Back in the constituency via Redditch after another week in Westminster and attending the funeral of my dear friend, Karen Lumley. Please forgive this week’s post being a day late as a result.
This week in Westminster, I have been responding to a number of debates as Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society on subjects such as the sustainability of heritage, tackling loneliness and connected communities and the BBC’s proposals for the future of local radio.
In my Westminster Office, policy casework that has been taken forward to Government Ministers this week includes the language used regarding migrants and refugees with the Minister for Immigration, and the ongoing issues with mortgages on properties with spray foam insulation raised again with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. I have also again pressed the issue of access to NHS dentistry in our region with NHS England, and I will continue to do so.
There are some outstanding policy cases waiting for a response, and I will respond to all those when I am back in the office next week.
In the patch this week, I was delighted to hear that the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have received funding confirmation to proceed with plans for a new adult hospital, a new home for the Leeds Children’s hospital and the UK’s largest, single-site maternity centre.
This has been one of my key priorities as your Member of Parliament and we have been campaigning hard to secure this funding. I am thrilled for Leeds and my constituents, and I am very much looking forward to continuing my engagement with the NHS Trust on this as they work towards the Government’s target of having the hospital operational by 2030.
Casework arriving in the Constituency Office this week has been on issues such as tenancies, university accommodation, college enrolment, social care, refuse and recycling, prisons and probation, passports, parking, water leaks, housing benefits, pensions, dentistry, immigration status and highways.
As ever, please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to be of assistance, or if you have any issues you need to raise with me.
