Chris, Author at Tom Hunt MP for Ipswich

St. Francis Tower

July 22, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Uncategorized

On the last Parliamentary session before the Summer Recess, I wanted to raise to the house the ongoing issue regarding St. Francis Tower and their abhorrent treatment by Block Management Ltd. The entirety of the tower has been covered of the tower block in a shrink-wrap for up to 12 months and scaffolding has been erected to fix a cladding issue.

The handling of this issue, which I have been following closely, remains an absolute disgrace. I was invited by residents to visit the block and see for myself the conditions that they are being forced to live in. The lack of natural light and the limited ventilation they have, during a pandemic and with temperatures like this, must be unbearable.

I have to say in all my time being a Member of Parliament, this is the most shocking thing I have come across. I wanted to raise this issue, to give my constituents basic dignities in living conditions. As despite repeated interventions by myself to try and resolve it, I have still not had a response from them to any of my recent letters.

I understand this cladding needs to be removed, but this must be done in a sensitive way that keeps in mind the living conditions and mental health of the residents of St. Francis Tower. I wanted to raise this with the Government today to see how we can hold Block Management to account and to support my constituents at this time of great distress. I will stand by my constituents on this issue, and I will raise the matter of Block Management’s disregard of my constituent’s well-being as many times as I need to, in order to see them meet with the residents to resolve this.

National level SEND review

July 21, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Education

I was invited to Number 10 this afternoon to discuss special educational needs with some of the Prime Minister’s advisers. A national level SEND review is currently taking place and I was glad to be able to feed in some of my views.

We also discussed prison education and the worrying fact that such a large proportion of those in prison have learning disabilities. I am pushing hard to try and make sure that everyone entering the prison system meets a education psychologist so that they can be properly assessed. We need to know the true scale of the problem.

As I’ve said before. The stakes are very high when it comes to getting SEND provision right. Get it right and we can empower some of our most creative unconventional thinkers to make a huge contribution to society. Get it wrong and sadly, too often, we are seeing with people whose needs aren’t being met in the criminal justice system.

I was very pleased to hear that the PM shares passion. I will promised that there are likely to be some significant anouncements over the coming months.

National Borders debate

July 21, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Uncategorized

Yesterday, I spoke in the National Borders debate to highlight the welcoming nature of Ipswich towards those who legitimately come over to the UK fleeing persecution, and who want to contribute to society. I also highlighted how this Bill seeks to promote those who come over here legitimately but is also firm in stopping a trade that costs many lives, and risks even more.

In Ipswich we have extended the hand of friendship to many refugees over the years. Places like the Suffolk Refugee Centre have done amazing work to support communities like the Kurdish to settle over here. I recently visited the Bloom Lounge in Ipswich, a bar started by Francesko and his brother Erion; refugees from Albania. It’s a great example of not only how welcoming Ipswich can be, but as Erion is a Conservative councillor, that it is the Conservative party that supports those that need it most.

We need to recognise that those who decide to come over here illegally, each one limits our capacity to show compassion to those that need refuge and asylum. This bill is there to deter the illegal trade and to put a stop to some of the scenes we have seen this week. It sends a message to those who think that setting foot in the UK is enough for success to think again, and that the UK will not tolerate this illegal activity.

I know this is a bill that most people support. It is a bill that takes control and does not rely on the French border police to do it for us. I am confident that the British public are behind us, but I am aware their patience is running thin, and we must deliver. I think this bill makes a real start.

National Borders Bill Intervention

July 20, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Uncategorized

Today I intervened on the Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister’s response to the National Borders Bill. I listened as the Shadow Minister, following speaker after speaker from Labour, essentially accusing all individuals who supported this bill as racist. It’s stark how out of touch the Labour party are. They seemed to suggest a two-tier system for judging immigration, looking at how they arrive and not what they have left.

In my intervention I mentioned that if you have broken the law and arrived from another safe European country compared to someone who has followed the correct legal process then these should be treated differently. We must prioritise those who want to come over her properly. It is not wrong to do so, and for the Labour party to pedal these illogical notions shows how their desire for open borders will cause severe turmoil and encourage a dangerous and illegal human trafficking trade to continue. I notice that the Labour front bencher failed to answer my point and continued to follow his orders from up high.

St Francis Tower

July 10, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Health

I’m doing my best to represent my constituents who live in St Francis Tower as forcefully as possible. The work needs to be carried out but it needs to be carried out in a way which is sensitive to the living conditions and mental health of those who are currently living in the tower. Expecting residents to live in near darkness for potentially up to a year is clearly not an option that any reasonable person would be prepared to accept.

I’m sure there is a way around this and of the way taking place in a much more acceptable way for local residents. Situation made more difficult by the seeming refusal of the managing agent to even bother responding to letters.

