Sandwiched Between Ministers
Cllr Jo Biddolph put the concerns of traders in Chiswick to influential politicians
Minister for Housing, the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick with Jo Biddolph
There is no such thing as a typical day, or week, in the life of a councillor. Time might be moving along nicely with us keeping on top of residents’ requests for help and the ever increasing flow-in of emails, dashing off to Hounslow House for committee meetings or discussions with officers, meeting residents to unravel the detail of the most complex issues, and wandering round our wards spotting then reporting graffiti, dumped waste, fly-tipping, damaged pavements and potholes (usually while having a moment for some normalities of life such as shopping for food) and bumping into residents and having a chat. Then along comes a curved ball, or a special event, and our directions switch.
In my case, looking at the most recent fortnight, I realised my councillor life has been sandwiched between ministers and talking to them about the state of Chiswick’s retail economy.
Putting the Chiswick Shops Task Force retail manifesto in the hands of ministers
As Conservative councillors we are obliged to join the Conservative Councillors’ Association (CCA) which provides training, guidance and support to all Tory councillors. This is the second time I’ve attended its annual conference – a one and a half day event, this year in Leicestershire – with excellent presentations, workshops and briefings, a generous drinks reception and dinner, and a large amount of networking that doesn’t only take place in the bar. Throughout, we have direct access to ministers and the chance to ask questions, face-to-face and one-to-one, about national, regional and borough issues.
Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for housing, communities and local government, was first to step on to the podium and noted that there has been a nine per cent fall in rough sleeping nationwide (though it might not seem like that to us in Chiswick) and spoke of the government’s commitment to all but eradicate homelessness including through its flexible homelessness support grant and the homelessness reduction grant for local authorities. Hounslow has been allocated £1,723,056 and £800,787 respectively – a total of £2,523,843 for 2020-2021. (For comparison, Newham: nearly £11m. Enfield: over £8m. Haringey: over £7m. Brent, Birmingham, Croydon, Westminster: over £6m each; Ealing, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest: over £5m each. Hackney: over £4m. Hammersmith and Fulham: over £3m. Richmond upon Thames: a little over £1m. See the full list here
He faced questions about funding special educational needs provision and adult social care, two of the most significant issues facing all councils. On social care and deprivation, his department is currently tackling problems in systems.
During the ministerial Q&A that followed, also with the minister for housing Christopher Pincher MP and parliamentary under secretary of state for housing and homelessness Luke Hall MP, Robert Jenrick said that, before Brexit took over, the big issue for his department was the state of our high streets and that tackling business rates is absolutely critical.
Cue my chance to talk to him about Chiswick’s retail economy, and the Chiswick Shops Task Force retail manifesto. His first comment was about the £51,000 rateable value (RV) threshold, a fixed level which defines a small business nationwide. Outside London, that RV applies to businesses that are very much bigger than they are in London. I nodded and confirmed that this point was already in the retail manifesto – the RV threshold should be much higher in London. In Chiswick, it’s a small to medium sized shop – a much smaller business.
That point applies if the government sticks with the current business rates system. The Chiswick Shops Task Force wants the system to be torn up and the taxation of the retail sector looked at afresh, bearing in mind all the other taxes and charges retailers also pay. If tinkering is what we end up – please, no – the manifesto lists all that is wrong that must be put right.
Since the conference we’ve had the budget announcement of the abolition for the coming financial year of business rates for retail and hospitality businesses with an RV below £51,000. This is good news for many of our shops, cafés, pubs, restaurants and others though some miss out by a whisker and others aren’t sure if they fall into the eligible categories; the Chiswick Shops Task Force is lobbying on their behalf. Regardless, there is a very strong hope nationally that, having abolished business rates for a year, they will not be reintroduce exactly as they were. From my perspective, that means reform must be on the agenda; it cannot just be a review.
Back to the conference – and the dinner (ham hock terrine, chicken with a thyme and rosemary stuffing, white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake) with Rt Hon Alok Sharma, ( seen above) secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy. He represents the UK at this year’s UN climate change conference (otherwise known as COP 26) and firmly stated that sustainability is at the top of the business agenda. He also said that the UK is the best place to run a business and the best place to start a business. You might detect a pattern here, with this Hounslow councillor … cue my chance to talk to him about Chiswick’s retail economy. As with Robert Jenrick, Alok Sharma had the full force of the Chiswick Shops Task Force retail manifesto placed into his hands.
Moving on two weeks and I’m at a meeting with Paul Scully MP, minister for high streets and minister for London, who had been to Chiswick a couple of years ago, canvassing with we three then council candidates (Ranjit Gill, Ron Mushiso and me) in the Gunnersbury Park Garden Estate at the top of Turnham Green ward. Also at the meeting was Andrea Jenkyns MP, parliamentary private secretary to Robert Jenrick MP. With the two of them together in listening mode, and with the state of our high streets in their portfolios, it was another déjà vu here-we-go-again moment. Cue my chance to talk to them about …
Chiswick’s retail economy is firmly in the inboxes of the ministers with the most influence and the Chiswick Shops Task Force will ensure it receives their full attention.
Back to other aspects of Chiswick life
The Coronavirus has, inevitably, taken centre stage. Remember Brexit? That’s long gone. We are now more interested in whether the masks others are wearing have any effectiveness and if we or anyone near us show any signs of Covid-19. It’s an ever-changing situation which we councillors must be concerned about on behalf of our residents, people who come here to work, visitors and of course staff. It can be personal, too: my 19 year old cousin, living with me since August, has been whisked back to New Zealand by her worried parents and I’m suddenly in a rather quiet snapchat-free world.
Otherwise, in my inbox recently are residents’ concerns about neighbours’ antisocial behaviour; persistent illegal trading; lorries and vans speeding up and down a small residential road damaging pavements, verges, a tree and the road’s usual peace and quiet; finding a new home for an evicted private tenant; a dangerous junction that needs more safeguards; and a new planning application at 250 Gunnersbury Avenue that includes 204 bedsits in a block that is a mix of 11, 12 and 13 storeys high. One minute we celebrate the fact that the Chiswick Curve appeal has failed; the next, another high-rise appears. We will have more to say on this.
DATES FOR DIARIES
Subject to change if the Coronavirus situation changes significantly
· Borough Council: Tuesday, 31st March at 7.30pm at Hounslow House.
· Chiswick Area Forum: Tuesday, 28th April at 7.00pm at Chiswick Town Hall
SURGERIES
Subject to change if the Coronavirus situation changes significantly
· Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick library, upstairs in the private room.
· Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Triangle Club, The Ridgeway, W3 8LN, usually a group discussion but privacy can be arranged.
Councillor Joanna Biddolph Turnham Green ward Email: joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk Phone: 07976 703446
March 15, 2020
