Weekly Update
🌞 Great news for Enfield’s NHS and our planet 🌞
I’m delighted to share that Chase Farm Hospital has been awarded £865,117, and St Michael's Centre for Primary Care has received £162,360 through Labour’s new clean power funding for NHS sites. This investment will help cut energy bills, install clean technologies like solar and batteries, and free up money to be reinvested directly into frontline care for patients.
After years of sky-high energy costs hitting our public services, Labour is taking back control of our energy system through Great British Energy - a publicly owned company working for the British people - so hospitals and health centres can spend less on bills and more on care. This is good for our NHS, good for the environment, and good for Enfield.
This is the difference a Labour Government makes: lower bills, cleaner energy, and stronger public services.💚🏥⚡
💉 Making Childhood Vaccinations Easier for Enfield Families
Residents in Ponders End, along with Upper Edmonton, Lower Edmonton, Haselbury, and Jubilee will soon notice an important improvement in how childhood immunisations are offered locally.
As part of a 12-month pilot programme, health visiting teams will be able to offer routine childhood vaccinations during health visits for pre-school aged children - specifically where families have not taken up the existing GP invitation. This approach is designed to support, not replace, GP services.
🏥 What This Means for Families
GP practices remain the main route for routine childhood immunisations.
Families should continue booking vaccinations with their GP as usual.
In some cases, families may be offered recommended vaccinations during a health visit, where appropriate.
🌍 Why This Matters
While overall vaccination rates remain high, uptake has declined in some communities. Barriers such as appointment access, transport, language, or digital exclusion can make it harder for some families to keep up with the NHS schedule.
By offering vaccinations during health visits, the NHS aims to:
✔ Reduce practical obstacles
✔ Reach families more easily
✔ Close gaps in protection
✔ Tackle health inequalities
✅ Key Reassurance
Routine childhood immunisations are still available at your GP practice, and families who may have missed appointments can catch up at any time.
Where the pilot is active, health visiting teams may provide an additional opportunity to ensure children receive their vaccinations conveniently.
If you have questions about your child’s immunisations, please contact your GP practice or speak with your health visitor.
🗳️ Representation of the People Bill 2026 – A New Chapter for UK Democracy
This week marked the First Reading of the Representation of the People Bill 2026 - a wide-ranging piece of legislation introducing some of the most significant democratic reforms in a generation.
While the Bill covers several important areas, this update highlights what it means for young people, with further information to follow ahead of the Second Reading.
🌟 Votes at 16 – Giving Young People a Voice
At the heart of the Bill is a historic change:
✔ 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in all UK-wide elections
Young people are not just the future - they are active members of our communities today. Decisions taken now on education, the economy, climate, housing, and public services will shape their lives for decades.
Extending the vote recognises a simple principle: those affected by decisions should have a say in them.
Research consistently shows that engaging constituents early helps build lifelong participation in democracy.
Also included in the Bill:
🌍 Strengthening Political Donation Rules
To guard against foreign interference, new requirements will ensure donating companies must:
✔ Be headquartered in the UK
✔ Be majority owned or controlled by UK electors
✔ Generate sufficient UK revenue to cover donations
This strikes a balance between:
Protecting democratic integrity
Allowing legitimate participation
Further measures may follow following the Rycroft Review.
🏛️ Why This Bill Matters
The Representation of the People Bill 2026 represents:
✨ Expanded democratic participation
✨ Stronger election security
✨ Better protection for candidates and voters
✨ Greater fairness and inclusion
📌 What Happens Next?
The Bill now proceeds through Parliament, with detailed debate at Second Reading. Further updates will follow as proposals develop.
Democracy works best when more people can take part safely, fairly, and confidently - and this legislation is a major step in that direction.
☕ A Wonderful Visit from the Enfield Over 50s Forum
It was an absolute pleasure to welcome members of the Enfield Over 50s Forum to Parliament for a relaxed morning of coffee, conversation, and a guided tour of the Palace of Westminster.
Visits like these are always a highlight. They offer a valuable chance to step away from the formalities and have open, honest discussions about the issues that matter most to residents in Enfield North.
As ever, the Forum members came armed with probing questions, sharp insights, and a wealth of lived experience - making for a truly thoughtful and engaging exchange.
Alongside our discussion, guests enjoyed a tour of Parliament, exploring its history, architecture, and the day-to-day workings of UK democracy.
💬 Why These Conversations Matter
The Enfield Over 50s Forum plays an important role in championing the voices of older residents across our borough. Ensuring those voices are heard - both locally and nationally - is essential.
Older residents bring perspective and experience; their contributions are invaluable.
🙏 Thank You
A sincere thank you to everyone who joined the visit. Your questions, reflections, and ideas made it such a rewarding morning.
