Budget May Provide Clues on Funding for Local Hospitals |
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Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick
October 21, 2024 Another busy week in Parliament as the election for seats on Select Committees got underway. Most seats are now filled, and those Committees will soon be conducting their first official meetings to determine the future programme of work. As Chair, I am looking forward to holding the first official meeting of the Justice Select Committee in the next couple of weeks. All MP’s with hospital rebuilds schemes (that’s the one Boris Johnson called the ‘New Hospitals Programme’ but forgot to leave any money for) met with Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Thursday. Our local hospitals have the biggest schemes in the country (three major hospitals and a £3 billion price tag) and worst maintenance backlog of over £800 million. We won’t know where in the schedule we are until the spending review next spring, though we may get some indication in the budget. Be assured Ben Coleman MP and I lose no opportunity to press the case for Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s. This week there was a special Council meeting for tributes to the late Charlie Trellogan, who died a few weeks short of his 100th birthday. He had an eventful life as part of the Royal Navy in World War 2 seeing active service in the Pacific, as a black cab driver, and as councillor and Mayor for Hammersmith & Fulham. It was my great delight to be his friend and co-councillor for many years. This weekend I was very pleased to go along to the Chiswick Repair Café at Christ Church, Turnham Green. It was a very enjoyable morning talking to the organisers of the café and seeing how the volunteers expertly mended items for local people. I will be sure to visit again. Lastly, I would like to mention a very worthy local fundraising effort for children of Fulham Cross Academy and Fulham Cross Girls School. The schools are not in my constituency but many of the students are my constituents and the cause is very worthwhile, so I am happy to support their efforts. The schools are trying to fundraise for fifteen students and five teachers to travel to a rural area of Malawi next July to help build a community centre for disabled children. You can find more information on the trip and how to contribute here. Best wishes, Andy andy@andyslaughter.com
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