More Good News on Local Hospital Funding
Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick
Andy Slaughter MP
February 8, 2025
More news this week on the status of our local hospitals in the New Hospital Programme, with a statement from Imperial College Healthcare Trust on Wednesday. Five years ago, Charing Cross was still under threat of demolition and two years ago all three major local hospitals were removed from the ‘New Hospital Programme’. The incoming Labour government found no money had been set aside for the schemes. Now the future of Charing Cross and funding for all three hospitals is confirmed.
And there is more good news with immediate funding for the planning and design of the new St Mary’s Hospital. Of the three, St Mary’s is the most in urgent need of redevelopment and is a more complex and ambitious scheme. The £50 million allocated to St Mary’s shows the serious commitment to the Imperial sites and will maintain confidence from academic and commercial partners. And while St Mary’s is a critical priority, the ability for the other sites to be developed stage by stage means all schemes can maximise opportunities in the next decade.
In the House this week I asked for a statement from the Government on knife crime and their plans for harm reduction, raised significant concerns about the continued dehumanising of Palestinian people and contributed to Solicitor General questions. The Justice Committee continues to gather evidence for our ongoing inquiry into ending the cycle of reoffending, and next week the Committee will be visiting a prison as part of that evidence gathering.
Constituents continue to write to me about their concerns over a third runway at Heathrow and I have been responding to your emails this week. On Thursday I spoke at a HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) meeting where residents were voicing their opposition to a third runaway.
Exciting events happening across the constituency this week with a visit from His Majesty King Charles III. I was delighted that His Majesty came to our local Polish cultural centre on King Street. Following his recent trip to Poland, he had expressed the wish to meet the Polish community in London. There is no better place for that that at POSK (Polish Cultural Centre) where he was welcomed by people from all walks of life in the Polish community. The King was guided around an exhibition in the Gallery of paintings by Polish wartime artist, set designer and actor, Feliks Fabian. After this he met with around 100 POSK members and staff.
Best wishes,
Andy
andy@andyslaughter.com
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