by Paul Scully | Sep 13, 2015 | News, News |
The photograph of Aylan Kurdi’s lifeless body on a beach in Turkey brought home to many people what has been happening in that region for many months. Some 10,000 children are estimated to have died in the Syrian civil war and the rampage of ISIS throughout Iraq and Syria has led to the deaths of many more. We need to make sure our response is balanced and effective. I told the Sutton Guardian earlier this week:
Pictures of the child lying dead on a Turkish beach are harrowing. We must keep reviewing the numbers of refugees that we bring to the UK but the solution lies in tackling the problem at source. Many children are being killed and orphaned away from the cameras in Syria. Working with our international partners for a lasting peace there, though not easy whilst Syria barely remains a single nation state, must remain the focus. The government is undertaking its biggest humanitarian initiative ever at a cost of £900m to help people fleeing for their lives. The UK has a proud record for helping refugees. Our approach needs to balance the need to support people in desperate need whilst not encouraging the pernicious work of human traffickers.
Since then the Prime Minister has confirmed that we will welcome 20,000 refugees taken from the camps around Syria and add another £100m to our aid efforts in the region. We have already taken in over 5,000 Syrian refugees since the conflict began (the 216 figure that is mentioned by those making political capital out of the crisis relates to a specific project, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme).
That won’t be enough for some people. It’ll be too many for others. However, as with the immigration debate in general, a balance has to be struck, making sure we fulfil our moral obligation as a caring country and the ability to absorb refugees into our communities. Germany is currently wrestling with issues and community tensions after its big offer to take in 800,000 refugees has been taken up by many thousands so far.
The UK is right to take another tack. Taking people directly from places in refuge in the region is important in order not to encourage them to make the dangerous journey to Europe. Creating a disparity between those left behind in squalor and dangerous surroundings and those who have the money to pay a human trafficker and who have survived the treacherous boat trip runs the very real risk of making the risk of crossing to Europe a risk worth taking in the minds of those in camps.
For the 20,000 that will come we need to be prepared. Our existing domestic resettlement mechanisms provide a basis for an increase in numbers as soon as possible, and the government is already working with existing partners to ensure they stand ready to receive the increased numbers. Over the coming months, government will work with local authorities, the UNHCR and others to put in place the full structures to ensure the successful delivery of the expansion the Prime Minister has announced. Large numbers of new and often vulnerable refugees will require a range of services, including health services, education and housing. The Home Secretary and the Communities Secretary, will now work intensively with local authorities and the devolved administrations to put in place the necessary arrangements to house and support the refugees that we resettle.
The UK’s international leadership also extends beyond funding and resettlement. Ensuring that aid agencies can reach those most in need is key. That is why we lobbied hard and successfully for the renewal of UN Security Council Resolution 2165 (now UNSCR 2191) authorising the UN to deliver aid across borders to people in need inside Syria without the consent of the Assad regime. This has allowed the UN to deliver aid to people previously cut off from support. It is important for the government to continue to explore every avenue for reaching those who are still not getting help as a result of the conflict and the appalling behaviour of ISIL and the Assad regime.
Parliament is likely to face a difficult decision in the next month or two. How far do we get involved in solving the problem at source to stop the conditions that are causing such a mass displacement of people – do we involve ourselves in bombing in Syria? There is a long way to go before we get to that point. In order to make a decision, I would need two questions answered. How badly are we being hampered by having an arbitrary line that we cannot cross, a line that is not respected by ISIL? And what will follow if and when ISIL are defeated? Our experience in Iraq and the region shows that we need to have a comprehensive plan for the peace as well as the war. Failing to do so creates just another vacuum for others to occupy, so dictators were topped by Al-Qaeda who were topped by ISIL as enemy no.1.
by Paul Scully | Jul 21, 2015 | News, News |
Yesterday I joined parents of children at Cheam Common Junior and Infant Schools at a meeting where it was confirmed that Cheam Common Junior would convert to an academy sponsored by Cheam Park Farm Junior School. There are still some details to work out before the Academy Order is issued but I hope that this is the start of a brighter future for the school.
