This week has been dominated by the new Bill outlining our relationship with Rwanda. I will talk more about this next week after the vote on Tuesday but I am very happy to hear your views. It is important to remember that this is just another tool to reduce the horrendous and dangerous trafficking model across the Channel. Small boats were reduced by 30% this year but there are still too many people taking the journey and paying money which they can ill-afford to the traffickers.
We are working with counterparts in Europe to break the model but other countries are also looking at third countries to send illegal immigrants. The new agreement with Rwanda stops refoulement of refugees which was a red line for the Supreme Court but I need to spend some time looking at the detail of the Bill over the weekend.
Monday was busy with the Public Accounts Committee looking at the Illegal Drugs strategy. The Strategy is good but the way that projects like this are funded for three years at a time is very limiting for organisations. This is something I would like to see change although we must make sure that money is not wasted.
After PAC, I had a meeting with the new Foreign Secretary to talk about Gaza and the West Bank. I questioned him on what role we are having to bring around a ceasefire as I am increasingly concerned about the huge loss of life in Gaza. There is an increase in violence in the West Bank with settlers, police and IDF involved. I asked the question about the role of the International Criminal Court in PMQs as the ICC prosecutor has been visiting the area to start work, he will need support though.
I continue to get updates directly from Gaza and the conditions are getting even worse with little food available. We also heard this week about the atrocities that Hamas conducted especially on women, the stories are very difficult to hear and you can understand the rage of Israelis but the continued loss of life is becoming unacceptable.
We started voting at 9pm on Monday - much earlier than usual - and I managed to get back to my flat by 10.30pm which is good. I realise that most weeks I never get home before 9pm, it means it is very difficult to do any social activity or exercise during the week.
Education Select committee was moved to Wednesday this week so I was able to talk in a debate about 20mph in our villages. I hope that Hampshire County Council chooses to give parish councils and communities the ability to put in 20mph where needed following their meeting in January. There are too many villages with no pavements, narrow roads and, in some cases, major roads like the A32 go through them. The speed cameras have worked well on the A32 to relieve some of the speed and noise through the villages but traffic still goes too fast through them and others.
Two of my team have decided to move to other jobs after a long time with me, 6 years in one case and 3 in the other, so I spent time on Tuesday interviewing candidates and have found two excellent replacements. Each MP has to find and employ their own staff within a budget set by IPSA (Independent Parliament Standards Authority) which can be very time consuming and also difficult as working in Parliament with all the rules and regulations is not easy. Fortunately, one of them has worked for another MP so knows the ropes and the other has worked in the Treasury. Both have a lot of foreign policy experience and will be starting in January.
On Wednesday we had the opportunity to question the Education Secretary and I brought up my Register of Not in School bill I had presented in May but it didn’t go any further before time ran out and Parliament prorogued. I have put it forward as a Presentation Bill which is another form of Private Members Bills and will be doing the first reading in March. The Government is very keen that it goes through so I will be working hard next year to get it into law.
On Thursday, I had an online meeting on the new hospital. The consultation is launched on Monday and I hope that you will all contribute. We do need it to be at Junction 7 rather than on the present Basingstoke site as it will be easier to access from Winchester. I would also like to hear your views.
Later on Thursday, I attended a day on the Strategic Command course where I learnt about our nuclear deterrent strategy. The industry around nuclear weapons and nuclear generally is growing fast with transferrable skills for other industries. We also learned about life on our nuclear submarines where crew live under the water for up to six months with no communication. It is much harder when people are so used to non-stop communication with families today.
I did point out that my father-in-law in the Royal Navy was away for two years when my husband was small but things are very different now. I can’t imagine anything worse than being on a submarine for months, they are very brave. The new Dreadnought class will be far easier to live in with a gym, study rooms and separate accommodation for women and men.
A coroner announced their findings on the death of headteacher Ruth Perry and said that Ofsted was a contributory factor. As a former Ofsted inspector and a member of the Education Select Committee, I was asked to speak on South Today about it. We are reporting back on our inquiry on Ofsted early next year. I hope that if anything good can come out of this tragedy, it will be that Ofsted is reformed. The new Chief Inspector will have some work to do next year.
Yesterday, I held a surgery and then gave my team a Christmas lunch at the Tichborne Arms. The food there is fantastic.
Have a great weekend.
