Please find below a summary of my activities for the next week for your information.
Monday
On Monday, I will be in Parliament. I’ll be meeting with the Labour Brexit team. Following this, I’ll be attempting to ask a question to the Home Secretary Sajid Javid about the safety of Afghan Sikhs asylum seekers who may get sent back to their country because of out of date safety reports held by the Home Office. Sikhs have faced a more difficult time in Afghanisation since Ashraf Ghani became President in 2014. July this year saw 12 leading Afghan Sikhs killed in a suicide attack. Yet Home Office guidance, most recently from 2013 describes the area as safe for Sikhs. This is having an effect on Afghan Sikhs including those in Hull and I will be asking the Minister to meet with me to discuss updating the guidance. I’ll also be meeting with Therese Coffey MP, the Minister responsible for flood defence to talk about the National Flood Resilience Centre.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, the Education Select Committee will be holding a hearing on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. During the session, members will have the chance to ask a panel of parents about their experiences of the SEND system and the impact of the Children and Families Act 2014 reforms. The discussion with the second panel will explore the role of Parent Carer Forums and how they view the reforms.
Tuesday is also the day that the House of Commons begins to debate the Withdrawal Agreement that was recently struck between the government and the other 27 member states of the EU. There will be 5 days of debate before a vote takes place next Tuesday. As a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Brexit team, I will be unable to participate in the debate but I will join other colleagues from all parties in voting down Theresa May’s disastrous deal for the country in line with the wishes of many of my constituents.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, I will be sitting in the Chamber participating in Day 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement debate.
Thursday
On Thursday, I will be asking a question to the Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, about Endometriosis. While I have been campaigning on the issue for a number of months now, it is still vital that awareness is raised. Predictions by the charity Endometriosis UK show that 1 in 10 women in the UK suffers from endometriosis. I will be asking the Leader of the House whether we can have a debate about the topic to raise awareness of these issues.
Friday
On Friday, I will be holding my regular monthly surgeries throughout the constituency. Details of surgeries can be found by calling my office on 01482 219211.
