Weekly Update
🌟 Big Funding News for Enfield North! 🌟
£20 million secured for Enfield North through Labour’s Plan for Neighbourhoods
I’m delighted to share some fantastic news for Enfield North.
Our community has secured £20 million of long-term investment through the Labour Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods, as part of the Pride in Place programme. That means £2 million every year for the next decade coming into Enfield North to help support local priorities and improve the places people live, work and raise their families.
This builds on the £1.5 million Pride in Place Impact Fund secured last year, and marks another major step forward in bringing real investment back into our area after years of decline and underinvestment.
This new funding is directed at Enfield Wash (Brimsdown and Carterhatch) and has the potential to make a real difference in people’s everyday lives. It can help to revitalise high streets, create new opportunities and spaces for young people, protect valued community assets, and improve neighbourhood safety and the local environment.
What makes this investment especially important is that local people will help shape what happens next. I will be working closely with Enfield Council to help establish a Neighbourhood Board, which will oversee how the funding is spent and develop a local Pride in Place plan. That process must be open, transparent and properly rooted in the views of residents, so that decisions reflect the priorities of the community.
For far too long, communities have been dictated to rather than trusted to shape their own future. This investment marks a real chance to choose renewal over decline - restoring pride in our neighbourhoods, creating opportunities for the next generation, and delivering visible change that people will see and feel across Enfield North.
I’ll be sharing more soon about how residents can get directly involved in shaping the next stage of this work so keep an eye on my website and socials.
📢 Speaking Out on Immigration Uncertainty
This week I spoke in a Parliamentary debate to highlight the growing uncertainty facing families in Enfield North because of proposed changes to immigration rules.
The Government has announced plans to move the starting point for settlement from 5 years to 10, alongside requirements for applicants to have a clean criminal record, be able to speak English to A-Level standard and have made sustained National Insurance contributions.
During the debate, I made it clear that while it is important for the Government to take the time to get these changes right, the impact of the proposals is already being felt by constituents who are worried about what the changes may mean for their future.
I warned that thousands of families in Enfield North and across the country are now facing significant uncertainty, particularly those who are only months away from being eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
I also raised concerns that people who have followed the rules, built their lives here and contributed to their communities could be caught by changes expected to come into force in April. If these proposed changes are applied retrospectively, some people may face the prospect of waiting a further five years before being able to apply.
It is vital that any changes are fair, workable and do not pull the rug from under Enfield North families who have planned their lives around the current system.
I am pleased that the Home Office Minister, Alex Norris MP (above) has confirmed that the Home Office is exploring transitional protections as part of the consultation that closed recently.
I will continue to press for clarity on the proposals and to raise the concerns of constituents affected across Enfield North.
📉 NHS Waiting Lists Fall Again
There has been more welcome progress in bringing down NHS waiting lists, with the latest figures showing a fall of more than 43,000 in January alone and a drop of more than 374,000 since Labour came into office.
Despite the pressures of the busiest winter on record, A&E waiting times are now at their shortest for four years, while ambulance response times are the fastest they have been for half a decade.
This progress is thanks to the extraordinary work of NHS staff and to continued investment and reform to improve services.
More evening and weekend appointments, expanded diagnostic capacity and new ways of getting patients seen and treated more quickly are all helping to ease pressure on the system and make a real difference for patients across Enfield North.
💟 Backing Families Facing Cancer During Pregnancy
It was a real privilege to meet campaigners from ‘Mummy’s Star’ in Parliament this week - supporting families who have experienced cancer during pregnancy.
They are calling for urgent action through their #SaveOurBond campaign, asking the Government to better recognise the unique challenges faced by women diagnosed with cancer while pregnant or shortly after giving birth.
This includes ensuring access to appropriate financial support, protection at work, and policies that reflect the reality that no one should have to choose between their health and their baby.
I will continue to support their call for change so that families going through the toughest of times get the support they deserve.
✨ Seeing AI in Action at One Degree Academy
It was a pleasure to visit One Degree Academy and see first-hand how teachers and students are exploring the responsible use of artificial intelligence in education.
