On Monday morning I jumped on the early train to London, I headed straight to the office for a constituency surgery then to the parliamentary briefing from the MOD. The presentation on the Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation is an important opportunity for members of parliament to discuss issues such as salary and working patterns; to encourage people to join our forces and have long careers. I chaired the questions from the MPs to the Defence Minister and gave him support when needed. We then had a PPS meeting until late morning. The next event on my schedule was the Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) drop in session. It was very upsetting to see how this condition affects people of all ages. We watched a video of the day in the life of a 10-year-old girl named Isla who has EB, she was a special guest at the session and I was blown away by her courage. After hearing from those affected and from Falklands War veteran Simon Weston, I see how important spreading awareness of this condition is and why I am calling for more work to be done to look into drug repurposing, medical research and ensure people with EB get the best health care possible.
Tuesday morning was primarily taken up by reviews of the Energy Security Bill, which is the biggest bill to ever go through parliament. Once through, this bill will have a great impact on the area securing cleaner, cheaper energy. I then headed to the voting lobby to vote. Once my votes were in, I then attended a parliamentary reception with Lumo. I met with the Managing Director Martijn and he spoke about how the North East based company is the newest and greenest train operator. I use this train service most weeks and it was great to see Lumo’s commitment to keeping train fares low and sustainable for passengers by having a single class system. I was also delighted to learn about Lumo’s commitment to lower carbon emissions for travel, offering 95% less carbon than flying. I was grateful to partner with the company to plan a visit to Westminster for a group of children from Poland to have a tour of the palace. In the afternoon I walked back to the office to work further on the Energy Security Bill. Followed by a virtual meeting with the North East Care Board with heads of the NHS from our region. I was happy to hear about our record for ambulance waiting time, the increase in hospital beds and overall reduced waiting times for NHS services. We also discussed issues in the service and I raised a question about NHS dentistry on the back of a meeting with a local dentist surgery. My last meeting of the day was an APPG for the Armed Forces for a briefing.
The next day, I was in the office bright and early to prepare for the Westminster Hall MOD debate later that morning. The meeting went very well and we discussed the great work carried out for veterans and service men and women since the party were elected in 2010. I then had a PPS meeting and a vote before attending PMQs. In the afternoon I attended a Motor Neurone event, I wanted to go to the session to raise awareness for the disease and support working towards a cure. The government pledged £50million to the research of this horrific disease and £29.1million of this has been invested already. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Cllr Colin Hardy and a former civic head Ian Hutchinson on their dedication to raising awareness and funds for MND in the North East.
Thursday morning began with a team meeting to have a catch up on case work, policy and media. I then had an online meeting as part of the APPG for Suicide and Self Harm Prevention, I am vice chair for this committee and want to do all I can to support mental health. Suicide is still the biggest killer for men aged between 18 and 45, committees like this can promote the best services and advice available to those who suffer from mental health problems. I spoke with Samaritans about what we should be looking at in terms of advice and how to move forward to reduce suicide. I then returned back to the office for another stint working on the Energy Security Bill before getting the train back to the constituency.
It was a jam-packed day on Friday with a morning of meetings, therefore it was a lovely change of scene to attend Bede Academy’s art exhibition at the RePUBlic gallery and see the fantastic artwork by creative young people from Blyth. This is part of Blyth Fest which is a festival celebrating art and culture in the area. I then drove to New Hartley to speak with the volunteers at the New Hartley Nature Reserve. We met with Northumberland Council, the local councillor and the volunteers. The site is very impressive and is an SSI protected site due to its protected species. The volunteers are looking to restore the site whilst protecting the plants and wildlife, we established great communications to gain access to funding and get the supplies they need.
On Saturday I had the pleasure to attend the veterans BBQ at the New Hartley Resident’s Club. I was able to get my apron on and BBQ for the residents, it was a great laugh and was lovely to have a chat and meet many local veterans.
Sunday morning, we had a late start with breakfast in the garden then enjoyed the day with family before an early night.
As always, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me on 01670 338 435 or email [email protected]
