Voluntary Groups and Community Centres

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Wednesday 25th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Ben Coleman) for securing this important debate. I have previously served as a trustee of small charities managing buildings, and I know the challenges faced by staff and trustees. In my constituency there are good examples of that situation, with the buildings at Slade Green and St Michael’s in Welling being owned by the council but run by trustees.

Across Bexleyheath and Crayford, we have a number of dedicated voluntary groups and charities that support communities and residents. For many they are a lifeline; they offer safe spaces for young people, allowing them to experience art, music and a variety of other services that schools and mainstream education do not always allow. They host family support services, run food banks and provide warm spaces during the winter, to name just a few things. But many voluntary groups and charities do not have a dedicated space, such as a community centre, that they can use to deliver their services to the community.

Over the last year I have been supporting a number of groups struggling with property issues. The 1st Erith Scouts group, based in Cheviot Close in Barnehurst, currently faces uncertainty, as the housing association that owns its land has submitted a planning application for housing with no planned replacement building for it. The 16th Erith Scouts group, based in Hurlingham Road in Bexleyheath, has been advised by the church that it plans to sell the land on which the hut is located. Those cases highlight the issues faced by voluntary groups, which need to protect and secure their own buildings in such situations.

Sendtivate is a group based in the constituency of the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French), but it serves residents in both of our constituencies across the London borough of Bexley by supporting disabled children within the boundaries of the local authority. Sendtivate remains concerned as it has been informed that our local authority in Bexley will be disposing of the building it operates from, but there remains no long-term solution as to where it will be relocated.

One issue consistently raised with me relates to the future of the Parkside community centre site in Barnehurst. Our Conservative-controlled council in the London borough of Bexley had a lease arrangement where it allowed a charity to lease and manage the building, supporting a day nursery that my own children attended, a Brownies group, music groups and a fitness group, as well as being a hub for party hire and other activities. However, it appears the council’s condition survey of the building was a visual inspection and did not involve any intrusive inspections. It was then discovered, just over 18 months ago, that the roof was unsafe. The council, fearing the building would collapse, demolished the whole building.

I have been gobsmacked by the council’s position regarding the future of the site. Following representations from constituents, I contacted the council about the site’s future. The council’s position is that it will support the building of a new centre and will either lease or sell the site to the community group, but the group must fully fund the building of the new centre itself.

I am grateful to the 116 Barnehurst residents who completed my survey, which highlighted that 70% of respondents were unaware of the council’s plans not to directly build a new centre on the site; 85% of respondents’ households have previously used the centre; and 89% of respondents believe the council itself should build a new centre, rather than rely on a community group to fund the cost. We do not now have a local community centre in Barnehurst; residents have to drive to Slade Green and other centres, or attempt to find space in church halls that are a considerable walk from the site.

I therefore second what my hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham has said. It would be hugely useful for residents if guidance could be published for local authorities to ensure that community buildings are available across the entirety of the borough. If guidance relating to the relationship between the local authority and the charities existed, it would ensure that residents have access to a local centre or hub and could access the centres. I would welcome the Department publishing guidance on the rationale for the circumstances in which community buildings can be removed by local authorities, which would be beneficial in the case of Parkside.

Like my hon. Friend, I know the Ethical Property Foundation well—I have known it for many years. I have had meetings on many occasions and have taken advice from it. It is a valuable organisation in the sector and gives advice to charities. I know it is concerned about tenancies at will and the position that they put groups in: it has seen in recent years that tenancies at will have become increasingly popular with local authorities, which results in voluntary groups and charities being given unstable tenancies.

Such tenancies offer flexibility on paper, but in reality they often create uncertainty for thousands of small voluntary groups and charities. Under a tenancy at will, groups can be asked to leave with little or no notice, as has been said. In many circumstances, charities are locked out without warning, resulting in activities being cancelled and voluntary groups unable to provide the services the communities rely on.

