As I said last week, I am spending quite a lot of time on the Nationality and Borders Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to increase fairness of the system, support and protect those who need entry, deter illegal entry and to remove more easily those with no rights to be in the UK. I am currently doing two days a week on this Bill and, on each day, we have both a morning and an afternoon sitting. This squeezes my time but there are still many other interactions I can do, this included catching up with Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, primarily to talk about the aftermath of the murder of Sir David but we did, of course, have broader discussions than that.
I took the opportunity to attend a reception hosted by my colleague, the MP for Ashfield and Eastwood, Lee Anderson, with the Coal Authority to discuss Clean Energy from Coalfields, this primarily looks at extracting heat from the water in old mine workings. This is something I had already been engaged with as a Durham County Councillor and I’ve met a number of people from Durham and the surrounding area. It was good to see some of the work in Durham being used as leading examples of the opportunities we have. I also had a session with Lord Baker, who was one of the primary advocates of the introduction of University Technical Colleges. We discussed the development opportunities in the north east and elsewhere but also the development of issues like T levels and BTECs. It was very valuable listening to Lord Baker and others in the forum who have spent much more time than me contemplating the pros and cons of different educational structures.
As you know I am a member of the Northern Research group which is focused on making sure that the Government gives full consideration to the north of England in all it does. We have had many meetings with different ministers and this week we were able to talk with Michael Gove and share our views on the Levelling Up agenda he leads. I also went to London County Hall to represent the APPG in a joint forum with the CPP, Centre for Progressive Policy, to discuss the importance of investing in social infrastructure and why this is critical in levelling up the north.
Friday last week was a sitting Friday when Private members Bills are debated. This week was all about a ‘Fire and Rehire’ Bill. This is such a critical area, and we need to make sure that the environment changes to make certain that businesses are not using the process of firing and rehiring in its worse form, as a threat to employees in any negotiations and I look forward to seeing how the Government take this forward.
On Saturday it was an absolute privilege to join several local Councillors and others at ROF59 for the unveiling of a Blue Plaque to celebrate the work and commitments of the Aycliffe Angels during the war. The plaque was unveiled by Muriel Scott, an inspiring 100-year-old lady who was an Aycliffe Angel in her 20s. It was attached to the outside of ROF 59 which of course was part of the armaments buildings where the Aycliffe Angels worked. The restoration of this facility in recent years by John Finley and his team has given the building a whole new future and it was good to see that the facilities in ROF59, including the trampolines, are now fully open again after a very difficult time through Covid.
This week was budget week, and I am writing this on the Tuesday before the budget is delivered but I thought it would be good to let you know where my lobbying efforts have been. I, of course, wanted to see the Chancellor putting efforts into levelling up and looking after the north, but when it comes to taxes, I would particularly like to see him continue to freeze fuel duty and introduce a differentiation on beer duty so that the keg beer in our pubs is charged less than the canned and bottled beer available from supermarkets.
Clearly Covid continues to be a concern, we must all be aware of the risks if it re-emerges, and we need to be vigilant going forward. We are seeing increasing cases and the importance of the vaccines also increases so please can I encourage you all to take up the option of booster jabs as and when they are offered to you. If you are over 50, and it’s been 6 months since your second, it will be time for your booster jab.
Paul Howell, MP for Sedgefield