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“A huge opportunity for Thamesmead” – Abena Oppong-Asare MP welcomes government’s new housing and DLR plans for the area

Abena Oppong-Asare MP has today welcomed the government’s announcement that Thamesmead has been identified by the New Towns Taskforce as one of 12 recommended locations for the next generation of new towns.

The plans, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, set out ambitions to create thousands of new homes in Thamesmead. Crucially, the proposals highlight the opportunity to extend the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) into Thamesmead – a long-awaited step that would transform local transport links, boost the local economy, and improve access to jobs and services.

The Taskforce, set up to help deliver the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes this Parliament, recommends each new town should provide at least 10,000 homes, with 40% affordable and half of those for social rent. It also calls for accountable delivery bodies to give local communities long-term certainty.

Abena Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith and Thamesmead said:

“This is a huge opportunity for Thamesmead. The government’s plans for new homes and the DLR extension could be truly transformational – tackling London’s housing crisis, boosting local transport, and unlocking Thamesmead’s potential.

“Through my #NextStopThamesmead campaign I’ve long argued for better local transport connections, so I strongly welcome this positive step forward.

“I will work hard to ensure these plans are delivered in partnership with local residents and reflect our community’s needs.”

The Erith and Thamesmead MP recently visited Thamesmead Waterfront with Deputy Mayor Seb Dance, Greenwich Council Leader Cllr Anthony Okereke, and James Asser MP to hear about plans for new homes, local jobs, and the DLR extension. This visit came alongside the Chancellor’s Spending Review over the summer, where she committed to working with TfL on this project.

The government will now undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment before confirming final sites next year. Abena Oppong-Asare MP has pledged to work with ministers and residents to put local people at the heart of these plans, so Thamesmead gets the homes, transport, and investment it deserves.

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Abena Welcomes £47.1m Funding Boost to Help Residents in Greenwich and Bexley Overcome Barriers to Work

Thousands of residents across Greenwich and Bexley — including many in Erith and Thamesmead — will benefit from new Government funding to help disabled people and those with long-term health conditions into work.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a £338 million investment into the new Connect to Work programme, which will provide tailored employment support for more than 85,000 people in 15 areas across England.

As part of this, up to £47.1 million has been allocated to the Local London Sub-Regional partnership, supporting 12,350 people locally, including in Greenwich and Bexley. The scheme will offer personalised coaching, job-matching services, and ongoing support to help people overcome barriers and secure sustainable jobs.

Abena Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith and Thamesmead said:

“This investment will make a real difference to people here in Erith and Thamesmead.

“Everyone deserves the chance to fulfil their potential, and this scheme will provide personalised support for those who may have faced long-term barriers to work.

“I’m delighted to see new opportunities being opened up across both Greenwich and Bexley, helping more people into secure and fulfilling work.”

Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, said:

“For too long, millions of people have been denied the support they need to get back to health and back to work.

“It’s bad for their living standards, it’s bad for their families, and it’s bad for the economy.

“That’s why we’re taking decisive action by investing millions of pounds so sick or disabled people can overcome the barriers they face and move out of poverty and into good, secure jobs as part of our Plan for Change.

With 2.8 million people out of work due to ill-health, this investment is a key step in the Government’s wider Plan for Change – helping sick and disabled people overcome barriers, move out of poverty, and secure good, stable jobs.

For more information, read the DWP Government announcement here.

Abena in Erith

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‘Black in Business’ Parliamentary reception

This April, it was great to speak at the ‘Black in Business’ event in Parliament hosted by Channel 4 and Lloyds Banking Group. And it was great to hear from the amazing Black entrepreneurs and business owners, who spoke about the work that has been championed by this initiative.

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Local team from YouthBuild Ventures UK visit to Parliament

It was wonderful to meet the local team from YouthBuild UK, who came for a tour of parliament finishing with a Question and Answer session!

I thoroughly enjoyed talking to these young people who asked brilliant questions about the role of an MP, the function of parliament, job prospects and Britain’s economy.

YouthBuild Ventures UK do great work in opening access and career opportunities with construction organisations for disadvantaged young people at risk from social exclusion. It was great to meet the group in parliament and I want to thank them for coming.

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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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Abena speaks out, another U-Turn on Alcohol Duty

I recently popped into the Standard, a pub in my Erith and Thamesmead constituency, which is really struggling with soaring energy bills and the lack of Government support. It needs the Government to be on its side.

Today the Government  announced they are freezing alcohol duty rates for six months.  I spoke out on behalf of British venues like the Standard who are concerned about this  sudden change after  the previous Chancellor announced a freeze, the current Chancellor scrapped it, and now it is back on.

