Date and time: Monday 28th November, 1700–1830 (please arrive at 16:45 so we can start promptly at 1700).

Location: St Johns Church, Kingston, KT1 2SU

As part of Hong Kong Watch’s political and civic engagement series for Hong Kongers who have recently arrived to the UK, we will host a seminar looking into three different aspects of life in the UK: health, education and taxation.

We will have speakers from these three areas: healthcare in the UK, education (particularly on the process of becoming a school governor and why it is an important role), and taxation (personal/business tax regulations, the role of HMRC and local authorities in the planning and spending of tax revenue).

Each speaker will talk for 15 minutes on their area of expertise, and then we will open this up to a Q&A with the audience.

The session will be chaired by Hong Kong Watch’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, Sam Goodman.

Migrant Advocacy Service (MAS) is partnering with Hong Kong Watch for this event. MAS supports vulnerable migrants living/working/studying in/around Kingston. They aim to relieve poverty and advocate for disadvantaged people whose first language is not English.

This event is support by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Speakers

Melody Thorpe, School Governor.Melody Thorpe is a School Governor at a local primary and secondary school. Experienced in Change Management and Business Transformation - Melody brings her career experience to the volunteer sector.

Florence Cantle, NHS Senior Manager. Florence trained as a general and mental health nurse and is now a Senior Manager within the NHS. Her recent work on International Recruitment offers overseas nurses including Hong Kong nurses insight into how the International Recruitment agenda supports the health service workforce in this country.

Massoud Moaddel, Chartered Accountant. Massoud is an experienced Chartered Accountant. He has extensive industry experience in audit, assurance, risk management, finance, and operational review. He has helped companies in streamlining finance, audit and controls related issues, setting up effective risk management framework and corporate governance.

Nina Kish, Financial Accountant. Nina has worked as a Financial Accountant in several businesses across different industry sectors. She has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing small businesses, and has helped businesses reduce costs, increase profits, and grow their activities.

Session chair

Sam Goodman, Hong Kong Watch. Sam is the Director of Policy and Advocacy of Hong Kong Watch. Prior to joining Hong Kong Watch, he worked as a political adviser for the Labour Party, a parliamentary aide to several Labour Members of Parliament, and worked in the US House of Representatives for Congressman Bobby L Rush.

The Essentials of Life in the UK for BNOs: Health, Education, and Taxation