Text of letter to parents from LEO Academy Trust (the name of the Multi Academy Trust led by Cheam Park Farm Junior School)
“Dear Parents
Staff and Governors at Cheam Park Farm Junior School were delighted to receive the news on Friday, that we had been approved by the Regional Schools Commissioner as the academy sponsor for Cheam Common Junior School. Both schools already have a close working relationship and we look forward to building on this partnership together. An Academy Order will now be issued by the Department for Education (DfE) and we await further information from the DfE Project Lead in September.
Due to prior work and holiday commitments, we are unfortunately unable to join you at your meeting this morning. We look forward to meeting you all in September and working with staff, governors, pupils and parents at Cheam Common Junior School.
As an academy, Cheam Common Junior will become part of the LEO Academy trust. LEO is a new Multi Academy Trust developed by Cheam Park Farm Junior Academy Trust. The past few years have been an exciting period of change for our education system in England. Schools are now empowered to support each other to improve both outcomes for their own pupils and to drive performance across the wider school system. At the LEO Academy Trust, we feel passionately that supporting other schools is the right thing to do. The practice that makes one academy in our Trust successful, and helps our pupils to achieve their potential, also helps to improve the chances of more pupils in other academies and schools. This is true of both academies in our Trust and those academies and schools beyond.
A key principle of the LEO Academy Trust is that each academy maintains their own character. For example, each LEO academy school is encouraged to develop a specialism which can be shared with others within and beyond the Trust. All academies will retain their own uniform and identity, which is usually well known and respected in their local communities. All of our academies are also led by strong Leadership Teams, supported and challenged by an effective Local Governing Body. Their work is entirely focused on the development of their own academy. We will share full details about the LEO Academy Trust with parents next term. In the meantime we wish you all a good holiday and look forward to meeting you all next term.
Yours sincerely
Mrs J Saddington, Chair of the LEO Academy Trust,
Mr P Hedger, Executive Headteacher, LEO Academy Trust”
by Paul Scully | Jun 29, 2015 | News, News |
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Cheam Park Farm Junior School where pupils shared with me three boxes of messages to pass onto the Prime Minister. They are supporting the Send My Friend to School campaign which seeks greater access to a free education for children around the world. 58 million children around the world are missing out on an education. We have a role to play for a number of reasons.
Firstly, as one of the world’s biggest economies with excellent educational opportunities we have a moral responsibility to help those less fortunate than us. However there are key benefits to this country. Allowing children to develop skills and the ability to take opportunities in their own country reduces the need to migrate elsewhere and retains that skilled labour which will help build that nation’s economy. This will also give us more avenues to trade with that country. One of the first things dictatorships do is to run down the education system which makes it far easier to subjugate the people. Eighty years ago, Burma had one of the best educated population in that region. This has been allowed to wither over time, denying young people a future and making them dependent on the state. Probably the best known example of seeking to deny an education is that in Pakistan when the Taliban shot Malala Yousafzai on her way to school.
The children in Cheam Park Farm were really inspired by the work that they had done on the project, realising the privilege that they enjoyed of a great start in life through school. I haven’t had a chance to present the boxes to the Prime Minister as you might imagine with the incredibly difficult news that is coming from a number of fronts but I did get a chance to raise their campaign in Parliament, speaking to the Leader of the House:
Paul Scully (Sutton and Cheam) (Con): At their school assembly yesterday, the pupils of Cheam Park Farm junior school gave me several messages in support of the Send my Friend to School campaign. May we have a debate to discuss how this Government can help in the objective of making free education available to more children around the world?
Chris Grayling: I commend the teachers at Cheam Park Farm junior school for their work in raising awareness and helping their pupils to raise their concerns.
My hon. Friend can look those pupils in the eye and say that this Government have an excellent record in providing financial support through our international aid budget to those parts of the world where young people do not have adequate access to education or, indeed, other basic needs in life, such as clean food and water. We are doing everything we can internationally to help the development of those communities, and those young people should feel proud to be part of a country that is doing its bit in the world.
I’m pleased that the Leader of the House recognised the teachers and pupils for their work in this area and I’ll continue to help push their message to those that need to hear.
by Paul Scully | Jun 18, 2015 | News, News |
The EU Referendum Bill cleared its committee stage today. A number of amendments including changing the voting age to 16 were defeated. Whatever your position on votes for 16 (I’m not in favour), it is not appropriate to rush consideration of this important issue just to fit in with a single vote. It’s far better to consider the matter separately and carefully. Sticking as close as possible to the existing General election register is the most appropriate format for this important constitutional vote.
