As Parliament is prorogued, marking the end of this Government’s first Parliamentary Session, we’ve reached the end of a busy month in Parliament and across Luton South and South Bedfordshire.
Read on to see some of my highlights and how I’ve been representing our area!
Big win for Luton Town!
Huge congrats to Luton Town on an exciting win at Wembley this month! Such a proud moment for our town and brilliant opportunity to come together.
I hope everyone who watched from Wembley, or at home, had a brilliant time- I know I did! Alongside fellow Hatters fans, I will be keeping eyes on to see whether we make it to the play-offs!
Question to the Prime Minister on new Youth Hub for Luton
Recently at PMQs the Prime Minister joined me in highlighting the positive impact a new Youth Hub will have in Luton.
After years of underfunding of youth services by the previous government, these hubs will bring together employment, training and wellbeing services under one roof – offering our young people new opportunities and setting them up for better futures.
Also brilliant to hear his congratulations for Luton Town Football Club and Team Manager Jack Wilshere!
Watch below!
Community Thank Yous for local Girlguiding volunteers
Lovely to join the Girlguiding Luton South Division at Haverings Activity Centre to see their beautiful bluebells in full bloom!
It was also the perfect opportunity to give out some Community Thank You cards to dedicated volunteers who offer their time to create a positive environment for young girls in our area to make friends, have fun, and grow their confidence.
If you know someone who goes the extra mile (no matter how big or small!) to make their community a better place, nominate them for one of my Community Thank You cards!
Cost of living support
With the beginning of the new financial year, this month many of the Government’s measures to support people in Luton South and South Bedfordshire with the cost of living came into effect.
Increases to the National Living and National Minimum Wage delivered boosts of £900 and £1,500, respectively, for millions of workers. The removal of the two-child benefit cap began to benefit over 5,000 children in our constituency. In line with its commitment to the Pension Triple Lock, the Government delivered a £575 boost for over 12 million pensioners. This comes on top of other steps taken at the budget to freeze rail fares and prescription costs, as well as saving households an average of £117 on their energy bills.
I know the cost of living is the number one concern for so many people across Luton South and South Bedfordshire, so I’m very pleased to be seeing these changes come into force.
Action to tackle knife crime
Here in Luton South and South Bedfordshire we know all too well the devastating impact of knife crime.
I’m incredibly glad to welcome the Government’s ambitious plan to halve knife crime over the next decade. This will save lives, keep our young people safe, and stop them getting on the wrong path by:
- Offering specialist training and support to 250 schools in knife crime hotspots
- Using new start of the art mapping technology to identify the most at-risk areas
- Investing millions in programmes to combat County Lines, ensure safety on journeys to and from school, and boost police resources where they’re most needed
Recently in Parliament I highlighted the excellent work that Luton Youth Partnership Service does on this issue locally and asked the Minister for confirmation that the government would work collaboratively with existing organisations to build on this.
Votes at 16
The new Representation of the People Bill will be transformative, strengthening our democracy by protecting candidates, countering malign influence, and taking the landmark progressive step to give sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds the right to vote.
Luton South and South Bedfordshire is a young constituency, filled with enthusiastic voices that deserve to be heard. In recent weeks I held workshops to engage with young people about this Bill and saw firsthand their drive to participate in our democracy and have their say on some of the issues that matter most to them.
Legislation is only one piece of the puzzle though. We must also commit to improving political education and offering practical help with voting- delivering viable and lasting pathways to participation so young people can be heard.
Read my new article for PoliticsHome below!
£20 million funding for central Luton!
In my latest monthly column for Luton News, I was pleased to highlight the recently announced £20 million funding for Central Luton under the Government’s Pride in Place programme.
This funding could be used to create or revive community spaces, back community-led projects, or fund initiatives to keep streets safer and cleaner for everyone. It will improve our area and bring back pride after years of neglect and underfunding by the previous government.
I’m so proud to have secured this funding for our area and can’t wait to see the community come together to shape some great projects in central Luton! Find out more about what this funding means below.
Employment Rights Act comes into force
This month we marked a landmark day for workers in Luton South and South Bedfordshire as the Government’s historic Employment Rights Act took effect. This means:
- Day-one rights: sick pay, paternity leave & parental leave from day one
- Crackdown on zero hours contracts, with a right to guaranteed hours if you work regular shifts
- Protection against unfair dismissal after 6 months (not 2 years)
- End to “fire & rehire” abuse
These rights will be protected by a new Fair Work Agency with key powers to hold employers to account, delivering more security and opportunity at work.
I’m proud to see the Government deliver these historic changes that will have a huge impact on workers here in our constituency.
New Community Diagnostic Centre for Luton confirmed!
I’m very glad that we now have confirmation of a new Community Diagnostic Centre in Luton, one of four new facilities across the country.
With funding and a site on the University of Bedfordshire campus confirmed, I look forward to seeing how this will benefit our town from its projected opening next year.
