On Monday I held my usual drop in surgery at Balham Community Centre on Bedford Hill. This was really busy with constituents needing help in issues ranging from housing to parking problems and from immigration problems to concerns about anti social behaviour.

In the afternoon I met with officers from the Society of Labour Lawyers to discuss some of the interesting work they are involved in.

The Public Accounts Committee examined the Department for International Development and, in particular, Working with Non Governmental and Other Civil Society Organisations to promote development.

In the evening I held the inaugural reception for Totally Tooting readers. The evening was a great success with almost 100 local residents visiting the House of Commons for their first time. The Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn MP, the Minister for the Third Sector Ed Milliband MP, Stephen Pound MP, Martin Linton MP and Dawn Butler MP all made great speeches and joined us in the enjoyable evening. You can see photos of the evening HERE and HERE and sign up to Totally Tooting by clicking HERE.

On Tuesday I met with the Chief Executive of Camelot and other senior representatives of Camelot to discuss their plans, the bidding process for the next process, the Olympics 2012 and generally how things are going with the Lottery. Camelot are not in charge of distributing the funds to "worthy causes" so there was no point lobbying them about how the money could be better spent in Tooting!

I met with the Chancellor Gordon Brown, and other colleagues, to discuss the themes of the Pre-Budget Report, due to take place shortly. I raised my concerns about the pressures on Londoners and the infrastructure with the predicted increase in migration caused by the economic growth over the last few years. Of course I certainly hope that London’s economy continues to grow as it has so strongly over the past decade.

On Wednesday, I met with senior representatives of Amnesty International to discuss their important campaigning work, in particular the End Violence Against Women and Arms Trade Treaty campaigns, both of which I wholeheartedly support (for more information about these campaigns please click HERE).

In the afternoon I met with 2 local residents who wanted to lobby me about the Local Government Pension Scheme. Local Government workers were lobbying MPs to ensure that they would be offered the same pension protection provided to civil servants, NHS employees and teachers last year. I will be writing to the Local Government minister, Phil Woolas MP. If anyone affected by this issue would be interested in receiving the reply please contact my Westminster office.

The Public Accounts Committee examined the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Countryside Agency about the new Right of access to open countryside. The introduction of "open access" enables the public to walk across large areas of countryside without being restricted to footpaths.

I also attended a briefing with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Timms MP and the Office for Government Commerce about the Government's Efficiency Programme. In 2003 Sir Peter Gershon conducted a cross-cutting review of efficiency in the public sector. The Governments 2004 spending review accepted the review and the aim is to release £21.5 billion a year by March 2008 to improve frontline services.

In the evening I attended the General Committee of Tooting Labour Party where we had an excellent discussion about nuclear energy, energy supply and security and the diversity of energy streams lead by Alon Or-bach who is on the Executive Committee of SERA (if you are interested in the work undertaken by SERA please click HERE).

On Thursday I chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group on Citizens Advice. We had a speaker from the Policy unit at the Department of Work and Pensions and from the policy unit at the Citizen Advice Bureau to discuss a recent report by Lisa Harker entitled "Delivering on Child Poverty: what would it take?" Huge progress has been made in reducing child poverty with 700,000 fewer children living in poor households compared to 1998 (and by 800,000 since 1997) and child poverty levels in the UK are at a 15 year low.

I also gave an interview to a PHD student about politics before taking part in a debate with a Lib Dem MP on the Olympics for A Week in Westminster. It was quite a sight to see MP's jump on and off bandwagons. First, being against the Olympics coming to London; then joining the massive celebrations when we won against all odds in July 2005 and now being very anti with the first hiccups about overspends.

In the evening I met with the six Labour Councillors who represent Tooting, Graveney and Furzedown wards in the Town Hall. There are only 9 Labour Councillors in the Town Hall (6 from Tooting and 3 from Battersea) and they do an incredible job standing up to the worst excesses of the other 51 Tory Councillors.

One of the joys of being the MP for Tooting is the various assemblies I get to go to. On Friday I attended a Year 1 assembly at Fircroft Primary School which was all about numbers. It was good to see the 5 year olds having so much fun with their counting and with so much confidence. The rest of my day was spent at a workshop organised by the Fabian Society and the Barrow Cadbury Trust about migration.