I therefore support my hon. Friend’s three asks, and I ask that guidance be published regarding tenancies and support. Doing so would mean that voluntary groups have increased agency over their future and are not left in the dark.

London Fashion Week: Cultural Contribution

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Tuesday 16th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting) for securing this debate. I would like to highlight how adaptive fashion is being promoted at this year’s London Fashion Week.

Adaptive fashion enables people who have difficulties in dressing themselves, whether because of physical disabilities, limited mobility or chronic pain, to dress themselves comfortably and confidently. Clothing pieces are often equipped with additional functions such as zips, Velcro and magnetic fastenings, which can help with independent dressing while also providing discreet access for medical ports.

As the parent of a child with cerebral palsy, I know how important adaptive clothing is for someone with a physical disability and limited mobility. I pay tribute to fashion labels such as Unhidden, founded by Victoria Jenkins, that aim to make fashion accessible and inclusive for those with disabilities. Victoria’s new collection, which will be unveiled at this year’s London Fashion Week, will be modelled by individuals living with disabilities, chronic conditions or visible differences.

I applaud Victoria’s mission, but I am also aware of the need for adaptive clothing on the high street. I visited the Primark branch in Bexleyheath last year, where it was outlined to me how the company has launched an adaptive fashion range that was co-designed with Victoria and is available across 96 of its stores. It was refreshing to see a global brand such as Primark making clothing accessible, both physically and financially, for disabled people on the high street. Primark has joined other high street names, such as Asda and my former employer Marks & Spencer, which have adaptive clothing ranges for adults and children. I welcome the increase of adaptive fashion on the high street and in high-end fashion, but I am aware that more can still be done to ensure that it is not just a phenomenon, but easily accessible and available for every disabled person.

As a London MP, I welcome the impact that London Fashion Week has on the economy of our capital. I hope that in future years it will continue to use its role to promote adaptive clothing. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering once again for securing this valuable debate.

Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to speak in this debate to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. I am proud to serve as the Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford and to represent a constituency that is home to around 2,000 veterans. My constituency is in proximity to the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, in the south-east corner of London. Back in the day, the Royal Arsenal was home to one of the biggest munitions factories in the UK, with 32,000 employees producing guns, shells, cartridge cases and bombs, so my constituency became a prime target for Nazi bombing.

While many of its residents were fighting overseas, my constituency was really playing its part to support the war effort. Crayford was home to the Vickers factory, which again produced machine guns, anti-aircraft predictors, naval gun-laying equipment, fuses and casings for Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bomb. The Slade Green heavy anti-aircraft battery was built in the late 1930s and was the most easterly anti-aircraft site built inside the London inner artillery zone. Today, the gun emplacements, fire command post, pillboxes and air raid shelter are still standing. After a successful local campaign in 2010, the site is now grade II listed.

There are a number of war memorials across the constituency, including the garden of remembrance in Oaklands Road, Bexleyheath; St Augustine’s church in Slade Green; St Paul’s church in Northumberland Heath; and the Crayford war memorial garden. A window in St Paulinus church, Crayford, commemorates three members of the women’s voluntary services who died in a V1 explosion in July 1944. In total, 66 people were killed and 184 properties were destroyed, with 7,000 properties being damaged in the area around Crayford High Street. Hundreds more properties were destroyed across the constituency as a result of Nazi bombing.

I pay tribute to the East Wickham & Welling War Memorial Trust for the work it does to commemorate the war effort and the brave soldiers from Bexleyheath and Crayford who served in the second world war. Its area of benefit covers parts of my constituency and the constituency of the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French). It has carried out extensive work to ensure that a memorial is in place for local people who gave their lives, and it holds an incredibly moving service every November to remember them.

I also mention the hard work and dedication of the two Royal British Legion branches in my constituency—the Bexleyheath and Welling branch and the Crayford branch—and thank them for all the work that they do to recognise the important contributions to the war effort. I look forward to joining them in attending a number of events in my constituency on Thursday to commemorate VE Day and to be able to pay my respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.