by Paul Scully | Oct 13, 2016 | News |
The Department for Transport has announced that rail passengers will soon be able to claim fares back on journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more.
The current ‘Delay Repay’ scheme only applies to journeys delayed by 30 minutes or more. The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, today announced that rail passengers will soon be able to claim compensation if their train is more than 15 minutes late under an improved compensation scheme.
‘Delay Repay 15’ will be introduced within months on Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) services, including Southern and Thameslink, and then rolled out across the country. Passengers will be able to claim 25% of the cost of the single fare for delays between 15 and 29 minutes. The existing compensation thresholds will apply for delays from 30 minutes with passengers able to apply for compensation through the train operating company.
The existing Delay Repay thresholds are as follows:
- 50% of the single fare for delays of 30 to 59 minutes
- 100% of the single fare for delays of 60 minutes or more
- 100% of the return fare for delays of 2 hours or more
As well as Delay Repay, the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act on 1 October strengthened the right of passengers to claim compensation for poor service.
We still have a long way to go to improving local rail services, including getting to grips with the dispute between Southern and the RMT Union, investing in infrastructure and preparing for Transport for London (TfL) to eventually take over the running of the line. Nevertheless, I welcome this positive step and encourage my constituents to take advantage of the scheme once it is rolled out.
by Paul Scully | Sep 29, 2016 | News |
Lib Dem-run Sutton Council are consulting on a new Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) emissions-based scheme that will see motorists punished once again by a Council that appears to be at war with cars.
Planning permission gets granted for developments with more flats than parking spaces, parking restrictions prevent people getting around, and the congestion in places like Carshalton ponds, Sutton High Street and Central Road, Worcester Park, are a constant nightmare. Now the Council wants to make it even harder for car owners.
The Council are consulting on a proposal to bring emissions-based parking charges to Sutton. Here, residents in Cheam, Belmont, St Helier and Wallington could pollute as much as they wanted to. Similarly anyone in a controlled parking zone with off-street parking would not be affected. Amazingly, as the controlled hours are during the day, anyone who drives their car to work every day would be free to do so with no penalty as they would not need a permit.
The only ones who would have to pay would be people whose cars were parked up, not emitting a single cough of CO2. A back of the envelope calculation showed that only 3.5% of cars in Sutton would have to pay this cost on the back of everyone’s pollution.
I take reducing emissions seriously, especially as Sutton is a London Borough, but this scheme will punish motorists and not address the problem at all. The scheme is a result of muddled thinking, which will cost many local residents dearly without having the desired effect of reducing emissions. The last thing residents need is an anti-car cash-cow labelled as an environmental initiative.
Residents are rightly furious about these plans and our Councillors are opposing them on the Council. But Conservative councillors need your help to stop this going ahead. You can make your views known by visiting the Sutton Council website, and responding to their consultation here.
by Paul Scully | Sep 28, 2016 | News |
On Monday I went to visit the Institute of Cancer Research, London Cancer Hub based in Sutton.
I went to discuss their plans for the London Cancer Hub and the development of their new research strategy.
The ICR recently unveiled plans for the London Cancer Hub, a world leading life-sciences campus specialising in cancer research, treatment, education and enterprise. The initiative, based in Sutton, will potentially create more than 13,000 jobs and will deliver at least two extra cancer drugs every five years.
I met with Chief Executive, Professor Paul Workman, to discuss the opportunities and challenges they face as they look to grow and expand their presence in Sutton.
I also went on a tour of the labs to check out some of the cutting edge research they are undertaking on the site.
The plans the ICR have for world leading facility based here in Sutton are very exciting indeed. It would make it the largest employer in the Borough by far and put Sutton on the map as the home of cutting edge cancer research.
I look forward to supporting them in their future endeavours and seeing how they continue to contribute positively not only to Sutton, but to the fight against cancer worldwide.
by Paul Scully | Sep 27, 2016 | News |
Last Friday I hosted my Disability Confident Fair at the Thomas Wall Centre in Sutton in partnership with Sutton Job Centre Plus and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Through Disability Confident, DWP are working with employers to:
- challenge attitudes towards disability;
- increase understanding of disability;
- remove barriers to disabled people and those with long term health conditions in employment;
- ensure that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfill their potential and realise their aspirations.
The event brought together local charities, support groups and disability confident employers to showcase what they do and how they support disabled people in training and employment. Amongst the stallholders were the Sutton Job Centre Plus, Sutton Uplift, Sutton Mental Health Foundation, Orchard Hill College, Natwest, Embracing Mental Health, Ingeus, Sutton College, Sutton and District Training, Remploy and Sutton Mencap.
I invited local business owners and managers to come down and speak with the stallholders to find out more about how they could become a disability confident employer. The stallholders shared their experiences in employing disabled people and what support they could offer local businesses in doing so.
After speaking with everybody I encouraged the business owners and managers to sign a pledge to take steps to becoming a disability confident employer, and I am pleased that we got so many signed up, including from Sainsburys, Sutton Council, HSBC, Santander, Tinies Childcare and Sutton Housing Partnership.
I want to say a big thank you to all the stallholders for coming along to pass on their knowledge, and to everyone who came to learn more and sign the pledge to become a disability confident employer. I want to especially thank Janine and everyone at the Sutton Job Centre who helped me set up this event.
If you want to find out more about becoming a disability confident employer, please do get in touch.
You can see a gallery of photos from the event below.
by Paul Scully | Sep 26, 2016 | News |
Recently I attended a Patient Information Session hosted by the Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) at the Sutton Life Centre.
NHS Sutton CCG and Sutton GP Practices are working in partnership to bring together local NHS services, social services and voluntary groups and organisations at health information sessions across the borough to improve the health and well-being of Sutton residents.
Participants have the opportunity to speak with local professionals from health, social care and voluntary organisations who support older people, people living with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and parents of young children.
The event I went along to focused specifically on COPD. This is the name used to describe a number of conditions including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Whilst I was there, I had the privilege of meeting with local support organisations that assist people living with COPD. One of the organisations I met with was the Sutton Carers Centre. Sutton Carers Centre supports unpaid Carers who live or work in the London Borough of Sutton. They provide advice, information and emotional support, help with benefit forms/accessing funds, counselling, breaks e.g. complementary therapies, support groups, and much more.
I also met with Sutton Shopmobility, which is a charity set up to loan wheelchairs, scooters and mobility equipment to people with mobility problems, and with the Respiratory Service at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
I want to thank the Sutton CCG for inviting me to this event to learn more about how these patient information sessions work, and what they can offer patients. To find out more about what they do, or to attend one in the future, you can get more information on their website here.
Thank you also to the Sutton Carers Centre, Sutton Shopmobility and the Respiratory Service at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust for the work they do in the local community, and for talking to me about their service.
by Paul Scully | Sep 25, 2016 | News |
Recently I visited the C
heam Village branch of the William Hill betting shop to discuss the gambling industry and responsible gambling.
It is well known that the number of betting shops on our high streets are on the rise, and I am particularly concerned about fixed odds betting machines (FOBTs). I used this opportunity to see how they operated and to discuss my concerns with the shop manager, regional director and public affairs officer.
The Cheam branch manager also told me that the Cheam branch has mainly regular customers with traditional racing bets making up the majority of their business.
They were also kind enough to let me put a charity bet on. I put £25 on Leicester to beat Chelsea, but despite going 2-0 up, they lost. So now I’m reliant on Laura Trott to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year to pay out £175 for my chosen charity.
I want to thank the staff at William Hill for having me and talking to me about responsible gambling.
