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Pride on the Pier Erith

I was delighted to be a guest at the very first Bexley Pride event in July held on Erith Pier. This event has been a long time coming, and it was truly a historic and heartwarming moment for our community. I would like to extend my thanks to all the stakeholders who worked tirelessly to make this incredible celebration of diversity and inclusion a reality.

It was not only a joyous occasion but also a testament to the power of unity and acceptance. Meeting so many locals, partners, and small businesses that came together to support this event was inspiring. It demonstrated the strength of our community and the shared commitment to fostering a more inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone in Bexley.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Councillor Nicola Taylor for her exceptional leadership and dedication. Her unwavering support for Bexley Pride has been instrumental in bringing our community together and creating an event that will be remembered for years to come. Additionally, I’d like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the dedicated volunteers who poured their time and energy into making this event a resounding success. Your hard work and passion truly shone through, and it was evident in every aspect of the event.

Bexley Pride’s inaugural celebration was a powerful reminder that love, acceptance, and unity can overcome any obstacle. I look forward to witnessing this event grow and evolve in the years to come, continuing to celebrate diversity. Thank you once again to everyone who made Bexley Pride a reality.

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My Summer Reception to celebrate Erith and Thamesmead

This July I was pleased to welcome constituents to my first reception in parliament – something that I have been planning since I was first elected.

It was fantastic to see so many volunteers, stakeholders, and Erith and Thamesmead residents in the House of Commons, many of them visiting for the first time. I am passionate about everybody feeling welcome and included in parliament and this was a great chance to show how accessible parliament is.

Everyone had the opportunity to visit both the House of Commons and House of Lords and find out more about the building where I work on your behalf. I would also like to thank the students of Bexley Music Centre for providing beautiful background music.

It was an honour to see that so many of you were so passionate about making positive change. It really shows some of the best of Erith and Thamesmead and makes me proud to represent you in parliament.

If you would like to visit for a Tour of Parliament, please get in touch if you live in Erith and Thamesmead via email at abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.

If you would like to attend a future summer reception, please email my office also at: abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.

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Meeting with the Fire Borough Commander and Tour of Erith Fire Station

During my visit to Erith Fire Station in July, I had the privilege of sitting down with Jim Morford, the Fire Borough Commander for Bexley, to learn more about the impressive efforts of the local firefighting team in promoting fire safety within the community. It was great to witness the dedication and passion they exhibited in their mission.

One of the standout highlights of our discussion was the inspiring success story of the Fire Cadets scheme tailored for young people. Jim shared how this program was not only imparting invaluable life skills but also instilling a sense of responsibility and commitment to fire safety in the youth of Bexley. It’s a testament to the station’s proactive approach to community engagement.

We had interesting conversations about increasingly common causes for fire, one of which being the usage of unofficial e-bike and e-scooter chargers. It’s important we work together as a community to increase awareness around fire safety, and what we can do to prevent fires from happening in the first place.

Jim shows me around Erith Fire Station
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Age UK Summer Reception 2023

Thank you to everyone from Erith and Thamesmead who contacted me about attending Age UK’s Summer Reception and the important issue of healthcare for older people.

I’m pleased to say that I attended their July event and spoke to many members of the Age UK team, their policy experts, and elderly people struggling with long waiting lists and a lack of support.

You can see my post from the event here: https://twitter.com/abenaopp/status/1679159735918944256 

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Abena’s visit to Nepal

At the end of May, I visited Nepal with WaterAid UK and the Coalition for Global Prosperity to see the impact of development projects supporting access to clean water.

It was wonderful to be able to visit the beautiful country of Nepal and meet so many people doing life-saving and transformational work. Visiting some of the programmes that WaterAid is undertaking illuminated the extent of the hardship and poverty that so many in Nepal are facing. It also showed the amazing progress that has been made.

Poor access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) presents some serious challenges to vulnerable communities in Nepal. These include the proliferation of water-borne illness, poor sanitation, and restrictions on the opportunities afforded to citizens.

What I found particularly worrying was that these issues disproportionately affect women and young girls. A lack of sanitation has been related to a disproportionately smaller number of girls attending schools, particularly affecting those on their menstrual cycles.