On Sunday I was a speaker at The Global Peace and Unity Event at the ExCel centre in East London. Other speakers at this weekend event, where more than 30,000 people attended were Peter Hain MP (Secretary of State for Norther Ireland and Wales), Stephen Timms MP (Chief Secretary to the Treasury), Dr Abdul Bari, General Secretary of the MCB and Rose Fitzpatrick, Deputy Assistant Commisioner of the Metropolitan Police.


Sadiq

The last two weeks have been very busy with a Queen's Speech and loads happening in and around Tooting.

The highlights of the Queen’s Speech were the proposed items of legislation in connection with Climate Change, Pensions and Further Education. The Climate Change Bill will put the Government’s long-term target to reduce carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 into legislative form and proposals should be published in the New Year. The Pensions Bill will reform the state pension and also re-establish the link with earnings during the next Parliament. I also welcome the Concessionary Bus Travel Bill, which will ensure that everyone aged 60 and over and all disabled people will receive free off-peak local bus travel from April 2008. The Further Education and Training Bill will enhance opportunities to obtain further education particularly for young people. At the heart of the Queen’s Speech were further measures to strengthen security. The new Criminal Justice Bill will attempt to tip the scales of justice in favour of the victim; the Offender Management Bill will tackle the management of offenders both while they are in custody and once they have returned to the community and the Organised Crime Bill will introduce new powers to enable the police to prevent serious organised crime.

I also attended a pre legislative scrutiny session on a Draft Coroners Bill. The new Bill will improve the way the system serves the public interest and meet bereaved families' concerns. Families will have new rights through anew complaints and appeals system, a proper appointments system for coroners will be established and there will be a national structure for coroners' work. I listened in to the panel of bereaved relatives who were taking part in the process to give their comments on the draft Bill. The DCA and Harriet Harman, in particular, deserve huge praise for the pioneering way legislation is being made in this very important area.

I met with the new High Commissioner from the UK to Pakistan, Robert Brinkley to discuss bilateral relations between our two countries. Tony Blair has just been to Pakistan. I was very pleased that on his trip he announced a doubling of developmental aid for Pakistan to £480 million over the next three years. I was also very pleased that the lobbying undertaken by a number of Parliamentarians, including myself, Prince Charles, our Government and many other concerned groups and individuals led to the Pakistan Government deciding not to proceed with the death penalty for Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British citizen who was convicted in 1989 for the murder of a taxi driver. Mr Hussain, who has now been allowed to return to the UK, has persistently stressed that he was acting in self-defence.

I attended the Annual Act of Remembrance at the War memorial in Battersea Park. Reverend David Gillam of Battersea Central Methodist Mission conducted a moving service. I found the two local girls who read poetry to be particularly moving.

On Sunday, I had the misfortune to go to the great new Arsenal Stadium, the Emirates stadium, to watch Liverpool lose to Arsenal 3-0. It was a great day, I am sure for Arsenal fans as Spurs had lost immediately before our game to Reading! Unfortunately, the result was a true reflection of the gap between the two teams on the day.

One of the campaigns I have been actively involved in since May 2005, has been for improvements to Earlsfield Station. The Government has recently announced that, as a result of my campaign to highlight the unacceptable lack of facilities for passengers who are elderly, disabled or young mothers, Earlsfield will be among those stations to receive part of the £370 million Access For All funding. I am really pleased that the campaign has achieved this success and am looking forward to witnessing the improvements being made to the station in the near future. For more details on the campaign, please click here.

I attended an expert roundtable organised by influential think tank, IPPR (for more details of their work please click here) on "Identity and the challenges of the diversity project."

I also attended a launch event by UNISON on the report published by a delegation that visited Bangladesh. The report is fascinating and is called "Seeing Bangladesh". I learnt that this is part of a project to connect with Bangladesh and the Bengali diaspora in London. It shows that unions are active and relevant in Bangladesh, the same way they are in the UK.

I also took part in a Franco-British debate and had a meeting with the chairwoman of the French High Council for Integration, Mrs Kriegal, who is also an advisor to President Chirac. On the same day I made a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly: The Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, which contained parliamentarians from all over the Council of Europe.

Other events I have attended included the Labour Friends of India Annual Lunch, where Margaret Beckett MP was the main speaker; the Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards; the Wandsworth Council Annual Civic Reception; the Green Guardian Awards for South London and the Diwali celebrations at the Civic Suite.

I have also had my usual advice surgeries and been out canvassing with local Labour Party members and Councillors.

