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As we enter June, I wish everyone in Hertford and Stortford a happy and powerful Pride Month as we come together to celebrate the diversity of our community.
As we reflect on the struggles faced by the LGBT+ community throughout history, Pride Month must also be an opportunity to recommit ourselves to challenging discrimination wherever we find it today.
Stortford Fields
In recent weeks, I’ve heard from residents highlighting issues at the Stortford Fields development – and it’s not hard to see why. I’ve been told about repeated postal delivery failures, unsafe or poorly marked footpaths and a failure thus far to deliver a second entrance to the site, leaving the community reliant on a single access road. Our residents are right to feel frustrated.
That’s why I’ve been on the ground, holding the first of my street surgeries in the area last week – knocking on doors, speaking to residents face to face and listening to their concerns.
I’ve already contacted Royal Mail regarding issues with postal deliveries, I’ll be holding further street surgeries in the area and will continue to seek engagement with residents and key local stakeholders to offer my support.
Investing in mental health services
In May, I visited Oxford House in Bishop’s Stortford to meet Karen Taylor, chief executive of the Hertfordshire Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT), and learned more about the mental health support it provides for people in our community.
We discussed children and young people’s mental health, adult support services and the innovative ways HPFT is delivering modern, compassionate care. I was especially encouraged by the work being done to integrate mental health services within the community, helping them to catch problems early and deliver support closer to home.
People in our community should be able to access the mental healthcare they need when they need it, and I recognise that some are still struggling to access mental health support. As the Labour Government gets the NHS back on its feet and fit for the future, we have a real opportunity to build a system of mental health care that delivers for communities like ours.
I’m pleased the Government is taking advantage of this opportunity and taking important steps to cut waiting times, recruit 8,500 more staff, introduce community mental health hubs and get mental health support into our schools. As we make progress on this important area, I’ll seek to feed in the best practice of Oxford House and other services based in our community.
Breaking the link between money worries and mental illness
I was delighted to speak at the MoneySuperMarket, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and UM reception in Parliament recently as they highlighted the findings of their report, Money Talks.
Their research set out the serious impact that money worries are having on young people’s mental health, with one in four young people in debt and one in 10 having suicidal thoughts because of money worries.
We need to break the silence. That means delivering effective financial education for our young people, ensuring support is readily accessible and free of judgement, and making sure that no young person must suffer in silence. I’ll keep working in Parliament to drive this agenda forward.
Opening up opportunities for our young people
I was pleased to welcome the Labour Government’s recent landmark agreement with the European Union, as well as our third trade deal in two weeks. After years of tension and deadlock, we’re finally turning the page and building a practical, forward-looking relationship with our European neighbours.
Having recently signed a letter with more than 60 of my Labour colleagues on this issue, I’m pleased by the commitment to deliver a new Youth Experience Scheme. This will allow our young people to live, work and study across Europe, with opportunities for cultural exchange, opening career pathways and building lasting links between countries.
After years of closed doors under the Conservatives, we’re opening them back up and creating opportunities for our young people. This deal, and those struck with the USA and India, will create jobs, support British businesses and show that Britain is back on the world stage.
Promoting sustainability and circular living
And finally, as May drew to a close, I enjoyed visiting the Repair Café at the Bullfields Centre in Sawbridgeworth.
This fantastic local initiative brings together local volunteers to fix the items we rely on every day that might otherwise end up in landfill, alongside a healthy dose of tea, cake and good conversation. Whether it’s a broken toaster or a wobbly chair, the Repair Café shows that small actions make a big difference to people’s lives.
I was pleased to sign the Restart Project’s Repair and Reuse Declaration, calling for a national right to repair and better access to the parts and guidance necessary to allow people to make do and mend. A huge thank you to everyone at the Repair Café for their warm welcome and inspiring work.
Upcoming surgeries
If you have an issue you’d like to raise with me directly, my next advice surgeries will be held on: Friday 13 June, Bishop’s Stortford; Friday 27 June, Hertford
To book an appointment, please email josh.dean.mp@parliament.uk with your full name, postal address including postcode, a contact phone number and as much detail about your case(s) as possible.
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