During my visit, I learned about the Trustworthy AI in Education pilot programme, delivered in partnership between Deloitte and Teach First. The initiative provides training and mentoring for teachers to help them use AI safely, ethically and effectively in the classroom.
The programme focuses on important issues such as safeguarding, data protection, academic integrity and ensuring AI tools are used in a fair and inclusive way. It also helps teachers develop practical ways to use AI to support lesson planning and reduce workload.
It was inspiring to see staff engaging with these ideas and thinking carefully about how new technologies can enhance learning while ensuring they benefit all pupils.
And in a connected story, the Government has announced new measures to help more women and girls enter the technology sector, tackling the barriers that have long limited opportunities in this fast-growing industry.
This is something I pushed hard for as AI Minister and a key part of the plan is a £4 million TechFirst Women’s Programme, which will create hundreds of paid placements in technology roles such as software development, data science and digital engineering. The programme will help women gain practical experience and the skills needed to build careers in tech.
The Government is also launching a returnship programme to support experienced software developers who want to return to work after time away from their careers, helping talented professionals overcome the challenges of career breaks.
Alongside this, a new TechFirst Girls Competition will give thousands of girls aged 12–13 the opportunity to explore coding, artificial intelligence and digital problem-solving.
These measures aim to ensure more women can access opportunities in the tech sector, helping strengthen the UK’s digital economy while opening doors for the next generation of innovators.
⚒️ Backing Young People into Work
A major new expansion of Labour’s Youth Guarantee will help more young people into work, training and apprenticeships, with a £2.5 billion package designed to create new opportunities for the next generation.
The changes include a new Youth Jobs Grant, support for more subsidised jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds, and extra incentives for employers to take on young apprentices.
This matters because too many young people have been left without the support they need to earn or learn. These reforms are about opening doors, giving young people a real first step on the career ladder, and helping employers invest in local talent.
It is an important step towards making sure more young people across Enfield North and beyond can build secure futures and fulfil their potential.
🐑 Meet the New Arrivals at Forty Hall Farm’s Lambing Weekend
Spring is arriving in Enfield North, and Forty Hall Farm is celebrating with its much-loved Lambing Weekend on 28 and 29 March.
Families are invited to come along and meet the farm’s adorable newborn lambs, while enjoying a full programme of activities across the weekend. The event runs from 10am to 4pm, with last entry at 3.30pm.
Alongside the lambs, visitors can enjoy falconry displays, morris dancing, a vintage fairground, food stalls, and opportunities to learn more about beekeeping and local wildlife.
It promises to be a lovely day out for families and a wonderful way to celebrate the start of spring in one of Enfield North’s most special places.
🎉 Support the Great Get Together this June
This June marks a particularly significant moment, as communities across the country come together to mark 10 years since the murder of Jo Cox MP.
Following Jo’s death, people united around her powerful belief that we have far more in common than that which divides us. That message continues to resonate, and this year’s Great Get Together, taking place from 19 to 21 June, will once again celebrate everything that connects our communities.
Since it began, more than 17 million people across the UK have taken part in Great Get Together events, bringing neighbours, friends and local organisations together in a spirit of unity, kindness and community.
This year, local groups, community organisations and residents are being encouraged to take part by organising their own Get Together events and helping make this tenth anniversary the most connected year yet.
Whether it is a street party, coffee morning, picnic or community gathering, the Great Get Together is a chance to celebrate what unites us and to continue Jo Cox’s legacy of bringing people together.
Further information on how to get involved in Enfield North, organise an event or support the campaign is available through the Jo Cox Foundation website. More information can be found here.
Foodbank Demand in Enfield Remains High
There is growing concern that rising oil prices, linked to Trump’s war in Iran, could drive up inflation and household bills later this year, making life even harder for families who are already finding it difficult to cover the basics, so local foodbanks continue to see very high demand.
Our local charities and volunteers do an incredible job supporting people in need, and our community is so much stronger because of their kindness and dedication.
Parliament goes into recess next week so the weekly update will be back on Friday 17 April. I hope that you and your family have a peaceful Easter.
Best wishes
Feryal