Two of the highlights over the last couple of weeks have been the process of judging the winners of my Christmas Card competition (more to follow later!) and the Upper School Presentation at Graveney School. The energy, enthusiasm and excellence of the students was very impressive. All the staff, parents, governors and students deserve huge praise for the dedication they clearly have to the school and the local community. Particular mention must be given to Mr Graham Stapleton, the Principal, who has been at the school for more than 35 years and whose enthusiasm in the students is as high as ever. I had to make a short speech which was more difficult than usual as I was worried about being upstaged by the students whose brilliant speeches had preceded mine!


Sadiq

On Wednesday 1st November I met with representatives from the Unison branch at St Georges Hospital, who formed part of the NHS Together lobby, to discuss the impact of the budget cuts and the morale of staff at the Hospital. It is essential that the Government listens to NHS staff about the most appropriate way forward, because they are in the best position to inform politicians about events on the ground. I will be shortly holding the first of what I hope will be several meetings of an NHS Listening Panel. This meeting is open to all of my constituents and if you would be interested in attending to discuss local health services and the reform agenda please contact my Westminster office on 020 7219 6967.

After PMQ's I took part in a project undertaken by The Hansard Society about Parliament. The Hansard Society is making a film to help teachers who teach citizenship at schools about Parliament. This is an exciting project, whereby the Hansard society will send citizenship packs to schools, that I hope teachers will find useful.

I also took part in a BBC TV interview with Tory MP, Ed Vaizey.

The Public Accounts Committee examined the Ministry of Defence project to deliver digital tactical communications through the Bowman CIP programme. You can read a transcript of the nearing by clicking HERE.

In the evening I attended the BEST Awards evening at the Professional Centre in Graveney. BEST is a charity which aims to build a working partnership between local businesses and schools and colleges in order to raise student achievement, help improve students' personal and technical skills, enhance the standing of business organisations within the community, to get mutual benefit from exchanging information between education and business and develop students understanding of the range of career options. I had the pleasure of handing out certificates to employers who had supported the work of BEST during the last academic year.

On Thursday I met with the CWU to discuss their concerns about a campaign they are organising to get justice for agency workers. There are now over 600,000 agency workers in the UK and they have far less rights than "normal" employees. Unfortunately, the UK offers amongst the lowest level of protection to agency workers in Europe (please find a link to the CWU website HERE).

In the afternoon I met with Gordon Brown and David Milliband to discuss the Stern Report and the Labour governments' response. Sir Nicholas Stern forecast in his recent report that taking action against global warming now will cost just 1% of GDP, as opposed to the up to 20% fall of global consumption per head. I am pleased that the Prime Minister has acknowledged that the Stern Review showed that the scientific evidence of global warming was “overwhelming” and its consequences “disastrous”. Sir Nicholas has said that for every £1 that we invest now we can save £5 or more in the future. Therefore the benefits of implementing the report’s proposals will benefit the world not only environmentally but also economically. I am optimistic that this important report provides the Government with the foundations to lead an international effort to tackle climate change. Meanwhile the Tories rely on photo opportunities without providing policies of real substance on green issues. The Stern report highlights that a holistic approach is required and new forms of taxation alone will not be sufficient.

In the evening I attended an Eid Milan party at the Kebabish restaurant on Tooting High Street.

On Friday I was interviewed by Radio 4 about the Queens speech. I attended Tooting Islamic Centre for Friday prayers.

On Saturday, I held my normal appointment advice session in Tooting Library. In the evening I spoke at an Eid party organised by the Pakistan club and a fireworks party in Furzedown Ward.

On Sunday, I joined Cllr Nick Bowes, Labour Councillor for Tooting ward, and other colleagues in a canvass in streets in Tooting ward. A number of residents complained about the poor street cleaning and fly tipping, matters I will be taking up with the Council.

On Monday, members of the Education and Skills Select Committee visited Gatton Primary School as part of their investigation into citizenship and faith schools. As Chair of governors I was present to meet and greet the parliamentarians before departing to take part in my normal Monday surgery at Earlsfield library. The oral feed back I received back from colleagues was that they were very impressed with one of our newer additions to the family of maintained schools in Tooting.

The Public Accounts Committee examined the office accommodation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its sponsored bodies. If you want to see a transcript of the hearing, click HERE.