This government isn’t providing the certainty that businesses and their hard-working employees need in order to plan for the tough winter ahead. Labour believes the alcohol duty system could be reformed to make the system  “simpler, more economically rational and less administratively burdensome on businesses and HMRC.”

You can watch my speech using the following link here, and you can read my speech here

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Abena speaks out on ending the ban on onshore wind

The Government should end the ban on  onshore wind.   Removing the onshore wind ban will make Britain a clean air energy superpower and open up new investment and growth opportunities.

Keeping the ban will contribute to energy bills  being £16 billion higher between now and 2030.   This isn’t sustainable for households who are facing difficult choices in a cost of living crisis.

You can watch my speech using the following link here, and you can read my speech here

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Speaking up for hard-hit local hospitality businesses in Parliament

Hospitality businesses in Erith and Thamesmead have had an enormously difficult year. On Wednesday 24 March, the House of Commons held a debate to consider support for the hospitality industry during this pandemic.

I spoke at the debate, highlighting the enormous difficulties our local businesses have faced. Not only have they been closed for many months, but when they have been allowed to open, they have faced a constantly changing set of rules and regulations. Many have not received the financial support they needed from the Government, and many are fearful for the future.

In my speech I raised the concerns of several local pubs – including the Abbey Arms in Abbey Wood which I visited in December as part of Small Business Saturday. Pubs that have reached out to me like The Duchess of Kent in Erith and The Victoria in Belvedere are centres of our communities and they need assurances from the Government that they will provided with support not just to reopen but thrive.

The wedding and events sector has also been extremely hard hit as nearly all their usual business disappeared. Especially worrying is the fact that many businesses in the events sector have been repeatedly refused grant funding by Bexley council – who cite the Government’s tight criteria.

If it is properly supported, the hospitality industry can and will play a vital role in reviving our economy after this most difficult year. But we need action from the Government right now to ensure this happens.

You can watch my speech below:

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Speaking up in Parliament for businesses and individuals struggling during the pandemic

On Wednesday 24 February I rose to the Opposition despatch box to give the closing statement for the Shadow Treasury’s Opposition Day Debate on ‘Supporting Businesses and Individuals Through the Coronavirus Crisis’.

As your local MP and as Labour’s Shadow Exchequer Secretary I am determined to speak truth to power and provide a voice for the despair so many people are feeling.

Although the Chancellor didn’t show up to defend his failings during this crisis, several Labour colleagues gave powerful speeches about how the pandemic has affected businesses and individuals in their constituencies. Their passion, in the face of Tory callousness, is an inspiration. Not everyone can wait for the Chancellor to come to Parliament.

People across our country are facing the very real prospect of their job disappearing, or their businesses failing, and we must continue to push the Government to set out clear measures that will support businesses and families over the coming months.

As it stands, the Government’s support schemes have left gaps that leave millions forgotten, unsupported, and excluded. It’s not good enough.

You can watch my speech below:

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8,710 jobs at risk in Erith and Thamesmead unless Chancellor delivers “smart” furlough scheme

Rishi Sunak’s “Plan for Jobs” has been a disaster.  Seven months after its launch, we’ve got record redundancies, soaring unemployment and the worst economic crisis of any major economy.

Analysis by the Labour Party shows that as of late January 6845 people are claiming out of work benefits and 8,710 people are still on furlough in Erith and Thamesmead.

The Chancellor’s initially triggered a one-size-fits-all wind down of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in his Plan for Jobs last July. After several last-minute changes over the autumn and winter, the scheme is now set to expire at the end of April.

As well as being your local MP, I’m also Labour’s Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. With 4.6 million people still on furlough nationally, I’m calling for the Chancellor not to repeat the mistakes of last year. The scheme must not be wound down while public health restrictions are in place and demand is still suffering.

Sunak must immediately announce an extension to the furlough scheme. Local businesses and workers need that certainty. We are also calling for urgent reform to make furlough smarter, with new training to help furloughed workers improve their skills and tough conditions on employers to stop abuse.

Labour is also demanding immediate action to recover jobs by overhauling the failing Kickstart scheme and to help create new jobs in the technologies of the future by reforming the shambolic Green Homes Grant.

Our figures show that 5800 people in Erith and Thamesmead had made claims under the Coronavirus Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) by the end of July. It is appalling that the Chancellor has left the millions of self-employed people relying on the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) scheme in the dark about future support.

Labour is calling on the Chancellor to set the fourth grant of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) at 80% of pre-crisis profits – and to do it now, not at the Budget.

Labour has also called for the scheme to be opened to the 200,000 people who only have a 2019/20 tax return, and for the Chancellor to urgently fix the holes its support schemes that have left millions of others excluded from support.

People can’t afford to wait for the Chancellor to get his act together. They need emergency action today, not more dither and delay until the Budget.

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