Welcome to my latest newsletter. As you can see it has been a busy start to the year, both in Westminster and as I continue my work representing Bristol East in my 20th year as its Member of Parliament.  

As always, if I can help with any local issue or you have any questions about my work, please feel free to get in touch. 

Community Visits

After the Christmas/ New Year break it was good to get back to my work visiting and supporting community organisations across Bristol East.

I visited the Park Centre in Knowle to hear about their ambitious plans to expand their activities in the coming years, with a particular focus on meeting the needs of young people. It is a remarkable space with everything from sport and fitness to alternative learning, nursery provision and youth work. There is even a rabbit or two!

Square Food Foundation is also based at the Park Centre. I met with them to learn about their inspiring approach to community cooking, including their work with young people excluded from mainstream education, and supporting people to upskill and cook healthy, affordable meals from scratch.

I met with Harriet Wylie, the Postcode Gardener for Barton Hill, at the Wellspring Settlement. Gardening for Health works to engage local residents in nature and food growing, with weekly community gardening sessions each Thursday between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. It is a fantastic project, and I would strongly encourage people to take part. I look forward to returning in the summer to see how the new plants and trees have grown.

Speaking of gardens, I also visited Millies Garden near Magpie Bottom – a fantastic early years hub which offers a way for children to learn through play and connect with natures. This was one of a number of visits I did to local schools and education providers; I met with Year 4 at Air Balloon school to support their excellent environmental action project, visited Briarwood School’s infants site, the City of Bristol College training facility in Brislington and met with Urban Pursuits to learn more about the impact of their alternative education provision.

I spoke to some of our local healthcare providers, ahead of the publication of a new 10-Year Health Plan for our NHS. I met with Imran Ahmed of the Easton Day and Night Chemist on Stapleton Road and visited the Nightingale Valley Practice in Brislington. Both play a vital role in providing primary care. We spoke about some of the challenges they face in providing these services, which I have now taken up with the Department of Health.

I also met with the CEO and Joint Chair of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston to discuss the challenges they face and raise some concerns which constituents have raised with me. I also visited CLIC House, a key resource which enables families to stay close to their child while having cancer treatment.

So many of our local support services are provided by smaller charities or voluntary organisations. I met with several of these, including the Food Bank at St Mark’s Baptist Church, Citizens Advice Bristol and the Somali Resource Centre. These organisations do incredible work supporting our communities but can only exist with our help, for example by donating food or Bags for Life to the foodbank, or giving your time by volunteering. Similarly, I am very aware of how much third spaces do to maintain our communities and popped in to visit The Trooper, a great community pub that has recently been refurbed, and Cibomatto at St Annes House.

As well as talking to people on the doorstep and doing online surgery appointments, I held one of my regular in-person constituency surgeries at the Easton Community Centre. It was a pleasure to catch up with Meriam and sample some of Ababo’s Cuisine there too!

Across Bristol East

Leaseholder Charges – the Paintworks

I am dealing with a considerable number of cases involving leasehold properties, some of which I’ve covered in my previous newsletters. This includes Paintworks, where I met with residents last month to hear about the unreasonable charges they’re being asked to pay. I’ve spoken personally to the Minister about the number of cases I’m seeing, and he has offered a follow-up meeting so we can talk through the cases in detail. Labour is committed to further leasehold reform. In the meantime, if you are one of those affected, please do get in touch.

Live Music Venues

We are very lucky to have an abundance of live music venues in Bristol, including The Exchange. With two stages that have a maximum capacity of 250, it is one of Bristol’s best- loved music venues and, even better, a social enterprise that works to support a range of musical projects across the city. We spoke about Labour’s plans to reform business rates, the recent changes to national insurance, and the prospect of a ticket levy on larger venues. Other venues have also been in touch, and I will be meeting them over the coming months.

Saving Nightingale Valley

A few months ago, I shared the campaign run by Friends of Brislington Brook (FOBB) to preserve Nightingale Valley. I am glad to read that FOBB members have been able to meet with the new owners of the land, who have confirmed there are no plans to build on it. This is excellent news, and I give huge credit to FOBB who ran such an energetic and proactive campaign. I am very glad to hear that Nightingale Valley will be protected and open to the public for years to come.

Four-weekly bin collections consultation

I am concerned by the decision by the Council to consult on moving to three or four weekly bin collections, when we already know what it means for the state of our streets when current collections are missed. I strongly encourage all constituents to respond to the consultation. Bristol Labour is campaigning to prevent the changes and I would also recommend people sign their petition here.

East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood

Constituents are continuing to contact me about the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, with strong feelings both for and against. In the latest development, the Council paused the installation due to protests, then attempted it again in a slightly more forceful manner. At the time of writing, they have seemingly abandoned this effort, but say they still intend to install the pilot in full.