On Tuesday, I held my Pensioner Entitlement Event at Balham Baptist Church on Ramsden Road. This is the second time that I have held such an event, and like last time it was a huge success. The event was focused on giving pensioners in Tooting the opportunity to speak to representatives from 15 organisations about their benefit entitlement, tax issues, heating and insulation grants and much more. Eaga was one of 15 organizations who were at the event giving information and advice. Eaga sponsored the event and had representatives on hand to check people’s benefit entitlements. To advise on safety there was the local police, the firebrigade and the Community Safety Department from Wandsworth Council. To advise on saving energy and cutting energy bills the South West London Energy Advice Centre was available. To advise on services in the community there were Age Concern, the Pension Service, the Home Improvement Agency, TaxHelp for older People, the Citizens Advice Bureaux, The Furzedown Project and the Bengali Welfare Association. The NHS was also there to advice on many matters relating to health and healthy living and a representative from Sadiq Khan’s office was there with details of my Veteran’s Badge Campaign.
I am very pleased that I was able to bring all of these organisations under one roof. I will definitely be doing another event in the near future and hope more people will be able to join us for that.

In Parliament, I met with representatives of UNISON London to discuss progress in the NHS.

I also asked a question to the Secretary of State for Department for Communities and Local Government in the chamber about the recent White Paper, and you can read the transcript HERE. The White Paper contains a number of proposals that will help devolve power down to a local level. These include strengthening the power of council committees to scrutinise local public services; an increase in the number of directly elected mayors and a reduction in the number of targets set by central government.

In the late afternoon, I met with Gordon Brown to discuss the exciting announcement earlier in the day by Gordon about the International Finance Facility for Immunisation. The IFFI will raise $4 billion over the next decade to enable the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations established by the Bill Gates Foundation, DFID and other donors to deliver vaccines now for children across the world that urgently require them. 29000 children currently die each day from diseases that could be prevented through vaccines and the IFFI will make a huge difference to families across the developing world.

In the evening, I was the guest speaker at the Balham Rotary Club on Balham High Road. The president of the Balham Rotarians is the charming retired Reverend Graham Thomas. I had a great time talking to the Rotarians, guests and new inductee about my work as a Member of Parliament and some of the challenges we face with voter apathy.

On Wednesday I met with a representative of Save the Children to discuss concerns they have about children and young people in Palestine and Lebanon.


Sadiq

On Monday 16th October, I attended Chestnut Grove Secondary School in Balham to address Year 11 and 6th form students about citizenship. I talked about the role of an MP and the importance of young people getting involved in politics. In 2005, only 34% of 18-24 voted in the general election. This was down on the previous elections, which was 37% for those aged between 18-24.

In the afternoon, the Public Accounts Committee examined financial management in the NHS. The NHS in England spent £69.7 billion in 2004-5, rising to £76.4 billion in 2005-6 and £92.6 billion by 2007-8. Healthcare therefore remains the fastest growing area of public expenditure. We examined the backgrounds to the deficits in the NHS, their causes and impacts and how some NHS bodies have recovered financial balance. A transcript of the proceedings can be found here.

On Wednesday 18th, I met Peter Gabriel to discuss the "Phones for Africa" campaign which was launched in parliament. The campaign encourages people to donate their old, unwanted mobiles which will then be reconditioned and reused in African nations. Sending your unwanted mobile phones to developing countries can not only help protect our environment from hazardous waste and toxic chemicals, but can help people in developing countries do business and keep in touch with their families. I will be collecting old mobile phones at my advice surgeries and in my constituency office. Alternatively, phones can be sent to the freepost address – FREEPOST Fonebak Vodafone Africa. I have an old phone at home which I will be donating – and I’m sure there are many others in Tooting who have one as well. More information about the campaign here and a photo here.

I participated in the Simon Mayo show on Radio 5 in the afternoon, straight after PMQs with Ed Vaizey MP and Don Foster MP.

In the evening I had a meeting with the Bangladeshi High Commissioner to discuss his concerns particularly about climate change, and the harm that this is causing in Bangladesh. There is a real concern that rising tides, caused by environmental neglect could lead to millions of Bengalis being displaced by their homes being flooded. The Secretary of State for Environment, David Miliband is aware of this issue. I was really pleased by the publication the following week of the Stern report. This was commissioned by the Chancellor last summer, and the report sets out the economic case for bold and early action on climate change. The conclusion is that the costs of inaction will be far greater than tackling climate change now. The Government has put tackling climate change as one of the main international priorities, and also has put into place the building blocks for an effective response to climate change. Existing measures and policy frameworks, and those being taken forward following the Climate Change Programme Review, the Energy Review and in the DfID White Paper are in line with Stern’s recommendations.

