TAN DHESI MP

NEWS FROM YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

SLOUGH FEBRUARY 2019
To get an insight into all my activity, please link up via social media:
TanDhesi @TanDhesi tan_dhesi_mp TanDhesi Tan Dhesi MP tsdhesi.com

Brexit
After months of refusing to take a
chaotic No Deal off the table,
Theresa May must now face reality:
No Deal is not an option.
But Labour’s alternative plan is –
and if she fails to negotiate her deal,
our plan must be on the table.
A customs union would allow us to
have a clear, close and collaborative
relationship with our European neighbours. We must establish this to
protect industries and jobs.
I will not be voting for the Government’s half-baked, botched deal. If our
sensible customs union approach is not accepted and there is gridlock in
Parliament, then the only solution is for the Prime Minister to try and get
her deal ratified by the British people.

Flammable
Cladding
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower
fire, many councils (including Slough
Borough Council) ensured that high
rise buildings upheld safety and
security standards.
In doing this essential work the
Government promised to reimburse
already stretched local authorities.
I asked Kit Malthouse MP, Minister
of State for Housing and Planning,
when Slough Borough Council will receive the promised reimbursement for
remedial cladding works that have taken place.

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Holocaust
Memorial day
I signed the Holocaust Educational
Trust Book of Commitment, hon-
ouring those who were murdered
during the Holocaust and paying
tribute to the extraordinary survi-
vors on Holocaust Memorial Day.
We must never forget this crime
against humanity, genocide and
ethnic cleansing on a colossal scale
and continue to educate future
generations.
Western Rail Link
It was great to have National Infra-
structure Commission Chair Sir
John Armitt address our very well
attended Western Rail Link to
Heathrow APPG.
Lots of cross-party support, the Lo-
cal Enterprise Partnership, Network
Rail, Slough Borough Council and
other speakers explained why this
project is long overdue and so im-
portant.

School Visit
It was great to welcome Year 5 and
6 students from St Anthony's Cath-
olic Primary School into Parliament
last week and answer their excel-
lent questions. I hope they enjoyed
their tour and visit to Westminster.

I co-signed a letter with over 150

MPs to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, asking for increased fund-
ing in the Spending Review for Fur-
ther Education.
We cannot let FE colleges' re-
sources continue to deplete and
allow education for over-16s to be
underfunded.
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APPG on Hate
Crime
Great to support the brilliant work
of the APPG on Hate Crime, led by
Paula Sherriff MP.
They recently launched a new re-
port on community cohesion sup-
ported by Tracy Brabin MP, Liz
Saville Roberts MP, Iman Atta with
Tell Mama UK and many others.
These crimes inflict huge amounts of pain on not only individuals but commu-
nities as a whole - we must fight to end all forms of hate crimes.

Free TV Licences
Millions of households face losing
their free TV licences by 2020. After
promising to protect it in their man-
ifesto, the Government’s policy
could cut or means test all over 75s’
free TV licences.
With 4/10 older people citing the
television as their main source of
company, we need to save free TV
licences to ensure that loneliness
and social isolation are not exacer-
bated by this cut to the most vul-
nerable.

The Labour Party in Slough is a for-

midable campaigning machine,
with one of the highest voter con-
tact rates of anywhere in the coun-
try thanks to the hard work put in
by our councillors and volunteers.
I will be continuing to campaign in
the run-up to the local elections,
and I hope to see a “clean-sweep”
for Labour in May.
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Kidney Cancer
According to Kidney Cancer UK's
research, almost half of kidney can-
cer patients were initially misdiag-
nosed and 47% were diagnosed at
stage 3 or later, leaving many not
getting the care that they need.
I pledged as part of Kidney Cancer
Awareness Week to help raise
awareness of this disease and help
improve the lives of patients across
the country.
It was an honour to attend and
speak at the 71st Independence
Day of Sri Lanka at Masjid Al-
Jannah, organised by the Council of
Sri Lankan Muslim Organisations
UK and attended by brilliant local
representatives.
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Slough Youth
Parliament
Over 8,000 young people were in-
volved in the Slough Youth Parlia-
ment elections, choosing 40 new
representatives for Slough.
Huge congratulations to all those
who took part - it's fantastic to see
so many brilliant young people en-
gaged with politics and local de-
mocracy.
HeartUnions
I was pleased to support the TUC’s
#HeartUnions campaign. Trade Un-
ions are vital in our society to pro-
tect hard working people.
MIND
People with a mental health condi-
tion are four times more likely to
report that poor housing has made
their health worse. Thanks to Mind
for launching their 'Brick by Brick'
campaign to support those in social
housing with mental health prob-
lems.
We cannot neglect vulnerable peo-
ple and worsen their circumstances
with a housing system that is not
equipped to support them.

