Blog Archives - Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP

NHS Campaign Day

26/11/2016

I joined a fantastic group of volunteers to campaign outside of Tooting Broadway Station for our NHS.

It was great to see so many campaigners out with us and have the opportunity to speak to so many Tooting residents about why we care for the NHS and how, we as the Labour Party, want to see our NHS working.

Thank you to everyone who came along or stopped to speak to us.

'Take One' Apprenticeship

25/11/2016

Today, in partnership with South thames College I launched a new apprenticeship scheme for local small businesses.

During my election campaign I promised to champion local businesses and promote apprenticeships. Today I am delivering on that promise and will continue to work with South Thames College to see successful apprenticeships set up.

BACTA Community Awards

24/11/2016

It was an honour to be on the judging panel for the BACTA Awards 2016. A large cup of tea and a biscuit (or 2) were definitely needed in order to get through the long list of inspiring nominations.

Deciding on winners was a real challenge. It proved to me something which I already knew; residents of Tooting are truly amazing.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to BACTA for putting on the event and thank you to everybody who makes Tooting what it is today.

Youth Violence

24/11/2016

I want to ensure that all young people in Tooting are getting the best start in life possible.

To do this I met with a group of young men to discuss what can be done in Tooting, and further afield, to empoweryoung people to create opportunities.

There was a great discussion and I plan to move forward with this work.

Autumn Statement 2016

23/11/2016

Today the Chancellor announced his Autumn Statement.

After speaking with constituents I questioned the Chancellor on affordable housing.

Wandsworth Council have authorised over 10,000 new homes in the borough, of which 13% are deemed affordable. However, the cheapest house is a studio flat priced at £400,000.

This is not affordable. I therefore asked the Chancellor 'what is an affordable home?'

His response: there is a consenus that we need to make all homes affordable, but to do this challenges around land supply need to be resolved. A housing white paper will be brought forward by the Communities Minister shortly.

I am confident that this does not answer the question I asked. I will continue to fight for affordable housing for residents of Tooting.

Debate on NHS Funding

22/11/2016

Why does St George's Hospital NHS Trsut have a deficit of £50 million? The answer is lack of funding.

We should not be leaving our hospitals with the bare minimum. We cannot take risks with our healthcare system. But at the moment that is exactly what the Government are doing.

Today I stood up and spoke in a debate on cut to NHS funding. Lives are being risked.
It is not the fault of our Docotrs, nurses, allied health professionals or hostpital support staff. It is the fault of the Government underfunding and underprioritising our NHS.

I said that I would stand up for the NHS, today was another day in which I did just that.

APPG on Pancreatic Cancer

21/11/2016

Today I attended the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pancreatic Cancer event to show my support for Pancreatic Awareness Month.

As a Doctor I have seen too many individuals suffer from the disease and their families suffer. Pancreatic Cancer UK are doing some fantastic work and I was honoured to be able to support them.

Visit to Barclays

17/11/2016

It was a pleasure to meet with staff from Barclays today to learn more about how they are protecting Tooting customers from fraud.

They also told me what they are currently doing and are looking to do in the community - I am excited to see this work going forward.

Social Care Cuts

16/11/2016

Today, I spoke out against the cuts to social care funding. I find it unacceptable that the Government can cut this funding and expect hospitals to have all the resources they need to make up the shortfall in care.

Cuts to social care funding risks lives and strips people of their dignity. This is not how we should be treating older residents around the country.

I have regular meetings with Senior Management at St George's Hospital to discuss funding cuts and how they are dealing with the extra pressures with less resources.

Nursery Schools Funding

14/11/2016

Under the Government's new schools funding formula, schools are set to lose a high proportion of their funding and will force some to close within the next two years.

Nursery Schools look like they could be most severely hit; for this reason I asked the Education Minister and Secretary of State for Education to meet with me and Nursery Schools in both Tooting and in Wandsworth to discuss what is being done to support these schools.