"Greg Hands M.P." <news@greghands.com> To: <news@greghands.com> Reply-To: <news@greghands.com> News Bulletin from Greg Hands M.P.

#356

21 December 2012 11:09

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In this edition:
Greg Hands M.P.s Diary Website of the Week: Kensington & Chelsea Chamber of Commerce Hands: a tax cut for 41,000 people in Chelsea & Fulham Christmas and New Year information (eg refuse collections) from H&F Council Christmas and New Year information (eg refuse collections) from K&C Council More Improvements for Fulham Palace Road Gold Standard Approval for Residents Associations in K&C How to contact Greg Hands M.P.

Issue 356 Friday 21st December 2012

Photo: Church of San Miniato al Monte, Florence, December 2010. Photo by Greg Hands.

Since the last edition, Greg:

Was a guest speaker at the Kensington & Chelsea Chamber of Commerce Christmas Dinner, with more than a hundred business people present, to mark a rapidly improving local economy in West London. For more about the very active Chamber, see Website of the Week. Was joint guest of honour at the Christmas concert of Londons Polish community, to raise funds via the Knights of Malta for a cancer hospital in Poznan, Poland. Greg gave an address praising the Polish community and read a lesson from the Bible. Met senior representatives of Gatwick Airport to hear about the possibility of expanding the airport to two runways as an alternative to a third runway at Heathrow. Met representatives of local churches in relation to proposals to allow gay marriage, although the main churches will be exempt from the provisions. Attended the Parliamentary All-Party meeting for Serbia in the House of Commons, which was addressed by H.E. Dejan Popovic, Serbian Ambassador. Mr Popovic updated the group on latest political developments in Serbia. The Serbian Society is based in London. Held a weekly surgery for Chelsea and Fulham residents at the Fulham Methodist Church, Fulham Broadway. Gregs surgeries are held generally every Monday at Fulham Methodist Church, or at Peter Jones, Sloane Square. To make an appointment, email mail@greghands.com or call 020 7219 5448.

Website of the Week:

www.kccc.co.uk

The website of the Kensington & Chelsea Chamber of Commerce, which Greg addressed this week. Primarily a networking and social organisation, the Chamber is committed to the promotion and support of local businesses and those doing business within the borough. Members represent a wide and varied range of businesses in both size and speciality, so networking within the Chamber offers real business leads and opportunities.

Hands: a tax cut for 41,000 people in Chelsea & Fulham

New research has revealed that Conservatives in Government are cutting income tax for 41,366 people in Chelsea & Fulham in 2013. In fact, this April, the Government will lift a further 1,708 local people out of tax altogether. The Government is also reforming Labours something-for-nothing welfare culture, capping the amount any individual household can get in benefits at 26,000 and capping the amount by which most benefits are increased to 1 per cent. Labour opposes both these reforms. Benefit levels have risen twice as fast as average earnings in recent years, and are up some 20 per cent since the financial crisis, while average earnings have only gone up 10 per cent over the same period. Thats why the Government is: Increasing the personal allowance. To support those on low and middle incomes, the personal allowance will increase by a further 235 to 9,440 in April 2013. This will benefit 24.4 million people. In total, 2.2 million people will have been taken out of income tax altogether. Introducing a Bill to uprate benefits by a maximum of 1 per cent. We need a welfare system that is fair to the working people who pay for it. For the next three years, Government will uprate most working age benefits and tax credits by 1 per cent. Protecting those with the greatest need. Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Carers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance are not included in the 1 per cent cap. These benefits will be uprated by the CPI rate of inflation as normal. Putting welfare spending on a sustainable path. Overall, these measures will save 2.8 billion by 2015-16, putting welfare on a sustainable path and restoring fairness for hardworking taxpayers.

Greg Hands M.P. commented: If you want to work hard and get on, the Conservatives are on your side. Your taxes will be cut so you keep more of the money youve earned and you wont see benefits increase by more than your earnings. Labour wants benefits to go up by more than working peoples incomes. That isnt fair. The Government is ending Labours something-for-nothing culture.

Christmas and New Year information (eg refuse collections) from H&F Council
Christmas refuse and recycling collections There are only 3 collection days which change this year, all other collections dates will remain the same. For properties which have one rubbish and recycling collection per week: Christmas Day: No collection on Tuesday 25 December, your collection will be rescheduled to the 29 December Boxing Day: No collection on Wednesday 26 December, your collection will be rescheduled to Sunday 30 December New Year's Day: No collection on Tuesday 1 January, your collection will be rescheduled to Saturday 5 January For properties which have two rubbish and recycling collections per week: Christmas Day: No collection on Tuesday 25 December, just one collection this week on Friday 28 December. Boxing Day: No collection on Wednesday 26 December, just one collection this week on Saturday 29 December New Year's Day: No collection on Tuesday 1 January, just one collection this week on Friday 4 January