For instance, only 39% of schools have separate, female-friendly toilets, meaning many young girls are left without a safe space to clean themselves and manage the difficulties associated with menstruation. This can discourage girls from attending school altogether, through fear of judgment, embarrassment and even harassment.

It is therefore great to see the outstanding progress that WaterAid have made with their WASH programmes. Citizens in these areas have experienced vastly improved quality of life, with improved access to safe water, better toilets, and improved hygiene.

Young girls have been offered safe spaces, which has succeeded in breaking down some of the barriers that might stop them from receiving an equal education to their male counterparts. It’s a really promising story that I am keen to see continue.

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Equal access to defibrillators can save lives says Abena Oppong-Asare MP

We all know having access to life-saving defibrillators saves lives. The issue is not their design but their location and public awareness about what they are and how to use them.

Having access to a life-saving defibrillator depends on where you live. Today, I called on the Government to address this cruel unfairness to save lives. That was my message in my Westminster Hall debate on public access to Defibrillators.

Research from the Resuscitation Council UK shows that access to defibrillators, or AEDs, is not fairly distributed across England. Each year, there are 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK, with less than one in ten surviving. Whilst immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival, defibrillators are used in less than one in ten cases. If you have a cardiac arrest and have access to a defibrillator within a minute, have a 90% chance of survival.

According to the BMJ, access to a defibrillator varies widely by location:

  • 140 per 100,000 people in Swansea
  • 61 per 100,000 people in London
  • 2 per 100,000 people in Birmingham

The issue was highlighted to me by the experience of my constituent, Bonnie McGhee, who works on the cardiology unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Bonnie sadly lost her father to cardiac arrest and has since successfully raised funds for a defibrillator in his memory.

Access to a defibrillator may have saved his life. Bonnie successfully fundraised for a defibrillator in memory of her father.

To save lives, defibrillators must be in a well-signposted location, unlocked and easy to find so that members of the community can access them immediately in an emergency. They must be maintained and ready for use. Information about defibrillator locations is hard to come by. People do not know where to find them and how to use them. The Circuit is a national database of defibrillators but it is incomplete, meaning that emergency services may not be able to direct someone to save a life.

In my debate today I said “Knowing where a defibrillator is and how to use one saves lives. Learning simple resuscitation skills can make all the difference in an emergency. Today, I’m calling on Ministers to listen and help save lives.”

You can read my full speech here and watch it here.

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Age UK Bexley Visit to Parliament

It was wonderful to meet the team from Age UK Bexley this month after their Parliament tour. It was encouraging to see such a great turnout and to discuss their work and the support they provide to older people in Erith and Thamesmead.

As always, please get in touch if you live in Erith & Thamesmead and would like me to arrange a tour. You can contact me via email on abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk. 

You can also see my social media post about this visit below or here.

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Bexley Volunteer Excellence Awards

It was a pleasure to meet the outstanding community volunteers at the Bexley Volunteer Excellence Awards this month. It was a wonderful evening at the Exchange Erith, hearing inspiring stories of volunteer work across Bexley.

I was also honoured to hand out the ‘Youth Volunteer Awards’ and to celebrate everyone’s great achievements in the last year. It was a fitting way to end Volunteers Week 2023. Congratulations to all the winners.

You can see my social media post about the event below or here.

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Solus Repair Centre Visit

I was very pleased to be able to visit Solus Repair Centre in Erith earlier this month.

I particularly enjoyed meeting young people from the apprenticeship programme and discovering all the opportunities available to develop technical skills and expertise in the sector.

You can see my social media post about the visit below or here.

Photos

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ULEZ Expansion Update

Thank you to all constituents who have taken the time to write to me about the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) London-wide expansion.  

I recently contacted the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to raise concerns about how the current proposals to extend the ULEZ will affect constituents of Erith and Thamesmead, many of whom do not have good links to public transport.

I welcomed the £110m for the new scrappage scheme to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled Londoners, charities and micro-businesses as a welcome starting point. However, many of my constituents, including struggling families and businesses, are not covered by the scrappage scheme. I therefore strongly encouraged the Mayor to review of the scrappage scheme to support small businesses and to undertake an assessment of what additional support can be provided to families.  

I will continue to monitor the impact of ULEZ expansion in Erith and Thamesmead, and pass on my constituent’s views to the Mayor directly. 

Please find below my letter to the Mayor of London. 

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