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There were so many fantastic events across Tooting to celebrate Black History Month, which is celebrated in October. It was great to see Wandsworth Council celebrate the contributions of black business owners, and other influential members of the blakc community make to our borough. Many of our local libraries were host to brilliant events where black authors could share their stories with the community. A series of videos published online celebrated the brilliant contributions to local creative industries. I know that many residents particularly enjoyed the pop up street food event celebrating some of the best cuisine from across Africa and the Caribbean. My personal highlight was attending the Roots and Culture event in Tooting, where dancers, musicians, poetry, comedy, and fantastic street food stalls showed some of the best of African and Caribbean culture. It was great to see how well attended all these events were, and great to see our community coming together to celebrate the cultures of the black communities here in Tooting. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped to organise these events!  I was deeply concerned to hear pupils at Graveney School in Tooting were being targeted in a recent spate of muggings. I have been in touch with local police leadership to insist on swift action to address this issue. I know that the police are actively working to identify and arrest those responsible.
Every child deserves to walk our streets without fear. I am therefore pleased to hear that the local police force are carrying out high visibility patrols and are carrying out regular weapon sweeps around the school. Police are also patrolling the area in unmarked cars to try and identify and arrest the suspects. Pupils at Graveney School have also received assemblies on how to keep safe and how to report a street crime. The local police have also liaised with local CCTV to ensure appropriate coverage. It is vital that all of these issues are reported to the police so they can bring these worrying incidents to an end as quickly as possible. Anyone who has been a victim of a street robbery in this area who is yet to report the incident to the police are advised to do so. Please be assured, I will continue to work with our local police team to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and I will continue to follow this case as a matter of urgency. There is a crisis in our universities up and down the country, with record numbers of students now seeking mental health support, according to our latest research. Through Freedom of Information requests, we found that over 200,000 students sought support for their mental health across the UK in 2020-2021 – a threefold increase, since 2010. The lack of mental health support for our young people is not only affecting their health, but it also having a knock-on impact on their future prospects.
Universities are struggling to cope with the rising demand for access to the mental health treatment students need. Every five days, a student takes their own life. That is why Labour has put forward a comprehensive plan, that will put prevention of the heart of mental health services. Under Labour’s plan, we will recruit 8,500 new mental health professionals by the end of our first term in office, to see an addition one million patients per year. See more about the crisis in mental health at universities, here: https://twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1579388728153604098?s=20&t=CcG6Wxm1iHr6xo0Cfsjyww Working with the MP for Bury South, we brought an Urgent Question to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care demanding a statement in response to BBC Panorama’s alarming reports of abuse, excessive restraint, segregation and seclusion at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich. The episode aired on BBC over two weeks ago yet there has not been a single statement or response from the Secretary of State.
Today in Parliament, I demanded that the Secretary of State provide patients, and their families, the much-needed answers they deserve into these alarming allegations. I also challenged the Secretary of State on this Government’s commitment to reducing the need for restraint and restrictive intervention as it had pledged to do in 2019. See my statement in Parliament here https://twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1580509847417917440?s=20&t=Gj2YhL3GB3Os4nSrRoGK7Q Parents arriving in A&E with ashen faces holding their children, whose bodies are skeletal and covered in cuts. Families are on suicide watch. Frontline NHS workers are at breaking point. This is the reality of Tory Britain in 2022.
Our latest research has shown that more than a million patients referred to mental health services were turned away over the last 12 months, whilst the cost of mental illness to the British economy is £117 billion a year. This is the direct result of 12 years of Conservative mismanagement of our economy and public services. We need a growing economy to pay for modern, preventative sustainable healthcare, but we can only do this with a Labour Government that will put our public services back on track. The next Labour Government will transform our mental health services: new staff, new services, faster treatment, and prevention as our watchword. Better mental health for all. Read my latest piece in the Daily Mirror here. https://twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1579113927438663681?s=20&t=FTZA6bYs6BUjLJ-vVYAmzg The Prime Minister has been forced to abandon her unfunded tax cut for the 1% of highest earners.
This Government U-turn is too late for the families who will pay higher mortgages for years to come. It will also do nothing to help or to reassure the people in Tooting and beyond. The Tories have destroyed their economic credibility and damaged trust in the British economy. Twelve years of Tory government have left the economy in chaos, and the new Prime Minister continues to make it up as she goes along. Today’s U-turn does not mark a move away from disastrous Tory economics, it’s just some districation. The Government needs to reverse their trickle down strategy. It just doesn’t work. Instead, they need to offer a programme of measures that will offer real support to those struggling with rises in food and energy bills, and increases in rent and mortgage payments. Too many people will struggle to pay their bills and put food on the table this winter, and the Government must step in now. |
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