Great to join Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Minister Karin Smyth to discuss the positive impact this CDC will bring by:
- Improving access to checks, tests and scans – tackling healthcare inequality
- Reducing pressure on hospitals by bringing care closer to communities
- Helping to diagnose serious health issues more quickly and ensure patients get the care they need
Tackling rural fly tipping
Constituents in the villages across South Bedfordshire regularly raise with me the issue of persistent fly-tipping and its hazardous environmental impact.
I welcome the Government’s Waste Crime Action Plan, which sets out a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime, will accelerate cleanup efforts, and has allocated an additional £45 million funding to the Environment Agency.
I recently asked the Leader of the House of Commons to allow time for a debate on the impact of fly-tipping in rural communities like ours here in Luton South and South Bedfordshire to provide a further opportunity to highlight these issues in Parliament.
Watch below!
New funding for SEND services in Luton South & South Bedfordshire
This month the Government announced over £2 million funding each for Luton Council and Central Bedfordshire Council to set up a new SEND ‘Experts at Hand’ service.
This is designed to open up access to specialist support like educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, without long waits for diagnosis, EHCPs or tribunals.
Alongside work to create 60,000 more specialist places in early years settings, schools, and colleges across the country, I’m pleased to see the Government working to offer the right support, quicker, closer to home, without a fight.
St George’s day
Such a fun time in the sun popping in to the St George’s Day celebrations held in Market Hill!
It’s just one of the programme of exciting events running throughout this year to celebrate 150 years of Luton as a borough!
Lots of activities including face painting, seeing the mechanical dragon and some classic Luton hats being made by Anderson Hatters!
Action to expand clean energy and tackle the cost of living
In response to instability in the Middle East causing uncertainty for households here in the UK, the Government is taking action to ensure future energy security and tackle the cost of living. New measures include:
- Making it easier to own EVs and install solar
- Huge expansion of wind turbines and solar panels across the public estate
- Plans to break the link between gas and electricity prices
We are facing the second fossil fuel price spike in five years. It is clear that the only way forward is to invest in clean, homegrown power that we can control.
Read more below!
Luton 2040
In Luton, we want everyone to thrive and no one to live in poverty. That is the central mission of the Luton 2040 vision.
I was glad to attend the annual Luton 2040 conference, joining stakeholders, community leaders, and residents from across our town to reflect on the progress so far and discuss how we will achieve this together.
My highlight of the day was the panel session led by some of Luton’s brilliant young people, engaging with businesses about their work to offer opportunities and inspiration to young people in our town
Great to hear lots of interesting speeches, including from Baroness Taylor who spoke about the support being provided to our town by the Government. She also thanked Cllr Hazel Simmons MBE for her 19 years of service as leader of the council.
The conference also introduced Council Leader elect Cllr Tahmima Saleem. Tahmina is a values-led leader who cares deeply about our town, I look forward to working more closely with her.
Civil Service Pension Scheme
A number of constituents have been in touch with me to share issues they’ve faced with the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme under Capita. After years of dedicated service, it’s unacceptable that many civil servants are being failed by poor service and being unable to access their full pension benefits.
As a member of the PCS Union myself, I’m very glad that the Government has offered support to those affected and is taking action to mitigate further issues.
This month I asked the Minister for more information about how the Government is ensuring those who are entitled can access bereavement benefits and was glad to receive confirmation that they will continue to hold Capita to account on all aspects of their contracts.
I will continue to monitor the situation and encourage any constituents experiencing problems to get in touch with my office by emailing [email protected]
Celebrating with our local Kenyan community
So glad to join Luton, Dunstable & Surrounding Kenyan Community Forum for a brilliant evening celebrating traditional Kenyan culture, food and entertainment!
Great to welcome the newly appointed Kenya High Commissioner, Ambassador Maurice Makoloo, alongside other guests including new High Sheriff of Bedfordshire Ismail Anilmis DL, Hannan Ali DL, and Mayor of Luton Cllr Amy Nicholls.
Such a lovely celebration of heritage that showed the very best of our town’s strong, diverse communities.
Renewed Women’s Health Strategy:
This week the Government announced a renewed Women’s Health Strategy to put women’s voices at the heart of decisions about their care, tackle key issues, and stamp out medical misogyny.
This will:
- Cut waits for diagnosis and treatment of conditions like endometriosis
- Ensure appropriate and effective pain relief for invasive gynaecological procedures
- Deliver £1 million for a menstrual education programme
Luton Choral Society concert!
Such a lovely evening at Luton Choral Society’s joint concert with KonzertChor Bergisch Gladbach- a choir from one of our twin towns in Germany!
Great to meet B-G Burgermeister Marcel Kreutz (their Mayor!), alongside Mayor of Luton Cllr Amy Nicholls and HM Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Susan Lousada.
Beautiful music and singing in celebration of 70 years of our towns being twinned- a great illustration of the power of music to connect people across language borders.
Find out more and get involved in Luton Choral Society here: https://www.lutonchoralsociety.org.uk/