On Thursday 19th I did a short interview with the NUS about higher education and attended the APPG meeting on maternity. In the evening, I had the pleasure of playing host to Dennis Skinner in Tooting at an evening entitled "An evening with Dennis Skinner" (photo here.) The evening was a huge success with Dennis sharing stories about his life as a miner, life under the Tories and a reminder of all the things a Labour Government has done since 1997.

On Friday 20th, I hosted a launch in Parliament to celebrate the fact that screening for genetic disorder sickle cell is now offered to all newborn babies in England alongside other screening tests as part of the standard ‘heel prick test’. The testing process will not just identify children with the disorders but also those who are genetic carriers. Newborn screening identifies about 300 babies a year in England who would otherwise be at very high risk of severe complications, stroke and, in some cases, death if the correct treatment is not administered. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, who has been involved with this project for some years now also spoke. I am a big admirer of the Archbishop, from his work with the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and the Damiola Taylor review as well as this role as Archbishop. A photo from the event is here.

In the afternoon, I attended St Mary's Primary School in Balham to open their new playground and to award them the Artsmark Gold certificate. Artsmark is a national award scheme managed by Arts Council England that recognises schools with a high level of provision in the arts. Artsmark Gold is the highest level of achievement a school can attain. It was also a great pleasure to open the new playground at St Mary’s - I tried out the climbing wall with some of the pupils and we all agreed that it is great fun and a big improvement for the school. Exercise and fresh air are crucial for the healthy development of our youngsters. The newly refurbished playground will make playtimes even more enjoyable, and hopefully encourage more pupils to be outdoors.

I then visited the Audiology Department at St Georges Hospital. The Audiology Department provide a diagnostic service to people of all ages encountering problems with hearing, balance and tinnitus. They also provide a hearing rehabilitation program that includes fully comprehensive hearing aid service, counselling and tinnitus habituation training. Since 2004, they have been fitting digital hearing aids to adults and children as part of the NHS modernisation programme. 7500 children and adults each year are now served! I met the wonderful staff and some patients as well as trying out some of the facilities offered. I have agreed to make some representations to the PCT and Department of Health about some issues the Department have and that have also been raised by the RNID. A photo from my visit is here.

On Saturday I attended my usual appointment surgery at Tooting library.

In the evening I attended the Diwali celebrations at Sivagum Hall organised by the local Bengali community and on Sunday I attended an event at Samaj Hall in Tooting Broadway organised by the Tooting Business Network. Diwali is a Hindu festival, known as the "Festival of Lights". It symbolises the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind.

On Sunday, I attended a Churches Together service at St Anselm’s Church in Tooting Bec. There were representatives from all the churches in Tooting and Balham at the service for One World Week 2006.This is an annual opportunity to join a world-wide movement of people taking action for justice locally and globally. It was founded in 1978, and over the years it has been bringing people together to learn about global issues, and to take action locally on things which have an impact on the whole world. The highlight of the service for me was the drama by young people at St Anselm’s who reminded us that we must not let 2005 be the year of Make Poverty History and then forget about it now. I have little doubt that those at the service will ensure we continue to make progress in cancelling debt and continuing to give aid.

On Monday 30th, the Public Accounts Committee examined the delays in administering the 2005 Single Payment Scheme in England. Following agreement among EU Ministers in 2003 to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU's Single Payment Scheme replaces 11 previous subsidies based on agricultural production with a single annual payment conditional on farmers keeping their land in good agricultural and environmental condition. The implementation of this has been a fiasco and the National Audit Office confirmed that the implementation has not provided value for money. There have been delays in paying farmers, the Agency encountered difficulties implementing the scheme. The difficulties in making payments have caused significant distress to a minority of farmers and undermined farmers' confidence in the Agency. To see the transcript of the evidence click here.

On Tuesday, I attended a conference at Wilton Park in Sussex where I spoke on a panel with speakers from the USA and Germany.

I also attended the City of London School for Girls to speak at a conference with student delegates on Street Child Africa. Currently in Africa there are a few national governments addressing the very real needs of street children and there simply is not enough money to go around. You can find out more about the valuable work of Street Child Africa on their website. The Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, also spoke at this conference.

Sadiq