Welcome
to the website of Chris Grayling,
Member of Parliament for Epsom and Ewell
Thank you for visiting my site. On it you will find latest news about issues I have been involved with nationally and locally, and how to get hold of me if you need assistance.
You will also find links to other useful sites about the area and to the site of the Epsom and Ewell Conservative Association.
You can also use the contact section to get in touch and to raise problems and issues with me.
The Epsom and Ewell constituency runs from Worcester Park in the north to Ashtead in the south. My goal is to play an active role in the community across the constituency, as well as to provide it with effective representation on a national stage.
Epsom Hospital Update
Good News on the Hospital – for now
November 2009
The latest news on Epsom Hospital remains reasonably positive, although there are now emerging issues about the future of St Helier. Both Surrey Primary Care Trust and the South Coast Strategic Health Authority have given me clear assurances that they see the services at Epsom Hospital remaining unchanged for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust is going through a public consultation about possible improvements to the Epsom site. It is the first time for a decade that, touch wood, there appears to be no immediate threat to Epsom.
The big current uncertainty is over the future of St Helier, with the NHS in London believed to be planning significant hospital amalgamations. I do not expect to hear any more about this for a few months, but it will obviously call into question the current Trust structure. Again, I have had assurances from South Coast Strategic Health Authority that they will not allow any changes to take place that threaten the viability of Epsom, but obviously we need to remain vigilant. The Epsom Hospital Campaign team continues to meet regularly to keep an eye on the situation.
Out and About
Visiting local community,
voluntary and charitable groups
Each week Chris visits people and organisations across the constituency. If you would like him to visit you or your organisation, please ring Verna on 01372 271036.
Spinning Plates for charity at the Ashtead Charities Fair - November 2009
Chris and Sue Grayling with David Cameron and Epsom’s Enam Ali at the British Curry Awards - November 2009
MPs Expenses
December 2009
Legg Review into MPs expenses – Final Outcome.
In the wake of the publication of MPs expenses dating back to 2004, the House of Commons authorities commissioned an audit of claims from a retired civil servant, Sir Thomas Legg, who is one of the independent members of the House of Commons Audit Committee. He was supported in this work by a team from the accountancy firm Price Waterhouse Coopers.
Sir Thomas has attracted considerable media coverage for applying tough retrospective rules to MPs over their claims, and seeking very substantial repayments from many Members.
In December 2009 he wrote to Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling setting out his final decisions about Chris’s expense claims.
In his conclusions he cleared all of Chris’s claims, except for a total of £136 of mortgage claims spaced out over a five year period – an average correction of £26 per year. The corrections came from a minor change to the rules applied retrospectively by Sir Thomas and his team.
As Chris had already made voluntary repayments in excess of this amount, he has not been asked to make any further repayments to the House of Commons.
Constituency News
Upper High Street
November 2009
Chris has already expressed grave concerns at the latest scheme for this part of the town centre, and is due to meet residents living near the site of the proposed development very shortly. “I opposed the last application for Upper High Street,” says Chris, “and this latest scheme seems to me to have many of the same drawbacks. My fear is that it will add to the considerable congestion problems we already have in Epsom, and that it is on a scale quite out of character with the rest of the town. Whether or not it goes ahead is entirely in the hands of the borough council, who own the car park on Upper High Street. My hope is that they will reject the application.”
Remembering Police hero
June 2009
"
Ninety years after one of the most dramatic events in Epsom's history,
local MP Chris Grayling has unveiled a plaque in memory of Police
Sergeant Thomas Green, who was killed defending the town's Police
Station from hundreds of Canadian soldiers in the Epsom Riot of June
1919. "I suspect that few people living in Epsom now know about what
was clearly a significant moment in the town's past, as well as a
tragedy for Sergeant Green's family," says Chris. "It is absolutely
right that, ninety years on, we mark the event in this way.
Recent Speeches
Queen's Speech Debate
November 2009
Knife Crime
June 2009
Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill
June 2009
Policing and Crime Bill
May 2009
Intelligence and Security Committee
May 2009