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Walkabout with Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore

July 9, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Crime

Went for a walkabout with Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore earlier around the Maple Park/Jubilee Park area.

Clearly the area still has its challenges and I’m glad the Police are keeping a close eye on it but I do think things have improved since the first time I visited it a few years ago. To be frank, I found it to be arguably the most sinister area I’d visited in Town.

Recently Tim led a bid alongside the Borough Council to secure money from Government (and was successful in securing £400,000) to invest in the area to fund more work to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour problems. I’m confident this will make a difference.

I visited about 6 months ago or so and was pleased to see the new play equipment being widely used but shared many residents concerns about the amount of litter. I wrote to the Borough Council at the time asking for them to take action and today I was pleased to see there wasn’t the same amount of litter than there was the last time I visited.

There must be no “no go areas” in our Town. Everyone deserves to live in a neighbourhood where they feel safe and secure.

Port of Felixstowe

July 9, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Brexit Infrastructure Local Economy

Just got back from visiting the Port of Felixstowe. Met with the Chief Operating Officer Clemence Cheng and others.

On the ship behind me there are 22,000 containers apparently. If you lined them all up the line would go on for over 80 miles. From Felixstowe to about Cambridge.

Discussed Freeport East and what this could mean for Ipswich. Over the next 10 years it is predicted that 13,500 new jobs will be on the way. There will be a major focus from the Government to make sure these Freeport’s are a success and I think there could be a significant amount of new investment across a number of different areas.

There is a significant agenda here re education and skills. The hope is that Freeport status will lead to a significant increase in manufacturing, particularly high end manufacturing, taking place locally bringing forward a number of high skilled jobs in the area. We need to make sure that it is local people who benefit from these opportunities.

Ipswich sits in the middle of the Freeport zone and my clear view is that we need to be at the heart of what is happening with the Freeport and benefit to the fullest extent. I will be working closely with the Port and the Government over the next couple of years to make sure this is the case.

Freeport’s are a key benefit that has come about as a result of Brexit.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

July 6, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Crime Immigration

Every illegal immigrant that comes over to the UK and remains illegally, sends out the message to others considering doing this that it’s worth the risk. It also fuels a trade that endangers human lives and feeds an evil trade that often results in tragedy. With many claiming to come from war-torn areas, but not stopping in other safe countries like France, it limits our ability to show compassion to those who legally want to come over here and make a life in this country.

RICHARD DAY ADJOURNMENT DEBATE

July 6, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Crime

I was proud to have led an Adjournment debate on the life of Richard Day and on calling for a tougher and stronger Criminal Justice System. I wanted to ensure that the memory of Richard Day, who was killed last year by Andrea Cristea, lives on. The death of Richard shook the whole of Ipswich and has had a devastating impact on his family. I paid tribute on the House’s written record Hansard, to how kind and generous Richard was and what an asset to his job and community he had been. I explained how integral he was to his family, caring for his mother and supporting his three brothers whenever he could.

I also wanted to point out how pitiful the sentence of Cristea is and that in the opinion of everyone I have spoken to about this, it does not give the family, or Ipswich, the sense that justice has been served. I wanted to highlight to the Minister how sentences like this do not send a clear message of deterrence or prevent individuals like Cristea from setting foot in Ipswich again. I welcomed the news that some reform for murder was being introduced, using a ‘sliding-scale’ to prevent an unreasonable shift in sentences between 17 and 18 year olds but I am keen to see this applies to manslaughter as well as murder. I also wanted to explore the possibility that should Cristea not be a British national, deportation must be considered to prevent the possibility of another attack by Cristea on British soil.

I was then very encouraged by the Minister’s response. He assured me that he would take a serious look into extending this ‘sliding scale’ to incorporate manslaughter as well as murder, and that by bringing this case to his attention, he believes that there is evidence for why this should certainly be considered. He also reassured me that should Andrea not be a British national, his deportation will definitely be considered due to the length of his sentence. I welcome this news and will be monitoring closely these developments.

I hope that in strengthening the law to protect us from individuals like Cristea, we can do justice to Richard’s memory and ensure families like Richard’s do not have to go through this ordeal again.

ST FRANCIS TOWER

June 18, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Health

I was very disturbed by what I witnessed during my visit to St Francis Tower yesterday to meet residents. A massive shrink wrap now covers the Tower. My constituents are literally living in the dark, virtually no natural sun light. No consultation and they’ve been told it could all last 18 months.

Bizarrely construction work on the building hasn’t even started. I fear that this will be debilitating to the mental health of my constituents.

The building manager has shown a total lack of respect and regard to St Francis Road residents and it cannot continue.

I have already written one letter to the building manager but will be sending a second very strongly worded letter following my visit. I will also be alerting the Housing Minister and raising in Parliament as many times as I need to until this is sorted.

As a word “angry” doesn’t do justice to the emotions I felt when I left the Tower.

Author: Chris