Constituency update – New Year 2024
Dear Friend,
The start of 2024 has been as busy as ever and here are some of the highlights of what I have been up to. As ever, I am here if you wanted to get in touch with any problems or issues, or if you wanted to pass on your views or ideas. Do get in touch. My email is sarah.jones.mp@parliament.uk
Campaigning to tackle fly-tipping
Earlier this week I launched a campaign to clean up Croydon after statistics revealed that Croydon is the second easiest place in England to fly-tip and get away fine-free. Official statistics show that Croydon Council issued just 10 fixed penalty notices despite recording more than 22,000 instances of fly-tipping last year. I want to ensure those who make the mess, clean up the mess. My campaign calls on Croydon Council to set up:
- Mega Skip Days. Provide freely available skips on certain days of the year so residents can get rid of unwanted items for free
- Fly-tipper’s Wall of Shame. Use roaming CCTV to capture and publicise images of fly-tippers with posters around hotspot areas
- Fly-tipping Strategy. Develop a fly-tipping strategy for Croydon to tackle the problem across the borough, work in partnership with local people, and use existing powers more effectively.
I secured an important Westminster Hall debate this week on how we need to get serious about tackling fly-tipping. You can watch a clip here. Please get in touch with what more you think should be done. I will commit to working with everyone across the council to see change happen.
Tackling crime on the tram and bus networks
I am really pleased that after lots of hard work, the police have reported a 40% cut in the number of robberies by children of other children in Croydon. I have been leading events with police and local schools about safety on the tram network following reports of local school children being mugged including one at Trinity School at the end of January. A lot of work has been done by the MET, the British Transport Police and our schools to work better together, use new technology such as facial recognition and prevent crime. There is still much to be done and there are two actions in particular that I am following up; firstly, to push for an increase in the availability and resourcing of facial recognition devices available to police forces, including teams in Croydon given the success these operations have had and secondly to highlight the need for a communication system to be introduced onto TfL buses so that drivers have a way of alerting local policing teams when a criminal, non-life-threatening event has taken place and which needs an immediate response.
Fighting to save Croydon’s Libraries
I am very disappointed to hear that Croydon Council and Mayor Jason Perry are planning on consulting on the closure of Bradmore Green, Broad Green, Sanderstead and Shirley libraries. Libraries are at the very heart of our community and play a vital role in supporting residents, especially families with children and older people. I urge you to share your feedback, which you can do on the Croydon Council website once the consultation opens. There is also an Online Webinar happening this evening (7pm – 8:30pm). You can submit your questions in advance to librariesconsultation@croydon.gov.uk and details of the Webinar can be found here.
Celebrating Pongal and new beginnings in Croydon
Thank you so much to the wonderful Croydon Tamil community for inviting me to great celebrations of Pongal at Norbury High School for Girls and Muththumari Amman Temple in West Thornton. With harvest comes health, renewal, and growth, and I am hopeful that we will begin to see those green shoots of change in 2024 after what have been a difficult few years.
Speaking up for the victims of the Post Office Horizon Scandal
Like everyone, I’ve been horrified by the Horizon scandal. As a Shadow Minister in the Business Team, I have debated the challenges before but had never had a case in my constituency. But recently I was contacted by a former sub-postmaster in Croydon whose life was destroyed by the scandal. I want to make clear that anyone affected should feel safe to come forward and get help to access the support they need and to not feel ashamed by what has happened. You can see my speech in Parliament here. Please let me know if you are aware of anyone who may have been affected by the issue.
PCN fiasco fixed
I had dozens of constituents contact me about receiving £195 second penalty charge notices without being sent an initial £60 charge letter. I am pleased that Croydon Council are working hard to rectify the issue with a dedicated phone line and weblink set up to simplify the process. However, I am concerned by the stress this situation has caused people. I will continue to support residents affected and to call for better regulation of debt enforcement providers, including those used in Croydon.
Honouring local residents
I was honoured to speak at a ceremony to remember the lives of local activists Bernard and Carol Cleall who tragically died two years ago. CHASE Residents Association have done a fantastic job of raising funds for a bench in Addiscombe Railway Park to commemorate Bernard and Carol, who were active supporters of Friends of Addiscombe Railway Park and it is thanks to them and their tireless campaigning that the park was saved from being turned into a development site.
Handing over the keys to local resident Felicity
I was delighted to take part in a car handover ceremony with the Motability Foundation and Stellantis & You UK to hand over a new, adapted car to Croydon resident Felicity. It was great to hear and see all the work that Motability have been doing to make sure that people with disabilities across the UK have freedom and independence. I worked with Felicity many years ago, and I look forward to seeing her out and about in her new wheels!
Delivering on casework
Since November, I have had 1,916 case enquiries across the constituency. 64% of the enquiries are related to housing. Many properties are poorly insulated and have serious damp and mould issues. Due to the colder temperatures, I have seen a big spike in the number of constituents who have heating and hot water issues. I helped one lady shereecure her mother’s Attendance Allowance after it had been inexplicably stopped – and we made sure payments were backdated. I also helped an elderly couple get their heating fixed when they had been without hot water and heating since October, with little to no response to their complaints. One gentleman went to park his car in a shopping car park but the machine would not take his payment so he drove away. Unfortunately he still got a parking ticket. However I was able to get his Penalty Charge Notice reversed! I’ve been using my monthly meetings with the Mayor to push for better delivery related to housing casework, including the need to appoint a new medical housing assessor to manage the time delay and backlog in cases which means people with medical needs are in unsuitable housing for far too long. We have received nearly 120,000 emails since my election in 2017. A huge thanks must go to my small team for all their hard work, and their continued ability to get results.
|