I look forward to continuing our conversations and working together to ensure Enfield North remains a constituency where residents of all ages can live well, stay active, and feel heard.
Click here for more information about the Enfield Over 50s Forum
❤️ #HeartUnions Week – Standing Up for Fairness at Work
It’s #HeartUnions Week - a celebration of the difference trade unions make in protecting workers, improving workplaces, and strengthening our economy.
I’m proud to have voted for the Employment Rights Act, the biggest upgrade in employment protections in a generation.
This landmark legislation is about a simple but vital principle: work should provide security, dignity, and fairness.
⚖️ What the Employment Rights Act Delivers
The Act introduces major improvements designed to support working people across Enfield and the UK:
✔ Stronger job security – Tackling exploitative practices and creating more predictable working conditions
✔ Day-one rights – Key protections available from the start of employment
✔ Fairer contracts – Ending unfair uncertainty and one-sided flexibility
✔ Enhanced workplace protections – Clearer safeguards against mistreatment
✔ Greater worker voice – Making it easier for employees to be represented
💬 Why This Matters
When workers feel secure and respected:
Businesses benefit from higher productivity
Staff turnover falls
Workplaces become healthier and more stable
The wider economy grows more sustainably
Fair treatment at work isn’t just good for employees - it’s good for everyone.
🤝 The Role of Trade Unions
Trade unions play a crucial role in:
Protecting rights
Negotiating fair pay and conditions
Providing support and advice
Ensuring workers are heard
That’s why HeartUnions Week is so important - it highlights how collective voice leads to better jobs and better workplaces.
If you’d like to find out more about joining a union click here
Because everyone deserves fairness, security, and dignity at work in Enfield North.
🌈 LGBT+ History Month – Celebrating Progress, Championing Equality
This LGBT+ History Month, Labour proudly celebrates the LGBT+ community - recognising both the extraordinary contributions LGBT+ people have made to Britain’s history and the significant progress achieved in the fight for equality.
LGBT+ History Month is a time to reflect, to honour trailblazers, and to reaffirm a simple truth: everyone deserves dignity, safety, and equal rights.
✊ Labour: The Party of Equality
Labour has a long and proud history of standing up for LGBT+ rights and challenging discrimination wherever it appears. We reject the politics of division and remain committed to building a society rooted in fairness, respect, and inclusion.
The last Labour Government delivered more for LGBT+ equality than any other government in UK history, including:
✔ Repealing the damaging Section 28 law
✔ Introducing the Gender Recognition Act
✔ Passing the Equality Act, protecting LGBT+ people from discrimination
✔ Lifting the ban on LGBT+ people serving in the Armed Forces
✔ Introducing civil partnerships
✔ Enabling joint adoption for same-sex couples
These were landmark reforms that transformed lives.
🚀 Delivering on Today’s Commitments
The Labour Government of today is building on that legacy and pressing ahead with key manifesto pledges:
✔ A full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices
✔ Strengthening hate crime laws so offences targeting LGBT+ people are treated with equal severity
✔ Improving support for LGBT+ Armed Forces personnel and veterans, including financial recognition following the Etherton Review
✔ Ending new HIV transmissions through our HIV Action Plan
✔ Improving access to healthcare for LGBT+ people
✔ Specialist funding for LGBT+ domestic abuse services
💬 Why This Matters
Despite progress, discrimination and inequality persist. LGBT+ History Month reminds us that rights must be protected, voices must be heard, and equality must be actively defended.
Labour remains unwavering in its commitment to:
Tackling LGBT+ discrimination
Advancing equality under the law
Building safer, more inclusive communities
❤️ Standing Together
Equality is not a niche issue - it is a fundamental principle of a fair society.
This month, we celebrate progress, honour history, and recommit to ensuring that every LGBT+ person can live openly, safely, and proudly. Happy LGBT+ History Month 🌈
☕ Coffee Morning in Carterhatch ☕
I’ll be hosting my next coffee morning in Carterhatch on Saturday 21 February 2026, from 10:00am to 12:00pm. You are very welcome to come along and please spread the word to residents.
And I’m delighted to be joined by your Carterhatch Councillors, Cllr Susan Erbil and Cllr Nawshad Ali.
These events are a great chance to have an informal chat with me about the issues that matter most to you and to our community here in Enfield.
I’m also happy to help with any local concerns, and my casework team and the ward Councillors will be on hand to take details of any personal cases and follow them up on your behalf.
If you’d like to attend, please sign up here:
👉 www.feryalclark.org.uk/Carterhatch
I look forward to seeing you there.
We’re now in Parliamentary recess so the weekly update will be back on Friday 27th February.
Happy Valentine’s Day 💖 and have a great fortnight.
Best wishes
Feryal