🖊 This week the government once again refused to cancel the cut to Universal Credit planned for April this year. I wrote to Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey to ask her to urgently re-think this plan so that 700,000 more people, including 300,000 children, aren’t pushed into poverty overnight.

🏥  On Tuesday, the Government’s Trade Bill returned to the House of Commons for further consideration by MPs. I voted for vital amendments to protect our NHS, maintain standards, defend human rights, and ensure scrutiny in future deals. The government voted down all of these amendments. You can see my full statement on this weeks’ vote here. I also joined We Own It’s campaign to stop our NHS being sold off in secretive trade deals. You can watch my video message here. 

🍺 Small breweries in Hallam, and across the country are already struggling due to the effects of the pandemic, with 2 going out of business every week. To add to this, the government is now proposing cuts to Small Brewers Relief. I have tabled a parliamentary motion to raise this issue and call for this proposal to be reversed. 

💉I signed Paula Barker’s letter to the government calling for occupational prioritisation for key workers during the second phase of the vaccination roll-out, so we can protect our frontline workers. 

✉️ Along with other Sheffield MPs, I have signed Louise Haigh’s letter to the CEO of Ofqual, Simon Lebus, calling for urgent clarity on technical and vocational examinations. Colleges and students studying vocational qualifications have been left in the dark and this must be addressed.

🍲 After the Government finally acknowledged the need to continue free school meals during the second national lockdown, it seems they have once again had a change of mind. They are now advising schools not to provide free school meals during the February half term. I wrote to Gavin WIlliamson calling for this to be urgently reconsidered, and will continue to campaign on this. 

🚉 I have written to Transport Minister Grant Shapps calling for him to reverse the decision to cut Transport for the North’s budget by 40%. Addressing the already existing disparities between regional funding for transport is vital to tackle regional inequity and address the climate emergency. 

💰 Many of my constituents are rightly angry that they have lost just over 75% of the money they were owed due to the Equitable Life scandal, the figures quoted to me are shocking and run into 100s of £1000s. On the day of the debate, I wrote to RIshi Sunak to once again, urge him to pay my constituents – and all the victims of this scandal – the money they are owed. 

👮🏽 I am continuing to call the government out on their public sector pay freeze, which will affect 12,200 people in Hallam, the second highest number in England! I am doing everything I can to speak up for public sector workers in Hallam, and make sure those that have done so much for our constituency, and city, during this crisis are not the ones made to pay for the government’s mistakes.

🌎 This Saturday I will be talking at Sheffield Labour for a Green New Deal’s event, about how we can take climate action into our own hands and create our own city wide Green New Deal. You can sign up to the event here.