The Budget, First Select Committee Meeting and Parliament Week

Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

Andy Slaughter MP meets Chiswick Repair Cafe volunteers

November 1, 2024

A big week in Parliament as the Chancellor announced the first budget of this Labour Government. The budget was the first from Labour in 14 years and delivered by the first ever female chancellor – a historic moment.

The Chancellor made a substantial boost to NHS funding which is brilliant news. This will be the biggest boost on day-to-day spending for the NHS since 2010. Imperial Trust are ready to go with plans for all three hospitals (Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s) and have welcomed the scheme-specific review currently underway. We hope the review will report in the next few weeks.

On Hammersmith Bridge, we wouldn’t expect a scheme specific announcement at this stage, but we are making progress. There will be a further ministerial and MP’s meeting this month and shortly a full taskforce, including councils and TfL, to discuss funding options.

On trains and transport, it is good to have the funding for the new Piccadilly Line trains confirmed as the existing stock is way past retirement. I and other Piccadilly Line MPs will continue to press TfL and DfT to prioritise the signalling upgrade as soon as possible, but I know that this is in the plans for TfL. The Piccadilly line is one of the busiest on the network and the flexibility to stop at Turnham Green is contingent on these signalling upgrades.

The first meeting of the fully appointed Justice Select Committee went ahead this week. It is great to have the Committee up and running again, especially as we see changes and developments already coming from the Minister of Justice. My Committee is looking forward to getting on with our agreed programme of work and will soon be making our first visit.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about my visit to the repair café at Christ Church, Turnham Green. After my visit I was very pleased to sign the Repair and Reuse Declaration. The UK Repair and Reuse Declaration calls for measures to make repair easier for everyone by; cutting the cost of repair, making products easier to repair and helping people choose repairable products. Not only does this cut down on waste but it is good for the environment and I am happy to support.

Finally, Parliament Week is fast approaching. From 18th-24th November local schools and organisations can get involved in activities to help you get informed about our UK Parliament. You can sign up to get a free digital pack with lots of resources, more information here.

Best wishes,

Andy

andy@andyslaughter.com

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