LATEST NEWS FROM REHMAN CHISHTI

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR GILLINGHAM & RAINHAM

June 2018 Newsletter

Welcome to my June 2018 newsletter!

Thank you for your interest in the work I do on behalf of constituents. Please see below for a summary of my commitments in the constituency and in Parliament.

If you would like further details on my work or would like to contact me, please visit my website.

Best wishes, Rehman.

In the constituency

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Rehman visited St Margaret’s Infants in Rainham and received a thank you letter from the students for helping them raise money for new school fence/ play area from the Ward Fund.

Rehman visited Hempstead School and met Headteacher Kate, and saw the damage caused to the school from recent bad weather and floods. He made representations to Council asking them to support the Headteacher in providing all help she needed to reopen as soon as possible.

Rehman visited the local Marie Curie shop in Rainham to meet the volunteers as part of Volunteers Week 2018. He sends his thanks to all volunteers across Gillingham & Rainham and Medway.

Rehman welcomed Canon John and Rev Saju to the Gills match at Priestfield for an afternoon of faith celebration, with other members of the local faith community.

Rehman had a good visit to Animals Lost & Found in Gillingham who reunite lost animals with owners across Kent and provide a home to those abandoned and injured (in May they reunited 15 animals ).

Rehman popped into Medway Hospital and met with local GPs and doctors from across Medway and saw a seminar by Dr Rampal, Dr Shah and Mr Laza on getting patients fit for surgery (Pre-habilitation Programme).

Rehman welcomed Maj General Ajmal and Jamil of the Army to the Royal Engineers Museum in Medway. They discussed UK-Pakistan security coopera- tion, the historic links to the Royal Engineers and Trade opportunities, in Rehman's capacity as the Government's Trade Envoy to Pakistan.

Rehman attended an event at the Royal School of Military Engineering with young officers and senior representatives from the armed forces around the world, including the UK, USA and Pakistan. Rehman was interviewed on KMTV on Government proposals to expand Heathrow Airport and further provision at Gatwick leading to an end to the Estuary Airport proposals which Rehman along with many local residents and Medway Council consistently campaigned against.

Rehman attended the Rainham Mark Grammar School Lower School Prize-giving ceremony (pictured alongside pupils, the headteacher & staff)

Rehman had a catch up meeting with the Chief Executive of Medway Hospital Lesley Dwyer and was briefed on the latest developments at the hospital and new initiatives by the medical staff and the team.

Rehman met Donna at Medway Hospital and heard about her work on the Medway Hospital charity raffle. Rehman visited Medway Police Station for his regular MP catch up meeting/briefing with Chief Inspector Rob Marsh and Superintendent Vaughn Lukey and discussed points raised by residents.

Rehman attended the Barnsole School Sports Day (pictured with Izzie & the CEO of Barnsole School Trust Mr Mckeown).

In Parliament

Rehman welcomed constituents Rosalyn and Philip from Twydall to Parliament for a tour followed by coffee, having previously met them on the train from London to the constituency.

Rehman did a pre-recorded interview for BBC News South East opposing Bromley Council's decision to relocate residents from Bromley into Medway putting extra pressure on already over stretched resources in Medway and the unfair situation of relocating families and breaking community ties for the families. As Vice Chairman of the Conservatives Rehman met with Peter and Barry from the Conservative Disability Group and heard about their work.

In his capacity as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Pakistan, Rehman met and was briefed by the team from UK business Lagan Construction Group who helped build the new Islamabad International Airport.

Rehman attended the British Red Cross parliamentary drop-in and met emergency response volunteers as part of Volunteers Week 2018. He was briefed on their Community Reserve Volunteer programme which aims to recruit 10,000 volunteers across the UK including in Medway.

Rehman did a pre recorded interview with BBC South East on the Government's Serious Violent Crime Strategy, the extra £11m funding for early intervention, knife crime, and county lines issues faced in Medway & Kent linked to London.

Rehman sponsored the Cancer Research UK Parliament Day to launch their Shoulder to Shoulder campaign, with speeches from Simon Stevens, Elizabeth Bailey and Sir Harpal Kumar on progress made on cancer so far and actions to take next. In his capacity as the Prime Minster's Trade Envoy to Pakistan, Rehman attended a briefing by the new HMG Trade Commissioner for Middle East and Pakistan Simon Penney. This linked into a recent update by the High Commissioner Tom Drew and the business delegation to Pakistan.

In his capacity as Chair of the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council, Rehman attended the CFCC annual Diplomatic Garden Party, with speakers including Minister Greg Hands and diplomatic representatives.

Rehman was pleased to support Guide Dogs Pavement Parking campaign showing that 97% of blind and partially sighted people encounter problems with street clutter, particularly bins, advertising boards and cars on the pavement. There are around 2m people with sight loss nationally.

Rehman took part in an early morning campaign session in Lewisham East ahead of the by-election with the Conservatives Vice Chair team.

In his capacity as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Pakistan Rehman called on the High Commissioner to Pakistan and also met with Freddie from Lagan Construction and a leading business and board member from UK Export Finance looking at UK-Pakistan bilateral trade. Rehman hosted the Conservative Friends of Pakistan Eid reception in Parliament, and spoke about the fantastic bilateral relationship between the UK and Pakistan and the contribution of the UK-Pakistan community.

Rehman was delighted to welcome students from Hempstead Juniors to Parliament for a tour and Q&A.

Rehman had a catch-up meeting with Zach Harkenrider at the US Embassy in London and met JoAnne Wagner, the new US Consul General in Karachi.

Rehman was delighted to attend the Youth Sport Trust children’s charity event in Parliament to support their campaign highlighting the power of sport to change, improve and help tackle challenges in children’s lives.

Rehman attended the Believe Organ Donor Support charity event in Parliament and met founder Anna-Louise Bates. 3 people die everyday waiting for a new organ – Believe promotes organ donation and supports donor families & recipients. Rehman raised the following issues in Parliament:

-Expansion of Heathrow and the end of Estuary Airport proposals -The G7 Summit and Iran -Cyber Security -Police officers and mental health training -Waiting times for mental health services -The National County Lines Coordination Centre -School places & attainment in Medway -Government support for SMEs in Medway -Pothole prevention in Kent & Medway -Bowel cancer screening -Increasing GP capacity locally -On the Home Affairs Select Committee Rehman questioned Policing Minister Nick Hurd on tackling online fraud and knife crime, the former UK Permanent Rep to the EU Sir Ivan Rogers on issues including the Brexit negotiations, and senior police officers including Met Police Chief Cressida Dick on knife crime, terrorism & countering extremism.

Rehman also featured in the media:

-The Wright Stuff (pictured at top left of page)

-Sky News on Brexit & the NHS dividend (pictured at top right of page)

-BBC South East on residents relocation from Bromley to Medway, and the Serious Crime Prevention Strategy

-KMTV on Heathrow expansion

-Medway Messenger on various local issues