Click here to check your normal collection day using the Where's your nearest postcode search Waste less this Christmas H&F Council are helping you recycle more this Christmas. Download their guides to household recycling and rubbish over the festive season. Tips on how to reduce waste this Christmas (pdf) Chrismas recycling tips (pdf) Council offices Council offices will be closed on 24, 25, 26 December and on 1 January. H&F Direct opening hours h&f Direct Centre in Hammersmith Town Hall extension covers the following services: council tax, council tax benefit, housing benefits, business rates, parking permits, blue badges, freedom passes taxi cards, cashiers and council rent collection. Monday 24 December - Closed Tuesday 25 December - Closed Wednesday 26 December - Closed Thursday 27 December - Business as usual * Friday 28 December - Business as usual * Monday 31 December - 9am to 4pm * Tuesday 1 January 2013 - Closed Wednesday 2 January - Business as usual

* the 'new claims for council tax benefit & housing benefit reception service' in the h&f Direct Centre will be closed until 2nd January 2013, but can be contacted by phone (020 8753 6681) and online applications will continue to operate. Visit H&F Direct Centre homepage H&F Advice opening hours (145-155 King Street, including contact service for social care and homelessness, and reception point for child protection services) Monday 24 December - Closed Tuesday 25 December - Closed Wednesday 26 December - Closed Thursday 27 December - 9am to 5pm Friday 28 December - 9am to 5pm Monday 31 December - 9am to 5pm Tuesday 1 January - Closed Visit H&F Advice homepage Parking Click here for details of parking restrictions and opening hours over the holiday period. Libraries Library opening times over Christmas and New Year can be found on each library's web page. Askew Road library Avonmore library Fulham library Hammersmith library Shepherds Bush library Free Christmas tree collections and recycling Last Christmas you helped us recycle 50 tonnes of Christmas trees that would have been expensively disposed of if they had been left out with the ordinary rubbish. Christmas trees will be composted and put to good use rather than going to waste. If you have your recycling and rubbish collected in sacks from outside your home, leave your tree in your front garden or outside your property where it is clearly visible from the street and does not cause an obstruction on the pavement, by midday on one of your normal weekday rubbish and recycling collection days from Wednesday 2 January to Tuesday 15 January. Trees will be collected in the afternoon, not at the same time as your bags. Please remember to remove decorations. There are also designated collection points where you can take your trees between the dates above. These include: New Kings Road (on edge of Eel Brook Common) Fulham Palace Road Cemetery (opposite Queensmill Road) Normand Park (opposite Lillie Road entrance) Loris Road Community Gardens Ravenscourt Park (by the football pitch) Wormwood Scrubs Car Park (off Scrubs Lane)

Christmas and New Year information (eg refuse collections) from K&C Council
Christmas collectionsChristmas tree composting As Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall on Tuesday this year, if you normally have collections on Tuesday and Friday then you will only receive a Friday collection. If you normally have collections on Monday and Thursday then your collections will not be subject to any changes. There will be no rubbish or recycling collections on Tuesday 25 December 2012 and Tuesday 1 January 2013. Click here to download information on Christmas and New Year recycling and rubbish collections. Click here to find out how to recycle your Christmas tree. Click here to search for your collection days by street name or view as a PDF. Collections take place twice a week, and as normal on most bank holidays (road signs and local advertising will highlight any special arrangements). If your property has a refuse storage area then you should use it otherwise please leave domestic waste on the street, as near the kerb as possible without causing obstruction. Carefully wrap glass or other items that could cause injury, and label if appropriate. Leave bags for collection before 7am on the day of collection (not the night before). For further details please call streetline on 020 7361 3001 or email: streetline@rbkc.gov.uk. Collection times Collections start at 7am and all domestic waste must be available at this time. It is an offence to put your domestic waste out on the highway/footway other than on the scheduled days of collection, or after a collection has been made. Officers will investigate such offences and sticker bags with a clear message. The bags will then remain on the street until the next collection day. Bank holiday recycling and rubbish collections We do not collect on the following bank holidays: Christmas Day Boxing Day New Year's Day Good Friday Summer Bank Holiday Please keep your recycling and rubbish within the confines of your property until your next collection. Please note: putting recycling and rubbish on the street when it is not due to be collected is an offence and you risk facing a Fixed Penalty Notice of 80 or Court action. Garden Waste The garden waste composting scheme has a separate collection schedule. Find out more about the Garden waste composting scheme or email RBKC at: streetline@rbkc.gov.uk to find your collection day. Also visit the home composting page to find out how to compost at home. Problems with Collections >> Rats and Collection Other Collections >> Clinical waste disposal >> DIY Waste >> Hazardous household waste >> Amenity Skips >> Mini Recycling Centres

More Improvements for Fulham Palace Road

Fulham Palace Road is set to get a full face-lift following agreement by Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council to spend 1.76 million on improvements for the main road. The money will be spent on CCTV, resurfacing carriageways and highway improvements for the Fulham Palace Road corridor including side streets from Talgarth Road, in Hammersmith, to Putney Bridge in the south. The councils cabinet agreed on 10th December that 750,000 given to the council as part of a legal agreement known as Section 106 would be ploughed into the project, from January. Property developer St George, which is working on the nearby Fulham Reach scheme in Chancellors Road, is providing that funding. The rest of the funding is coming from Transport for London. The works aim to improve traffic flow along the road, pedestrian safety in the area and to crack down on crime. They complement the successful Fulham Palace Road slip road scheme at Hammersmith Gyratory, which was funded by Transport for London and was completed earlier this year, and form part of the wider multi-million pound corridor improvements scheme as set out in the councils transport plan. Cabinet member for transport and technical services, Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, said: This work is vital in helping to get traffic moving on Fulham Palace Road, one of our main north-south routes, and unclog some of our most congested roads. We have worked hard to strike a balance for all road users, pedestrians and businesses with this scheme, and have identified significant improvements in every area along these roads. The works have already begun in some places and we will continue to work meticulously but as quickly as possible to minimise disruption but also so that everyone can feel the benefit of these enhancements soon. Three consultations with residents and businesses have already taken place, and work to resurface the road and footway improvements has been happening at the north end of Fulham Palace Road. The money will be spent on upgrading the pedestrian crossings near Rigault Road and across Fulham High Street at the New Kings Road junction with countdown crossings. Short-stay one hour 40p stop and shop parking bays will be created in Fulham Palace Road between Childerley Street and Gowan Avenue, and in Fulham High Street and Rigault Road, that will help local businesses and shoppers. The main junctions of Fulham Palace Road with Fulham Road, New Kings Road and Fulham High Street, and Lillie Road will be amended to allow more capacity through the junctions. The northbound road from Putney Bridge Approach to the New Kings Road junction will be reduced from three narrow lanes to two wider lanes while the southbound bus lane will be shortened on Fulham Palace Road to improve the flow of traffic around the existing Fulham Road roundabout. And in a bold move, once improvements to the pavements have been made, utility companies will not be allowed to carry out any works in the same place within three years of the resurfacing having happened. There will be measures to make crossings more accessible to disabled pedestrians with tactile paving at all the crossings, a raised entry to the Rigault Road crossing and any unnecessary signs or street furniture will be cleared away. All the yellow lanterns on existing lamp columns along the Fulham Palace corridor will be changed to white lights, reducing energy use and annual running costs. A new bus stop near Ellerby Street will be installed and the entrances to Fulham Cemetery and Lillie Road Recreation Ground are being spruced up. The work will be carried out in phases from now until May 2013.

Gold Standard Approval for Residents Associations in K&C

Four residents associations reflecting the diverse and varied nature of the Royal Borough received Gold Standard Awards for their work to improve the quality of life in their communities and make the borough a better place in which to live. Gold Standard Awards were presented to Edwardes Square Scarsdale & Abingdon Association (ESSA), Chelsea Association of Tenants (CATS), Stable Way Residents' Association and Beaufort Gardens Knightsbridge Residents' Association at a ceremony in Kensington Town Hall by the Council's Cabinet Member for Civil Society, Cllr Rock Feilding-Mellen. ESSA's good practice in consulting and communicating with its members was singled out for special mention, while the Stable Way Residents' Association's work to achieve a Grassroots Grant that funded laptops and internet access was commended. The 100-year-old CATS association was praised for the varied number of community activities it organises, including putting on a coach trip to the seaside in summer and pantomime in winter. The newly formed Beaufort Gardens Knightsbridge Residents' Association, which was only set up in autumn 2011, was commended for the speed that it established itself as a strong local voice and for achieving a number of important improvements to long-standing problems, including forming a partnership with the nearby McDonalds to significantly reduce rubbish and litter. Congratulating all the winners, Cllr Feilding-Mellen, said: "Your work undoubtedly helps improve the quality of life in your communities and also in the borough. Recognising and rewarding the good work that residents' and tenants' associations do continues to be one of my priorities and I want to actively encourage all tenant and resident associations in the borough to seek and attain the Gold Standard." As well as the award each association gets a grant of 500 to spend on a project it feels would benefit the association or its local area. Since the scheme was established five years ago some 26 associations have reached the Gold Standard. The associations that are awarded the standard show a strong commitment to seeking residents' views and ensuring they are heard, demonstrate best practice and are fit for purpose in relation to the association's size and aims.

5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.:

By Phone: By email: By post: In person: 020 7219 5448 mail@greghands.com Greg Hands M.P. House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Click here for details of how to book an appointment at Greg Hands M.P.s weekly surgery

www.greghands.com

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Greg Hands M.P. a strong voice for Chelsea & Fulham

Published & Promoted by Jonathan Fraser-Howells on behalf of Greg Hands M.P., both of 1a Chelsea Manor Street, London SW3 5RP