Monday morning began without a long journey as I was already in London following attending a wedding at the end of last week. I had an early morning meeting with Defence Minister Ben Wallace ahead of the Defence debate later in the week. I then headed to the APPG for Women in Defence where I had the chance to speak to women across all ranks about their experiences serving in the forces. I met with Sarah Atherton MP who was a serving officer herself and Ben Wallace gave a speech regarding future plans to support women in service; such as female body armour, maternity, family planning and the menopause. I was delighted to hear that recommendations from this group of women two years previous, has led to a 99% uptake in recommendations which is unprecedented. I also had a conversation with the law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp who specialise in military claims, I have invited them to Blyth Valley to speak with our veteran’s group in the near future. The rest of the afternoon was filled with online constituency surgeries and smaller meetings.
The following day I spend just short of 8 hours in a committee meeting going through the Energy Security Bill, line by line in preparation of being passed through parliament. In my lunch hour I attended a drop-in session with the RSPCA, I spoke with the CEO and wanted to see personally how I can help to protect the public and animals in the constituency.
Wednesday morning, I had a constituency surgery regarding housing, then I made the time to go to an event for the Summer Reading Challenge. This is a subject close to my heart and it was great to see the books available for children of all ages and how they can be adapted for special needs such as dyslexia. Later that morning I had the privilege of meeting with the Solicitor General to discuss cases of crime in our area and the process of ensuring justice through our courts system. This is following a question I raised in the chamber on the 25th of May asking the Solicitor General to meet with me to discuss recent incidents that have shocked our community, so we can see what action the government can take. I used this opportunity to discuss a a number of cases constituents have spoken to me about in recent weeks.
I had the pleasure to welcome a Blyth Valley constituent to Westminster and was able to get them a ticket to observe PMQ’s, I was delighted to hear they enjoyed the experience. In the afternoon I attended a debate in parliament for Defence with Minister Murrison and Minister Heapey. This gave members the opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns relating to the Army, Navy and the Airforce. Important topics such as the war in Ukraine and growing our military were discussed.
On Thursday morning I met with a company who are looking to build renewable/eco-friendly social housing in Northumberland. These houses will be affordable and will generate their own electricity which will not only help the planet but also help the residents with the cost of living. This scheme is on the back of the £630million funding which has been made available to tackle housing with £12.4million dedicated specifically to Northumberland. In the afternoon I made sure to go to Motor Neurone Disease event in parliament. A few weeks ago I attended a kite festival at Blyth beach to raise money and awareness for MND, the experience of speaking with those affected encouraged me to become more involved in raising awareness of the disease and I am hoping to join the MND APPG to support people with the disease. I was thrilled to hear that the government have already delivered £29.5million of the £50million dedicated funds to research how we can develop a brighter future for those diagnosed. I then headed back to the office, closed my laptop and got ready for the six-hour drive back to Blyth.
Friday morning, I was delighted to be back in the constituency office after two weeks. I had several constituency surgeries in the morning followed by a meeting with Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Jonathan Caisley, ahead of Anti-Social Behaviour Week to have a conversation about ASB issues in Blyth Valley. Jonathan informed me of the work the force has been doing to tackle anti-social behaviour and what the main issues are in the area. In the afternoon I met my daughter for lunch and then headed back to the office for an update on casework. In the evening I had the pleasure to attend the launch of Breeze cocktail bar at the South Beach development. What a fantastic location and I wish the owners every success.
On Saturday I took my daughter and my mam for a day trip, we had a great catch up and grabbed lunch before heading back home to sit in the garden.
I enjoyed spending Father’s Day with close family and friends. I received some fantastic and very thoughtful gifts from my children and the weather was so lovely we were able to have lunch outside. I had an early night ready for the train to London the next day.
As always if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01670 338 435 or email [email protected]
