I began my day with a ministerial meeting at 10 Downing Street, and then headed to the Remploy factory in Barking.  I had the opportunity to present members of staff with long service awards, had a tour of the factory, and discussions with management.  I met hard working and loyal members of staff, including some from East Ham.

I then went to the University of East London’s ‘Knowledge Dock’, where entrepreneurs are supported to get their innovative ideas to market. I caught up with Garry Moore, whose progress I have been following for some years.  He has invented an ingenious low water-use toilet. Like many inventors, he has found it very difficult to secure the investment to allow him to go into production.  I promised to write a letter to help in the next stage.

I then went to East Ham Central Park. The Park is currently seeing exciting lottery-funded improvements. The area around the war memorial is being upgraded.  An attractive café is being prepared in the centre of the park, which will provide a pleasant experience for many local residents.  Along with local Councillors, I was very happy to see the work that is being done.

After this I headed to Starbucks to meet with Thames Water to discuss their recent successes and challenges, and in the afternoon I visited an exciting project called Fashion Enter in Haringey.  The fashion industry is key to our economic success, and the firms I visited said they were finding – following sterling’s fall relative to the euro – that they had received a big competitive boost.  It was a pleasure to visit the project, which aims to train and encourage a range of new designers.