www.preetkaurgill.com Report back Dear {contact.rst_name} My team and I have been working hard over the past couple of months sending out surveys and delivering letters across the constituency – asking for constituents’ views on a number of local issues, as well as keeping constituents up to date with what I’ve been doing both locally and in Parliament. My ofce receives hundreds of casework emails and calls each month, and May and June were no exception. In the past two months alone, I have taken up over 1,000 cases and sent over 2,500 emails. In addition to casework, I have also received hundreds of emails from constituents on a diverse range of issues, with the most frequently occurring topics relating to the NHS, climate change, and of course, Brexit. In Parliament, I have contributed to a number of debates on a variety of issues such as inequality, school cuts, and mental health. Sadly, the underfunding of mental health services means that those most in need are now suffering most, in particular, our children and young people. You can watch my speech in Parliament where I call on the Government to do more for young people’s mental health here. On school cuts, out of the 371 schools in Birmingham a staggering 365 face cuts with an average loss of £350 per pupil. In Edgbaston, over 82% of the schools who responded to my survey have seen cuts to their budgets this academic year, and 88% feel pessimistic about funding for the next three years. I revealed the extent of local school funding cuts with the Schools Minister in Parliament, which you can watch here. 3 years ago, the Prime Minister promised she would ght against burning injustices. The fact is that she has failed to deliver on these promises. Instead, she has supported the powerful, she has prioritised the wealthy and she has entrenched the advantages of the fortunate few. You can watch my speech on Theresa May’s failure to address inequality and social mobility here. You can nd a small selection of what I have been up to over the past two months below, and you can keep up-to-date with the rest of my work on my website at www.preetkaurgill.com. As always, please get in touch if there is anything I can help with. You can nd my contact details at the bottom of this newsletter. Yours sincerely Preet Kaur Gill MP Member of Parliament for Edgbaston PREET URGES THE COUNCIL TO IMPROVE TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION INSPECTIONS In May, Preet called on Birmingham City Council to improve its inspection regime for temporary accommodation in the city, after it emerged that constituents were being sent to cramped, sub-standard accommodation on the Hagley Road - accommodation used by the Council for homeless individuals and families until they can be housed elsewhere. Preet contacted the Council about the case and has repeated calls for the Council to dramatically improve its inspection regime of emergency accommodation and provide much better support for vulnerable individuals sent to B&Bs. After Preet’s intervention, the Council committed to stop using one of the worst- offending B&Bs and agreed to move out everyone who is currently placed there as a priority. Preet said: "It is a small victory in a long battle to end the use of low-quality B&Bs, which are totally unsuitable for vulnerable people and families.” PREET DECLARES A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOLS Preet sent a survey to local schools back in May, which found that over 90% have seen an increase in staff and students suffering from mental health problems. In a Parliamentary public health debate, Preet highlighted some of her survey’s ndings: “I found that NHS gures indicated that one in eight people under the age of 19 in England have a mental health disorder and across ten out of eleven schools that responded saw the number of pupils suffering from mental health problems had increased across the last 5 years.” Preet also discussed the reason for this rise: “I want to place on the record my thanks to the honourable member for Ogmore for his chairing of the All Party Group on Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing whose recent inquiry found that 27% of children who are on a social networking website for 3 or more hours a day have symptoms of mental ill health. This stands against 12% of children who spend no time on such sites. Schools in my constituency are doing an amazing job at trying to provide appropriate provisions for their pupils to deal with mental health problems; from developing their own wellbeing support to check-in sessions and peer mentors. But this is not sustainable.” PREET TAKES PART IN AUTISM TRAINING IN PARLIAMENT Preet joined over 75 other MPs at Parliament's rst ever 'Understanding Autism' session run by the National Autism Society. The session was a chance for MPs to learn more about autism and how autistic people experience and interact with the world. Preet said: “The event was an excellent opportunity to understand how myself and other MPs can change attitudes for the 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK. I would like to thank the National Autism Society for running the session and I am thankful for all the other MPs who attended and pledged their support.” PREET JOINS LOCAL PREET ANSWERS STUDENTS’ CLIMATE STREET WATCH PATROL CHANGE QUESTIONS Preet joined local residents at their Preet was invited to a special climate regular neighbourhood Street Watch emergency Question Time session at patrol in Harborne. Lordswood Girls' School. The students all had the opportunity to put their Preet said: climate change questions across to Preet and discuss what they can do to help "Thank you to Sarah and all the tackle it. Harborne residents involved in the Street Watch group for the work they have done locally to keep the area safe." PREET INTRODUCES BILL TO STRENGTHEN LEGAL POSITION OF FREEHOLDERS Preet brought a ten minute rule motion to the House of Commons in June which, if passed, would require landlords to provide accounts of management charges payable to freehold property owners and for connected purposes. The Bill aims to extend responsibility to landlords as well as freeholders, legislating landlords or scheme managers to provide transparent accounts detailing the management charges, also known as ‘Estate Management Schemes’, received and the nature of expenditure. As it stands, Section 19 contains obligations for freeholders, but not for landlords, and it is only enforceable by landlords. The ten minute rule bill, if passed, will therefore strengthen the legal position of freeholders. Preet said: “It is clear to me that in its current form, the balance of power is not fair nor is it appropriate. Management companies can, by law, use enforcement agents to collect the management charges but individual dwelling freeholders are unable to even obtain details of where the money they have been charged goes or has gone. Residents who own their own homes as freeholders are left feeling helpless as they try to nd out how much is left in the scheme and they are rightly aggrieved that, despite their payment into said fund, the opaqueness of it makes them powerless to try and enforce the responsibilities of the landlord or management scheme manager.” PREET DISCUSSES CLEAN AIR ZONE ON BBC SUNDAY POLITICS MIDLANDS In June, Preet was invited on to BBC Sunday Politics Midlands to discuss Birmingham’s proposed Clean Air Zone and the need for better and more affordable public transport across the city. Preet said: “There are 1,000 people in the West Midlands region alone who are at risk of premature death because of air pollution. We need to shift minds, and take people with us, because there is a climate emergency.” PREET HELPS SET-UP COMMUNITY LED LITERACY PROGRAMME Earlier this year, Preet met with the headteacher of Lordswood Boys' School, Lee Williams, to discuss how we could improve the students' outcomes, both academically and personally. In the meeting Preet offered to help nd volunteers from within the community to form a new literacy programme, with the aim of improving the boys’ reading abilities, increase their condence and help develop their soft-skills. Preet was able to bring on board over a dozen volunteers from within the constituency, among them: retired teachers, police ofcers, nurses and other members of the community. Since the rst meeting in early May, where the volunteers were paired with a student, they have met weekly to provide support to the boys on their literacy journey. Once the boys have successfully completed the programme, the aim is that they will become a mentor for other boys in the school – helping to change the literacy chances of their peers as well. Preet said: “It is fantastic that Lordswood Boys’ School has seen signicant improvements in attendance, attainment, and progress over the last year, rising up from the bottom of the tables to exceed every school target and set new benchmarks along the way. I have every condence that this initiative will build on the achievements of recent years and improve outcomes further still. I want to thank all of the volunteers for giving up their time, and Lordswood Boys’ School for their willingness to welcome the community into their school to lend a helping hand. This is a project that I am really proud to have been a part of, and something that I will look to roll-out in other schools in the constituency.” Letters to Ministers SURVIVORS' PENSIONS FOR POLICE WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS Preet wrote to the Home Secretary about her concerns over pensions for police widows and widowers due to the new amendment that only applies to those who re- marry, form a civil partnership or begin cohabitation on or after 1 April 2015.