However, in the days before Tuesday’s vote I had my first occasion to stop and think as to whether I would vote against the government. As the Bill is currently worded, purdah period just before the referendum would not be in place. Let me explain. In the lead up to General elections, the government does not publish any decisions, comments or figures which may be controversial or be seen to be helpful to one or more political parties. In Sutton, the publication of a decision to allow a building in Worcester Park to be used as a mosque was delayed until the week after the election. If that had come out before, it may have adversely affected the incumbent MP more than me. In the case of the referendum, having the machinery of government producing figures that would help David Cameron secure a vote to remain in the EU would rightly, not be seen as a free and fair referendum.
The government’s reasoning for suspending this rule is that the EU is so pervasive, stopping the government machinery for a month would be incredibly difficult. I understand that. However I would rather see some explicit wording that allows government to continue but heavily limited in what it can publish. I was pleased that the government listened to me and many of my colleagues. There is another stage, the Report Stage, which will come in September where a new amendment can be considered and the government has pledged to go away and come back with new wording. Therefore I was content to vote with the government in anticipation of that change.
This is one of those things that sounds a bit niche, but can be so important come the referendum, so it is better to get right now.
by Paul Scully | Jun 13, 2015 | News, News |
Home Group, the owners of Victoria House recently held a public consultation event for local residents to share their new proposals. For those who couldn’t make either drop-in session I have some photos of the exhibits to give people an idea of what they are planning.
The design splits the bulk into two buildings which allows sunlight into the back windows of the flats on the Church Hill Road side. The height gradually steps up to a maximum ten-storeys.
Speaking to residents, they seem to have three main areas of concern; the height, parking and the colour of the bricks used. Whether people like the height will be somewhat subjective. Some people will look at the family houses to the north and south and want this design to be closer to that skyline, others will not mind the bold design and prefer the fact that more homes will be available.
Victoria House is well served by buses, but a considerable distance from a railway station so is not necessarily as appealing as other developments for young commuters. Parking therefore, is going to need careful consideration. The brickwork was chosen to strike a balance between the colour of the buildings on each corner and a light colour that will weather well.
Home Group have promised to consider all feedback before finalising their design and presenting it to the council for planning. Please do let me know what you think. We all want this development to go ahead as soon as possible but it needs to be the right design for decades to come.
by Ranulph Murray | May 6, 2015 | News, News |
St Helier is the number one local issue raised on the doorstep by local residents. I’m pleased that Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health has issued the following statement. If elected, I want to ensure that the hospital remains safe but go further. The Hospital Trust needs breathing space to get its finances in order and to rebuild the morale of staff that must be at the end of their tether with the use of the hospital as a political football.
Dear Resident,
St Helier Hospital is Safe
You may have received correspondence from the Liberal Democrats making alarming claims about the future of St Helier Hospital. As a Surrey resident and MP, I know full well how important our local NHS services are. I therefore wanted to reiterate personally that any suggestion St Helier Hospital is set to close is completely unfounded.
In fact the Trust recently announced plans for a major investment in the services at the St Helier site over the next five years. Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has set out a programme to invest significantly in modernising its estates, improving its facilities and updating IT systems and equipment.
These plans have been completed and were considered by the Trust Board at its meeting on 27th March. The 2015-20 strategy makes clear that both Epsom and St Helier Hospitals will continue to provide consultant-led, 24/7 A&E, maternity and in-patient paediatric services. In addition, St Helier will provide specialist and emergency care, such as acute surgery, for the sickest patients. This means there will be significant investment in the hospital site over the next five years.
A future Conservative government will ensure these improvements are delivered so that local people can continue to enjoy an improvement in services. While Labour and the Lib Dems seeks to scaremonger and irresponsibly ‘weaponise’ the NHS for votes, we are offering a positive, secure future for our health service. Over the last 5 years we have increased the NHS budget by over £7 billion in real terms, funding 9,500 extra doctors and 7,000 extra nurses. We have also guaranteed to fund the additional £8 billion that the NHS says it needs over the next 5 years so that you and your family will get the care you need.
Yours faithfully,
Jeremy Hunt
Secretary of State for Health
