Here’s my week ahead for your information
Monday
On Monday, I will return to Parliament where I will meet with Labour’s Brexit team to discuss our ongoing strategy around Brexit. Following this, I will be attempting to ask a question to the Home Office about how we build a future immigration system that is fit for purpose. Specifically, I will be raising the case of a constituent of mine who came to the UK and married an EU citizen. She subsequently discovered that her husband had been committing bigamy when he married her, meaning the marriage was null and void and has no status in the UK. I’ll be asking the minister what more can be done.
Following this, I will be speaking in a debate about Cystic Fibrosis and pressing the government to do more to reach a deal with the US supplier of the drug Orkambi to provide the drug in the UK. Cystic Fibrosis is a condition that affects 10,000 people in the UK and half of all deaths happen to people who are under the age of 31. The drug has been licenced for three years and, while there is no cure for Cystic Fibrosis, it goes a long way to helping treat the symptoms. The government has to do more to make sure a deal is reached.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, the Education Select Committee is to question Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield. The session will be a chance for the Committee to ask about her work in areas such as knife crime and school exclusions, as well as other issues relating to her role protecting and promoting the rights of children. I will be asking her about my ongoing campaign to provide guidance to schools about how and when to use isolation rooms in a way that does not contravene the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child and promotes good education in our schools.
Following this, I will be meeting with Family Action and Magic Breakfast about the National School Breakfast Programme. You may have seen the recent media attention about the 23000 children who are living in poverty in Hull. I have organised this meeting to investigate whether their programme may be a method of helping to alleviate that poverty in the city. It is only part of the solution but I believe it will definitely play a part.
I will also be chairing an event run by the National Association of Head Teachers on Relationships Education. You will have seen the controversy in the news at the moment where some parents are protesting the inclusion of aspects such as LGBT+ education in schools. This is an event
Finally, I will be intervening in the debate on House Building Targets in Westminster Hall to raise the issue of land banking, where property developers gain planning permission for a piece of land and then hold on to it to in order to wait for the value of the land to rise. This includes areas of historic importance like Land Line. This is a significant issue in Hull and is one that I will be pursuing further. I am currently in talks with a number of organisations with the aim of introducing a private members bill into Parliament to try and address the issue.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, I will be speaking in a debate on inequality and social mobility. I will be using my contribution to further detail my plan for a future Hull that attracts new industry such as modular homes, develops skills and takes advantage of our unique place in the country to make the city really work for our residents. I will also be attempting to catch the Speaker’s eye during Prime Minister’s Questions and will release details of the question I will ask closer to the time.
Thursday
On Thursday, my meetings include Michelle Swithenbank from Hull College, the Alzheimers Society and FareShare.
Friday
On Friday, I will hold my regular Tesco Drop In Surgery and will also be meeting with Shane Walker of Walker Modular Homes. I am visiting Walker Modular Homes with the Chair of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, Lord Haskins as part of my ongoing project to try and promote the building of modular homes as a specialist industry in Hull. We have a history of building caravans here and the modular homes market is growing and one in which caravan building skills could be easily translatable and could bring lots of jobs to the city.
