by Paul Scully | Apr 6, 2016 | News |
Recently I went along to the Sutton Tamil School’s 9th Annual Cultural Program at Wallington High School for Girls.
I was treated to some incredible performances by children who attended the school. They played traditional instruments, sang, and others delivered some very remarkable speeches.
I also made a speech, in which I spoke about the positive contribution that the Tamil community are making in Sutton, and the rest of the UK, both culturally and economically. In addition, I spoke about how the next generation are performing particularly well academically and will become leaders of their communities in the future. I wrapped up my visit by handing out awards to some of the children who I met that afternoon.
I want to thank the Sutton Tamil School for inviting me along to this event and I look forward to seeing more of the Tamil community in the future.
by Paul Scully | Apr 5, 2016 | News |
I recently hosted an event in Parliament for Pancreatic Cancer UK (PCUK) where I was delighted to speak along with their Chief Executive, Alex Ford, Lynne Walker, PCUK Trustee and pancreatic cancer survivor, and Jane Ellison MP, Public Health Minister.
Alex spoke about PCUK’s work on the Patient Charter, how the Charter will empower patients to challenge poor care, and PCUK’s Gold Standards Campaign, aimed at defining a gold standard of care for pancreatic cancer patients and making that standard a reality for all patients. Lynne spoke about the Charter from a patient perspective, discussing her own experience of pancreatic cancer care. Jane Ellison finished up the evening by speaking about the importance of improving patient care and action being taken to improve care standards for pancreatic cancer patients.
I was a privilege to host this event for PCUK, having had my own experiences with pancreatic cancer through a friend who had suffered with the disease. I am proud to support their patient charter, and I wish them every success in improving patient care for pancreatic cancer patients. I will of course support them wherever I can.
by Paul Scully | Apr 4, 2016 | News |
Recently I had the pleasure of visiting the Sutton Stroke Association during one of their ‘Swim Meets’ at Westcroft Leisure Centre.
The Stroke Association is a leading UK charity for people who have suffered a stroke. They have been leading research to better understand what causes a stroke, how to prevent them and how to treat them. They have also led the way in the ‘Act FAST’ campaign, which has raised public awareness on the signs that someone may be having a stroke and what to do if they see it happening.
The Stroke Association also offers support services for people who have had a stroke, and I went along to a meeting of the Sutton branch at one of their regular ‘Swm Meets’, where members take part in water exercises. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and discussing how the Stroke Association had helped them and their families.
If you or a family member have been affected by a stroke and want more information on support available, click here to find out more.
I want to thank the Sutton Stroke Association for inviting me, and for all the excellent work they are doing helping stroke survivors in Sutton.
by Paul Scully | Apr 1, 2016 | News |
Recently I sat down with regional directors of Lloyds Bank about the planned closure of the branch in Cheam Village.
I presented them with a petition to stop the closure, which was organised by Conservative Councillor for Cheam, Holly Ramsey, and local resident, Jacquie.
It was a productive discussion, which gave me the opportunity to pass on residents’ more specific concerns about the closure, and was also good for me to hear more about their work in the local community. They have taken the petition away to consider and I will be writing to everyone who signed the petition to feed back once I have some more information.
In the meantime I want to thank Councillor Ramsey and Jacquie for their efforts in organising this petition, and to Lloyds Bank for agreeing to sit down and speak with me.
by Paul Scully | Mar 31, 2016 | News |
I recently went to visit Sutton Community Farm with the Conservative Candidate for Mayor of London, Zac Goldsmith, and our local Conservative London Assembly Member, Steve O’Connell.
Sutton Community Farm is a community-owned farm. They started in 2010 with the purpose to increase access to fresh, healthy, sustainable food and provide a shared space for people to cultivate skills, get exercise and make friends. The farm has a small number of staff with a large network of volunteers, and is also inviting members of the public to become shareholders in the farm.
It was an excellent opportunity to find out more about their work and how they have grown in recent years. We heard about the work they do in the local community to promote healthy living, and how their ‘VegBox’ delivery scheme is taking off. Myself, Steve and Zac even tried our hand at pruning spinach.
It was also an opportunity for us to present a local volunteer, Jackie, with a community award for all the hard work she has put into the farm since it has been set up. It was a privilege to get to see the work that they do and I hope I get the chance to visit again soon.
You can find out more about the good work that they do here, and I hope more of you take the time to visit.
by Paul Scully | Mar 24, 2016 | News |
Last week I was pleased to meet with the new Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) for Sutton, Iman Samad and the Deputy MYP for Sutton, Harry Hamilton, to discuss their priorities now they have been elected.
A large part of our discussions focused on the UK Youth Parliament’s (UKYP) campaign to reduce racism and religious discrimination in our communities. Over 95,000 young people voted to make tackling racism and religious discrimination, particularly against Muslims and Jews, a priority issue and MYPs voted to make this their national campaign. UKYP will aim to challenge negative attitudes around race and religion, work with others to educate their communities and promote integration.
I was disappointed by the figures that there was a 15% increase in race related hate crime and a 43% increase in religion related hate crime last year in England and Wales. This kind of intolerance has no place in a modern civilised society. I do believe that this rise is partly fuelled by fear, particularly of terrorism. The atrocities that we’ve seen committed by terrorist groups such as Daesh in Iraq and Syria, who use religion as a justifying tool, have shocked the country. This week’s terrible event in Brussels brings the matter closer to home. However, part of their campaign of terror is to spread that fear and suspicion, so that people feel alienated in society and are driven to radicalisation. We must not give into that fear, but stand strong and united in the face of terrorism.
This is why I think Iman and Harry’s campaign to promote racial and religious tolerance in Sutton is such a good one. Sutton is a low crime Borough and a tolerant one, but there is always more we can do to promote better understanding and integration between different groups.
We also spoke a lot about the planned closure of many of Sutton’s youth services by the Liberal Democrat run council. A majority of councillors voted to scale back youth services in Sutton to the extent that the council now only provides what they are statutorily obliged to. There were concerns raised that the views and opinions of young people had not been properly listened to during the consultation period, and what the potential negative impact would be on groups such as the Sutton LGBT Youth Forum, which used to meet at the Sutton Youth Centre. The council could have managed its finances better. For example, if they weren’t pouring money into the financial black hole, which is the Sutton Life Centre that runs at a six-figure deficit each year, they would not have to scale back these services. I want to pay tribute to the Conservative councillors on Sutton Council who fought to keep these services open, but especially to Iman, Harry and the former MYP for Sutton, Ethan Smith, for their tireless efforts on this campaign. These cuts means that Iman will be the last Member of the Youth Parliament here in Sutton, breaking a record of many years of engaging young people in politics, volunteering and democracy.
I was very impressed with Iman and Harry’s enthusiasm and professionalism. I look forward to working with them over the coming year to help young people in Sutton and to promote their positive campaigns.
