Scrap the Heart Restart Tax
Please read the below cross-party letter I have organised calling for VAT on defibrillator sales to be scrapped.
High Street Shops: Illicit Activity Debate
Today, I spoke in the High Street Shops: Illicit Activity Westminster Hall Debate about the scourge of illegal activity in shops along our high streets. Watch below:
You can read my full speech here.
UK-US Pharmaceutical Deal
Please read the below letter I have sent to the Government on the impact assessment for the UK-US pharmaceutical deal.
Mental Health Awareness Week
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme this year is action, because while awareness matters, real change only comes when we act on it.
To mark this, I met with my constituent, Alina Marinca, who has just finished an outstanding research project on children’s mental health. Too many young people in our community are struggling to access the support they need, whether through schools, GPs or specialist services, and the waiting times have been too long for too many years. I wanted to hear directly about their experience and what needs to change to deliver more effective mental health support for our young people. From speaking to Alina, it was insightful to hear more about the impacts of sleep disturbance as an underlying factor for many mental health conditions, and the role that social media can play in impacting mental health.
If you or your family are affected by mental health difficulties, I would encourage you to reach out. You can contact your GP, or call the NHS mental health helpline on 111 and select the mental health option.
Young people can also access support through Young Minds (youngminds.org.uk) or by texting YM to 85258. And as always, if you would like to discuss mental health services in our area or share your insights, please do send me an email.
Debt Relief Roundtable with the Zambian High Commission
Today, I visited the Zambian High Commission, to speak to members of the African Union Heads of Mission about my Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Private Member’s Bill. The discussion provided a good opportunity to get together with civil society groups and High Commissioners, and work together on bringing the Bill to the forefront of debate on international development in the new parliamentary session.
Many low and middle-income countries are spending more on servicing their debt than on healthcare or education, at a time when the withdrawal of US development funding is leaving the poorest nations more exposed to crises than at any point in recent memory. My Bill seeks to regulate the recovery of sovereign debts owed by developing countries, preventing private creditors from using UK courts to extract full repayment from nations that have defaulted on unsustainable debt and agreed new repayment terms with bilateral or multilateral creditors, building on the principles established by the original Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Act 2010 that was implemented by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
With the King’s Speech this week confirming that the Government will use next year’s G20 Presidency to drive global growth and reinforce global stability, I will be pressing for debt relief to be a central part of that agenda, and I look forward to reintroducing the Bill in this new parliamentary session.
Meeting with Director of Education Cannot Wait
It was great to meet with Maysa Jalbout, the new Director of Education Cannot Wait, the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies, to discuss the UK’s ongoing commitment to children whose education has been disrupted by conflict, displacement, and climate disasters.
The UK is a founding donor of ECW and has committed £80 million over the period 2023 to 2026, making it the fund’s second-largest donor after Germany. Since its inception, ECW has reached 14 million children across 33 crisis-affected countries, with over half of them being girls.
At a time when more than 230 million school-age children worldwide are affected by crises, the work of ECW has never been more important. As Chair of the APPG for Global Education, I will continue to press for the UK to maintain its leadership on this issue, and I look forward to working with parliamentarians and civil society leaders to ensure education in emergencies remains a priority as the UK prepares to host the G20 Summit next year.
UN Tax Convention
Recently, I wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury calling for a review of the UK’s position on the UN Tax Convention.
The UN tax convention is an opportunity for a fair and democratic global tax system, which could raise billions in revenue and reinstate its role and responsibility as a global leader in tackling international tax abuse. With current negotiations going ahead in New York, which are due to end in September 2027, it is vital that the UK show its support.
I received significant cross-party support for this private letter and am pleased to share both my letter and the Treasury’s response below.
Petition: Presented!
The Use of Shops for Illegal Activities petition has now been presented to Parliament!
Many constituents have contacted me concerned that our local authorities have limited powers to tackle illegal activity and that efforts to do so are not always coordinated with local police.
Keep following this page for the next update.