It is entirely reasonable for people to be for or against the trial and we need to ensure that everyone’s views are reflected and treated respectfully. As this is a Council matter, I have no say in the decision-making, but I am trying to fairly and accurately reflect the views I receive from constituents and pass them on to the Council. I have also pressed the Council to take steps now to ameliorate some of the impact, for example, at the Red Church junction.

It is also important to note that this has been advertised and conducted as a trial. This means the scheme needs to be monitored, and the final decision made on what the data reveals. I am disappointed that some representatives are already acting as though it is a fait accompli and dismissing opposition on that basis.

Brislington Meadows

There has been some recent speculation around Brislington Meadows and Homes England’s plans for it. As I understand it Homes England are planning to announce a developer shortly, with the aim of submitted a restricted matters application to the Council in the summer. This will be a key point in seeking to mitigate or prevent the development, for example by ensuring the footprint of the development is as small as possible, with maximum levels of local, monitored, biodiversity net gain. I have written to the Council Leader about the site, urging him to do what he can to support these objectives.

In Parliament

As we enter the new year, the Government has hit a new phase of delivery as its legislative programme kicks into gear and more policies are unveiled.

These include a tripling of funding for homelessness prevention this winter, consultations on how protect customers from ticket touts and reforms to (and a review of) social care.

There have been votes in Parliament on:

• Renters Rights Bill: This contains a raft of measures to protect renters, such as an end to Section 21 “no fault” evictions, landlords not being able to ask for months of rent upfront, and an extension to Awaab’s Law to make homes safe when they contain serious hazards. You can see a fuller summary here, but needless to say it is a major step forward in protecting renters and I was proud to vote for it.
• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: A key measure to protect children and improve our schools, it implements recommendations from the Jay Report into Child Sexual Abuse as well as other key steps to protect children, which you can find here. Unfortunately, the Opposition chose to try and block this by putting forward what is known as a wrecking amendment, which they claimed was a vote on an inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. This amendment would not have established a further inquiry, but it would have caused the Bill to fall. The grooming gangs scandal was horrific and part of a wider societal and institutional failure around child sexual abuse. To weaponise it to block child-safeguarding legislation is, to me, disgusting and does nothing to protect children.
• Water (Special Measures Bill): To strengthen the powers of water industry regulators, allowing the Government to place failing companies under special measures and take action to tackle rule-breaking. This includes bringing criminal charges against those who persistently pollute our waterways, automatic fines for wrongdoing, and monitoring every sewage outlet. I met with the new CEO of Wessex Water this month as well, to learn more about what they are doing to clean up our waterways and to push for further action.
• Climate and Nature Bill: I attended the debate on this Private Members’ Bill, and, as Climate Minister, was involved in many of the discussions. While I support the intent behind the Bill, we already have legally-binding carbon budgets, based on advice from the independent Climate Change Committee, and at COP29, we announced an ambitious Nationally Declared Contribution (our target under the Paris Agreement) to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. My colleagues in Defra are showing similar commitment on nature and biodiversity. What is needed now is more action, not more targets. I was pleased we could reach a cross-party consensus at Second Reading, and I will continue to work closely with Roz Savage, the MP who brought the Bill forward.

In my role as Minister for Climate

I’ll give a full update on my work as Minister for Climate in my next newsletter. In the meantime, here’s Ed Miliband, running through the achievements of our team in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in our first 6 months.

I managed to get away from work to see the RSC’s play Kyoto at the Soho Theatre. Based on the UN’s landmark climate conference in 1997, where the UK negotiating team was led by the maginficent John Prescott, it is brilliantly done and is an inspiring account of how the world finally began to act on the climate crisis. It was great to meet the playwrights, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, beforehand too, to talk about their motivations. I would urge anyone to see it if you can – https://www.rsc.org.uk/kyoto/

Casework Roundup

Since the start of the year, my team and I have taken up 150 new cases on behalf of constituents needing support, along with continuing to work hard on existing cases.

I have been contacted by several social housing tenants looking for support in being rehoused, particularly those needing to move for medical reasons. The shortage of social housing doesn’t just affect homeless families; it also prevents families from being able to move when their circumstances change. Whilst I have been delighted to hear from constituents who have successfully found a new home, I’m sadly aware that many are still waiting for this opportunity.

My team also helped a constituent get their Carer’s Allowance back into payment after it was erroneously stopped by the DWP. We were also able to help resolve issues with replacement driving licences, PCN appeals, and tax rebates for constituents having difficulties getting a direct response from central government.

My team and I are always here to help. You can contact me on by emailing kerry.mccarthy.mp@parliament.uk or calling my office on 0117 939 9901 between 10am and 1pm, Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can complete my online booking form to request a surgery appointment.

Best wishes,

Kerry