July 2025 Update
I am pleased to bring you my July 2025 Update. As ever, if you would like to sign up to my mailing list, you can do so on this page or by emailing [email protected].
Dear constituent,
It was a busy lead-up to the summer recess. In the shadow cabinet reshuffle, I was pleased to remain as Shadow Minister of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. We also welcomed two new additions to the team: James Cleverly as the Shadow Secretary of State and Gareth Bacon as a new Shadow Minister. While it has been a pleasure to work with Kevin Hollinrake over the past twelve months, I know he will be an asset to the Party Chairman role at CCHQ.
Residents will already be aware of the disappointing decision by the board of the Hillingdon Hospitals Trust to push forward with the closure of the Urgent Care Centre at Mount Vernon. There is rightly a lot of concern locally, and I have been continuing the campaign to keep the facility open. You can read more about the action I have been taking below.
Finally, it was fantastic to see the Lionesses win their second Euros tournament. This is a huge and historic achievement. Having previously visited local schools taking part in the 'This Girl Can' campaign, I hope this further encourages and celebrates the participation of women in football and other sports.
My monthly newsletter will take a break for the month of August. If you would like to keep up to date on local issues, I encourage you to visit my website or Facebook page.
Save the Urgent Care Centre at Mount Vernon - Sign the Petition
Despite vehement local opposition, I am extremely disappointed that the Hillingdon Hospitals Trust Board voted unanimously to press ahead with the closure of the Urgent Care Centre at Mount Vernon Hospital. This is hugely concerning for our community, the views of whom seem to have largely been ignored.
In response to this news, it has been necessary to ramp up the campaign this month. Over the past four weeks, I have:
- Raised a Point of Order in the Chamber regarding my unanswered letter to the Health Secretary, sent in April.
- Raised the issue directly with the Health Secretary during Health Questions.
- Wrote once again to the Health Secretary, requesting that he step in.
- Invited neighbouring MPs to join the campaign, such as Gagan Mohindra, Joy Morrissey and John McDonnell, as well as Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch.
- Held a meeting with Lesley Watts and Alan McGlennan from the Hillingdon Hospitals Trust, who agreed to a public meeting. This will be organised via residents' associations and details will follow in due course.
This should be a priority for the Government. With the NHS 10-Year-Plan encouraging more out-of-hospital care to relieve demand on A&E departments, driving patients with minor injuries away from Mount Vernon and towards Hillingdon Hospital is completely out of touch with these objectives.
I am continuing the fight, together with council colleagues, neighbouring MPs and, most importantly, residents. If you want to help save the Urgent Care Centre at Mount Vernon, please:
Everyone has a story about how valuable this service has been, whether that's for themselves or loved ones, and we must continue to make our voices heard.
In the Constituency
Surgeries
I have continued to meet with constituents at my regular surgeries. I am grateful to the teams Vito's Café in Ruislip and Café Amici in Pinner for hosting me this month.
If you would like to make an appointment to meet with me at a surgery, or are a business who would be interested in hosting, please get in touch via 0203 545 2462 or [email protected]
The Harefield Practice
At the start of this month, I visited the Harefield Practice to discuss access to 'Same Day Urgent Care' for patients in and around Harefield.
There are currently two GP hubs that have been allocated funding specifically to run this service: The Pembroke Centre in Ruislip Manor and the Civic Centre in Uxbridge.
Understandably, concerns have been raised about how this decision may exacerbate existing challenges around health and access to treatment for those living in Harefield. As a village, it has a unique set of needs, significantly higher levels of poor health and limited access to the type of transport links that benefit other parts of the borough.
I have written to both the North Connect Primary Care Network (PCN) and The Confederation (Hillingdon) to raise the concerns of the practice and residents alike. These letters can be read here.
School Visits
It was fantastic to join pupils taking part in the Joy of Moving initiative at Hillside Junior School in Northwood Hills.
