Following standing down as Council Leader in November – to allow an orderly handover & transition to the new Leader – most of my time has been spent in Westminster & it’s been fascinating.
Lots of work in the Lords happens outside of the main chamber & there’s lots of it.
At the moment there are a number of Bills being scrutinised - having come from the Commons – that could have implications for Bexley residents.
I’ve had some involvement in the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill, the Crime & Policing Bill & the English Devolution Bill and have been able to contribute to all to hopefully make them better. The Government have even accepted some of the amendments put forward but of course they could be changed.
There are a number of Select Committees – where the committee members look at matters in more depth - I’ve been put on one about Public Services which is fascinating & I know my experiences from Bexley will be useful.
The third part of the work are the All Party Parliamentary Groups (or APPG’s) & I’ve joined the APPG for London, the APPG on Family Hubs, the Schools APPG & I’ve been appointed Vice Chair of the Thames Estuary APPG – all of which are important to Bexley.
Locally I had the pleasure of unveiling the plague dedicated to Robert Shaw at the formal opening of the Clinical Diagnostic Centre at Queen Mary’s hospital before I stood down as Leader. Robert was instrumental in making sure the project was delivered at Queen Mary’s but, unfortunately, he passed away before the project was completed. It was only right that the centre should be dedicated to his memory & it was lovely to meet his family.
The final thing worth noting in this update is that, following three years of lobbying, Oxleas have installed a new waiting system in the phlebotomy area at Queen’s Mary’s hospital to replace the broken ticket machine. Hopefully the machine will ensure more efficient delivery of blood tests as well as removing the need for those carrying out the tests to have to escort patients through.
Councillor Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE
