Parliament was prorogued yesterday, so my job now is to be out in the constituency campaigning with our excellent candidates for the local elections and Police and Crime Commissioner election on 6th May.
Don’t forget to vote on Thursday and take your own pencil with you if you have not voted by post.
A lot of important legislation was passed this week before prorogation.
The Domestic Abuse Act and the Counter Terrorism Act received Royal Assent and represent a huge achievement for everyone concerned.
We have consulted widely with the public, victims, survivors and charities in their development so I hope that stakeholders are very pleased with the results. We continue to engage on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which will return in the next session and which also marks a huge step forward in the protection of our communities, particularly in the context of the terrible death of Sarah Everard.
On the subject of protecting women, we are extremely proud of our commitment and record in government. Alongside the significant provisions of the Domestic Abuse Act, we have introduced the Modern Slavery Act, Helen’s Law, outlawed upskirting, created the offences of coercive control and stalking (and doubled the maximum sentence), criminalised the sending or threatening to send revenge porn, passed a new Victims’ Code, and increased funding for Rape Support Centres, helplines and refuges.
Another Act that has been granted Royal Assent is the Trade Act. This enshrines the UK’s power to make our own trade deals and put them into law, formalises our 67 trade deals worth around £900 billion and shows the world we are a sovereign free trading nation once again. I hope that we will secure many more deals over the next few months as we come out of lockdown as trade will be the key to economic growth and jobs.
It is also an opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved over the last 16 months over this Parliament despite covid. We have got Brexit done and regained our political and economic independence with new trade deals, including a free trade deal with the EU.
We are building 40 new hospitals including one in our area – I am hoping that will be at Junction 7 of the M3 and I will be making sure that it is easy to get to by public transport and have plenty of parking.
There has been a huge increase in applications for nursing and doctors which will boost the 11,220 more nurses and 6,300 doctors that have started working in the NHS over the last year. They have done an amazing job saving lives during the coronavirus crisis. Our vaccine programme means that we can start planning for the future with confidence.
We have nearly achieved half our ambition for 20,000 new police officers earlier than expected, with 8,771 new police officers. I am looking forward to working with our new Police and Crime Commissioner, especially on rural crime and anti-social behaviour - including those motorbikes that are exceeding noise and speed limits.
Close to my heart is the work that we are doing on education, especially with the catching up fund for those who have lost a year of classes due to the pandemic.
I am still pushing to change the assessment system and I am working with many different groups to try to convince the government to look at this. Another interest of mine is foreign and defence policy, and I am pleased with the Integrated Review – at last we have a joint policy looking at our global outlook on the world.
Lastly, I am very excited about the Levelling-Up Fund which will invest in local infrastructure – I will be asking for money for a vision for Waterlooville town centre - but best of all, it will mean that we can concentrate on regeneration around the country in areas that may not have received investment. I am a One Nation Conservative and we need to make sure that no one is left behind.
I will be out campaigning over the next week, so I may bump into you. There will be no newsletter next Friday, so until the next one I hope you have a good Bank Holiday weekend and keep safe and well.