Having previously seen this in action at Cannon Lane Primary School in Pinner, I know just how fun and beneficial it can be. We already know that exercise is fundamental to our physical and mental wellbeing, and by encouraging children to enjoy physical activity from a young age, it helps them to build positive habits that they can carry into adulthood. It was great to see how much fun the children were having whilst learning how to lead an active lifestyle.
Joy of Moving is an unbranded UK & Ireland social responsibility programme, delivered by Watford FC Community Sports and Education Trust in partnership with EFL in the Community.
It was a pleasure to visit both Harefield Infant School and Harefield Junior School this month. I met with the Head of School, Mr John Downs, to discuss a number of important topics. Top of the list was the council’s proposal to amalgamate the two schools to form a single primary school, which if approved, will take place in March/April of next year.
I will be feeding back to the council the thoughts and concerns that were raised on my visit to ensure that, whatever the outcome, it is in the best interests of the community.
SPAR opening in Harefield Village
It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to open the new SPAR shop in Harefield Village this month. Chirag, Jay and the team have done a fantastic job with the shop, and I was grateful to be shown around the facilities on what was such a busy morning for them.
With the Government increasing employers' national insurance contributions and business rate costs, it has been a difficult period for high streets and businesses. In the face of these challenges, however, I am delighted to see the creation of local jobs and investment being made in one of our fantastic high streets.
I am grateful for the invitation, and I wish the team every success in Harefield. I know this shop will be an asset to the local community.
Police station front desk closures in Hillingdon and Harrow
This month, I caught up with Chief Superintendent Jill Horsfall and Superintendent Priya Shome from the West Area Borough Command Unit, which covers Hillingdon.
This was an opportunity to raise my concerns about Mayor Khan’s plans to close the front counter at Hayes Police Station, which comes two years after his broken promise to reopen Uxbridge Police Station. The closure will leave residents in the borough having to travel to Acton or Hounslow if they want to access this service.
There is unfortunately a similar situation for residents in the Harrow borough, as the front counter at South Harrow Police Station is also set to close. I am grateful to the dedicated volunteers who open the Pinner front desk, but vulnerable residents especially need accessible local police outside of emergencies.
The closures mean that for many residents, it will be quicker to report a crime at Scotland Yard than anywhere locally. With crime rising in London under Mayor Khan - including an 86% increase in knife offences in the past decade - leaving Hillingdon and Harrow without any police front counters seems especially irresponsible.
It is unacceptable, and I will be supporting the campaigns to reverse these decisions.
Met Engage
I also encourage residents to sign up to Met Engage. This is a new platform, which provides crime updates and access to key data and advice. It is also an opportunity for residents to connect and engage with local officers. For further information or to sign up, follow this link.
Asylum Seekers in Hillingdon
Hillingdon Council have been calling on the Government for financial assistance to help manage the pressures caused by an increase in the number of migrants arriving into the UK, who are being pushed onto local authorities by the Home Office without support.
As the port authority for Heathrow Airport, Hillingdon has always been at the sharp end of asylum pressures. But this has increased significantly since Labour took office. After scrapping the Rwanda deterrent on day one, small boat crossings are up by 40% and these numbers are becoming more and more unsustainable for local authorities.
We keep hearing of faster processing and slashing asylum hotel bills from the Government, but the reality of this is an increase in Home Office evictions, resulting in an increase in people turning to local authorities for support, who are obligated to provide it. The cost is falling to council taxpayers and this is simply not fair.
Already we are seeing a £5million shortfall in Hillingdon because of this, more than the entire libraries and culture budget, but it is also a problem facing local authorities up and down the country. This has been a focus for the shadow levelling up team in Westminster, and I invited Kevin Hollinrake, then Shadow Secretary of State, alongside Cllr Steve Tuckwell, to the borough to see the impact first-hand.
The Mercure Hotel in Hayes has been used for a number of years to house asylum seekers. However, across the road at Manor Youth Football Club, some tents have also been set up. Here, we spoke to Ahmed from Sudan, as well as a number of residents from the hotel. All had arrived by boat.
