Weekly Update – 06.03.2020
Last weekend I enjoyed meeting many people and organisations in Rowlands Castle. It is a great community and there is so much to do. I then attended the selection of the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner candidate and was pleased the Cllr Donna Jones, whom I have worked with for the last 13 years was selected. She will be a hard working PCC if elected in May. On Sunday I met up with the motorbike group, Solent IAM to discuss how to stop motorcyclists adapting their exhausts which is affecting the peace and tranquillity for residents in Meon Valley. SAM do motorbike training and certificate drivers to make riding safer. You can find out more about IAM here https://www.iamroadsmart.com/courses
The Parliamentary week started with my husband and I giving a group on constituents a tour of Parliament, followed by a talk on politics and being an MP. I really enjoy giving constituents the opportunity to visit – especially if they have never been before – as it is an amazing place, packed with history, and a great way to learn about the political process. If you would like a tour, please do send me an email and my team or I will set it all up.
This was another busy week for me because of my position as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Department for International Development (DfID), which I spoke about a little in last week’s update. This week we had ‘Oral Parliamentary Questions’, which is when a department comes before the House of Commons to answer questions from MPs. Each Department does this once every six weeks, although the bigger departments get an hour-long session rather than half an hour.
In preparation for this, ministers and civil servants do a lot of research to ensure they are fully briefed for whatever might come their way in the questions. It was fascinating to attend these meetings and learn so much about the amazing things the Department is doing all over the World. The UK should be very proud of some of the programs it is running that help millions of people in some of the poorest countries on Earth.
I also went to a number of events in Parliament, including a reception with the Police Federation, who represent over 119,000 rank and file police officers in England and Wales, and a British Lung Foundation panel, where Environment minister Rebecca Pow spoke about the importance of improving air quality, especially for people with lung conditions like asthma or cystic fibrosis.
I was pleased to speak at length in the International Women’s Day debate in the Commons on Thursday. I talked about the importance of educating girls and the enormous benefits this can have to societies around the World and about the need to have more women involved in international peace agreements. Their perspective is often lacking, but research shows that it actually makes peace deals more likely to succeed. You can read my full contribution here.
Speaking of International Women’s Day, which is this Sunday, on Wednesday I went to an event run by Sport England that was promoting their campaign ‘This Girl Can’. It is such an important campaign about celebrating female athletes and empowering girls and women to get involved in sports. On Sunday, I will be playing netball in Clanfield (for the first time since school!) to promote the campaign and hopefully have some fun at the same time!
To end on a serious note, I know that a lot of people are understandably concerned about Coronavirus/Covid-19. While this is a very serious issue, it is important not to panic and remember that, for the vast majority of people, it is just like a bad cold if they get it. The Government is taking every precaution necessary to help stop its spread and provide medical assistance to those who need it, especially vulnerable people. The Government has lots of advice published online here. I would recommend taking a look. Please feel free to contact my office if you are worried.
Other than that, I hope you have a great weekend.