful microbeads and cut plastic bag use, and now we want to take action on plastic bottles to help clean up our oceans.”
The amount of waste polluting our land and seas remains a great source of frustration for residents all over Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park. It’s one of the biggest issues that’s raised with me when residents get in touch.
We are working to leave our planet in a better state for the next generation, with cleaner air, greener spaces, stronger protections for animal welfare and tougher action on plastic waste.
by Paul Scully | Apr 11, 2018 | News |
I am supporting the Rail Delivery Group’s initiative, on behalf of Britain’s train companies, to raise awareness about a travel discount card that helps lower the cost of finding work.
The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card is available to eligible people in England, Wales and Scotland who have been out of work for 12 weeks or longer. It offers jobseekers a 50% discount on train fares as they travel to interviews, to the Jobcentre or to and from training, for up to three months at a time.
Nationally, between March 2017 and March 2018, 518,822 discounted journeys were made by jobseekers, with 2270 jobseekers having taken advantage of the discount card’s benefits in Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park.
It is great to see the train companies and Jobcentre Plus working together to give jobseekers a helping hand. The cost of travel can sometimes be a barrier to getting to interviews and training, however it is initiatives like these that are making the difference in getting people into work. I will continue to support the Rail Delivery Group in raising awareness for this scheme.
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Getting more people into work is part of our long‐term plan to change and improve. The partnership railway is committed to spreading economic prosperity across the country. Over half a million discounted journeys were made in the last year but we want to make sure that everyone who is eligible to discounted journeys, in all parts of the country, know about the discounts available.”
To apply for a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card you will need to visit your local Jobcentre Plus office.
by Paul Scully | Apr 10, 2018 | News |
Spire St Anthony’s hospital celebrated the official opening of the Marie Therese ward following a £1 million refurbishment. I was delighted to be invited to cut the ribbon in the presence of former patient, Clare Park and orthopaedic consultant Mr Phillip Mitchell.
I am always please to see investments being made into healthcare facilities here, so it is wonderful to be able to officially open the recently refurbished ward, to meet the patients and see the artwork created by Clare.
Clare is a former professional ballet dancer turned award winning fine art photographer. Her work has been widely exhibited in permanent collections at the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A Royal Photographic Society Collection. The picture chosen by the team for the ward, typifies the characteristics of Clare’s work, her strong personal style and the focus on movement.
Clare underwent two hip replacements at Spire St Anthony’s Hospital in 2017 under the care of consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Mr Phillip Mitchell. Despite being only 60 years old, Clare had already endured many years of intense pain and was told she needed new hips back in 2003. She delayed surgery and coped with the pain for many years by trying to ‘exercise out of it’, whilst caring for her mother and then her father. It was only when her father died that she decided it was time to address the problem.
Clare explains: “I was in an enormous amount of pain and I couldn’t walk, sleep or even eat properly. When my late father died I decided it was time to put it off no longer. I was at my lowest state of mind and body and knew I had no choice but to grit my teeth and seek help.
“I was recommended to see Mr Mitchell by my GP and from the first consultation at St Anthony’s I was able to put my trust fully into his skilful hands. When you enter the hospital it delivers an extremely friendly, organised and encouraging sense of purpose. As an anxious patient Mr Mitchell’s calm manner and his anaesthetist Dr Kidd’s positivity, immediately put me at ease. The wonderful nursing care got me through it emotionally and physically. It was still quite traumatic for me, but I felt loved and supported throughout my treatment and recovery. There were at least 20 people in total looking after me and I’d like to thank each and every one of them. All the nurses were just incredible, so patient and so expert.
“The operations were a huge success and my life has been transformed by the exceptional skill, commitment and kindness of everyone working in this hospital.”
Bryan Harty, Hospital Director at Spire St Anthony’s, is very pleased with the refurbishment, which includes one of Clare’s photographs: “This project is one of many going on at the hospital, but this refurbishment was undertaken following consideration of patient feedback about the hospital environment.
“The ward is named after Mere Marie Therese who founded the Daughters of the Cross back in the 1800s. We pride ourselves on the quality of the nursing care and dedication the team provides at this hospital and we will always strive to maintain the tradition St Anthony’s is renowned for.
“We have just invested £2.7 million in a new MRI scanner and more investment is planned as this hospital increasingly attracts the best surgeons and addresses the needs of patients who travel to us from the local area and right across the UK”.
by Paul Scully | Apr 9, 2018 | News |
SES Water is currently having a public consultation about its Draft Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP).
The WRMP is about preparing for the future.
SES Water said: “Our latest plan looks 60 years ahead and addresses important issues such as projected population growth in the area, the impacts of climate change and how we continue to protect and enhance our local environment.
“We receive less rainfall than many other parts of the country and our supply area is classified as being in serious water stress. To address this, and make our service more resilient for the future, our plan focuses heavily on reducing demand for water over the coming years.
“Our customers use more water than in any other part of the country, around 150 litres per person per day. Some of our neighbouring companies have seen this fall to around 130 litres by installing more water meters and helping customers by providing wide-ranging water efficiency advice and retrofits. We believe that we can do the same – potentially going further by using smart meters. At the same time, we plan to reduce leakage levels further, so less water is wasted and is available to supply our customers.”
You can view the plans and have your say here.
by Paul Scully | Apr 8, 2018 | News |
8,000 people across Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park are now saving towards their retirement, new figures show, as a result of the Government’s auto enrolment scheme.
Employers must enrol staff aged 22 and over who earn more than £10,000 into a pension.
Figures from the Pensions Regulator show 1,290 businesses in the constituency have enrolled in the scheme since it started in 2012, meaning 8,000 workers are benefiting.
Local businesses are showing how committed they are to helping their employees save for a future and I am delighted to see so many businesses on board. I want to thank business owners for supporting the Government’s drive to change the way people save and plan for their future.
Nationally as of January, more than 1.032 million employers were signed up with 9.3 million employees registered in the scheme.
Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey said: “Saving at a young age for pensions is vital and that is why I believe the automatic enrolment will change the way future generations think. It will become the norm for people to put away money for later in life.
“We have made great success with this scheme but I know we need to go further and that is why we are going to lower the age for automatic enrolment to 18 which will benefit another 900,000 people across the country.
“Government is committed to helping save for the future.”
The Department for Work and Pensions is also exploring solutions with experts for self employed people who have different income and saving needs.
For more information, visit the Pensions Regulator website here.
by Paul Scully | Apr 7, 2018 | News |
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) are operating a new rail timetable from May 2018 following a public consultation.
GTR, who operate Southern and Thameslink rail services that go through Sutton, have been consulting on a new rail timetable that will begin to come into operation from May 2018.
There is some good news for Sutton in the new timetable, including the introduction of a new Sunday service to Belmont station. There will be a train every 30 minutes to Belmont station on Sundays under these new proposals.
This is all part of GTR’s RailPlan20/20 campaign to improve its services, which have been very poor for Sutton commuters in recent years. You can read more about the plans and see how your regular commute will be affected here. More details can also be found in a letter from GTR here and a presentation they have compiled here.
Whilst I am pleased to changes being implemented to improve the service, commuters will undoubtedly be wary of getting too optimistic given poor rail service they have endured in recent years. There has been some noticeable small improvements since the strikes, but I still believe that when the franchise is up for renewal, the Southern rail network in particular, which covers over 20% of the entire UK’s rail network, should be broken up. The contract is too big and unwieldy, so I would like to see this change.
In the meantime, I continue to push for short to medium term improvements, such as infrastructure improvements from Network Rail, which I hope when combined with new rolling stock and the changes already being made will result in a better rail service than commuters are currently used to.