My concern is what happens after decisions are granted, the cost on councils and therefore the council taxpayer. I will continue to raise this in Westminster and push the Government to help local authorities with the mess they have created. You can watch the video of our visit to Hayes here.
In Parliament
Colne Valley Debate
I am deeply sympathetic to the concerns raised by my constituents about the future of our greenbelt and our green spaces. We know that Labour is seeking to export housebuilding to the suburbs of London, and this leaves the Colne Valley in a dangerous predicament.
I have long championed the importance of providing the Colne Valley with enhanced protections. This is a campaign that has been undertaken along with some of my neighbouring colleagues, Gagan Mohindra and Joy Morrissey.
I am glad that Joy was able to secure a debate in Parliament this month to discuss this matter in the Chamber. In her powerful speech, she set out eloquently the importance of the Colne Valley to London but also the risks of overdevelopment.
The Minister joined Joy in outlining the importance of the regional park, and I am glad that the Government recognises the need for enhanced protections. You can find a link to this debate here.
Shadow Ministerial Update
MHCLG Questions
Residents will be aware that as Shadow Minister, I have the opportunity every month to question Ministers at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This month, I asked about the role of councillors in the planning process and affordable house building in London.
I know both issues are important to my constituents. By removing councillors from the planning process, the Government is undermining the value of local representation. This is part of a wider effort by the Government to remove democratically-elected officials from having a say on developments in their area.
I was perhaps surprised that the Minister took a hard-line in this during his response given that locally, Hillingdon Labour are opposing new affordable housing developments. I asked the Secretary of State why she thinks that Hillingdon Labour are opposed to this development that is much needed in our area. She didn’t have an answer. You can watch both of these questions here.
Westminster Hall Debate: London's Role in the Economy
This month in Westminster, MPs discussed the importance of London to the UK’s economy. This provided outer London MPs like myself the opportunity to put on record our admiration for the capital and to raise our serious concerns about the danger that government policy poses to our great city.
Responding for the Opposition, I was grateful to raise some of the very serious concerns we have with upcoming legislation. This includes the Planning & Infrastructure Bill and Renters' Rights Bill, neither of which do anything to address the rise in rough sleeping in our capital or solve the housing crisis that has fermented since Sadiq Khan became mayor.
Concluding my remarks I pushed the Minister to address how this Government intends to support our capital. Reduced funding from Whitehall as proposed in the Fair Funding Review will leave London boroughs on the edge, and I am keen to push the Government on this topic. You can watch my remarks here.
Birmingham Bin Strikes
The ongoing bin strikes in Birmingham have been a source of national embarrassment in our second city. The Labour administration of Birmingham has failed to get a grip on the spiralling dispute with unions that has led to the pile up of rubbish on the streets.
Responding to an Urgent Question on behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition, I drew the attention of the Commons to the litany of failure in the city. Labour Ministers and Labour Councillors are failing to support their residents by fulfilling a basic need for many.
I asked the Minister what he would do to ensure the 21,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish would be collected and why the commission appointed to solve the issue has failed. The Minister failed to answer any of my questions, a theme that repeated itself throughout the afternoon. You can watch this exchange here.
LGA Conference
At the start of July, I had the pleasure of attending the Local Government Association's annual conference in Liverpool. There, I participated in a panel on local government finance, where I heard from those suffering directly as a result of the decisions being taken in Whitehall.
It was great to hear from Conservative councillors from across the country, as well as catch up with former colleagues about their concerns with reorganisation and their plans for the upcoming set of local elections.
It was evident that there is much support for the direction of the Party, in particular the work that was being undertaken by Kevin Hollinrake, the then Shadow Secretary of State, who made it clear that he was there to listen and learn. Though we have had a change in leadership, I am confident this work will be continued by James Cleverly, and I look forward to supporting him.
As ever, my office is open and the team are on hand to help over the summer recess. If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to get in contact.
Kind regards,
David