UN World Inter-
faith Harmony
Recently I attended the United Na-
tions World Interfaith Harmony
event in Parliament to discuss com-
munity cohesion and the values so
many of us share across religions
and beliefs.
It's so important to remember that
we do have more in common than
that which divides us.

Centre for Cities

Report
A recent Centre for Cities study re-
vealed that Slough suffered the
deepest cuts from austerity
measures in the South East.
I asked the Secretary of State for
Housing, Communities and Local
Government why these cuts have
disproportionately impacted areas
most affected by childhood obesity,
poverty and homelessness.
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Fuel Poverty Seniores Club
I recently attended the Business, It was wonderful to visit Slough and
Energy and Industrial Strategy Eton School recently to meet the
Committee and asked Energy UK, Seniores (a club for Year 11 pupils
Citizens Advice, National Energy who are thinking about their fu-
Action and the Energy Saving Trust ture), to discuss politics and being
about ways to tackle fuel poverty in an MP.
rural areas.
It is clear that the unique problems
these homes face require very
different solutions and attention is
needed to ensure rural communi-
ties are not left behind.

Keep Britain Tidy

Happy to support the work of Keep
Britain Tidy by encouraging every-
one to look after our environment
and help contribute to the Great
British Spring Clean.

Leasehold Mis-
selling Scandal
The Housing, Communities and Lo-
cal Government Select Committee
has continued to investigate the
leasehold mis-selling scandal, in
which leaseholders are trapped in
unsellable properties due to dou-
bling ground rent clauses in their
agreements.
I pushed for the Minister to inter- Sri Lankan files
vene with legislation, which she re-
fused to do, and my remarks were The Foreign Office has been de-
featured in the national press: stroying files concerning Sri Lanka
in the 1970s/80s as they consider
“The situation many leaseholders them "ephemeral" — an issue that I
are faced with is shocking and the have raised in Parliamentary ques-
minister's response was wholly in- tions. We need to ensure accounta-
adequate, to put it mildly.” bility is upheld during this process.
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Nursery Funding
I was delighted to be able to pre-
sent petitions with over 1,600 sig-
natures from Cippenham Nursery
School, Lea Nursery School, Baylis
Court Nursery School, Chalvey Early
Years Centre and Slough Centre
Nursery School on funding main-
tained nursery schools.
It is vital that these services are
supported.

Children’s Services
Local authorities are becoming in-
creasingly reliant on private and
third sectors to care for looked af-
ter children.
After addressing this in the HCLG
Select Committee, experts from
across the field explained their con-
cerns.
We need to ensure that quality of
care is put ahead of private compa-
nies profits from children's services.

Avoiding ‘No
Deal’ Brexit
Very powerful arguments by repre-
sentatives of businesses and un-
ions, including the TUC’s Frances
O’Grady, as to why a ‘No Deal’ Brex-
it would be catastrophic for our
economy.
Glad I could attend to hear first-
hand their views at this excellent
meeting, ably organised by Dame
Caroline Spelman MP and Jack
Dromey MP.

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Temporary Accommodation Crisis
I spoke in Parliament about the
79,000 families, including 120,000
children, being housed in tempo-
rary accommodation by councils
across the UK. The consequences of
ideological cuts to local government
are real and life-changing for peo-
ple across Slough and the country.

Ways to get in touch

Phone 01753 518 161 (Slough)
020 7219 1946 (Parliament)
Email tan.dhesi.mp@parliament.uk
Web www.tsdhesi.com
Post Tan Dhesi MP, 52 Chalvey High Street, Slough, SL1 2SQ
Visit Office: Mon-Fri 10am-4pm
Tan Dhesi @TanDhesi tan_dhesi_mp
TanDhesi Tan Dhesi MP

Advice sessions
I held five advice sessions this
month across Slough, and my team
and I met dozens of constituents
seeking help on a wide range of
matters. If anyone you know needs
help with their issues, please ask
them to get in touch:
1st Friday of each month (2.30pm - 3.30pm) at the Britwell Centre, Wentworth
Avenue Parade, Britwell, SL2 2DP
1st Friday of each month (4.30pm - 6.30pm) at 52 Chalvey High Street, SL1 2SQ
1st Sunday of each month (11.15am - 12.15pm) at Manor Park Community
Centre, Villiers Road, Manor Park, SL2 1NP
3rd Friday of each month (2.30pm - 3.30pm) at Langley Library, Trelawney
Avenue, Langley, SL3 7UF
3rd Friday of each month (4.30pm - 6.30pm) at Slough Advice Centre, 27
Church Street, SL1 1PL
There are no advice sessions in August or on Bank Holiday weekends.
Promoted and printed by Christine Hulme of Slough Labour Party, on behalf of Tan Dhesi MP, both at 52 Chalvey High Street, Slough, SL1 2SQ.
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