Welcome to my e-newsletter for the month of May.
Whilst the Covid emergency is by no means over, it is very encouraging that the number of new cases and hospital admissions continues to fall. Fewer and fewer people are losing their lives to coronavirus. Infection rates have dropped particularly sharply in London showing that we are starting to emerge from the outbreak. Thanks to the hard work of NHS and care staff and the self-discipline showed by the general public, the NHS was not overwhelmed as many feared and we succeeded in ‘flattening the peak’ of infections.
Throughout this crisis I have been highlighting the crucial importance of protecting care home staff and residents and repeated this in a speech in Parliament earlier this month. Hospitals and care homes are the places where the risk of infection is highest. A relentless and concerted effort to address Covid in those settings not only helps us protect the people most vulnerable to the disease, it also means that we can safely ease the lockdown for the rest of us and start up the economy again.
In a second debate in Parliament, I made the case for ensuring that our trade negotiations with the US do not reduce or remove tariffs on food imports unless they comply with standards of animal welfare and environmental protection which are as good as the ones we impose on our domestic producers.
I continue to be gravely concerned about the changes proposed to the 384 bus in New Barnet, raising this directly with the Deputy Mayor of London, Heidi Alexander, who has responsibility for transport. For the moment, Ms Alexander and the Mayor are refusing to change their decision but the campaign to save the 384 route continues.
There is better news on another big issue for New Barnet – the Victoria Quarter planning application. The deadline for responding to the consultation has been extended to 17th June so there is still time to make your voice heard. Click here to find out how to submit your views to Barnet Council.
For more information on my campaigning work over the last month, you can click on the links below to articles on my website. Please pass on this email to anyone you think would be interested to see it or join my mailing list. You can also follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/theresavillierscb.
With warmest wishes
Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers
Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet
Helping members of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS UK) to pick up food donations for delivery to vulnerable people in Barnet, as part of HSS Covid activities for Sewa Day which is an annual event to encourage selfless service to others
Bring back a full tube service!
In Prime Minister’s Question Time Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has called on the London Mayor to restore the capital’s transport capacity so her constituents can travel safely and get back out to work if their job is not one they can do from home.
Villiers demands action to tackle Covid in care homes
From an early stage in the corona crisis, Theresa Villiers has been demanding proper protection for care home residents and staff.
MP pays tribute to small local shops keeping us going through the Covid crisis
Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, recently visited a family-run New Barnet store to highlight the essential work of small shops during the coronavirus outbreak.
Theresa Villiers defends high UK animal welfare and environmental standards
Earlier this month, your local MP defied the party whip to vote for an amendment to the Agriculture Bill aimed at preventing high UK standards of animal welfare and environmental protection from being undermined by removal of tariffs on US imports produced to lower standards.
Victoria Quarter consultation period extended
Following representations by Theresa Villiers Barnet Council has extended the public consultation period for the proposed Victoria Quarter development in New Barnet to Wednesday 17th June. Originally the formal public consultation was due to close on Tuesday 19th May.
Protect Coppetts Wood - say no to blocks of flats in Colney Hatch Lane!
The MP for Chipping Barnet has joined Friern Barnet residents in opposing plans to build seven storey blocks of flats at 231 Colney Hatch Lane.
We need a strong economy - let us get back to work
In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Theresa Villiers MP calls for the Government to go further and faster in lifting the lockdown to help businesses in her Chipping Barnet constituency like the Mitre Inn in High Barnet.
Eid Mubarak from Theresa Villiers MP
Theresa Villiers MP sent her best wishes to those celebrating the Eid al-fitr annual festival which occurred earlier this month.
Covid-19 related links and information
A link to the Covid-19 pages of the www.gov.uk website can be found here. Advice from the NHS is available here. Guidance on local matters related to Covid-19 can be found here on the Barnet Council website. If you need to get help with groceries etc for a vulnerable person information is available here (or contact Barnet Council on [email protected] or 0808 281 3210).
For information on whether you are eligible for the Government support schemes for businesses, jobs and incomes, click here. Suggestions on how to volunteer to help people during the Covid emergency are on my website here. For links to recent information on easing the Covid lockdown, click here.
How to contact Theresa
Your local MP and her team are working hard to respond to constituents’ concerns, both on Covid-19 and the other issues routinely raised with MPs. However, some changes have had to be made to the way Theresa and her staff are working in order to comply with social distancing rules and public health advice
If you need Theresa’s help you will need to email her on
[email protected], ring her constituency office on 020 8449 7345, or write to Theresa Villiers MP, 163 High Street, Barnet, Herts, EN5 5SU.
Face-to-face surgery meetings are still possible, where they are absolutely necessary, but these are being kept to a minimum to reduce risk and to comply with the rules on social distancing. Surgeries will therefore generally take place by phone. That means that Theresa’s regular drop-in surgery that normally happens on the first Saturday of the month has been suspended and will not take place on 6th June. No surgery face-to-face meetings will take place without a pre-booked appointment. No one calling at Theresa’s constituency office will be admitted without a pre-booked appointment.
