How an MP can help you

Mark can help you with matters for which central government or Parliament is responsible, for example:

Immigration issues dealt with by the Home Office
Tax problems involving HM Revenue and Customs.
Benefits difficulties dealt with by the Department for Work and Pensions (but not council tax or housing benefit.)

If you have a specific issue you would like to take up with a government department or minister, Mark can also write to the relevant person on your behalf.

Mark has no jurisdiction over private matters such as employment disputes or customer complaints, and he is not allowed to interfere with or try to influence legal cases.

Mark will always try to deal as best he can with every case he is contacted about, however strictly speaking he does not have jurisdiction over areas dealt with by the local council or the Greater London Authority and Mayor of London.

Your local council

Local councils are responsible for running most local services in the constituency such as:

Housing Services	Waste Collection
Social Services	Some benefits – council tax and housing
Schools	Roads not looked after by TfL
Planning	Licensing
Parking	Some aspects of community safety

Mark's constituency is covered by two local government authorities: Westminster City Council and the City of London.

Westminster

If you live in Westminster your interests will be represented on the Council by an elected ward councillor. A ward is an electoral district, and in Westminster each ward is represented by three councillors.

Westminster is divided into twenty wards, twelve of which are in Mark's constituency:

Bayswater, Lancaster Gate, Hyde Park, Bryanston and Dorset Square, Marylebone High Street, West End, Knightsbridge and Belgravia, St James's, Warwick, Churchill, Tachbrook, Vincent Square.

Click here to find out who your local councillor is.

Click here to find out more about how Westminster City Council can help you.

City of London

The City of London is unique as a local authority. It is the oldest in the country and operates on a non-party political basis through its Lord Mayor, and elected Aldermen and members of the Court of Common Council.

In addition to the usual services provided by a local authority, the City of London performs a number of special functions. It runs its own police force and the nation's Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. It provides five Thames bridges, runs the quarantine station at Heathrow Airport and is the Port Health Authority for the Thames tidal estuary. Three food markets (Billingsgate, Spitalfields and Smithfield) also belong to the City of London. The City of London funds many of these services from its own investments at no cost to the public.

Click here to find out more about how the City of London can help you.

The Greater London Authority (GLA)

The GLA consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. It was created to improve co-ordination between the London boroughs. Although the GLA does not directly provide any services itself, it has responsibility over four bodies:

Transport for London (TfL) – administers the Congestion Charge, manages many of London's main streets, and controls the public transport systems.
London Development Agency (LDA) – promotes development across London.
The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) – co-ordinates emergency planning and manages the London Fire Brigade.
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) – oversees the Met which provides policing across London.

The Mayor is responsible for budgeting and strategic planning in these areas, and has a number of other duties in relation to planning, culture and tourism. The Mayor is also responsible for Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.

The London Assembly scrutinises the Mayor's activities and has the power to amend the Mayor's budget. There are twenty five elected members of the Assembly.

Mark's parliamentary constituency is within the West Central constituency of the London Assembly.

Your London Assembly member should be contacted about issues surrounding the above bodies. To find out more about how to contact your Assembly member, click here.

Member of the European Parliament (MEP)

MEPs represent your interests in the European Parliament. They can vote on proposed European laws and sit on parliamentary committees to scrutinise and modify laws before they are passed. They also have a responsibility to help you understand European laws and how they will affect you.

The UK is divided into twelve regions. Each region elects a number of MEPs to send to the European Parliament. Mark's constituency is in the London region which is represented by nine MEPs.

To find out more about your MEP and how to contact them, click here.