Deputy Mayor of London for Business & Enterprise, Kit Malthouse, took delivery of the “We Want Waitrose” petition in Sidcup today (Tuesday).  The Deputy Mayor will now present the petition signed by over 5,500 people to the London Assembly as well as to Waitrose in the next stage of the continuing campaign to press the retailer to open their planned Sidcup store.

The special administrator appointed to sort out the South London Healthcare NHS Trust (SLHT) has said that work on the so called ‘campus plan’ for Queen Mary’s Hospital should continue.  Responding to questioning by James Brokenshire at a meeting with local MPs at the Department of Health on Tuesday, Matthew Kershaw said that whilst he is looking afresh at the problems of local hospitals, existing planning for the future of the Sidcup Hospital would not simply be discarded.

James Brokenshire has described the Olympic Torch relay’s visit to Bexley on Sunday as an incredible day for the Borough.  The MP followed the Torch’s progress through Bexley with the Olympic Torch Police Team.

James Brokenshire has given his support to new measures to strengthen controls on scrap metal dealers to help clamp down on rogue traders dealing in stolen metal.  James believes reform is needed to help combat increasing incidents of metal theft, including last year’s theft of the plaque from the Sidcup War Memorial.

James Brokenshire is pressing the case for Queen Mary’s as health chiefs consider the best way forward for local hospitals after yesterday’s appointment of a special NHS administrator to run hospitals in South East London.  James believes the situation provides an important opportunity to drive through much needed improvements in local healthcare and to secure the Sidcup hospital’s future.

Conservative MPs in Bexley and Bromley have published a document setting out key principles to guide the forthcoming administration of the South London Healthcare NHS Trust.  The MPs have delivered a copy of “Improving Hospital Services in South East London” to the Department of Health just days before a special NHS administrator is expected to take over the running of local hospitals.

James Brokenshire delivered a package of letters, messages, drawings and other work from children at Birkbeck Primary School to 10 Downing Street on Friday (6 July) as part of the ‘Send My Friend to School’ campaign.  The school’s initiative forms part of a national campaign highlighting that over 67 million children around the world are still missing out on an education.

James Brokenshire has given his support to a campaign run by the Reading Agency to encourage all primary school children to join their local library and take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge - the UK’s biggest reading promotion for primary school children.

James Brokenshire has condemned the theft of metal from the roof of Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup, resulting in the temporary closure of two operating theatres. Thieves stole cabling from the site in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

James Brokenshire is urging Southeastern train passengers to get involved with a new public consultation on local rail services and help shape improvements on trains serving stations in Bexley.  The public consultation which has been launched by the Department for Transport is the first stage in the process to award a new contract to run rail services on the South Eastern Network from April 2014.